Upgrading to an interchangeable lens camera system soon

[xbojx]

Hi guys!

I'm new here at Ausphotography. I have been shooting with my Fujifilm X100S for a few years now and there were times that I wished I could change the focal length of my camera. I think I am ready to upgrade to an interchangeable lens camera system.

Some things I love to shoot:

- I love landscapes. I always wished I had a wide angle lens.
- I love shooting at night. I love long exposures.
- I love street photography.

I love how small the X100S is. I also keep a small tripod in the boot of my car just in case. I think a DSLR system is too bulky for me. I would like to have a compact mirrorless camera with maybe a good zoom lens and a good wide angle lens.

Preferably under $2000.


With that said, do you guys have any suggestions on what camera should I research about?

TIA!

[arthurking83]

It's probably best to stick with the same brand that you're currently used too, in this case, mainly for the software/PP workflow, but also to maintain the camera handling continuity as well.

I was going to suggest having a look at a Nikon D5500 + 18-140mm VR lens kit .. can be had for well under that, and therefore gives you some leeway to get a longer zoom lens if you ever want/need.

Fiju I think have their XE-3 which gives you a compact mirrorless body and the ability to change lenses.
It has the more modern/current 24Mp sensor, if this is important to you .. otherwise maybe an older gen XE-2, XT-10 or XT-1 type body.

In terms of lenses, they have their 18-135mm lens to get you started.

Only problem with it all(and I looked when searching for a new camera for my kids .. mainly daughter) .. it's all so damned expensive!
You're probably looking at close to $2K for that body and single lens alone. For me, this was an instant deal breaker .. I ain't paying $2K for something that one of my kids may easily bring back home in pieces!(hence the D5500+18-140VR lens from earlier).

Canon also do some good small DSLR+mid range kit zoom lenses too at good prices .. but I also know nothing about them other than they seem to be good value for money.

I reckon a pertinent question here too is .. roughly how long do you want this zoom lens to be?
They come in all flavours and sizes .. the more common type is the 18-55 . usually regarded as a std kit lens. I think they're basically useless other than the compact size. I'd prefer a more mid range(18-100-ish .. ie. 105-150mm at the long end) type as they're coming to market with some very good quality nowadays.
You can get 18-200(also a common focal length range and then you get the all in one... pretty much not worth the money 18-300 and even 18-400mm type zooms too. While they sound like they could be nice to have, on the whole they're pretty average at the long end anyhow!

Also .. do you expect to end up getting other accessories as well. That is, do you have a budget of $2K now, and expect that you want a filter of some type, a tripod of half decent quality, a remote shutter release .. and some more lenses later on .. etc, etc.
Note that this is a common occurrence, and you may think it won't apply to you, but most people that end up going down that route also thought that about their own situation too!

[swifty]

I'd probably second going with the Fuji X system due to continuity and familiarity of the system.
But it doesn't hurt to see what the competition offers and there're a lot of 'action' in the mirrorless system space.

Sony FF will be out of your budget and probably their latest APS-C models but their older APS-C system are still available for purchase for cheap. I'd personally wouldn't consider Sony for their APS-C system alone as it feels to me their priorities are in the high end FF market. But if you have the money, some of the best tech are available in Sony FF.

M43 is a pretty well rounded system with a lot of lens options. I especially like some of their cheap fast primes like the 45/1.8 (90mm equiv FOV due to the 2X crop factor) and in the case of Olympus, their IBIS and dual IS technology. It's at a stage where hand held long exposures may be possible and I'm talking exposures well into the seconds.
If you're into video, then have a look at the Panasonic offerings.

I like Canon's new offerings for their EOS-M system. But it's a work in progress and the system is still in its infancy. But if their current offerings already fits your needs, then why not.

Nikon's system's not born yet but expect some action as early as later this year (I'm not counting the Nikon 1 system which seemed to have stalled). What it is is anybody's guess atm.