Entry level mirrorless camera

Beefsteak

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Is the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II suitable for a beginner and first time user of mirrorless camera?
Main concern is its complex menu.
Is it a big issue?
 

dryteletubby

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so what is after full frame
:s13:

Medium format :s13:

On a serious note I don't think full frame is going away anytime soon. A lot of camera brands like Nikon, canon & Sony has a easy path to move from aps-c go full frame since their mount is compatible. You can buy a aps-c body & full frame lens and upgrade to a full frame body later.
 

dryteletubby

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Is the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II suitable for a beginner and first time user of mirrorless camera?
Main concern is its complex menu.
Is it a big issue?

The camera interface should be the least of your concerns. No matter how convoluted the interface is, it will become familiar with use.

The hard part of photography is getting the camera to take the picture you imagined. This can be accomplished with practicing what different settings (focal length, aperture, shutter speed, exposure etc) does to the photo and also getting familiar with your raw editior be it lightroom, capture one etc to get the image you want.

If all you want is to press the shutter button and let the camera to do all the work, then I suggest using a smartphone instead. Most new smartphones has much more advanced "AI" then most cameras.
 

xonix

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Is the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II suitable for a beginner and first time user of mirrorless camera?
Main concern is its complex menu.
Is it a big issue?

User interface is very subjective to each user. To me, Oly's menu is not intuitive and I much prefer Panasonic's UI. Having had cameras from both at one time, I decided to stick with Pany. Try to play with a unit at one of the stores for yourself.

Sidenote, E-M10 does have plenty of manual controls. You might not need to dive into the menus often. Learn how to use the 3 basics of photography,

shutter speed - aperture - focal length
 

chiaRH

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Is the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II suitable for a beginner and first time user of mirrorless camera?
Main concern is its complex menu.
Is it a big issue?


you have to hands on with a demo unit and see for yourself

if you are a 1st timer to manual photography, the hurdle is bigger compared to if you already know manual photography

assuming you know manual photography then when you hands on the demo unit, practice the following:

- change ISO, shutter speed, aperture. How fast can you change it? Is it convenient and easy to change. Any of these 3 settings being 'difficult' to adjust can instantly dealbreak the camera for experienced photographers who dont want to fight a clunky UI

- how easy is it to change modes? standard PASM, single shot change to burst mode and vice versa

- how easy is it to change focus? set focus point, go from auto to manual focus and vice versa, default focus point back to centre

If within 5 mins you can figure this out on a new camera unit that you have never touch before (even just a demo unit in a shop), then the UI should be intuitive enough.
 

Shutterfly

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Is the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II suitable for a beginner and first time user of mirrorless camera?
Main concern is its complex menu.
Is it a big issue?

The menu is pretty complex but they have a quick access shortcut menu view where you can access most of features that you will ever need with a single press. Thus you do not need to navigate through the menu to find what you want. Very useful.
 

Ah_keong

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Ah_keong

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Imo the lens makes more of an image quality difference then the sensor. It will be a waste to blow the whole budget into the camera. Personally I will 2/3 of my budget on the lens and accessories.

If you want to make the most out of you camera, learn to use manual mode and shoot RAW. If you want just to press button and get photo, a smartphone will serve you better.

Agree,

I would spend 40% of the budget on books, 30% on light, 20% on lens and 5% on body....

40+30+20+5 = 95%

The remaining 5% on accessories : bag, tripod, filters, etc etc etc
 

hacktic

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Agree,

I would spend 40% of the budget on books, 30% on light, 20% on lens and 5% on body....

40+30+20+5 = 95%

The remaining 5% on accessories : bag, tripod, filters, etc etc etc

books?! if a 1k budget

$400 on books is quite insane

$50 on body? dont know where u can get any good cam with that. maybe a simple PnS
$200 on lens?...kit lens
$300 on light? ehhhh setting up a studio?
$50 on bag + filters + tripod? very tight!


since im quite familiar with Sony mirrorless

2nd hand a6000+kit lens maybe $5-600. BN should be $8-900?
bag... $50 will get you a simple small shoulder sling bag, maybe a crumpler 5MDH
simple flash + small LEDs $150

all for less than 1k...sorry not a books person
 

yoyokid

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so what is after full frame :s13:

Fullframe and above are only good if your pics are going to be blown up to billboard size posters ie if you are a a professional looking to sell your images as such.

Others just need aps-c for all their needs, mirrorless or not.. :)
 

dryteletubby

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books?! if a 1k budget

$400 on books is quite insane

$50 on body? dont know where u can get any good cam with that. maybe a simple PnS
$200 on lens?...kit lens
$300 on light? ehhhh setting up a studio?
$50 on bag + filters + tripod? very tight!


since im quite familiar with Sony mirrorless

2nd hand a6000+kit lens maybe $5-600. BN should be $8-900?
bag... $50 will get you a simple small shoulder sling bag, maybe a crumpler 5MDH
simple flash + small LEDs $150

all for less than 1k...sorry not a books person

Yeah spending that much on book to me feels dumb. Or maybe I am the person who learn better by watching photography videos on YouTube.

Maybe borrowing photography books from the library will be good enough?
 

harky

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what abt

Fujifilm X-A3
Canon EOS M100
Canon EOS M
Canon EOS 100D (Q10 sell 670 export set)
Canon EOS 200D
 

xthene

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Y not a6300 or a6500? Just curious

Sent from Sony Z4 using GAGT

a6300 and a6500 are expensive.


may consider canon m50 (~$850) or panasonic g85 (~$1100), both with kit lens for entry level mirrorless.

both can shoot 4k videos too.
 

dryteletubby

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Y not a6300 or a6500? Just curious

Sent from Sony Z4 using GAGT

You can get a A6000 w/o kit lens for $570 while the A6300 goes for ~$1k and the A6500 goes for ~$1.5K

Just for photos, its hard to swallow the price increase.

Also if i remember correctly I saw a a7ii for $1.6k w/o kit lens & $1.8k with a 28-70 kit.

Personally if my budget is under $2K and shoot mostly photos and few videos I would get the a6000 and spend the rest on lenses & other accessories.
 
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You can get a A6000 w/o kit lens for $570 while the A6300 goes for ~$1k and the A6500 goes for ~$1.5K

Just for photos, its hard to swallow the price increase.

Also if i remember correctly I saw a a7ii for $1.6k w/o kit lens & $1.8k with a 28-70 kit.

Personally if my budget is under $2K and shoot mostly photos and few videos I would get the a6000 and spend the rest on lenses & other accessories.
Thanks for the insight, I m still deciding whether just to get a cheap one like a6000 or just saved up more to get a better one like a6300 or a7ii instead

Sent from Sony H8166 using GAGT
 

fongwk8

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I guess it depends on how interested are you in photography. Currently, I'm using the A7ii, though, at times during travelling, I find it slightly bulky (I fitted it with a 16-35mm F2.8 lens, the total weight of about 1.2 kg?).

If you think you can tahan the bulky and weight, or you're very interested in photography, should get the a7 series.

Other things to consider:

1) Lenses for full frame (a7 series) are much more expensive when compared to the aps-c format.
2) Bigger space in bag to transport the camera and lens around.
 

dryteletubby

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Thanks for the insight, I m still deciding whether just to get a cheap one like a6000 or just saved up more to get a better one like a6300 or a7ii instead

Sent from Sony H8166 using GAGT

If u decide to get a Sony aps-c camera, you should consider the sigma contemporary 16 , 30, 56mm f1.4 lineup.

Those 3 have exceptionally good reviews and should cover most of the focal length u need.
 

hacktic

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i've got the sigma 16(~$500) and 30(~$300) primes but gave them up after a few months.
dont get me wrong, they are fast lens!
but i'm just too lazy and prefer zoom lens instead of luggin prime lens around/swopping them/using my feet to get the right shot. even though i could cheat abit and use the sony clear image zoom
 

dryteletubby

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i've got the sigma 16(~$500) and 30(~$300) primes but gave them up after a few months.
dont get me wrong, they are fast lens!
but i'm just too lazy and prefer zoom lens instead of luggin prime lens around/swopping them/using my feet to get the right shot. even though i could cheat abit and use the sony clear image zoom

I guess I am the opposite of u then :s13: personally I carry around 2-3 lenses with my a6000. Once I experimented with just using the kit lens but got pretty underwhelmed with its performance.

This is probably why I need to clean my sensor about once a month...

Also I don't shoot in jpeg. Once I switch my camera to jpeg + raw and realised I never used the jpegs anyway.

My only gripe with the a6000 is that there is no s-log for video. Since I basically colour correct & tweak every video and photo I take.
 
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