changing lenses on my g3 is a pain - whats a fixed lense alternative?

johndoe1

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The camera is great but changing the lenses is a pain.. whats the best fixed lense alternative?

would be great if it had a viewfinder of some description - this is a killer feature of my g3.
 
Canon G1-X or Fuji X10
 
The camera is great but changing the lenses is a pain.. whats the best fixed lense alternative?

would be great if it had a viewfinder of some description - this is a killer feature of my g3.

If its just changing lenses you don't like and are not too concerned about bulk, have you considered the Panasonic 14-140mm lens?
 
the 14-140 looks a good lens but expensive and not sure it would be great for potrait shots with the f4/5.8 though
 
the 14-140 looks a good lens but expensive and not sure it would be great for potrait shots with the f4/5.8 though

I think the Canon G1X is about f5.8 at the long end, there are compact cameras with larger apertures at the long end, but the sensors are much smaller, so shallow DOF of field might not be any better.
 
I think thats why I got the g3 in the first place, I have the 20mm pancake f1.7 and its great at what it does - I also have the kit lens and that ok for general stuff. But the lens changing for me is a pain.. as an example - taking video footage of kids at pool recently and then wanted to take some potrait shots of my kids and nieces / nephews.. have to change lens at pool with suncream on my hands - not good.

No other suggestions? the fuji x10 sensor is smaller than I would have liked - then fuji x100 looks like a good bit of kit but its a fixed lens..
 
If you are just looking for a camera to cover the focal length range of just something like the X10, then I'm not sure why you couldn't just use the G3 with the kit lens? as it covers a similar range and would have similar DOF control given the larger sensor of the G3.
 
the kit lens doesnt give the nice blurred background like the pancake lens does, maybe I'm asking too much.

I want a single lens or fixed camera that has a zoom, can blur background for nice potrait shots and has a big sensor for obvious reasons.
 
I understand what you are saying, i'm just suggesting that getting a camera with a smaller sensor, but with a faster lens at the long end, might not end up having any better abilities at blurring the background than your G3 with the kit lens.

I know you don't want to change lenses, but do you have, or would you consider the Olympus 45mm F1.8 for you G3, it is quite cheap (around £250) and is a stunning performer wide open, i have one and it is a wonderful lens, and can give lovely blurry backgrounds. I don't think you're going to get an all in one solution that can match that.

I know its a lot of money, but the new panasonic 12-35 F2.8, it has a constant F2.8 aperture so will give quite nice out of focus backgrounds at the long end.

As far as an all in one solution is concerned, the fuji X10 is very nice, i had one, but i'd really look at seeing photos taken at the longest end wide open, and compare the background to the kit lens you have now. I recently sold my X10, otherwise i could have done the test for you with the panasonic kit lens.

I do have a Sony RX100 which has a larger sensor which i can compare to the panny kit lens later today, and will post pics, it gets a bit slow at the longer end, i think the X10 might be just slightly better (smaller sensor but much faster lens)

Might be also worth considering the new panasonic LX7.
 
I dont have the Olympus 45 f1.8 but hear good things about it, for me though it would be used for the same purpose as the 20mm pancake I already own but it doesnt auto focus so would be no good for video.

The 12-35 f2.8 is out of budget.

Don't you miss a viewfinder on the RX100?

I'll take a look at the LX7

thanks you are very helpful - it is most appreciated.
 
I dont have the Olympus 45 f1.8 but hear good things about it, for me though it would be used for the same purpose as the 20mm pancake I already own but it doesnt auto focus so would be no good for video.

The 12-35 f2.8 is out of budget.

Don't you miss a viewfinder on the RX100?

I'll take a look at the LX7

thanks you are very helpful - it is most appreciated.

The Oly 45mm F1.8 autofocuses perfectly on the Pana G3, in fact it is much much quicker than the 20mm.

It has very different characteristics to the 20mm, including much greater subject isolation, due to longer focal length, it is not at all the same as the 20mm, and i doubt if many people would use them both for the same purpose, that said i can understand if you don't want to add another lens to your collection.

The RX100 replaced my Canon S95 (which has no viewfinder) and the X10, which i never used the viewfinder as i did not find it very good (compared to DSLR And GH2) it is good for its class though.

When i need a viewfinder i use my Panasonic GH2, i love the swivel screen also.
 
I use an oly 45mm on my g2 infact its very rarly off it, it gives lovely bokeh and is sharp even wide open.
Heres an example.
 

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i think i may give the olympus 45mm a go and sell my 20mm pancake, thanks all.
 
Aaaaggghhh now looking at buying the rx100. Nit sure what's holding me back. Maybe lack of viewfinder or bokeh questionable?
 
I liked the X10 as I got decent bokeh on it...having said that can I find some great examples...no but heres a couple that show the X10 if it helps..

1.

Ball.jpg


2.

Creeper1.jpg


3.

Pen1.jpg


4.

Moss1.jpg


5.

Rose1.jpg
 
Aaaaggghhh now looking at buying the rx100. Nit sure what's holding me back. Maybe lack of viewfinder or bokeh questionable?

I have the RX100, its a nice compact.

I think you really need to decide what your needs a priorities are, I think the only real reason to consider the RX100 if you want a camera as small as possible with decent image quality and features.

If being small is your number one priority, the RX100 is a sensible choice, however, if you're not as concerned about size, i think there are many more appropriate options.

If you want good bokeh, at anything other than close up, you are really going to need to look look at wide aperture lenses on largish sensors, ideally at longish focal lengths.

The distance to your subject, and the distance of your subject from the background makes a big difference regarding out of focus backgrounds.

Even a small sensor camera can achieve out of focus backgrounds with close up subjects , or at very long focal lengths (such as superzooms), but in more everyday scenarios you are not going to get much subject separation with a compact.

Everything is a compromise, if you want the best bokeh you might consider a full frame camera with 85mm F1.4 lens, but this combo is expensive and heavy, using your G3 with the Oly 45 F1.8 is a good price/size compromise.

If you are happy with out of focus backgrounds on only relatively close up subjects, and need a super compact option the RX100 or similar might be a good compromise.
 
whilst size is not a deal breaker a compact is always going to get more use

99% of the photos I take are of my family and friends.. the only bokeh I am inteserted in is when taking pics of humans, either potrait or full body shots. In those situations I can place myself close enough to achieve subject isolation, or at least I think I can.

what is drawing me to the Sony is the p&s capabilities for me and more my wife, I am slowly learning about shooting but my wife has no interest and never will

I might wait for a few more reviews of the Panasonic LX7 to roll through to see how it fares.

Oh one question - hows the video on the RX100? this is also quite important to me.
 
whilst size is not a deal breaker a compact is always going to get more use

99% of the photos I take are of my family and friends.. the only bokeh I am inteserted in is when taking pics of humans, either potrait or full body shots. In those situations I can place myself close enough to achieve subject isolation, or at least I think I can.

what is drawing me to the Sony is the p&s capabilities for me and more my wife, I am slowly learning about shooting but my wife has no interest and never will

I might wait for a few more reviews of the Panasonic LX7 to roll through to see how it fares.

Oh one question - hows the video on the RX100? this is also quite important to me.

Do you have the kit lens for you G3? if so how do you feel about the out of focus backgrounds, shooting at the longest end, wide open? On paper, the RX100 will not be as good as that, due to smaller aperture and smaller sensor.

At the widest end, the RX100 might be slightly better than with G3 and kit lens at widest focal length and widest aperture, however, 28mm is typically not used for portraits as it distorts features.

Your 20mm F1.7 used wide open will give much better out of focus backgrounds than the RX100 and kit lens at comparative focal lengths.

Maybe have a play with the kit you have, and let us know what level of OOF background you would find acceptable?

The RX100 video quality is really good, much better than the Canon S95 and Fuji X10 i had previously, the only disappointment for me has been the image stabilisation, I think the S95 is better in that regard, though of coarse the larger sensor of the RX100 is harder to stabilize.

I'm looking at getting a mini steadicam for use with the RX100, a monopod or tripod would help too, I think if its supported its very good.
 
Yes I have the kit lens.. embarrasingly enough when I tried taking potrait shots with it originally it I was using the wide end as I assumed I had to have the lowest "f" number possible. That's why I purchased the 20mm.. and that did give great bokeh but by its own admittance induces distortion at close range.

the 20mm has gone now.. sold to a forum member

I will try the long end of the kit lens and see how it fares at bokeh.. if its good enough then there isnt a need for me to change it out in any case as it will mean I dont need to change the lens (original problem for me and reason for opening the thread)

Good to hear video is nice but bad that I/S isnt that great.

Aren't you worried about getting tasered off the cops using that mini steadicam?
 
Good to hear video is nice but bad that I/S isnt that great.

Aren't you worried about getting tasered off the cops using that mini steadicam?

I like living dangerously :)

I've only compared the IS to the S95, it might be worth seeking other peoples opinions regarding the RX100 and other cameras, as a comparison to one camera is hardly definitive.
 

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