Digital camera that looks/performs like SLR

[Jochen_S]

<blockquote>

<p>wow, that Fuji XT1 is beautiful! Thanks David!! I better start saving. Why are DSRLs/D cameras so expensive anyway? Is it just difficult to make them correctly and with precision?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I'd see it relatively: A new film Leica is 4200Euro, a digital one 5500. The gap was not much different back when there were a Pentax film *ist and a *ist D. If you want to pick up something for a song look at used Samsung SLRs - 200Euro with kit zoom. - OK, there are no beautiful classic film-camera lookalikes flooding the used market. BTW a new Chinese copy / version of your Minoltza sold for 175 Euro in 1993. <br>

Fuji X-T1 is their roughed all weather model sold at a premium. - There is a cheaper X-T10 too, going for 1000 Euro packaged with a pair of not too bad consumer zooms. - I haven't dabbled with these bodies but focusing for example is "by wire" i.e. it senses you turning the ring and uses the AF motor to follow the movement and the menu felt less intuitive to me on the older Fuji bodies I got. <br>

Fast lenses: Sigma just announced to sell a pair of f1.8 zooms now. - neither cheap nor compact, but if you crave them... In general the lenses for digital became maybe a tad slower. - Its easier to compensate by cranking up ISO or built in OIS now and who wants to carry heavy gear anymore?</p>

[tholte]

<p>If I were you, I would get a used Nikon D300 and a new or used Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens. Can get both of these items for a total of $400 US. The D300 has all the film body knobs and has a pretty simple menu. Try this system out for a few months to see if you like the digital photo world. If you don't, you can sell both items for almost what you paid for them. If you see the advantages of a digital camera and the creativity it affords, you can then take your time and then figure out if what system fits your needs best, ie., DSLR, FX, DX, mirrorless etc. </p>

[EricM]

<p>I just picked up a used X-T1 to test the Fuji waters and love it. It has three large round dials on the top for controlling shutter, exposure comp, and iso, as well as an aperture ring on the lens where there is supposed to be one. It's a joy to use</p>

[andylynn]

I have an X-T1. Love it. Phenomenal camera.

 

I also have an X-E2, and if I'm being honest, since the v4 firmware update it's almost the same camera as the X-T1. Build

quality is half a notch lower, EVF is a bit smaller and on the left instead of centered, not water resistant ( but most of the

lenses aren't water resistant anyway) and ISO is through menus instead of knobs, but everything else is the same. Right

now Adorama will sell you an X-E2 with the addon grip and the 18-55 for $699. That's what I'd buy if I were new to the

system and didn't want to spend X-T1 or X-Pro2 money.

[phule]

<p>[[Why are DSRLs/D cameras so expensive anyway?]]</p>

<p>They're not. Just the ones you're interested in are expensive. Canon is offering (albeit refurbished) a modern DSLR and kit zoom lens for $250. </p>

[bebu_lamar]

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<p>With regard to menu system layout I think you'll find it impossible to find a digital camera that is as simple as an SLR film camera's.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>While they are no SLR but the Leica M-60 special edition comes very close in term of operational aspect to its film version M7. It has no menu and no LCD screen.</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Dust-free at home? What does sunlight look like streaming through a crack in the shades? Try a class 1 room with HEPA filters. A separate distilled water rinse is good, but a Photoflo solution in DI water is probably sufficient. Use it once and toss it.</p>

<p>If you keep the rubber squeegee clean and use it wet, you won't get scratches. In a pinch (pun intended), you can strip excess water by running down the length of the film between two fingers. Since you can't get dust-free (except in internet dreams), fast drying will keep the inevitable dust from sticking. Removing excess water is the best way to get fast drying, short of a heated cabinet with filtered air (got room for a 6' cabinet). Too long in a heated cabinet and the emulsion will shrink and curl the film until it equilibrates. </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Dust-free at home? What does sunlight look like streaming through a crack in the shades? Try a class 1 room with HEPA filters. A separate distilled water rinse is good, but a Photoflo solution in DI water is probably sufficient. Use it once and toss it.</p>

<p>If you keep the rubber squeegee clean and use it wet, you won't get scratches. In a pinch (pun intended), you can strip excess water by running down the length of the film between two fingers. Since you can't get dust-free (except in internet dreams), fast drying will keep the inevitable dust from sticking. Removing excess water is the best way to get fast drying, short of a heated cabinet with filtered air (got room for a 6' cabinet). Too long in a heated cabinet and the emulsion will shrink and curl the film until it equilibrates.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>While they are no SLR but the Leica M-60 special edition comes very close in term of operational aspect to its film version M7. It has no menu and no LCD screen.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Menus are there because they are useful. Without menus, you are flying blind and denied access to most of the camera's features. We don't buy cameras because they look good, but because they get the job done. If an 8 year old can master a video game in twenty minutes, surely an adult can deal with a digital camera. Having a menu and not using it is better than not having a menu when you need one.<br>

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[bebu_lamar]

<p>To the OP! I do not consider the Olympus OMD series as one of them. Besides the fact that they are not SLR, and although they look like the old SLR the controls are not the same. The big dial on top is the mode selector and not the shutter speed dial like most old SLR's. Well on the OM film camera the dial was for ISO. The Fuji X-T1 is very close except that it has exposure compensation at the thumb which I believe a lot of people want but not inline with the old SLR design. In the old days one control exposure by adjusting aperture and shutter speed. Today a lot of people does that by the EC control. The aperture and shutter speed may be set manually but they don't really control the exposure (because the camera is on auto ISO) so to deviate exposure from what the meter thinks one would use the EC control. </p>

[andylynn]

<p>BeBu: You can also take the camera out of Auto ISO and control all three variables (ISO/Shutter/Aperture) manually using dials.</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>Andy! I always do that but it seems that the EC is the most important control nowaday. I actually never use it and don't like it to take a good spot on the camera.</p>

[andylynn]

Oh. Well I find it pretty useful myself :)

[john_tran14]

<p>I do think that the manufacturers prefer the EC control over the other three (speed, aperture, iso), and lots of people agree to that. But since I use only Manual mode, EC becomes useless, and the Mode dial is the dial I hate the most and it is always there except some top cameras like the Canon 1D.</p>

[EricM]

What is EC?

[ciaran_mcmenemy]

<p>EC means 'exposure compensation'. Just a dial that adjusts the time (usually between +/- 2 stops) for auto use. I much prefer AE lock though.<br>

Does the XT1 have an AE lock?<br>

It's a shame that it's an electronic viewfinder - it will kill the batteries - but I think it's the closest I can get. I'd like the picture to be 'real' in the 'finder, but oh well can't have it all/././</p>

[anne_marigold]

<p>I used to have a number of Nikons including my favourite the FE2. I now use a Nikon D90 which I love but partly laziness and partly all the onboard info I mostly use it in auto! Sorry!!! What an extreme from the FE2 and the FM. Still I like it. I need to use my beloved 200mm micro with it which will take me right back to manual mode.</p>

[EricM]

<p>Lol, of course. I can't believe that didn't trickle in. Thanks Ciaran. Yes, within your thumbs reach on the back, the x-t1 has ae-l, af-l, and the 'focus assist' button. One can of course assign any of these buttons in the custom menu to perform which ever task you wish.</p>

[EricM]

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<p>Oh. Well I find it pretty useful myself :)</p>

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<p> <br>

I find the EC dial really useful too. </p>

[Brad_]

<p>>>> I'm wondering if there are some digital cameras that look like film cameras and have similar layouts.</p>

<p>Sure. But I'd go a little deeper before making a choice. I've been using a Fuji X-T1 for two years now. I suppose it has that kind of look. It's a fine camera for casual shooting.</p>

<p>It's handy and fit's well between my iPhone which I use most of the time, and my Canon full-frame. Fuji's 10-24mm lens is what I have on it most of the time, though I've had a 23mm f/1.4 which I didn't care for.</p>

<p>Still, be aware the the X-T1 has compromises commensurate with its nice small-camera attributes and features. Not a camera I'd use for some types of projects I like to do, which is why I still have my Canon.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.citysnaps.net/showkase/recent/">Lots of photos here from all three cameras...</a></p>