Which new camera: travel, action, outdoor people, etc. photo/vid for web & publication

Hi all. This is my first post, and I aplogize that it is so long.

Though the budget is only $3k or so, I need to select a camera that my office will purchase for my use during work trips to disaster zones around the world. Think refugee camps and the like. I used to work with smaller Canon G10-12s, as I wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible so I could capture natural action in the photos and video. But now I am looking to step up my game with interchangeable lenses, as I feel like I am missing shots. And, yes, I know I need to improve as a photographer, and I am working on that with courses and such.

Important things: I travel with lots of gear already so smaller/lighter is better, but I am not willing to sacrifice too much quality. This would be my first DSLR or mirrorless, and I know I will have a great deal to learn. I will mainly be shooting photos and video of people in harsh outdoor lighting and occasionally indoors under awful florescent lighting with too low ceilings. Every now and then, we may get a cloudy day or a moment of magic hour, but not super often. Also, dusty and dirty conditions are normal parts of my job. The photos would be geotagged, edited, and pushed to social media ASAP via my iPad, but the high res versions will be pushed back to the office via Dropbox for use in corporate reports, publications, posters, and the like. On occasion, the photos might be published by media and news outlets. Video and audio may be quickly field edited on the iPad and pushed out to social media, but the majority will be transferred back to the office for editing.

I was looking at the Nikon d5500, but I worry that it doesn't have a mic in jack. I know that most of the time I will be using a Zoom recorder for audio, but I will be running/gunning solo so I like to keep my options open. Should I be looking at Canon, too? And mirrorless? And I don't see myself carrying tons of lenses -- maybe just two. I am starting from scratch so my options are wide open, and it is very overwhelming.

I am a research-oriented person so I need to know I am making the right choice for me so I will renting equipment for a week or so before I pull the trigger.

Please indulge this newby by telling me what you would get if you were in my shoes and why. Many thanks for your sage advice.

GGG

Your question is very difficult to answer because there are so many alternatives available and that is probably why you have received so few answers so far. I can't really answer your question as to what to get, but I will start off by making some comments and suggestions and that might bring other people into the discussion.

The first thing to consider is what sort of still photography quality you are getting from your G12:

• Does it produce good enough quality in good light?
• Does it produce good enough quality in low light?
• Is the focal length range too limiting? If so, at the wide end, at the long end or both?
• What sort of shots are you missing with the G12?

The G12 is a pretty good camera in good light so don't expect to get significantly better shots from a more expensive camera. You are much more likely to be limited by your photographic skills than by the equipment that you are using.

What type of video will you be taking? Off a tripod or hand held? Bear in mind that DSLRs are very difficult to use for hand held video without a Steadycam type rig because the viewfinder blacks out. Many of them also have poor or no AF during video. This doesn't worry professionals because they shoot off tripods, use manual focusing and have additional equipment attached to the camera and an assistant.

If you want to take hand held video look for a camera with an electronic viewfinder. The Panasonic GH4 is the top camera in this respect but also look at the latest Sony A7 (can't remember which one).

Mirrorless cameras are general as good as DSLRs except for continuous focusing and battery life. They also have more limited lens selections. However, the bodies are smaller and there are more sensor size options (M4/3 and Nikon 1 Series) than DSLRs which means that you can use smaller lenses.

Don't rule out fixed lens cameras. Look in particular at the Sony RX10 and Panasonic FZ1000 which have bigger sensors and longer focal length ranges than the G12. The FZ1000 also has very good video.

As far as DSLRs are concerned there isn't a lot of difference between Canon, Nikon and Pentax. Pentax generally has better weather sealing but worse video.

For mirrorless look at the Sony A6000 and A77, Fujifilm X series, Samsung, Olympus and Panasonic M4/3 and Nikon 1 cameras.

I'd say get a canon 70D with an 18-135 STM lens for video and a good 30 an 50mm prime lens for taking pictures of people who are completely devastated.

The 70D has mic input, mount a nice mic on top. STM lens is stabilized which helps for video. Dual Pixel AF is one of the best for Auto focusing in video.

Panny is the king of video and it is smaller and lighter than the Nikon. So are the lenses.

TEdolph

tedolf said:

Panny is the king of video and it is smaller and lighter than the Nikon. So are the lenses.

TEdolph

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On paper yes, it's capabilities far exceed anything canon or nikon make. But in practice, the 70D works much better in AF which matters in news reporting, not so much 4K video yet.

Here's a good comparison, jump to about 8:20 to see how well focus tracking works.

Thanks for your answers so far and for helping me think through this. I apologize that my question is so broad. I am sure there are many right answers, and I will try to get more specific. One big thing I should have mentioned is that I recently switched offices, and I was required to turn in the G12 when I departed. It was a sad day. That camera held up to some serious abuse in many disaster zones around the world.

• Does it produce good enough quality in good light?

Most of the time it did. When it didn't, it was my skill that was lacking. Our graphics folks were always asking for higher res photos for publications, but I have a feeling they would ask that same question no matter what.

• Does it produce good enough quality in low light?

Most of the time no, but again it is highly likely that my ability affected the outcome. And the fact that I didn't have an external flash.

• Is the focal length range too limiting? If so, at the wide end, at the long end or both?

The focal length was limiting at the long end, but I didn't have any of the additional lenses so there's that.

• What sort of shots are you missing with the G12?

While I liked that the G12 was relatively inconspicuous, I was missing zoom -- shots that were further afield. Sure I could have moved in, but that was/is not always possible. I often don't have time to edit before sending back to my office so getting the shot composed in the camera is key.

• What type of video will you be taking? Off a tripod or hand held?

There's the rub. I shoot mainly quick and dirty b-roll with some rough field editing and voice overs. I shoot alone, which always makes it a challenge. I keep going back and forth on trying to get photo/video in one device or being okay with having a camera (relatively speaking) dedicated to photos. Back in my G12 days, I used my iPhone and many bits and bobs that helped me hold the iPhone steady-ish (Gorilla Pod and friends) and run 1-2 wireless lav mics at once. It wasn't pretty, but I got it done. I am not opposed to continuing this method, but I dream of having an all-in-one solution if it makes sense.

So I guess I am looking for a smaller camera that I can really learn and grow with. I have moved past a P&S, but I do not want to carry around a huge camera or a big bag of gear. If I take viedo off the table, would that help hone in on a camera? Hmmm. I will keep thinking through this over the next few days and answer questions as they come.

Thanks a million!

GGG

GusGusGus said:

So I guess I am looking for a smaller camera that I can really learn and grow with. I have moved past a P&S, but I do not want to carry around a huge camera or a big bag of gear. If I take viedo off the table, would that help hone in on a camera? Hmmm. I will keep thinking through this over the next few days and answer questions as they come.

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I have a G12. Very good camera. I use it, in fact, with studio strobes for art copying; I like the color.

I recently got a Sony RX100M3, which is even smaller than the G12. This appears to be a very capable camera, better than the G12 in low light. It takes video but I don't, so I have no opinion on how good it is in that area. Like the G12, the Sony has full manual capability and will output RAW files.

GusGusGus said:

While I liked that the G12 was relatively inconspicuous, I was missing zoom -- shots that were further afield.

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That is a real impasse. There are travel zoom compacts with more telephoto than the G12, but they will be P&S, with controls inferior to the G12. There SLR-like superzoom P&S cameras with a whole lot more zoom, but not at all inconspicuous. There are also DSLR and mirrorless cameras that can take telephoto lenses, again, not inconspicuous. I cannot see any resolution to these requirements. Either step back to a travel zoom, or give up inconspicuous, or give up long telephoto.

Kelly Cook

KCook said:

KCook said:

While I liked that the G12 was relatively inconspicuous, I was missing zoom -- shots that were further afield.

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That is a real impasse. There are travel zoom compacts with more telephoto than the G12, but they will be P&S, with controls inferior to the G12. There SLR-like superzoom P&S cameras with a whole lot more zoom, but not at all inconspicuous. There are also DSLR and mirrorless cameras that can take telephoto lenses, again, not inconspicuous. I cannot see any resolution to these requirements. Either step back to a travel zoom, or give up inconspicuous, or give up long telephoto.

Kelly Cook

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Thanks, Kelly. This has always been an issue for me, which is why I ended up with the G12 in the first place. I thought about it last night, and I am now willing to give up inconspicuous for better zoom and hopefully better photos. I can get a P&S for the times I need to go incognito.

GusGusGus said:

GusGusGus wrote:
I thought about it last night, and I am now willing to give up inconspicuous for better zoom and hopefully better photos. I can get a P&S for the times I need to go incognito.

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Ok, this is where the mirrorless cameras come into play. You can get a telephoto lens for when that long reach is needed. And, with the smaller mirrorless bodies, you can use a more compact power zoom lens or a pancake lens to achieve an inconspicuous configuration that rivals the G12. Same body, just not both lens types at the same time.

Kelly

Hi Gus,

You really have some conflicting needs.

I can give you a couple pointers, and a few red flags.

First, given harsh lighting, you want a viewfinder. Don't consider any camera without one. It could be optical, or electronic, but you don't want to have just a screen on the back of the camera.

Mirrorless cameras are less conspicuous. Especially if you get one of the smaller lenses. I've taken my sony Nex3 with the 16/2.8 lens out to bars and taken photos and no one was aware I was doing it. You just switch it on, wait two seconds, and shoot. Since you don't need to hold it up to your eye, most people don't notice you're using it.

However, it's a lot easier to get dust on the sensor. Given that you intend to be in dusty locations, this is a good argument in favor of a DSLR with a moving mirror and shutter, because those features tend to protect the sensor from getting dusty.

Canon DSLRs are highly regarded for video, but I don't know much about that. I have used the video on the Sony and also my Canon s95 and found them both functional, but not nearly as good as my Panasonic camcorder (It's one of the 3mos HD camcorders).

Here's something you might want to consider: If you get a zoom H1 audio recorder, you can use a hot-shoe to 1/4" adapter to put it on top of the camera. Then take a 1/8 stereo plug and connect the headphone-out on the H1 to the microphone-in on your camera. So this way you have the benefits of external stereo microphones, but the audio is already on the video. If the audio needs processing, then the zoom's recording (in wav format) will be a better starting point. Cameras seem to use compression on audio too (at least in general). If your recording would benefit from a shotgun mic (as opposed to the XY stereo of the zoom) there are Audio Technica and Rhode mics that don't cost too much.

Here's an idea: Maybe keep the G12 for shooting in good light and when inconspicuous is critical, and get a dslr for other stuff, especially indoors. I'm a Nikon guy, but given the interest in video, and the need for low light, I'd look at a used Canon full frame camera -- probably used -- maybe with 24-70 and 80-200 type lenses.