Cheap vs Expensive Camera Blind Test

[tupp]

21 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

My current 4k bargain tip is the G7. A store here gets them in as trades sometimes and then sell them used with warranty for 250 bucks. Meaning, used without warranty... 200 and then Im generous.

Oh my goodness!  Do they ship to the USA?

[Jimmy]

Now do the same test in a high contrast scene, with a human face and harsh highlights.

[PannySVHS]

8 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

I like the idea of doing current work with my 'ol hacked GH1 and a chinese-speed-boosted 50mm.  That's, what, $250 for all that?  Kinda wish I still had that camera...or had the nerve to stop buying new stuff and just be creative with what I got.

 

Have been thinking about getting a GH1 for a while. Some of the most beautifully shot vignettes on vimeo are GH1 stuff, because of the mojo and

the spirit of that time- people been exited about that awesome technology of their GH1 camera and astonished about shooting with vintage optics back then.

But then, will it give me so much more pleasure to use it than a G6 (almost as cheap to buy) or

my GX85 because of that shortlived tradition?

Another cheaper camera, my G7 doesnt get used at all, because I dislike the tactile feel of it.

So I got two really cheap cameras and a bargain camera (GX85).

Also got a E-PL1, E-P2 and GF1. Lost in the m43 universe.

Hey, someone said, GF1 would be the poor, poor, poor mans Leica. So, anybody wanna buy it from me and put Vitalys hack on it?:)

Nah, I keep it!

 

[Mattias Burling]

Ok, here we go again.
Now I did try to match them somewhat. I couldn't find my color chart so I white balanced on one of the pots (its light gray).
 

[squig]

I bought my daughter an $80 Nikon; one of her shots was a finalist in a statewide photography competition. I recorded an album on a Mac in my attic and won a national award. Again: It's not the tools, it's what you can do with them. I'd shoot a feature with a D90 if that's all I could afford to shoot it with, and only a few pixel peepers would ever know the difference. 28 Days Later a case in point. If I shot it with a BMMCC even the pixel peepers wouldn't know the difference. There's a bunch of sub $1000 cameras that produce really nice filmic images. I'd love to have a C200, but it's not an absolute necessity. DPAF is a great creative tool, but fingers crossed Magic Lantern will crack digic6 and make raw DPAF a lot more affordable with cameras like the 80D.

[Mattias Burling]

2 hours ago, tupp said:

Oh my goodness!  Do they ship to the USA?

Not that particular store. But I think some of the others with similar prices might.

[TrueIndigo]

I also think the Panasonic G7 is an important low cost UHD camera.

During the period when I was making decent money, I used to buy a new camera every year, as a personal exploration which I enjoyed. Last few years though I had to stop that, but strangely didn't miss it. I sold off a lot of stuff (currently down to five stills cameras and two camcorders) and spent more time exploring the cameras I already had, rather than exploring yet another camera. Because I really think we have been in the era of "good enough" for some time now. We can make a solid starting point for colour grading and using creative LUTs which can radically change the look of the final image anyway.   

I did lapse recently though, and got the G7 because there was a good deal going on it, presumably because it's now an outgoing model. At £380 for the body, I think it must be the cheapest new camera I've ever bought. After experimenting with various Mods to the Natural picture profile and Daylight white balance, I'm seeing an image not so different from the Nikons which I love. Way back I bought a GH1 when it first came out, so I still had a lot of MFT lens adapters and enjoy using my vintage Nikon AIS prime set. My main reason to buy it though (after a long time shooting video with DSLRs) was not so much about image, but a usability consideration: the opportunity to have a high res EVF for hand-held shooting (using a pistol grip to hold it to my eye). Feels like shooting Super 8 all over again, and I actually enjoy using this little camera. I think you can't underestimate how important the usability and pleasure of actually picking up a camera becomes, now that image quality is so good on almost everything. 

[mercer]

Yup +10 for this thread. A few months ago, after I sold my GX85 and before I bought my 5D3, I was unsure what route to go, so I was just shooting with my humble D5500 and I found it liberating to try silly shots and experiment.

I missed the GX85's 5-axis so much, I used my Benro monopod, the one with the swivel ball feet, and pressed it against my shoulder as a make shift shoulder rig.

With that freedom, the low hanging sun of mid winter, 60p and a fast 35mm lens, I started walking around and shooting. This what I came up with...

There was something interesting within the way the bokeh and the branches and the sunlight/shadows worked within the confines of D5500 slow motion... obviously it's just a little slow motion, who cares, but I found it pretty fun to push one of the cheapest cameras I have ever bought and I may be the only one, but I like what came from it. 

Disclaimer: it is long and possibly boring... so proceed with caution... ? 

[Mattias Burling]

Just for the heck of it. Here is the same cameras doing what cameras do best.. pet pics

Fuji XT2

 

Sigma DP2

 

Sigma SD Quattro (BTW click on this one and full ress. The colors.... yummy..)

[Fritz Pierre]

11 hours ago, PannySVHS said:

 

Have been thinking about getting a GH1 for a while. Some of the most beautifully shot vignettes on vimeo are GH1 stuff, because of the mojo and

the spirit of that time- people been exited about that awesome technology of their GH1 camera and astonished about shooting with vintage optics back then.

But then, will it give me so much more pleasure to use it than a G6 (almost as cheap to buy) or

my GX85 because of that shortlived tradition?

Another cheaper camera, my G7 doesnt get used at all, because I dislike the tactile feel of it.

So I got two really cheap cameras and a bargain camera (GX85).

Also got a E-PL1, E-P2 and GF1. Lost in the m43 universe.

Hey, someone said, GF1 would be the poor, poor, poor mans Leica. So, anybody wanna buy it from me and put Vitalys hack on it?:)

Nah, I keep it!

 

Bought a GF1 for both my wife and my 20 year old daughter....they both love the camera and for stills while traveling, ridiculously good in such a small yet tank like package...IMO...a classic...at an unbeatable price!

[Chris Oh]

Ok so, I have a question semi related to the topic. What camera and lens combo would you choose for about $500 US? I have a Zoom H1 and a couple of lav mics.

[Dustin]

On 6/11/2017 at 0:19 PM, mercer said:

Yup +10 for this thread. A few months ago, after I sold my GX85 and before I bought my 5D3, I was unsure what route to go, so I was just shooting with my humble D5500 and I found it liberating to try silly shots and experiment.

I missed the GX85's 5-axis so much, I used my Benro monopod, the one with the swivel ball feet, and pressed it against my shoulder as a make shift shoulder rig.

With that freedom, the low hanging sun of mid winter, 60p and a fast 35mm lens, I started walking around and shooting. This what I came up with...

There was something interesting within the way the bokeh and the branches and the sunlight/shadows worked within the confines of D5500 slow motion... obviously it's just a little slow motion, who cares, but I found it pretty fun to push one of the cheapest cameras I have ever bought and I may be the only one, but I like what came from it. 

Disclaimer: it is long and possibly boring... so proceed with caution... ? 

D5300 owner here-- did you use manual focus for this? Would love to acquire a cheap ish camera with 5-Axis and some kind of natural/flat profile. GX85 is a likely candidate! 

[mercer]

9 minutes ago, Dustin said:

D5300 owner here-- did you use manual focus for this? Would love to acquire a cheap ish camera with 5-Axis and some kind of natural/flat profile. GX85 is a likely candidate! 

Yeah that was the D5500 with the Nikkor ai-s 35mm f2. I just bought the 35mm 1.4 ai-s. So I'll probably sell of the f2.

The GX85 is a fun little camera, but be warned... it is pretty small and the buttons are tiny. If that matters to you, the G85 may be better. But the 5-axis is a blast. It's hard to go back to using tripods after having it. 

[BTM_Pix]

19 minutes ago, mercer said:

Yeah that was the D5500 with the Nikkor ai-s 35mm f2. I just bought the 35mm 1.4 ai-s. So I'll probably sell of the f2.

The GX85 is a fun little camera, but be warned... it is pretty small and the buttons are tiny. If that matters to you, the G85 may be better. But the 5-axis is a blast. It's hard to go back to using tripods after having it. 

If only there was some way to have bigger and more buttons to control it with

[Fritz Pierre]

18 hours ago, Chris Oh said:

Ok so, I have a question semi related to the topic. What camera and lens combo would you choose for about $500 US? I have a Zoom H1 and a couple of lav mics.

I would stretch your budget to 600 and depending on your location, buy this....I've never owned one, but judging by people who have, the price seems ridiculous.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1148282-REG/panasonic_dmc_g7kk_lumix_dmc_g7_mirrorless_micro.html/?c3api=2572%2C138045278552&gclid=CMeS2-P_uNQCFVMDhgod-dIF-g

[Mattias Burling]

13 minutes ago, Fritz Pierre said:

I would stretch your budget to 600 and depending on your location, buy this....I've never owned one, but judging by people who have, the price seems ridiculous.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1148282-REG/panasonic_dmc_g7kk_lumix_dmc_g7_mirrorless_micro.html/?c3api=2572%2C138045278552&gclid=CMeS2-P_uNQCFVMDhgod-dIF-g

Man prices are high over there... Nice camera though.

[tupp]

On 6/10/2017 at 11:12 PM, tupp said:

Oh my goodness!  Do they ship to the USA?

On 6/11/2017 at 1:29 AM, Mattias Burling said:

Not that particular store. But I think some of the others with similar prices might.

If these stores have websites, please post links!

 

Thanks!

[Chris Oh]

17 minutes ago, Mattias Burling said:

Man prices are high over there... Nice camera though.

Yep. Even used G7 is not as cheap like Europe it seems.  I am leaning towards either G7 or GX85. I was asking to see if anyone had different idea that I haven't considered. 

[Dustin]

1 hour ago, mercer said:

Yeah that was the D5500 with the Nikkor ai-s 35mm f2. I just bought the 35mm 1.4 ai-s. So I'll probably sell of the f2.

The GX85 is a fun little camera, but be warned... it is pretty small and the buttons are tiny. If that matters to you, the G85 may be better. But the 5-axis is a blast. It's hard to go back to using tripods after having it. 

I have really big hands but I'm not too concerned about buttons. Just usability. I love the image the d5300 produces but I really want something with IBIS I can use and not have to worry about stabilizing the shot in warp stabilizer or something. I have a benro monopod that works fine but again if I could get down to that basic just a camera workflow that would be sweet. I'll probably keep the d5300 for stills for the foreseeable future as 24.2 MP 4000 x 6000 pixels is still damn good. 

 

Wants: 4k/1080p - 24fps/120fps - probably interchangeable lenses - flat profile - IBIS for handheld. Under $600 for body. Am I essentially looking at the GX85? What else used/new equals this. Not afraid to buy used..

[Mattias Burling]

Its a tough call. IBIS vs CinelikeD and Mic Input. @Chris Oh