Which camera to upgrade to?

R

robbailey

Active member
Right now I only have the original m camera and some Canon lenses. Wondering what a decent upgrade would be without breaking the bank too much? The m3 looks pretty good but still seems a little behind some of brands offerings for the money. Is the m3 enough of an upgrade for video or should I look into other brands also?

I'm worried that the m3 may not be big enough of a leap compared to what I have already. I'm also tempted to jump to another brand.
 
I tried the EOS M3 when it was on sale around Xmas and sent it back. My Panasonic cameras focused just as well with my Canon lenses using a Kipon adapter. Overall the M3 was pretty slow. Canon is still saying that a pro level mirriorless is coming, but it isn't here yet!

You really have two "good" choices for cameras that can use Canon lenses with an adapter, Panasonic and Sony. The Sony A6300 overheats in video mode and is very, very frustrating to many people because of that. Anything else from Sony is way expensive. I would recommend the Panasonic GX85.

I just posted this in another thread:


The Panasonic GX85 is a pretty great, small camera with the 12-32 mm kit lens. It has 5 Axis stabilization, plus Dual Axis stabilization with Panasonic lenses with OS. No record limit.

The only real limitation is no microphone or headphone jack. I bought mine for $687 as an open box. I also bought a Kipon Canon to M 4/3 auto focus adapter. The GX85 focuses about the same as the A6300 with Canon lenses- quite well.

I also have the Panasonic 12-35, 35-100 2.8 pair. Those run a little under and a little over $600 used (respectively.) The GX85 is a great, fun little video camera. The AF in stills mode is fantastic. It stills lags a bit in video mode, but it is better than any other Panasonic I have used.


You could also look at a used Panasonic G7 for around $450 with the excellent 14-42 II kit lens. The G7 doesn't have the stabilization, but it does have a microphone jack.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the reply. Yeah the Panasonics look nice. How would you rate the video on the 85 compared to the g7? The clips I've seen both look great but wasn't sure if there is a big difference video quality wise between them.

The more I research the m3 the more I want to look into other brands.
 
The original Sony A7s is available pretty cheap these days. It has great 1080p recording and gives you the option of upgrading to 4K later.

I had plenty of Canon lenses from my 5D/7D days so I use them via adapters on the Sony and they work flawlessly.
 
I haven't compared directly, but the video between the two seems pretty much the same.

There are a couple of small quirks about the GX85. If you look at the review at Imaging Resources, only 4K 24P and 30P have a really high bitrate (of 100 Mbps.) The 1080 rates are a lot lower, like 28 Mbps.

It also lacks the Cine-D profile that I use on the G7. I shoot in Natural instead, with Contrast and Sharpening turned way down, and Saturation turned down a bit. It isn't really a big deal. It is just frustrating that Panasonic has to leave off some features to "cripple" each camera. :>(

If you check here at DVX, ecobuilder shared a wedding video that he shot handheld with the GX85. It looks pretty great.

The big, big pro on the GX85 is the stabilization. The the pro is better autofocus in video mode. It is actually possible to use autofocus in video- sometimes . On the G7 and GH4 it can lose AF and hunt during a video. I am always forced to just use manual.

The unlimited recording is also very nice. The big con is no microphone jack. Also no headphone jack, but the G7 also lacks that.

The big pro of the G7 is the microphone jack. I usually use "dual sound", with a great quality Matantz 661 recorder. But that is a big beast. Sometimes for very casual stuff it is nice to just plug in an onboard mic. Or for better quality sound for syncing.

+++

I should mention - I also have a Canon 7DII and a 5DIII. For stills use , especially for events and wildlife, I would dump every other camera before I would sell the 7DII. I love the ergonomics and the autofocus system.

The 7DII is also the only camera that I would actually trust in autofocus mode for video! The Canon 80D I'd also supposed to be a great camera for video.

The video quality is a bit lacking. It isn't horrible, but it also isn't 4K. :>)

I actually chose my Canon DSLR over Nikon because of the ability to use my Canon lenses with good autofocus on both Sony and Panasonic.

I am also not completely convinced by M 4/3 for stills. I am trying, but it especially struggles at higher ISO. My comfortable limit is ISO 800, although 1600 ISO is still usable.

That is why I am still bothering with a Sony APS-C. Although I really would prefer to get down to only 2 systems. We will see.

I have gone the route of having proprietary lenses for Canon, Sony, and Panasonic. Bit I wound up with a minimum of $2,000 in lenses for each system. Now I am trying to limit my proprietary lens kit, and reuse the Canon lenses as much as possible. Other it just gets too expensive.

Good luck!
 
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