"OK" but much cheaper camera body and invest in a good lens or good body with kit?

Mike Loanzon wrote:

Hi all,

I'm a starting enthusiast hoping to invest in a camera but on a budget. I'm interested in taking "memories" mostly. Candid photos of friends in house parties, or street photography of places I will travel to. Hopefully a little more than "better than my camera phone" photos but I don't think I will be investing in professional gear.

The budget part is the issue.

My favourite candid/street camera is my Panasonic GX7. Besides its single axis flip-out screen, its flip-up viewfinder is also great for unobtrusive shooting.  This camera should be available on the used market for a rather reasonable price.

I currently have a borrowed Lumix GF-2 with the 14-42 and 14mm kit. After shooting with it, I found it to be quite enjoyable, except for some color issues (in terms of recording the colors I want) I've yet to work out (i shoot in raw... I'm not sure if it's a post processing issue, a skills issue or the camera) and its lowlight capability. Anything near 800iso drops quality, which is hard because i think most of my social gatherings (and reasons to photograph) are likely to be in-doors and low light.

That uses the older 12mp sensor. It wasn't until I got my GX7 that I felt that I finally had a micro four thirds camera that performed better at high ISOs than my Nikon D300 (a camera which was the first to satisfy the majority of my shooting scenario requirements). I shoot my GX7 in raw mode up to ISO3200 which, when combined with a fast lens, can cover a lot of poor light and indoor shooting situations.

Is it as good as a full frame sensor? No, of course not. But it will cover a lot of situations. The 20/1.7 is a good starting point because you can find them used, they're reasonably priced, and the focal range is ok for indoor shooting. If you can afford a bit more, I'd look at the Olympus 17/1.8, for its wider field of view. While I have a 25/1.4 that I like, I find it too narrow for indoor shooting.

Olympus OMD-EM10

One thing I noticed when using my GX7 vs my EM5 II is that my GX7 is noticeably faster and more reliable when focusing in poor light. It's something you might want to keep in mind when testing a camera.  My GX7 also turns on significantly faster which is another reason why I turn to it for street photography.

- stabilization is likely to come in handy for work (video)

If you want stabilized video, then the Oly will do a better job than the GX7 which requires a stabilized lens for that ability.

But there are people currently selling the Olympus Pen EP-5 at $320. It has stabilization which i heard helps (admittedly not with subjects moving around but it does allow me to photograph with lower shutter speed, given i ask my subjects to stay still (in theory acc to blogs and reviews).

For people/street photography, stabilization hasn't been much of a benefit in my experience.  But for other types of photography, it certainly is nice to have.

Best of luck on your choice.