Advice needed...

alfaholic · May 15, 2015

Hello everyone...

It is now 4 years since I bought my first DSLR, I started with D3100 and 18-105 VR, then bought a prime 35mm f1.8 G, then I sold D3100 and bought D7000 and Sigma 17-50 f2.8, and finally I upgraded to D7100 and bought Tokina 11-16 f2.8 as well, together with filters, flashes and diffusers.
I meant to say that after 4 years I have some experience which is why I am in a dilema now.

While I like many different styles and techniques, in reality my gear stays in my drawer most of the time and it is used mostly on family trips and vacations, which is nice but somehow I feel my gear is not exploited to full potential if I can say it that way.
The reason for this is mostly because my wife and I have one 3 year old boy, and we are expecting a baby in the next two months, so my hands were, are and will be occupied with baby stuff with no room or time for my photo gear.
Another thing is changing lenses, I simply do not have time to change between lenses, so my idea was to replace everything I have with some mirrorless camera and one, maybe two lenses, which will have smaller footprint, and will be maybe easier to handle.

So my question is about mirrorless cameras and lenses, I like Sony a6000 but I did not found any lens that suits my needs, like this Sigma I already have, or 35mm f1.8 on a crop sensor body.

What are your thoughts about this? Maybe this is some silly idea, feel free to comment.

(I hope you understand my broken English...)

Ron Evers · May 15, 2015

Being an APS-C format it will not be as compact as a m4/3 camera. With m4/3 (Olympus/Panasonic/Kodak & others) there is a huge selection of lenses including Pro models. Worth checking out.

BananaRepublic · May 15, 2015

Well I know nothing about mirrorless other then how they work from a technical angle. But since you will be taking photos of your kids mainly the 35mm is perfect no!

Microbois · May 16, 2015

What are your needs in terms of focal length? Maybe the standard kit lens could be enough for your needs. The Sony a6000 is a very nice camera.

alfaholic · May 17, 2015

I am usually at wider end. Kit lens is slow for my needs I suppose. This 17-50 f2.8 Sigma is very good, but nothing similar exists for a6000. I could live without Tokina, 35mm f1.8 is available for Sony for $399, I just do not know if it is good as Nikkor, but that faster zoom simply does not exist.

I looked at MFT cameras, there is much more lenses for that system, but still only 12-40 f2.8 is available, which is maybe too short.
Now I understand, the camera is not the problem, but lenses are.

Ron Evers · May 17, 2015

alfaholic said:
I am usually at wider end. Kit lens is slow for my needs I suppose. This 17-50 f2.8 Sigma is very good, but nothing similar exists for a6000. I could live without Tokina, 35mm f1.8 is available for Sony for $399, I just do not know if it is good as Nikkor, but that faster zoom simply does not exist.

I looked at MFT cameras, there is much more lenses for that system, but still only 12-40 f2.8 is available, which is maybe too short.
Now I understand, the camera is not the problem, but lenses are.

The m4/3 crop factor makes the 12-40 the equivalent of a 24-80 FOV on a full frame camera. Something to think about when making comparisons.

jaomul · May 18, 2015

While mft and other mirrorless are very good, your d7100 and selection of lenses seems very good. Rather than change and try to match it's quality, why not invest in a good carrying system. I don't mean a bag, but rather a strap set up That allows access quickly but free hands for other stuff.

sashbar · Jun 8, 2015

You can upgrade to FUJI X series, X-E2 or X-T1 or X-T10.
It will be smaller and lighter than your D7100, and FUJI glass is clearly superior to any Nikkor DX glass. You will not loose anything in IQ to say the least.
Some say FUJI X system would need a bag anyway, so there is no difference compared to a DSLR, but in my experience the difference was exactly between taking your camera with you and leaving it at home. You will need a small messenger bag for it.

Bebulamar · Jun 16, 2015

You tried to make up reason to buy a new camera. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your current camera. If you buy a new camera you will do your photography for may be a year and then put it away in the closet.

alfaholic · Jun 20, 2015

Thank you all, and sorry for my late response...

No, simply I wanted to get something smaller and easier to carry around.

I like Fuji X-T1, Olympus OMD E-M1, but I would rather stay with APS-C size sensor and I think I like Sony a6000 the most, even if it does not look good as those other two.
Now I understand that replacing camera is not such a big deal, but lenses are little bit different story.

I like very much my Sigma 17-50 f2.8, and there is nothing similar for mirrorless cameras in this price range.
Primes are available, but for 2 or 3 times more money than this 35mm f1.8 or 50mm f1.8 from Nikkor.
Things get much worse with UWA, so it is very difficult to replace Tokina 11-16 f2.8 .

I just returned from Greece after almost a month, and even my wife is pregnant and our boy was always all around the place running and swimming, I used my gear all the time, changing lenses, filters, pulled my tripod from the car numerous times, and much more. Almost like a true photographer.

I am satisfied with my photos, and it was not so difficult and time consuming to play with all in my bag, I hope things would not get much worse with one more child.

Here are some of my photos:

Bojan Bojovic 500px

I decided to keep my gear, I am satisfied with my photos and learning curve, but I seem to be lazy.

Few days a go I ordered some handsome Manfrotto sling, I will put all my gear inside and enjoy my photography I hope.

Thank you all very much...

sashbar · Jun 20, 2015

alfaholic said:
Thank you all, and sorry for my late response...

No, simply I wanted to get something smaller and easier to carry around.

I like Fuji X-T1, Olympus OMD E-M1, but I would rather stay with APS-C size sensor and I think I like Sony a6000 the most, even if it does not look good as those other two.
Now I understand that replacing camera is not such a big deal, but lenses are little bit different story.

I like very much my Sigma 17-50 f2.8, and there is nothing similar for mirrorless cameras in this price range.
Primes are available, but for 2 or 3 times more money than this 35mm f1.8 or 50mm f1.8 from Nikkor.
Things get much worse with UWA, so it is very difficult to replace Tokina 11-16 f2.8 .

I just returned from Greece after almost a month, and even my wife is pregnant and our boy was always all around the place running and swimming, I used my gear all the time, changing lenses, filters, pulled my tripod from the car numerous times, and much more. Almost like a true photographer.
I am satisfied with my photos, and it was not so difficult and time consuming to play with all in my bag, I hope things would not get much worse with one more child.

Here are some of my photos:

Bojan Bojovic 500px

I decided to keep my gear, I am satisfied with my photos and learning curve, but I seem to be lazy.
Few days a go I ordered some handsome Manfrotto sling, I will put all my gear inside and enjoy my photography I hope.

Thank you all very much...

I did not understand from your post whether you realise it or not, but, just in case, FUJI X- T1 is also APS-C. And it has a very good 16-56 f/2.8 lense which is costly but superior to your Sigma. Also, their "kit" 18-55 f/2.8 -4.0 is superb, one of my favourite FuJI lenses. Their 10-24 f/4 is slower than Tokina, but also very good. I have one and never needed larger aperture to be honest. The only negative probably is the price of FUJI lenses. But you know you are buying better glass than what Nikon or Tokina are offering .

alfaholic · Jun 20, 2015

Oh yes, I know XT-1 has APS-C sensor. My problem is with the price of Fuji lenses.

Ido · Jul 6, 2015

Maybe you should just supplement your current gear with a high-quality compact camera, such as one of the Sony RX100-series cameras, Canon G7 X, one of the Fujifilm X100-series cameras or the Ricoh GR. (The new GR II is pretty much identical, so no real need to spend more on that.)

alfaholic · Jul 7, 2015

Last week we replaced my wife's Nikon P310 with Olympus E-PL3 together with 12-42 1:3.5-5.6 kit lens so now officially I kind of entered the mirrorlsess world through the small door.
Yes, It is and old camera, and this kit lens is a little bit slow compared to P310 lens, but our Nikon warranty expired so I thought this could be nice excuse to try mirrorless and give my wife something more fashionable for almost the same price and two years of warranty.

Things look little bit different now. It is nice to have smaller camera and lenses, but I totally forgot about my large hands and something this small simply does not feel very nice in my hands.
I am sure OM-D is much better ergonomically but now D7100 feels just right for my hands.

Other than that, it is nice to have mechanical shutter compared to fake shutter sound in P310, but I expected it to be more subtle and sophisticated than my D7100 which must raise mirror, open and close shutter, than lower the mirror down, but DSLR is much smoother and it produces much less shake and movement, with more pleasant noise.
I do not know is this only the case with this cheap Olympus, but I do not like it. Also, on a tripod it must be used with anti-shock option, or photos will be blurred.

All in all, we like this little camera. My wife is not so technical about it so she does not care about less pixels, slower lens, and not so good HI ISO results, but she said that now her photos look much better, so I am very pleased.

jsaras · Jul 16, 2015

Another vote for the Sony RX100 series. It fits in my pocket and I shoot my kiddo with it very often. I've found the pre-AF function to be terrific for fast focusing.

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