Lessons

Lesson Info

Compact and Entry Level Class

I will turn it over to Barnaby. Teoh introduced our lovely panel guests, also immediate. Right? We have Allison. Allison Johnson, who's one of staff writers on deep review, joined this quite recently. Camera view should be talking us through some of the gear and the technical about to do next time. Have we got Richard Butler? Who's the reviews? A list of the site and Richard, along with Alison, sure did a great job with the roundup content. Hopefully, you've seen go up in the past few days on DP Review and then at the end, then we have shown these are features Anderson and he'll be leading the live studio shooting segment. Second number two. Awesome. Awesome. So let's just get started. So in just first segment, Barnaby, we are going to be going over the different we're gonna do a product roundup so over the different classes of cameras and talking about sort of the best of class in this last year. And what do you guys recommend? So we're gonna kind of start at the lower end and work ou...

r way up. So I think we're gonna start with the enthusiast cameras. Yes, we are. We gonna start compact cameras on dial. Handover to Alison, Richard. Talk us through the copper this year. All right? Yeah. So let's start. Let's talk about let's talk about these compacts. What makes thes different from regular compacts? Well, essentially, it's it comes down to censor size. Here we're talking about cameras such as the Cannon S, Siri's or the Sony Rx 100 on. The big difference between these on conventional compacts is that the sensor is bigger on that's anywhere from 50% bigger, up to four times bigger with the Rx 100. So for those not familiar with it, sensor size is the main thing determined to image quality. Lens speed is also a factor, but but sensor sizes is a big deal. So these air cameras that offer a considerably bigger center so that better image quality in a nice, sensibly small pack package. And so what? What is it that when when we're talking about these enthusiast compacts versus what is the what is the versus? What are the other compacts? That would say? And when I'm saying other compacts, I mean thing sort of a $200 point and shoot, you might already own kind of exists, uh, finical elf in the U. S. Okay, Just just generally the things you're used to seeing on the shelf at best bio. So as we talk about these tell us about Are they Are they all in this class? Kind of roughly the same. We're talking about a bigger sensor size. What are the different variables that you look at when you're looking at this classic camera? There's quite a range. They go from the very pocketable, such as the Canada Siris in the Sony I just mentioned. I don't know if you get close in on that. So the this is the cannon s 1 20 is very pocketable camera, but as it's a big step up in his image policy and certainly a long way ahead, if your smartphone, um and still in the pocketable category, Sony Rx 100 so again, Still very small. But as I say a sense of four times larger than most, Most compact, four times. Yeah, it's a one inch sensor, and it's it's only really driving large sensors in tiny bodies. Okay, on the artist. 100 from last year, I think in the 102 from this year. Both have a one inch sensor in the same year. But then, as you go off, arrange, there's another sort of sub segment off cameras that get larger. Start to have more external control. So if you're used to using a DSLR, it will have much more direct control. If you want to change exposure, compensation or white balance, or or really any setting shooting in manual, they have that capability. Yeah, I expect all of these models tohave manual mode. But a soon as you get more external controls, shooting manual becomes a lot more fun, and the bigger the sense of the more meaningful it is as well. An aperture control means a lot more in a bigger sense of camera than a smaller one, because you have more ability to blood backgrounds of things I learned absolutely. So let's talk about the different ones and what some of the trade offs might be in terms of your If you're looking at what are the features that you might be looking at that are gonna be stronger on one versus another? Well, particularly in pocketable ones, in order to keep them small, often the zoom range can be quite restrictive. Or maybe the lens isn't terribly bright as you go up to the less pocketable ones. This is the Olympus stylist one. You get a much longer zoom. This is 28 300 milligram flint, soon on a constant F 2.8 lens, So bright lens long zooms. Very flexible camera. It's a great camera for traveling in. And let's talk about what? When you say great lens, what do you mean by that? I mean, it's a wide aperture lends, so you can keep that captured nice and wide open. You could get a lot of light and onto the sensor on also, particularly at the long end of zoom, you can start to get some control over depth of field. Awesome. What about are there Are there any other ones that you wanna highlight in this class? Well, we really like the arts 100. And, um, it's successors or XML under two. Okay, um, just because of what we mentioned a great image quality. The big sensor inside wasn't exactly our favorite to shoot with as a shooting experience. Why's that? Um, we just found it a little bit on engaging. There's a control wheel of here on front, and it doesn't doesn't click to give you that feedback toe. Let you know when you change settings, something we're really geeky. Abound. We like, um, but they're great cameras. Just shoot with, and we'll give you just great image quality if that's what you're looking for in a compact. Can I help you? Of course. And Sony, like everyone else. Actually, I think it's fair to say, really pushing the social element of these products as well in the arts. 100 to has a pretty convincing connectivity features, you know, is they keep on trying to make inroads there. And this has a Carl Zeiss lens on it. Yeah, it is. It is a very good lance. Yeah, it's very, very fast at the wide end. Stopped down a lot of the long, but you know that's one of the compromises for the size. So it's an F 1.8 to 4.9 lens. So lovely and brighter 28 millimeter equivalent. But a long end, which is only 100 millimeter equivalent. It's F 4.9, so you start to lose some of that benefits a large sense. But in terms of what it offers in a camera, you can genuinely fits in your pocket. It's a pretty much untouched. If you want the fast lines all the way through this, you end up having to make the trade off with the bigger lenses. It's just no way around it. Things just get physically bigger, and that's got a smaller sensor in it than the Sony as well. So this still feels really solid. To me, it feels awesome. Any other recommendations for the enthusiast compacts? Well, I think that the possible end of things it's hard to go wrong with the kind of next Siri's. But if you're willing to spend a little bit more money actually, in Europe, it's It's around the same price. Then, you know, notwithstanding the points Alison made, I think the arts 100 is is probably the way to go. That's a lot more money we're talking about. $ Vs was about 300 um, in Europe at the moment there are hundreds of the same process. Really, that's amazing, in which case you probably get that it is price here in the US that you then if you do want something a bit more flexible. We've been really impressed with the Olympics stylist one just because again, just the capability it fits into a small body. Um, lots of external controls controlled. All that does click, which just gives you that bit of tactile feedback gives you a sense that you are really controlling settings. Beautiful lens cap, too. So everybody's favorite. Sorry to deal right. The rail in technical discussion. Hey, guys. Got me. Oh, that's awesome, because it is. That's a very flat, very flat line there. All right, cool. Is that way to move on to the next category? Yeah, I think we definitely the one side of the definitely ones would recommend Parachute s 1 20 years. It is a beautiful, reliable camera. It's very quick. It's very responsive. But if you want, name is cause he really in this class the hours of two and then this the stylist one. You know, we're just trying to play with it now, but it's really impressed us a lot and think I definitely recommend it for things like traveling stuff like that. All right, cool. And that's exciting. because I know later we're gonna break John. But if you're just joining us now and we're gonna after we talked about the different classes, we're gonna talk about the different scenarios and say, I'm traveling and I'm going to this country. What have you and what you recommend? Cool. So we're so we're moving on from the enthusiast compact. Now say, I want to have something that's going to give me a little bit more control, but also the ability to change lenses. So this category is sort of the entry level we're gonna use the term I L. C I personally was not familiar with. I'll see entertaining herbal lens cameras. Correct. This is not just DSLR, no, on the main difference here is, uh, this allows This is what we might call. I'll sees turn covers the entire glasses. There's Miral style sees. And then there's disallows, literally difference. There is that there's lots of mirror just how you view the image to the viewfinder. Andreas analyses do not even the image in a more conventional smartphone or compact camera way just using the LCD on the back. So let's let's start off by talking about mirror Lis because when these first came out and I heard it, I didn't I didn't get it. I don't know if I totally get it. Everybody Thedc Nala Gee, behind these muralist cameras What does that mean? So when we say America spleen instead, a lens cameras will just Marylise cameras as a short hand. More Amina cameras, which in the past you would really have needed a prism in a mirror to eat for the viewing experience. Whereas these days you know, digital picture comes straight from the sensor and you view on back of the camera, that's that's the difference means, but they've been around for about five years, and 2008 G one. Actually, we can actually show that difference by showing them here inside if we could get the lens off Icon goes the other way. There we go. So the Nikon D 7100 is a classic DSLR with the mirror box because it's got to redirect the light into the optical viewfinder. If you compare, compare that to this Fujifilm X M one. There's no optical viewfinder. There's no mirror. So the whole camera is able to be a lot slimmer if you compare, everything gets more, um, one of benefits. There is obvious since portability, but there's also just when it comes to design lenses from Alice cameras, because they could be smaller as well. On also because you don't have to, you know, because everything is electronic. You can actually build corrections into the camera to account for distortion, effects and things on the lens, which wouldn't work with traditional film SLRs, which is where diesel obviously come from. So you know you can get away with buildings, smaller lenses in there, which have some known issues, which then the software can correct out and you never see them. Oh, that's really interesting. I did not know that. So So how are these? These different from? We've pretty much covered. I mean, they're smaller, the lighter. They typically have smaller senses, although it the lens quality or I'm sorry, since air quality the quality of the final image, which is really what people care about that comes down to what we talked about Iran. We should send sir size, right? I mean, you can get medicine. Changeable lens cameras. Appendix Q seven is a good example of one that has the same size sensor in it as a conventional comp. Something like this, but it hasn't changeable lenses. Then you go very small. Yeah, and it's a very, very small cameras. It's not much bigger than that. Then you go to one senses than a PSC than full frame, and you can get a PSE and for freeing mirror less cameras. They're just typically somewhat smaller, lighter than the equivalent would be in tears, because you don't have to have that mirror and then the Prison Assembly time to review the images. So a PSC for those people who might not know that it's not tone, which, ironically, comes from film. It's a format that was introduced during the A PC drop in film came between 35 mil film and digital everyone seems to forget about. I forgot that that's what it was called. System was on the formats and see was the former that had the Border three aspect ratio. That's where we get to see from. I did not know that it's not something that you need to know something that feels nice to get it out every every company through that we know, and so that's where that comes from. It's basically about 30% full frame, but yeah, so it's still big. The mirror This camera allows you to see that size directly. Something like 23. 15 put a sentiment that sounds about right. Wow, you need to know some people wanted. But the point is, it's big, but it's not quite as big as a full frame, which is the traditional kind of holy Grail, former of digital, which is the same size as a mil. Film. PSC Not quite as big. Still much bigger than a compact. And we'll talk about that, I think later with the Pilar's and what that means for the lenses that you use in the focal length. Yeah, John, John and me will be discussing that. No, it's like a little one as well. Awesome. Who are these four? I don't know. What do you think? I think People stepping up from a point and shoot Well, um, you're not looking toe lug around something bigger and bulkier. You want something, maybe fits almost in a jacket pocket or in my case of my purse, But you want a lot better image quality and then the point and shoot. This is definitely a class to consider. Then there's also kind of the enthusiast shooter who has a big DSLR is looking for something lighter to kind of carry around for every day shooting. Um, yeah, either of those people have the great for students as well, honestly, especially the entry level class we're talking about here because they're kind of designed for people of grading from smartphones. Now, you know, traditional compact. So they're meant to be easy to use. Typically there touchscreen driven these days that's increasingly common. But also, they've got those manual exposure controls and they've got a ton of functions, usually is hidden kind of one row back from the front. So as you get a bit more experience and you get a bit more ambitious, you can actually really grow even with something like this. Which is that, like Andrzej three. Just about point and shooters you get in this class. This does have money exposure controls. Once you become familiar with the way cameras work, you can investigate them, and you can get a bit more serious and you can start to build a system, right? You start getting hold of lenses and expanding it with flash comes and other accessories and so on so you can end up on the bottom rung of the ladder and you can't go very far with something like this, right? How far can you go? What are the different types of lenses that will go on a camera like this? Well, I mean, the nickel on one system is relatively small at the moment, but it is growing, but you would go from the kit, zoom to a telephoto, zoom to prime get crimes for those you can. If, in fact, quite a lot of muralist camera systems now have a couple of crimes, often quite small. Pancake style crimes just means small and flat nice small lenses that keep the whole whole package size down, making a lot more portable Onda, actually, on the subject of learning about photography, it could be really great to try shooting with the prime lens where you don't have the flexibility of resume. You've got to really think that bit more about in the composition of your shop. So something like this, this Fujifilm X and one you can fit a pancake prime lens onto that, and you've only got a single focal length. You've really got to think about. Where do I need to be? What do I want to include in the short? What do I want to exclude? Pancake prime, for instance, on this Olympus E P M. One ppm five. That really does keep the whole sides of side of package day, albeit without the flexibility of a zoo. You know, the great thing is that prime is typically have much brighter apertures. They let more light. It means they're more useful in low light, unless you were going to use a flash. But they're also really good for portraiture because large approaches are likely to blow backgrounds right. A small of the sensor you end up with less. That ability translates to. But even the one system has in F 1.2 prime, which does have a decent ability to blow back and support traits. So I love the working of combining learning a little bit about photography as well as when we're talking about these different classes. Talk to me more about what you just said about the smaller the sensor size versus the aperture and how it's gonna have that differ. So you're looking at the same F stop in the same shutter speed on on a smaller lands versus a bigger we'll be covering this little later on, but just really, really briefly. Typically, the bigger the sensor you have the shallower, the depth of field, which means the less off a picture will be in focus after you focused on your subject. Typically, Um, so that's kind of simple. Is that so? If you have a really small sense, it would be like the nick on one system here. You don't have the same ability to blow backgrounds as you have with a larger sensor like the A P. C. Censoring this cannon s l one. So then you have to go for a really, really, really fast lenses in F 1.2 lens, as is available for the one system. If you put enough 1.2 lens on a full friend Dear Salon, that's really, really fast. You can blow backgrounds incredibly effectively. No, in here is effective on the one system, but it just gives you that that my sex portrays. It's quite a complex relationship. Cool. We'll talk about that A little bit more again. Later. Um Okay, so we talked about who These entry level. I'll seize the interchangeable lens cameras. Therefore, how about the DSL? Ours within this versus the mirror Less. Who are those for? Really the same class of people. It is contented priorities. Okay. I mean, I think at this point, certainly my point. You wouldn't necessarily recommend a deer slaw over some muralist system cameras for any particular reason. No, it's it's only really people who are looking to grow into a system. There's such an expectation that a DSLR is is the camera you you're aiming to step up to. I'm not sure that's so true anymore. But for those products like this and yet tiny So Marylise cameras have arrived they are competing with, particularly in the entry level. Companies like callin have had to respond. So they come out with this. The the rebel s l one or yours 100 d if you're in Europe, which is much, much smaller than their traditional rebel cameras have bean. And again, this makes a very nice nice camera to sort of grow into, learn from. It's got lots of external control just like the Fujifilm had, But it can't compete on science with the Marylise camera getting close, though, with some muralist. Yeah, it's possible that cannon can make a decent are smaller than this next year. The s old to get, but it seems unlikely. Yeah, it's really Yeah. And I just said to the reality, I wouldn't recommend you notice as a remembrance for any particular reason. That's not really true. And the one thing disallows still do differently is obviously the viewing experience. You look through there and you're looking at optical of you, not an electronic view, right? There are some people for whom electronic views just aren't the same. You know, they're getting very good in terms of resolution and detail, but it's not the same mythological view. It just depends how much you come see your touch that you know, we're gonna be talking about translator. But I'm curious to see how in a couple of years people will just be used. Teoh just going like the O versus You won't see this anymore. I used to work in a camera shop and even that was years ago, and even then, people would pick up SLRs and do that. I wonder why they couldn't before you. You could do you right. That was nine years ago, right? Right. It's like I remember You know what? Taking a film camera around the world. Little kids always come up to you and I want to see. But with the film camera, I was there. I hadn't made the switch and do nothing for you to see. I still do that with him. I would say one reason for SL ours. It's actually more applicable to the more advanced the sellers that's still tracking and track and auto industry, which is more difficult for a zygote. Hire us, Yeah, but it's funny because a lot of the low to mid range SLR don't track that well either. So it's not as big of an issue at that level. Tell me exactly what you mean by tracking, tracking. Focus, Say someone is running at the camera or a car is coming or something like that. Attracting systems can adjust focus as the vehicle approaches or as the distance between subject changes. Um, that's just that's one of the main things. That and merely cameras don't do it as well because they have to turn on to take the picture turned back off to check the focus and then turn back on to take the picture again. It's typically this complicated. It's more of a complicated dance. There's the F system on SLR can keep running and then take a picture and run again. And it's two systems working. So on a DSLR you have a secondary autofocus sensor, usually in the bottom of the camera, a secondary mirror directing light down onto it. So it's It's any time that the shot isn't open that secondary centuries able to analyze the scene and look at where the subjects where the subject is on because there's predict pretty. To me, that's the crucial thing is prediction. Yeah, and there's 30 or 40 years of R and D that's gone into that. It's the same cut down versions of the systems used in professional SLRs, so there's no awful lot of know how that's gone into those. Whereas Marylise cameras will tend to be focusing from their main imaging sensor. It's just taking the company's a little bit of time to work out how to optimize that, but it's getting much better in terms of both the speed Andi, the effectiveness of tracking with each generation. It takes that step forward. And in fairness to Sony s lt's, for example, there there phase detect all the time because they have a trance missive or a translucent mirror that allows the face to take system to work while they're taking pictures. And so that's that's a kind of crossover camera that What did he find? Electronics? All right, well, let's move on. But before we do that to the mid levels, final recommendations in this class, well, I know you have issues with it. I have to do quite a journey through. I think it's, uh, you know, it's a great camera to give someone who's just starting out. It's for Rigano, annoying and frustrating. But these? Yes, I think that's very say to some degree. Yes, yes, I like that camera to Yeah, I'm with you. But, you know, for someone just starting out kid or teenager, or even just a bit of a young student, it gives you a lot to grow with. But it won't intimidate you when you first pick it up. That's good. Also, the other one we've got down here. See? Is the same one on the X ray want to from Fujifilm. So just quickly talk us through that. Well, that's a mere lists. Um, Fujifilm. So has that a PSC sensor? Uh, yes. Chance. Someone has an extra on the x ray. One looks the same way as a seaman. Yeah, it's about $ cheaper. Yeah, we just really love the image quality found that you really don't need a shoot raw as much where we're really picky about things like noise reduction and sharpness in color. And we've just loved the J peg image quality from from the Fuji Films, and it has a lot of level of control. It has these dials back here, um, has the hot shoe. If you want to add accessories through a lot of room to grow with this one, it might be too much for someone just looking for appointed should experience. But you'd be happier with the J. Through his lens system is really growing maturing this well, preaching, doing over interesting stuff right now. So, you know, there's a good lens system there. There's a good range of high quality zooms and crimes So certainly for anyone starting out on a good place to grow, then that's absolutely yeah, absolutely. Neither of those has an optical viewfinder or an electron. No, that's correct. Yes, so you are limited Teoh viewing on the LCD on the back. So let's take a step up. Let's move on to the mid level briefing. Waited to read this. But this is our other big recommendation in this class, and you've got cannons lens range going back to 1987. That will work on that. It's a DSLR, has a mirror, has a has a view funded, you know, it's got the focusing advantage that some of the murders Hamlets of this level can't quite match. But also, it's very small. It's very light. We certainly recommend that I know showing you really enjoyed shooting with it. Yeah, you really one of the highlights of the year