Help! Travelcam to compliment my DSLR.

Englischdude

Senior Member
Hi Nikonites,

as I am travelling extensively in my job I am looking for a camera which can easily accompany me during my travels. Lugging my DSLR gear around with me is just not an option, so I have recently been considering a mirrorless/compact cam. I would like to have the control functionality of my dslr, budget up to say €1000.

As I know nothing about Mirrorless I am hoping on some tips from you experts out there. A bonus would be also if I could use my existing Nikon mount lenses (with adapters if necessary).

Thanks in advance for your advice!
Martin
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
I'd go Sony if it was me. I don't remember which model exactly, but they have a fine pocketable camera WITH an electronic viewfinder. I just can't stand a camera that is without a viewfinder wether it being optical or electronic.
 

Eduard

Super Mod
Staff member
Super Mod
As I've written in other threads, I'm in a similar situation. I wanted as complete of a kit as possible which would allow me to shot RAW and that was small enough to bring easily. For me, that is a Nikon 1 V2, 6.7-13mm UWA, 10-100mm (non-PD) and the 70-300mm. The 70-300 was a splurge but honestly makes the kit complete. The best thing is that this kit fits into a Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 20 which I can easily carry in my work backpack.

Interestingly, Thomas Stirr, who arguably gets the most out of Nikon 1 gear, recently added the 10-100mm to his kit to create a Nikon 1 lens trinity. Here is his review. Check out his site for other Nikon 1 articles.

If it was me, I'd start with either a V2 (if you prefer an EVF) or J5 with a non-PD 10-100mm. Add the 6.7-13mm which is one of my favorite wide angle lenses on any system.

I have a V2 and my wife has a J5 so if you have specific questions, let me know.
 

Englischdude

Senior Member
thanks for your feedback.

My first choice was to consider the home brand, however I would worry about that lil sensor and low light performance. I see the v4 may be announced soon, have to see what they bring.

Marcel, what is your reasoning behind the Sony choice?

I spent many an hour yesterday researching, the FUJIs look fantastic but the lens prices are a joke. I come from an Oly background and dont want to go back to ft/mft due to low light performance again, I have only had bad experience with samsung customer service, canon have nothing with a viewfinder from what I can see..... which has left me also looking at sony. I think I will take a closer look at the A6000.
 

Eduard

Super Mod
Staff member
Super Mod
My first choice was to consider the home brand, however I would worry about that lil sensor and low light performance. I see the v4 may be announced soon, have to see what they bring.

Martin: Here are a bunch of examples of low light with various Nikon 1 models and lenses. I did run them through Noiseless Pro. They will never equal a DSLR but I'm okay with the tradeoff.

LowLight_1.jpg

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LowLight_3.jpg

LowLight_4.jpg

LowLight_5.jpg

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LowLight_7.jpg

LowLight_8.jpg

LowLight_9.jpg

LowLight_10.jpg
 

Eduard

Super Mod
Staff member
Super Mod
I spent many an hour yesterday researching, the FUJIs look fantastic but the lens prices are a joke.

Speaking from personal experience, I don't think the Fuji lens prices are out of line with other systems. According to the European members in Fuji forums, Fuji UK has great prices on refurbs. The Fuji X-T1 with a 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 is a nice travel setup if you wanted one lens. To be honest I have purchased my body and all of the lenses (10-24, 18-55, 55-200, 23, 27, 35) used at Fred Miranda and have less invested than just my D800e and Tammy 24-70mm f/2.8. With the X-Pro2 expected to be announced in the next couple weeks and potentially a X-T2 late summer/early fall, the second hand market is pretty robust.
 

Englischdude

Senior Member
The Fuji X-T1 with a 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 is a nice travel setup if you wanted one lens..

as well as the x-t1, I have also seen the X-T10 with this 18-55 lens new for about 1100 euro. i will check the used market for lenses as you suggest, however a quick general comparison between the sony and fuji aps-c lenses reveals that the fujinons are considerably more expensive, but I am talking new and here on mainland europe.

the pics do look great by the way, thanks for posting. My wife particularly likes the horse and shadow :)
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
thanks for your feedback.

Marcel, what is your reasoning behind the Sony choice?

I thought you were looking for a pocketable camera. Sony RX100 is and so is the Panasonic Z50 I think that has a 30x zoom and evf. All these are under your price watch limit.
Of course if you decide to go more expensive the IQ will get better, but to the price of pocket ability.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Sony a6000. Great, compact camera. Sensor is the equivalent of the D7100 as I see it (may be the same one). You can get adapters to use your Nikon lenses. The kit lens is plenty sharp. Any of the longer zooms make it impossible to "pocket" as they stick out the front significantly. I also have the 50mm f1.8 that's a great lens. The documentation sucks, but there are some decent online resources to learn the menu system. Biggest beef is that battery life is not really good, and can be horrible if you don't set up the camera correctly.

a7 is nice, but you're moving away from your compact travelcam if you go there. I love my a6000 and recommended it to a colleague who shoots Nikon (used to be a pro magazine photographer) and he has been more than pleased with it. It also has great video capability with built in stabilization, which makes it nice for travel.
 

Englischdude

Senior Member
Sony a6000. Great, compact camera. Sensor is the equivalent of the D7100 as I see it (may be the same one). You can get adapters to use your Nikon lenses. The kit lens is plenty sharp. Any of the longer zooms make it impossible to "pocket" as they stick out the front significantly. I also have the 50mm f1.8 that's a great lens. The documentation sucks, but there are some decent online resources to learn the menu system. Biggest beef is that battery life is not really good, and can be horrible if you don't set up the camera correctly.

a7 is nice, but you're moving away from your compact travelcam if you go there. I love my a6000 and recommended it to a colleague who shoots Nikon (used to be a pro magazine photographer) and he has been more than pleased with it. It also has great video capability with built in stabilization, which makes it nice for travel.

which kit lens are you referring to Jake? Here there are several options for kit lenses with the A6000
 

Eduard

Super Mod
Staff member
Super Mod
the pics do look great by the way, thanks for posting. My wife particularly likes the horse and shadow :)

Looks like you are going to have to take her to Barcelona to see it in person!!!! :)

Here is where I took the picture according to the GPS: 41°23'4" N 2°10'39" E

Screen Shot 2016-01-03 at 2.35.13 PM.jpg
 
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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
which kit lens are you referring to Jake? Here there are several options for kit lenses with the A6000

Sorry, I've only seen it bundled with the 16-50mm so I assumed that's still the case. And if you look at the bundle currently on Amazon with the 16-50 and 55-210mm you can see what I mean about it losing its "compactness" as the longer zoom makes the camera as deep as it is wide.

Funny, Amazon has a bundle with both of my lenses and it would be $50 more than buying the simple kit and the $248 50mm f1.8 separately.
 

Englischdude

Senior Member
thanks again for the info. The sony is really interesting with the kit and prime combination.

The two which, after arduous research, I am am now considering are:

- Sony a6000 with kit 16-50 and sony 50mm 1.8 prime or sigma 60mm 2.8 prime (total price amazondotde 700-750 euro)
- Fuji X-E2 with kit 18-55 f2.8-f4 (900 euro)
 

Eduard

Super Mod
Staff member
Super Mod
thanks again for the info. The sony is really interesting with the kit and prime combination.

The two which, after arduous research, I am am now considering are:

- Sony a6000 with kit 16-50 and sony 50mm 1.8 prime or sigma 60mm 2.8 prime (total price amazondotde 700-750 euro)
- Fuji X-E2 with kit 18-55 f2.8-f4 (900 euro)

I'll have to defer Jake on the Sony but I am very impressed with the Fuji 18-55.
 

Chito

Senior Member
If you are okay with no EVF, I think the Nikon J5 is something you might want to consider. The focus is really fast. The lenses that Nikon has been coming out for this series have been good. The J5 in particular is small and the kit lens is equivalent to 27-80mm on a full frame. The 32 f1.2 and the 18.5 f1.8 as well as the 70-300mm zoom are excellent lenses.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
According to various sites, the A6100 is expected to be released in March. Depending on your need and timing, it might impact your decision. Get the newer body or take advantage of close-out prices of older body?

Link: (SR3) Sony A6100 is shipping in March. Rumored to feature a new 36MP BSI sensor? | sonyalpharumors

Was just coming here to post this. The addition of the silent motor and touch screen make this a killer camera. My brother was just showing me the Canon EOS M3 and it was a damn impressive camera, and had some stuff I wish the a6000 had, but it's missing an electronic viewfinder. The a6100 specs look great, but what I'm not sure about is the 36MP APS-C. I know Canon has gone over 50MP's full frame on the 5DS (pretty impressive - I shot with it over Christmas) so 36MP on is comparable, if a little more densely packed.

The only other thing I would want is a fully articulating back screen, either up, down or to the side, so that you can see it from in front of the camera.
 
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