GH3 GH3 loving it but now I think I need a pocket camera!

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cuervo.taylor

Active member
Hey guys,

I recently bought the gh3 and I'm loving it, also I have the voigtlander 25mm loving it too.

I need a pocket camera, thinking in keeping with micro 4/3 format as this is with what I started (I'm a newb so I'm not sure if micro four thirds is the same as compact cameras?)

So what kind of pocket camera you have? do you think it is really necessary? I'm backpacking and sometimes I leave my gh3 at the places I'm staying because don't wanna put it in risk when going to nasty places. So what pocket camera would you recommend me?

thanks.
 
How big are your pockets? And what do you want to shoot? At what quality? For how much money? I have the LX5 and like it quite a bit, and the LX7 is even better - as long as your pockets are bigger than a T-shirt breast-pocket. Affordable, super fast lens, great video. Not the biggest zoom, but adequate. A lot of manual control and great image quality. If however you can spend more, there are other options.
 
Yep, the Sony RX100 is a great little camera, and if you want really extreme, there's always the Camera Grand Prix 2013 winner the RX1, which as dpreview has stated:

"The awards, organized by the Japanese Camera Journal Press Club have a history of recognizing what prove to be historically significant cameras."

The RX1 is 35mm fixed at f/2, but it's full frame... $2800 at B&H.
 
cuervo.taylor said:
Hey guys,


I need a pocket camera, thinking in keeping with micro 4/3 format as this is with what I started

So what kind of pocket camera you have? do you think it is really necessary? I'm backpacking and sometimes I leave my gh3 at the places I'm staying because don't wanna put it in risk when going to nasty places. So what pocket camera would you recommend me?

thanks.
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The already mentioned LX7 is an excellent choice. Some mention a high ISO limit of 800 if you don't want visible noise but with an f1.4 max aperture at the wide end you still have a fairly workable low light cam. People are getting great looking still photos out of it and the video features aren't bad.

My choice was the Lumix GX1, I found an "open box" special (body only) on amazon with a price of $229.95, full brand new warranty! Being a micro 4/3 body it takes the full line of Lumix and Olympus lenses.

"Pocket cam"?

With the Lumix 14mm f2.5 on it it's pretty compact, I've been carrying it with the Lumix 20mm f1.7 a lot, and just recently found a second 14-45mm "kit" lens in almost brand new shape.

I got it mainly as a "knock around" camera so I can have something usable with me all the time without having to "lug" a GH3 in a bag.
 
Sony RX100 is definitely the best pocketable camera. i just tested a bunch of them, the last one being the X20 Fuji. The RX100 blew everybody's image IMHO
 
I got a GF3 last year that I throw in my pocket, usually with the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 on it. It's great as a street photography camera, not as great for the video quality since it's fully automatic. It also comes in handy when I'm shooting with my GH3 and need an alternate angle or a quick still. I think the GF5 or 6 have better video quality.
 
cuervo.taylor said:
seems gx1 es a good choice
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It is as long as you are aware that video is literally full auto on it. You can select a couple of shutter speeds to limit "frequency banding" in artificial light but otherwise it's full auto.

I'm pretty happy with my GX1, but I did order the eye level external EVF for it so I can "see" under all conditions. The same EVF also works on the LX7. Image quality in the EVF is nice 'n crisp! Easy to focus.

I carry it mainly for stills while out and about, in an emergency I could use it for video if that was all I had with me. if there is any chance I may need to shoot video as well as stills I carry a GH3.
 
I would stick with micro 4/3. Do you shoot video or stills?

Check out the Olympus PEN series, or if you have the budget (and some time) the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera.
 
GF1/GF2's are found pretty damn cheaply these days, still produce a good still image and you can hack manual video on them with ptool.
 
From left field - Canon Powershot N. I got one of these a few days ago as a carry-around alternative to my GH1, my requirement being maximum compactness, tilt screen (somehow can't do without that these days) and touch screen operation (camera is shared with someone who can't press a shutter release).

Handling takes some getting used to, but it grows on you. Being able to hold the camera at waist height like a twin-lens helps with street photography, and Canon's pixel interpolation digital zoom actually works surprisingly well to provide 16x from 8x optical without major quality loss. Stabiliser is effective. Touch screen not only for settings and photo review works very well, and provides an alternative shutter release if the the shutter release ring system doesn't come easy.

On the road you can download wirelessly to a tablet, edit photos on that, and upload to photo sharing sites when you have access to the net.

It's the kind of camera which provides good results if you believe that it's not what you've got, it's the way that you use it - and it's also not what you've got, it's whether you've got anything with you at all! But obviously, it's not in the same technical league as the RX100 etc by a mile.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9919019105/canon-powershot-n-first-impressions
 
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iPhone is my pocket camera when I.m not packing a real cam. But, My GH1, GH2, or GH3 would make a great pocket style cam, as they are much smaller than my other cams.
 
I hate mixing up systems too much, but I bought an NEX 5N for my carry around photography camera as I got tired of carrying a 5D, and I do all my filming on GH1, 2, 3...try to use the same Nikons and Rokinons across the board, but I do have some of the Sony and Panny lenses...it's a messy table...
 
Kellar42 said:
I hate mixing up systems too much, but I bought an NEX 5N for my carry around photography camera as I got tired of carrying a 5D, and I do all my filming on GH1, 2, 3...try to use the same Nikons and Rokinons across the board, but I do have some of the Sony and Panny lenses...it's a messy table...
Click to expand...

Kellar,

Is the nex 5n better for stills than the panny gh3?
 
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