I dunno if I'm just getting old or lazy but I'm getting more and more fed up with changing lenses. Years ago when I had just a Panasonic TZ6 life was so much simpler. Now I never know what lens to take out with me so usually just stick on a wide angle to make sure I get everything in. Of course the beauty of primes especially is the wide aperture so if there was a APS-C compact with a reasonably small zoom and wide constant aperture then I would probably be all over it. I found myself drooling over images from the Leica X Vario!!! If only that was constant 2.8!! I still love photography as much as ever but find less is more!
Anyone else fed up with changing lenses?
Ghosthunter,
I used to change lenses. I still have a tournament selection of Pentax bodies and screw mount lenses. But after a while, the bag became just too heavy and . . . well, you probably know the rest. I bought an Olympus ZLR (that's zoom lens reflex, a 35mm film camera with a non-detachable wide-range zoom lens) and used that for a while.
When I got my first digital camera 13 years ago (I think), an Olympus D550, I started to shoot more keepers than I ever had before and I was using it professionally to illustrate my stories for freelance writing. (I had a bizarre thought just yesterday: maybe the reason I was shooting more keepers was because the D550 -- a point-and-shoot -- took much of the control out of my hands . . . how about that!? Maybe I'm just a point-and-shoot kind of photographer . . .)
Now I have gradually moved to a G12 (my concealed carry, everyday camera) and an FZ150 (my wife's camera and my backup for assignments) and an FZ200.
Now, finally, ghosthunter, I am getting to the point: as I look around this forum and see the flatly gorgeous work done by folks with interchangeable-lens "system" cameras, I have tried -- really tried -- in my heart of hearts to like the idea of owning system cameras again. And I just can't seem to do it. (As of yesterday, Luke -- one of our kind and esteemed moderators -- has an excellent Fuji outfit for sale with, I think, three lenses. I am sorely tempted, but a part of me inside nags me: will I really use it if have to carry more weight, worry about changing lenses and possibly dusty sensors?)
Ultimately, the place I come down to is this: I think a superzoom like the FZ200 is the perfect solution for nearly every photographic need. No lens changing, enormous focal range (in equivalent terms), worthy performance (constant f/2.8 if you want it; autofocus that seems comparable to entry-level DSLRs, and I keep finding things that it will do that astonish me. I have used mine on professional assignments and gotten compliments on the pictures.
If you don't want to carry that much camera (the FZ200 is less than 1.5 pounds and smaller than an entry-level DSLR with a kit lens), the Canon G series is smaller and so solidly built that you could probably flog a would-be mugger with it and then photograph him as he flees.
Can a skilled photographer with a system camera take better pictures than me with my superzoom? Absolutely. I see it demonstrated here on this forum every day -- pictures that make me say, "Wow, that's really nice . . . I want to be just like him (or her) when I grow up."
Ultimately, I think it comes down to this: what camera (system or otherwise) do you feel comfortable with? What gives you joy to carry and use?
Cheers, Jock