Advanced P&S or Mirrorless?

[aadi007]

Wow Soumik...thanks for the detailed reply.
Must admit that I am more confused than ever before.

My basic dilemma is this - I like photography and I like playing with the settings. So, I want a camera with manual controls..good enough zoom (at least 10x or more), fast operation and good picture quality. The reason I was thinking of a bridge camera over compact ones is because of - more maunal controls, the form factor, EVF, handling, better battery, better flash etc.

I admit I have the budget to go for a mirrorless + zoom lens but I am not able to convince myself that I can carry additional lenses and change them while travelling with family (including a small kid) and take photographs.

That's why thinking about an advanced P&S...but then again, it feels somewhat stupid buying a P&S for 25K+ when I could hve bough a DSLR or mirrorless.

Really confused right now

 

[marvelousprashant]

EPL 1 with 14-42mm lens should give you enough range for shooting landscapes, portrait, and casual photos, you will only need zoom lens for taking bird shots etc

 

[sujoyp]

yes ...zoom lenses are mostly used in zoo,national park,stage shows,birding etc....for party,casual shot,landscape etc 14-42 is enough.

but if controls are important then forget EPM1 ...look for a hi-tech cam like RX100,FZ200 or the common superzoom ones like fz150,HX200...
is 10x zoom enough for you...I think among P7100,S100 and LX5 one have 10x zoom too

 

[aadi007]

Sujoy,
Why do u say so? E PM1 should have full manual controls though less physical buttons.

FZ200 is 30K..doesnt make sense to me at all.

Prashant,
thanks for the reply man!
Did you mean E PM1 or E PL1? Another thing I dont like in these models is lack of EVF.
I guess your clarification about the zoom lens does allay my fear to a large extent....but I guess it makes sense to get the zoom lens at an additional 6K or so..buying it separately later would be costlier I think

 

[sujoyp]

aadi hardware control are very easy to use...and specially mode dial on top...do you think rotating the dial is easier then opening the menu and selecting the right thing...it takes time.people spend lots of money for those hardware buttons
EPM1 is really good and 2 lens combo for 30k is great deal...

ok FZ200 is out.

 

[aadi007]

Sujoy,
You are right about the hardware buttons and that's where EPM1 lacks...I would have thought the LCD screen is touch-sensitive but it is not..
Since I am not able to try it myself, I am not able to decide.

The Olympus E P3 has all that I need but it is beyond my budget

As per the latest deal in ebay, the E PM1 with zoom lens is available at 26K only...super tempting

 

[Soumik]

Dont go for EP3. Instead check for deals for EPM2 if you have the budget. EPM2 has loads of advantages over EPM1, but lets not go into that as its out of budget.
As for the harware controls, well, am not used to mode dial a lot, but i never felt the need for that. EPM1 has the easiest menu system i have seen on kind of device. It takes 4 button presses to go from auto to full manual. IMO its not different from mode dial clicks between auto and manual. Plus, u get adv of seeing the menu and changing it in the dark. You cant see mode dial at night rite.. Anyways, i havent got anything with a dial, so cant say.
What you will miss, are the EVF and possible hardware dials for shutterspeed and focal length. I used the D90, and though i didnt like it beacause its big and heavy, the above things come in very handy while shooting.

 

[sujoyp]

it seems that we can get used to the menu control on epm1 ....shoumik is a better person to review

 

[aadi007]

Ok..I am going to go for EPM1..discussion closed . finally

Soumik
Why u advised me against E P3..its got a nice handgrip and lots of physical controls as well.

Will keep u all posted once I get the cam and click some photos.

 

[nac]

^ Just check before placing the order... That 26k deal was with zoom lens alone or its a twin lens kit coz I don't any such deals.

 

[Soumik]

Yeah even i couldnt find that deal. But if your sure ur getting the dual kit lens for so less, go for it without thoughts.
Yeah, the menu system is very simple compared to even my small nikon coolpic p&s, or even the dslr menu systems. But offcourse dslrs have hardware controls to compensate for it. U just need to go through the instructions once to know the shortcuts and tips to use it. They have given few software tweaks to make the navigation fast.
I wouldnt suggest the EP3 only cause what u get extra is the hardware controls and grip. ALso the touchscreen. It is slightly bigger and has a retro look. But houses the same IS and sensor inside. Just adding a few more thousands, you get the EPM2, which houses a far superior sensor inside.(same as their flagship m4u cam OMD-M5) Atleast in US, EP3 and EPM2 is of same price. So its better to go for EPM2 over EP3. If you have enough dough for EP3, chk for deals on EPM2 also. For me its a better buy. Offcourse, the hardware dials and mode dials will be missing again.

 

[aadi007]

Re: Advanced P&S or Mirrorless?

Here is the ebay link -
Olympus E-PM1 Camera with 14-42mm & 40-150mm Lens With MFG Warranty | eBay

With a coupon, it can come down to 26K.

Today had a torrid time trying to shoot pics during dandiya with all the flash lights and people dancing with my Canon A720IS..tried to play with F value, increase ISO, shutter speed ..nothing helped
A neighbour with a NIkon D90 DSLR managed to shoot some decent pics though not great... is situations like this, you realize the need for a bigger sensor badly.

One quick question to Soumik - Does the E PM1 have HDR ?

 

[nac]

Re: Advanced P&S or Mirrorless?

Here is the ebay link -
Olympus E-PM1 Camera with 14-42mm & 40-150mm Lens With MFG Warranty | eBay

With a coupon, it can come down to 26K.

Boss, it's on DEALS. You can't use coupons for this offer...

Don't worry about in-camera HDR, you can do it in computer...

 

[aadi007]

Re: Advanced P&S or Mirrorless?

Boss, it's on DEALS. You can't use coupons for this offer...

Don't worry about in-camera HDR, you can do it in computer...

Ok, I din't see it on deals..may be they have moved it.
Anyways, 27K or 26K - what difference does it make?

I know there are lot of things possible on the PC but it would be nice to have some of these facilities in the camera as it will help you to see the pictures immediately. Which software do you recommend for post-processing? I mean free

 

[nac]

If the difference doesn't matter to you, fine and good. I was just saying...

I am not good at post processing... I myself new to photography and this PP is newer than that... Free softwares like photomatix for hdr, gimp for processing, combinezp for stacking, ms picture manager for quick editing.

 

[sujoyp]

aadi the situation u said needs fast glass like 17-50 f2.8 so that u get high shutter speed or a full frame cam soo that u can shoot even at ISO6400

 

[Soumik]

^^ Thanks for the tips. My friends are planning to go for a garba night, and if i go, i'll be sure to take my 20mm with me.
@aadi - Nope... AFAIK no HDR mode in EPM1. You have to do manually by taking diff exposure pics and merging them on PC. That will be the best HDR u can get from this cam. Offcourse free softwares can give the HDR feel even on any single pic.