I just gave in and bought a Sony RX100 V last night. It’s insane how much power they can fit into a literal pocket sized camera these days. Pumped to take it out on the course!
1 Like
So good right? It’s probably the best point and shoot on the market right now. Definitely packs a punch.
Thinking about buying this camera: https://www.getolympus.com/us/en/e-m10-mark-ii.html
I didn’t see it mentioned in the thread yet, so I was wondering if anyone has any experience/opinions? Seems like a pretty robust camera for the price and a great entry into serious amateur photography
From what I can tell, that is a camera body only. Keep in mind you will still need to buy a lens or two. Most of the cameras mentioned above are considered “point and shoot’s”, which are small, mostly pocketable, and have a built in lens (Canon G7x ii, Sony RX100 series, LUMIX LX10/15, LX100). That body with a lens will be pretty large.
With that said it certainly has all the specs of a great entry level mirrorless camera: 16mp should do fine for small prints, interchangeable lenses gives you unlimited options, and has 1080p video/4K timelapses.
Much more has certainly been accomplished on much worse cameras…but if your primary focus is on fitting it in a golf bag and/or your pocket, you may want to look at some of the point and shoots.
Sorry, I should have specified. I’m looking for a mirrorless camera, but a solid entry level option.
I’m looking at getting two lenses (if I go with the Olympus), a 14-42 and a 40-150. The 14-42 comes in two versions and I believe the difference is that one is powered and one is mechanical?
These two:
Just wanting to know if this Olympus is a better deal than something like the Fujifilm XT20 for a beginner who wants to experiment and become a true manual shooter.
I can’t speak to the ease of use for either camera but YouTube is the king of places to find comparisons.
Both of those lenses have fairly middle of the road aperature ranges. Limiting yourself to f3.5 is going to make it hard to get that “bokeh” with a blurred background that most people associate with a “good looking picture”. I’m positive you can still accomplish that and take great pictures, but if you’re buying two lenses you may want to look at getting a lower end focal lens with a little lower aperature capabilities instead of that 14-42 you linked. Just a recommendation!
Could you link an example? Still kind of lost on what a “lower aperture capability” is lol
By lower end focal lens, do you mean a fixed lens?
Sorry if my questions are dumb
Not dumb at all and I’m not an expert by ANY means so we’re in the same boat!
The lower the f stop number of a lens, the more light it lets in. The more light it lets in, the deeper depth of field you can get. F3.5 is the lowest those lenses go, meaning you may struggle to get a ton of depth in your pictures. Look for something similar to the 14-42 focal length, but with aperature like f1.8 as the lowest number.
This is not essential to take great pictures, but will certainly give you more tools at your disposal. Thats why the Sony RX100 series is so highly regarded - it fits in your pocket and has a built in 24-70mm lens with f1.8 - f2.8 capabilities…that means even all the way zoomed in at 70mm, you’re getting much more depth of field than that lens you linked gets at its widest 14mm (f3.5). This is what makes lenses truly versatile, besides the quality.
Here’s a good link to read to see what I mean: https://photographylife.com/landscapes/aperture-and-f-stop-explained-for-beginners/amp
Look up examples of depth of field and you’ll quickly learn the differences and be able to dial in what capabilities are important to you based on the type of photos you want to take.
Ahh that makes sense. Cool. Appreciate the explanation!
I asked the guy at the camera shop about Sony’s mirrorless options and he mentioned that the lenses were much bigger/less portable. End of discussion for him lol But if the lenses have such better ranges… I can put up with a bulkier set
Update: went to a second store and the lady said the Olympus is all wrong. Now I am thoroughly confused
Lol they don’t know what they’re talking about. The kit 16-50mm Sony lens that comes with the whole a5100-a6500 series is TINY. Super thin.
Decide what’s important to you - size, capability, 4k video, photos, etc.
Watch some YouTube videos on the best mirrorless cameras under $700 (or whatever the top number you were looking to spend is).
Guarantee you’ll feel much more enlightened as to the options out there.
1 Like
Thanks for all the info Scott, seems like a great place to call home. I’ve been in touch with the GM so if all goes well might have to get out for a round together sometime.
I used the first version of that Olympus body. It was my first camera that wasn’t just the crappy, Canon point and shoots you can jam into your pocket. For someone who knew nothing about photography, it was a great entry point. It was tiny, lightweight, but packed plenty of power. Thanks to the Micro Four Thirds sensor size, there are plenty of native lenses made by Olympus, Panasonic, as well as some third party choices. I really enjoyed using it.
However, I was gifted a Fuji XT10 and immediately fell in love with it. Fujis do have a longer learning curve because they mimic film cameras in many ways, but I felt that really helped raise my photography IQ quicker than the Olympus did. I shot with the XT10 for a year and then moved up to the XT2 which I freaking love.
I initially picked Olympus because they were a little cheaper than Fuji. You can certainly find cheaper lenses for the Olympus, but there are also plenty of high end M43 lenses if you really get into it and want to stick with that sensor size. There are also plenty of higher end M43 bodies if you go all in and decide you want a more powerful body down the road but don’t want to start over with new lenses, too.
Does the Fuji take pictures that are significantly better than the Olympus? Probably not. It’s all about what you learn to do with the camera you have. The Fuji just fits my sensibilities better.
Either line is a great jumping in point. If there’s a camera store close to you, I highly recommend getting your hands on a few different models and seeing if they feel right to. Do the menus makes sense. Can you get to what you need quickly? Etc. Sometimes a camera can get great reviews but the ergonomics or thought process behind its controls will make no sense to you at all. Better to figure that out in a store than after you’ve dropped a grand on a body and lens(es).
Hope that helps some.
3 Likes
wow that helps a ton, thanks for the input!! The allure of the Olympus was purely price. What is the disadvantage of the smaller sensor size? It was mentioned to me at the camera shop but I didn’t quite understand. Something about performing worse in low light?
I really appreciate all of the info all!
Also, if there is a resource you recommend for learning basic photography skills, would appreciate that as well.
Sensor size causes a number of differences among cameras, most of which are way too mathematical for me to understand (I was purely a liberal arts student 30 years ago). It affects the depth of field (i.e. ability to create fancy, blurry backgrounds), focal length (A 17mm lens on Micro Four Thirds and a 23mm lens on a Fuji are roughly the focal equivalents of a 35mm full frame lens), and how much data the sensor collects. There are some fundamental differences that you can’t get around (physics!), but until you plan on making your living with the camera, I honestly don’t know how important they are. And plenty of people make a living with crop-factor cameras!
(Apologies to the science majors out there if I got any of that totally jumbled.)
To answer your question about low light, yes a Fuji (or other APS-C sensor) can perform better in low light than an Olympus (although lens aperture factors into this as well) and neither will perform as well as a Full Frame camera. The good news is on most modern digital cameras you can correct for this some by cranking the ISO way the hell up and still end up with pictures that don’t look like they were taken with a circa 2002 Nokia phone. I don’t remember my Olympus being terrible in low light.
My honest, amateur opinion is we obsess too much about low light performance. Unless you’re really good with flash - and most people are terrible with flash - you just have to live with the fact your camera may not get great shots in the 10% of the time you have bad light.
Regarding learning the basics, Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure is a terrific resource. Disclaimer: I had to read it twice before it made sense. But once you can connect what he writes about with the camera in your hand, the lightbulb will go on.
I believe I read through a Beginning Photography group on Reddit and that really helped me put things together, too. There are plenty of camera-specific sites out there that can help a lot as well.
Try not to get sucked into GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). Make a purchase and stick with it without obsessing about what your next lens or body will be. Make mistakes, learn, and enjoy what you have. (Easy for me to say, having just returned to golf after over a decade away and I now spend about 75% of my free time plotting what my next golf purchase will be…)
1 Like
Just chiming in to show an example of why iPhone might not be the best route for quality course photos. iPhone built in lense is really quite wide, witch makes it great for portraits and detail photos, but you really need to be close to what you are photographing or else it will feel far away and unimpressive.
Below are 2 photos I took from the same vantage point this past weekend at Streamsong. The first is iPhone, the second is my Fuji with a 50mm lense.
I’m convinced iPhone is the best camera phone out there, and I always have it on me for quick shots, photos of my bag, clubhouse, etc. But to really show off a golf course and it’s design features, something with a little zoom goes a long way.
11 Likes
Zoom and your positioning from the same spot can make a golf hole look completely different.
The beauty of capturing golf courses 
You guys have to stop. I’ve caught the bug. Trying to figure out how to hide a $1K purchase from my gf…
3 Likes
i’m sorry, I thought you said girlfriend there for a minute…
5 Likes