Need suggestion in buying my second camera

<p>Hi All,<br>

I m not a professional photographer, but I love to click photos. I have been using my Lumix point and shoot from past 3 years. Now I want to change it and willing to upgrade it. I have been reading lot of posts on internet and somewhat confused about, what should be better for me.<br />I would have love to take DSLR, but only reason which is pushing me back is its bulkyness and weight.<br>

My preferences will be --<br />- I love to travel and really walk for long sometimes. I will go for non-dslr's if I can get same image quality in them.<br />- My photography will not be in sports/actions or it doesn't require very fast capturing.<br />- I would definitely like to have some control on fuctions and can play and experiment with them.<br />- Much of time, I will be clicking landscpaes, family, gathering, mountains, desearts, so it means a bit of everything.<br />- Occassionally will shoot video also and expect it to be good.<br />- I may not go beyond 750$.<br />- Not sure, if I plan to choose a photography class sometime later, will it require to have DSLR ?<br />- Wifi, GPS not required.<br>

Apart from DLSR's, MILC and M43 are also impressing me. Currently I was looking at Panasonic G6 and also Canon 100D. Except Canon 100D, all DSLR's will be weighting atleast 760 grams.<br />Sony Alpha SLT series, Olympus PM2 and Sony NEX6 are also in my list to choose from.<br>

I am new to this field and so many reviews posts confused me. I would really appreciate if experts can suggest me what would be better according to my preferences. Hope I am clear in, what I expect.<br />Once I get some suggestions for few cameras, I will narrow down my list and read more on them.<br>

Regards<br />Abhishek</p>

<p>I'd advise a Pentax Q7.</p>

<p>A very short first advice: go to a shop, and try these cameras in your own hands. See which cameras feel right (meaning, they're comfortable to hold and buttons are in the right place). Especially check if the smaller bodies with large® lenses still balance comfortably for you.<br>

Then narrow down your list to those who feel best to you, which will make your choice a whole lot easier. The key difference between all cameras you mention is handling, not their image quality or capabilities (unless you have some very specific wishes unmentioned so far). So, how they feel in your hand is really what makes the difference.</p>

<p><em>(all of the cameras on your list are OK for your preferences, so I leave those unanswered; if a DSLR is required for whatever class you enlist in, it's a bad class so take that as a sign to find a better course)</em></p>

<p>Patrick - Pentax Q7 seems to be good, but it will be released after 2 months.<br>

Wouter thanks. I visited best buy most of the time and they mostly only Canon and Nikon and few compact camera. Pentax and Plympus were not there, so I was relying on pictures and reviews on blogs. May be I need to check more stores.</p>

<p>I have narrowed down my choices. And here it is what I think -<br />Panasonic G6 is not available os of now. Do we know, when it is goign to be for sale ?<br />I can see on Amazon, Panasonic DMC-G5KK is there. Are there major difference between G5 and G6, if I can go with first one ? G5 is more than 200$ lower than G6. Another question about G5/6, it doesn't have Image Stabilization. Does it make a big difference ?<br />Olympus EPL-5 - I couldn't found this in stores. Need to check out more stores to see it physically.<br />Canon EOS M - Was reading about it and few blogs say that it is having auto-focus problem. Is it true ?<br />Sony Alpha SLT-A57 - Few blogs says it is 750+ grams (which equal to usual DSLR) and some says it is lighter. Not <br />getting correct weight.<br />Above is at one category. ORELSE, I will go with Canon T3i.<br>

What are your thoughts please ?</p>

<p>So, I am near to my decision now :-) I am just back from a camera store and checked various cameras there. I have narrowed down my choices to following camera.<br>

- Panasonic G5 with 14-42mm lens is 470$. G6 looks little better but 290$ expensive then this one.<br>

- Sony NEX-3NL/B - 500$<br>

- Olympus E-PL5 with 14-42mm lens is 500$<br>

- Pentax Q series. They didn't had any of Q series camera, so didn't got chance to see that.<br>

When I asked about EOS-M, store representative said that others choosen cameras are better then EOS-M in concern of support, looks and performance. What do you suggest in these ?</p>

<p>Depending on your budget and wanting a smaller body [ than the average DSLR ] I suggest the G range by Panasonic. I had the G3 and passed it to my son who is wrapped with it :-) after an FZ30 when I got myself a GH2 which is a 'nice size and weight' for me ... probably similar to the SLRs I used to have. IMO DSLRs are big and clunky but many like them :-) <br />I was very happy with the G3 but now enjoy 'more knobs' with the GH, instead of going into the menu. So I don't know what the later models have that my G3 doesn't for practical everyday photography.<br />With some of your selections it seems to me to be a mistake to buy a compact APS-C body which needs DSLR lens to operate when most of the weight is in the glass and MFT has its own lighter lenses. I have seen a NEX with its kit lens hanging off somebody's neck and it seemed the same size as my GH with the 14-140 :-)<br />Panasonic/Lumix have stabilisation in their lenses[OIS] while Olympus have it in the body[iBIS]. I bought a Pen to have stabilisation for my legacy lenses but for everyday use I use my GH. So there is no great difference in use just what you can use with each. I have had OIS/IBIS for so long now I accept it as an essential feature though which one doesn't bother me.<br />Before I gave the G3 away I used its kit lens with the Pen with great results but now it lives with one of my legacy lens.</p>

<p>Further to WW itallics .... I would suggest that MFT is in all respects except for the lack of a mirror a DSLR though many don't seem to appreciate the reality of the situation. That is the G and GH models in the Panasonic stable but not the GF. The absence of the mirror is a plus point to me.</p>

<p>I am excluding Sony and Pentax as of now. Thinking between G5 and E-PL5. One practical thing I noticed is, E-PL5's lcd screen is more touch-sensitive than G5, but it is always open unlike G5. If I keep it in bag, I may have fear to get it scratched with something. G5's screen can be folded inside which is always safe. Is it a valid point ?</p>

<p>I sold all my Nikon gear and bought an Olympus OM-D. I tend to use the EVF viewfinder more than the rear screen for taking photos. Image quality is better than my old Nikon D300. The Panasonic G series is a little behind the OMD for high ISO performance (I compared it with my son's G3) by about 2/3 stop. Of the cameras you have suggested, the Panasonic G5 would seem to fit the bill very well. I would find the lack of viewfinder on the EPL5 a bit of a pain, but image quality is very good I believe (same as OMD) and you get in-body image stabilisation too.</p>

<p>I got a very good deal from Samy for Panasonic G5 + 14-42mm + 45-140mm + 16gb sd card. Finally I am happy. Thanks to all for helping me in finalising my camera.<br>

Need last recommendation, being newbie and my first complicated camera, is there any book (or video) specifically for G5, which can help me to learn on this? As of now I am ok with auto, but would definitely like to play to get maximum of it. As of now, I am just new to this. Still think where to use 14-42mm and where to use 45-140mm :-)</p>

<p>You can check Amazon for a guide to your camera. Meanwhile read the manual that came with it. There are many good basic photography books. My two favorites are, "National Geographic Complete Photography", and "Understanding Photography Field Guide" by Bryan Peterson. Peterson's book, "Understnding Exposure" is also good, but his Guide is more inclusive.</p>

<p>If the manual is like my latest one from Panasonic it will not be much help as these cameas are so complicated with so many options that the manual needs a manual to understand it.<br>

In one instance a vital piece of information was a line of small type incidental to the message on that page which was causing me considerable grief until I got the answer at Dpreview blog.</p>

<p>Mark, there is no book for this specific model, I tried finding on Amazon and other places. Yes, I got some good reviews for "Understanding Exposure", if I want to learn it from basics. Is Guide more helpful for a beginner ?<br>

JC, yes this is complicated camera :-) . If you also have G5, would you mind telling me, what custom settings you keep on yoiur camera ? I am basically looking for, what should be preferred settings on C1 and C2-1, C2-2 and C2-3 and other function buttons.</p>

<p>Hi Abhishek,<br /><br />Stop reading lots of reviews over the internet; many of them are biased and framed to promote various brands. The best way to choose a camera is to physically go to a store and try your hands on them. This way you will know everything such as how much they weight, how good will be the grip, what functions they have, and much more. You may also buy them online but make sure you choose a really good store that is absolutely genuine. <br /><br /></p>