Camera-Fu

Like Kung-Fu, but with things that take pictures, I guess.

I got caught up in reading reviews and I got into the idea of having a "compact mirrorless camera", which is a small digital camera with interchangeable lenses, but isn't necessarily a DSLR. I was drawn in originally by the new Nikon 1 series camera, the "J1", which is on TV in a commercial starring Ashton Kutcher. It is a cute little number that can snap 16:9 format stills while simultaneously shooting full 1080p video. Unfortunately, it is Nikon's first foray into a mirrorless compact, and they put too much emphasis on making it as small as possible. They ended up with a very agile CX format image sensor, but while it is extremely fast, it doesn't take particularly fantastic stills.

I ended up narrowing things down to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 and the Sony NEX-5N. Both are very similar in features, but the Sony has a superior image sensor, the full-sized DSLR style APS-C CMOS, while the G3 has the micro 4/3rds size CMOS (which isn't a whole lot smaller, but small enough to take slightly-noisier photos at high ISOs). Both cameras offer in-lens Image Stabilization, so it came down to the Sony's smaller and lighter frame and superior image quality and video framerates (it can do full 1080/60p, while the Panasonic does 1080/30p or 1080/60i).

The Panasonic had a couple of flashy features that the Sony doesn't have, like an optional 3D lens that can shoot 3D video or stills (but lacks any sort of optical zoom features), but those features didn't interest me, and in the case of the optional lens, cost another $200 to take advantage of. The G3 also has a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF), but again, I think I will tend to be using the LCD instead, and the Sony's LCD has twice the resolution of the Panasonic's LCD (both are 3", though). The Sony has an optional add-on EVF for $350 that has an amazing 2MP OLED screen (to compare, the LCD screen is .9MP on the Sony, which is almost twice the resolution of the Panasonic G3's 460k pixel screen) if I ever decide that looking through a viewfinder is necessary.

The Panasonic has better reviews for usability, with people complaining about the higher learning curve of the Sony's convoluted menus. While I do value the idea of having an easier time getting to the most-useful features, I have never backed down from the challenge of a clunky user interface if the underlying system is more powerful.

Both cameras also go for the same price normally, at $699, but I could get the Panasonic for $599 on sale from Amazon if I wanted the black one (the white and red ones are still full retail at $699, for some reason). I have decided to just go for the better picture quality of the Sony, and placed my order yesterday. I will get back to you in this thread with a few sample pictures from the Sony when it shows up on Monday or Tuesday! I also have a new member of the household to show off, a female English Shepard puppy named "Maya". We're going to take on the challenge of trying to train her to be a service animal, as a diabetic alert dog (she will alert me, should my blood sugar go below a certain point).