I need some help choosing:

[NFKDave]

Hi guys. I'll be going on my holidays to Devon and Cornwall for a couple of weeks in September and really don't want to have to lug my Canon 5DIII and various lenses around with me. Ideally I want a nice small camera, either fixed lens or with a small prime, that I can use for the usual travel/street/landscape stuff that you do on holiday, and that I can then have as my everyday carry following on from that. I'll be trading in my Canon and various lenses as I realise that I don't really need a DSLR and associated prime/telephoto lenses anymore (mainly due to my age and increasingly battered body from all the carrying) and I'm looking at getting one of the following:

Sony Alpha A7C plus 40mm f/2.5 G prime lens

Fujifilm X100VI

Leica Q Typ 116

I used to have a Sony Alpha A7 II so I know all about the menu system and I previously owned a X100T so have Fujifilm experience too. The only unknown factor is the Leica Q but that is a camera that I have coveted from afar since it first came out and only now can I just about afford it. I guess it's a case of a: the focal length - if 28mm, 35mm or 40mm would be best for the type of pictures I'll want to take, b: if I can be happy with a fixed lens or will I find myself wanting more, and c: if I need weather sealing. To be honest most of the pictures I've been taking recently were of things like car shows so I was usually using a Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L lens anyway.

Can you please let me know what you would do in my situation, and just to be clear my budget is £2000 so please don't tell me to get the Q3 43 - if I could I would (don't think the wife would be happy though!)

Dave

 

[Craig Gillette]

Hi guys. I'll be going on my holidays to Devon and Cornwall for a couple of weeks in September and really don't want to have to lug my Canon 5DIII and various lenses around with me. Ideally I want a nice small camera, either fixed lens or with a small prime, that I can use for the usual travel/street/landscape stuff that you do on holiday, and that I can then have as my everyday carry following on from that. I'll be trading in my Canon and various lenses as I realise that I don't really need a DSLR and associated prime/telephoto lenses anymore (mainly due to my age and increasingly battered body from all the carrying) and I'm looking at getting one of the following:

Sony Alpha A7C plus 40mm f/2.5 G prime lens

Fujifilm X100VI

Leica Q Typ 116

I used to have a Sony Alpha A7 II so I know all about the menu system and I previously owned a X100T so have Fujifilm experience too. The only unknown factor is the Leica Q but that is a camera that I have coveted from afar since it first came out and only now can I just about afford it. I guess it's a case of a: the focal length - if 28mm, 35mm or 40mm would be best for the type of pictures I'll want to take, b: if I can be happy with a fixed lens or will I find myself wanting more, and c: if I need weather sealing. To be honest most of the pictures I've been taking recently were of things like car shows so I was usually using a Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L lens anyway.

Can you please let me know what you would do in my situation, and just to be clear my budget is £2000 so please don't tell me to get the Q3 43 - if I could I would (don't think the wife would be happy though!)

Dave

If making a full break, one could look to anything, of course. With aps-c, things would tend smaller and lighter than ff, there being overlap depending on specific choices.

In aps-c, Sony and Fuji have a broader lens availability, to some extent Sony is still ahead in ff, too.

I'd try to get some hands-on time with different brands and bodies. All different fit and feel and find something you like. May be more important than filtering through some of the tech differences if your uses are pretty middle of the road. For example, the Sony aps-c A6xxx and A7C series have a rectangular shape with upper left corner finder, many of the others are shaped more like dslrs with the finder top center. I have both an A6400 and the more recent A6700. since I moved to ff from the aps-c side, I didn't see a lot gained in going to the A7C (or A7Cii later). The A7CR with its higher resolution is a different thing but likely unless well used out of budget. Haven't handled or tried non-Sony mirrorless so no experienced suggestions there.

I'm a zoom user and do use a prime now and then. With being unsure which focal length or lengths you'd want, that suggests an interchangeable lens camera. I did add a 24mm ff prime to my kit and tried it with both my ff and aps-c bodies for short trips. If mostly urban, I might prefer the 24mm, 36mm was ok on the aps-c. I have a 30mm aps-c so 45mm angle of view. It seemed somewhat longer than I would have liked as a single lens, but mostly on the urban side, more open country, it was fine. I'm unlikely to ever stick completely to a single focal length, either prime or fixed lens. But that's me.

With your using the 17-40, I'd think having a wider than 40mm might fit better if sticking to a prime. You mentioned other lenses so would think the usage there, in non-car show uses, would carry over to ongoing uses. I'd find a 17-40 useful at times but would much more often be using 24mm or 28mm and longer mid-ranges. for my usual uses, I have an 18-135 in aps-c and 28-200 in ff. The 18-135 is more compact and a bit slower than the 28-200 but for carry, etc., the difference is noticeable..

I might look to the A6700 instead of the A7C series.

I'm in Southern California so look for weather sealing but don't "need" it like maybe other, wetter areas. I think it's worthwhile and would look for it. Different bodies and lenses do differently and I don't think many are actually rated and tested to serious rain conditions.

 

[New Wrycuda]

Hi guys. I'll be going on my holidays to Devon and Cornwall for a couple of weeks in September and really don't want to have to lug my Canon 5DIII and various lenses around with me. Ideally I want a nice small camera, either fixed lens or with a small prime, that I can use for the usual travel/street/landscape stuff that you do on holiday, and that I can then have as my everyday carry following on from that.

Sony Alpha A7C plus 40mm f/2.5 G prime lens

I used to have a Sony Alpha A7 II so I know all about the menu system.

My first (film) camera was a Konica that came with a 40mm f/1.8 prime lens. I hardly ever used another lens in the 10 years that I had that camera, and I became used to that setup.

Favourite walkabout lens these days is Sony-Zeiss FE 35mm f/2.8, either on Sony a6000 or Sony A7.

I’m planning a trip at the moment, and will be taking the a6000 35mm combo, plus the A7 with Sony 70-200mm f/4 for a visit to a popular Zoo. Both rigs will fit together in my camera travel bag. I’ll slip in an iPad for previews.

 

[Michael Fryd]

If you are otherwise happy with your Canon DSLR, you may want to consider a crop body Canon 90D with an EF-S 18-135mm lens. If you need wider, add an EF-S 10-18, or 10-22 lens.
This will be much lighter than your current kit. As a bonus, most of your current accessories will be compatible. The 90D uses the same batteries as your 5D. If you have an external flash, it will work. Your current lenses will work, although you will get a narrower angle of view.

 

[GeoffRG]

My wife would take her two D500s with 16-85 VR and 70-200 f/2.8 + TC17 so I'd take two D5 bodies 24-70 f/2.8 E VR and 70-200 f/2.8 E VR + TC17. I'd also have a 14-24 f/2.8 in my bag. That's just the way we do things.

 

[DavidWright2010]

You ought to take a look at the(discontinued) Canon M series. The M100 is a 24 megapixel camera that weighs 1/3 of your 5D. The M6Il is the top-of-the-line 33 megapixel sensor version , but is bigger and heavier. I have both and use the M 100 mostly. Your existing lenses will work with an adapter, and used M-series lenses are readily available and cheap.



David

 

[NFKDave]

If you are otherwise happy with your Canon DSLR, you may want to consider a crop body Canon 90D with an EF-S 18-135mm lens. If you need wider, add an EF-S 10-18, or 10-22 lens.
This will be much lighter than your current kit. As a bonus, most of your current accessories will be compatible. The 90D uses the same batteries as your 5D. If you have an external flash, it will work. Your current lenses will work, although you will get a narrower angle of view.

The thing is though that I really want something smaller than a DSLR now and with a better and sharper lens than any of my Canon gear, that's why I was thinking of the Q or the X100VI. I'm even debating the new Fuji X-E5 but it won't be available until just a week before I go away so doesn't really give me much time for testing

 

[Michael Fryd]

If you are otherwise happy with your Canon DSLR, you may want to consider a crop body Canon 90D with an EF-S 18-135mm lens. If you need wider, add an EF-S 10-18, or 10-22 lens.
This will be much lighter than your current kit. As a bonus, most of your current accessories will be compatible. The 90D uses the same batteries as your 5D. If you have an external flash, it will work. Your current lenses will work, although you will get a narrower angle of view.

The thing is though that I really want something smaller than a DSLR now and with a better and sharper lens than any of my Canon gear, that's why I was thinking of the Q or the X100VI. I'm even debating the new Fuji X-E5 but it won't be available until just a week before I go away so doesn't really give me much time for testing

My experience has been that with many modern lenses, sharpness is limited by the megapixel count, not the lens count.

Keep in mind, that 12 megapixels is more than enough for an 8x10 print at 300 ppi. Larger prints are usually viewed from further away, and 12 megapixels still make a good looking print.

I often shoot models with a 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lens and a 50 megapixel 5DS. If I zoom in on my computer screen, I can see individual pores on the face. However, this is not how I display images to others. Mostly I show 8x10 print, or on a 4K display. Neither is good enough to display the details captured by my current camera (which is old technology by modern standards).

You may want to take a look at a Canon SL3 (AKA the 250D). It's quite small for an interchangeable lens camera

My advice is to go to your local camera store (or Best Buy) and hold a 90D and SL3 in your hand. You may find that they are a good size for you.

 

[New Wrycuda]

If you are otherwise happy with your Canon DSLR, you may want to consider a crop body Canon 90D with an EF-S 18-135mm lens. If you need wider, add an EF-S 10-18, or 10-22 lens.
This will be much lighter than your current kit. As a bonus, most of your current accessories will be compatible. The 90D uses the same batteries as your 5D. If you have an external flash, it will work. Your current lenses will work, although you will get a narrower angle of view.

The thing is though that I really want something smaller than a DSLR now and with a better and sharper lens than any of my Canon gear, that's why I was thinking of the Q or the X100VI. I'm even debating the new Fuji X-E5 but it won't be available until just a week before I go away so doesn't really give me much time for testing.

Why not get the Sony that you are familiar with?

 

[landshark]

I own both a FujiX100VI and Sony RX1RII, both fun and great cameras, but honestly I would not recommend them or the Q if that is your only camera.

My vote would be for the Sony A7CII and a small prime or zoom. That way if you want to add you can but if you don't still have great camera to shoot with, that is much smaller than what you have now

--
Bob

 

[JNK 100]

I would go for a Q. If you go with the X100 for example, you will still want a Q anyway!

 

[Bob]

I went through the same decision process - also for a trip to Cornwall.

My thoughts on this have evolved.

Cornwall: I brought my Nikon D810, but left all my lenses, cases, and accessories at home and just brought a small 35mm prime. The camera’s high resolution 36MP sensor gave me enough pixels to crop in 3x or 4x (i.e. “digital zoom”).

Since then, I’ve switched to a rangefinder format, using a Leica M (typ 246) Monochrom with a 50mm Summicron.

Conclusions:

High resolution is key if you want to travel light. You can easily get by with one lens provided you have enough pixels to crop later.

 

[UncleVanya]

A7rii 28-60 f4-5.6 makes a great small kit.



rx100 Va is a nice tiny camera but not sharper than the Canon.



a7cr is another option.