Panasonic GH3, Sony NEX-6 or Canon 650D - help, please!

DanL1979 wrote:

Hi all,

First up, I really appreciate your reading this and any advice you may have!

I currently own a great compact (RX100), but want to get more serious about photography. It will always be a hobby, not a profession however. I have a new baby and want to take great family shots and videos of her growing up, as well as general photography. Video is not the be all and end all (I'm not a serious videographer), but do want to be able to take great video as well as stills.

I'm totally torn between the GH3, NEX-6 and 650D. In summary:

GH3 - was looking forward to this being released, but the price scares me somewhat. If I go with this, I'm not clear on whether I should go with the 14-140 or 12-35. I'll initially only be buying one lens and want it to be a general purpose lens. I know the 14-140 is more flexible, but I understand the 12-35 is better, though whether it's £500 better I don't know. I know the video capability is the best of the 3 (even if used by an amateur, I hope!), but is it that much better that it justifies the price? That said, it's a camera that will last many years so if this is the best option, I'd be prepared to fork out.

NEX-6 - if this had a touchscreen which rotated through 180 degrees, I'd be so very tempted, but the lack of those features puts me off (the 5R is just too small in my hands and I prefer the controls on the 6). I'm interested to know how video / still compares with the GH3. I assume stills would be better (larger sensor), but video not as good as the GH3?

Canon 650D with 18-135 STM lens - the STM lens is important as I believe it makes a big difference to video capability. I'm very cautious of the fact that mirrorless camera systems seem to be on the rise, so is it worth buying into an SLR system now (having held the Nikon and Canon entry level cameras, this was the one I preferred)? I believe stills from this camera would be better than the other two, but I'm interested to know how video capability would compare.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts. It's great to be able to come on this forum and pick the brains of experienced people!

Cheers

Dan