Suggestion for best small sized cam

[Soumik]

Hi,

I want to buy a cam in another 45 days or something. No specific budget, but hopefully within 25K.

Requirement :
I like taking pics. But not seriously interested in photography as a hobby.
I want a cam which i can carry with me easily, dont need a huge amount of care, but should take pictures of best possible quality in the size limitation. Zoom isnt much of my concern currently.
I might be leaving my current city in a couple of months, so want to take pictures of all the places and people before leaving. So pictures should be vivid, noise-free and without any distortion... as much as possible.

Options found by me :
Sony Nex series seem to fit my requirements with a small body and a sensor size of a standard DSLR.
I was looking at Nex 5K.
Nex 3K is mostly out of stock and spending 5K extra for a good bump in video, built and photo quality to some extent seems justifiable.
Nex 5N is something i found to be another big incremental upgrade to the Nex 5K, but i couldnt find the price anywhere, so cant tell if he cost would be justifiable.
So, for now, Nex 5K is all i could think of.

Please guide me and tell me if the price of Nex5K is justifiable, or should i just stick with a high end point and shoot camera?

 

[nac]

If Nex series are small by your definition, you can try Panasonic FZ150.
If you want a compact one with decent zoom (around 4x), check Canon S95 and S100 and Panasonic LX5.
Nex series are fine, you may likely develop interest on photography. Then you can just buy lens for your Nex cam. Check Olympus E PL series as well. Similar to Nex...

 

[sujoyp]

here is the size -> Compare camera dimensions side by side

BTW if u want a simple but great cam then better get canon S100 ...its the best P&S and have pic quality as good as entry level DSLR

 

[Soumik]

Thanks for the inputs.

I checked out the reviews of most of the cameras u mentioned. Some how i felt E PL1 shooting better pictures out of the box than Nex 3. (what i infer mainly cause of its in body IS. The OIS of the 18-55mm lens on Nex doesnt match upto it.). Somehow i didnt feel the rest of the cams upto these 2. Canon s100 is costlier than a Nex 5 and it doesnt even have a micro 4/3 sensor lens. Seems odd. though it has gps and some extra stuff.
Though the colors on Olympus were warmer, i somehow liked the people and night still shots of Nex better. They seemed a bit truer.
Also there is pretty bad distortion in the initial Nex 3K and Nex 5K models.(One thing i was hoping to avoid by skipping the Point and Shoot cameras) Not sure of, but hopefully Nex C3 and 5N fixed it.
Ergonomics wise Nex really seems awkward. The lens is pretty huge compared to the Olympus one.

Among these 2, which one do u suggest?

Oh btw... how much of a difference is there between the nex models? Do all use same sensor and lens?

@sujayp - Canon s100 costs more than a Nex 5. But, having a much smaller sensor, its image quality should be inferior. Y is it so costly?

 

[sujoyp]

Its costly coz its sensor is slightly bigger than P&S, its lens is better than most P&S, its smaller than most of the advance cams , built in IS is good

Its f2.0 aperture is good enough for night shots where u have to invest in lenses in nex

I am not saying Nex is useless but just remember adding even a 18-55 kit lens will make it big enough...and wont fit ur pocket

If the size dosnt matter than its a good investment coz u can get a zoom lens/prime lens later too.

 

[Soumik]

Hmm i got hold of a guy with canon S95. Saw the pics he took. But wasnt really impressed by it. They were good. But didnt look like worth spending more than 25K for that quality.

I am thinking abt Olympus E PL1 or Nex 5K... unless their successors get released in India within this month.

What do u suggest?

 

[sujoyp]

EPL1 have the advantage of attaching many lenses using adapters and Image stabilization inbuilt
Nex have advantage in Image quality , high ISO, U can use Sony alpha lens, cheap Minolta lenses with adapters

I would go for Nex 5..BTW have u seen the video reviews of nex 5k ...how do u feel the size and balance...I would also suggest to check that in shop and try the controls

 

[Soumik]

Thanks .
How cheap are those Minolta lenses... ? they are the ones built for the PEN series rite?
I want to try out the cams in shop.. not gettign enough time..
Nex may have bigger sensor.. but doesnt EPL1 have better over all image quality? I didnt see comparision with Nex 5, but compared to Nex 3 and Nex C3.... EPL1 and EPL3 seemed slightly better... save the fact that sony can illuminate faces in the dark... which might come in handy

 

[sujoyp]

nope minolta lenses r made for old minolta DSLRs (later purchased by Sony)...it can be used with adapters on All 4/3rds and also nex series...they r high in quality and cheap on price...just check ebay.com or mumbai fort market

Sony nex5 definitely have better ISo and picture quality then EPL1 ...EPL is good for 2-3 reason like inbuilt stabilisation, more lenses (panasonic+olympus) , viewfinder etc

*www.jjmehta.com/forum/index.php/topic,16018.0.html

 

[Soumik]

dont have access to that site.. need to register.

If i can get and use minolta lenses, i think olumpus would be a better choice as there wont be any stabilizing done on Nex then. They rely on optical stabilization in the lenes. I am not looking for carrying with me a huge collection of lenses.. but having options is always better.

Anyone has any idea how much an E PL3 cost in Kolkata... (Metro goli price..? )

Seriously.. just saw pics of EPL3.. they are looking hotter than Nex5 to me now

 

[sujoyp]

never checked reviews of EPL3 coz 35k for a micro 4/3 is costly....and it cost whole 10k costlier than Nex5 on websites

But yes EPL1 looks just superb

 

[Soumik]

^^ Thats heartbreaking!!! 35K!!! :O
But thats like direct converting dollars rite? Usually price in India is a lot lower than the marked US price... So, is it possible to get it near 25K in India?

Otherwise i might settle for E PL1. (Since u told me abt minotla lenses, i am trying to move away from Nex.. due to lack of in body IS... )

 

[sujoyp]

I quoted the price from flipkart

BTW look at this link and if possible many threads in that site...u may feel more confident after that about using old manual lenses with adapter on EPL1

Minolta AF Mount & Lenses on E-PL1 - Micro Four Thirds User Forum

*www.mu-43.com/attachments/f40/4324d1306162808t-minolta-af-mount-lenses-e-pl1-image-515324746.png

 

[Soumik]

Thanks for the link.. The forum is really good for getting to know the quality of the micro four thirds..
One small question... The price of the PEN series in India seems to be a direct conversion of the US price... except for E PL1. While E PL1 and the NEX 3K and 5K seems to be quite fairly priced for Indian standards. eg: Seeing US listing, i thought of going for E PM1, which should be cheaper than Nex 3K, but instead, its costlier than 5K. Y is this so?

Considering the current market price, Is it advisable to go for E PM1 over NEX 5K?

Or an EPL1 would be just fine? (would save me a lot of cash )

 

[sujoyp]

yes EPM1 is better than EPL1 in every way...To tell u the truth I thought we were discussing about Sony's New nex 5N and C3
nex 5k and 3k r older models of 2010

At smart shoppers EPM1 is selling for 27k
Olympus E-PM1 DSLR Camera with 14-42mm Lens

And if u buy four third cam do experiment with adapters and old lenses...u will be amazed by the money u will save...just like I use nikon's old manual macro lens which I got for 5k whereas all the macro lenses cost more than 15-17k

 

[Soumik]

Oh ok.
But Nex 5N isnt a very big leap over nex 5K.. so, they should produce similar results. In any case.. i didnt find Nex 5N in Indian sites.. Whats the price of in here?

That site u mentioned... Is it reliable? I mean i never heard of it earlier... I am still about 2 weeks away from buying... Is there any chance of the price dropping? Since only few sites are listing the new PEN series, i take it that they are just launched in India?

Yeah... thats exactly the flexibility i would want from a camera. Something that isnt huge and a mess to carry around, but gives me the option to upgrade whenever i want...
I saw many posts in MU43 and seems numerous ppl are applauding the PEN series. Seems they are really good cameras with top of the line pic quality, and the PEN mini has the same pic quality as that of the flagship EP3, just in a lower end body and lesser manual controls. Perfect really for amateurs like me .

 

[sujoyp]

I too didnt find there price anywhere

I have heard of it but never bought from them...everyone says 1st call them and ask about stock then only put the order...check if they have COD then there is no problem at all

hope to see ur EPM1 soon do post the pic of camera here...I just want to see exactly how it looks

 

[Soumik]

Thanks..
Offcourse will post pics once i get my hands on it.
I am hoping to get it soon. Will call the Olympus dealer and confirm if E PM1 is available with them. I heard somewhere that its not available in India.. :S Anyways.. the official Indian site has price quoted there.. so its definitely avaiable...

 

[sujoyp]

yes if official site have the MRP quoted then its available/launched in India ...good luck

 

[Soumik]

I called a retailer in Kolkata for the price. He quoted 27.5K for EPM1 and 32K for EPL3.
But he was insisting on me buying Panasonic GF1 instead.. he was saying its a lot better. He's selling it for 21K. Truely speaking.. I havent seen any reviews of it yet.. Its a pretty old model. Any idea how this is when compared to the new PEN series?