Getting a bit fed up with interchangeable lens cameras

Location
London UK
Name
Andy
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? :D
 
Have been for years. I remember well in 1996 , for a whole year I only had a Nikon FE2 and a 105 f1.8 lens. I made do, I was quite happy. Then it all went wrong when I bought a Bronica with a couple of lenses. Now I have the three DP Merrill's. Guess what. I use the DP3 most of the time.
 
Yesssss :D One the main reasons I've got my X-Pro1 is the amazing 18-55mm/f2.8-4 kit lens. I haven't taken it off once in 4 months; my copy is that good and I'm not much of a UWA, tele or low-light shooter anyway. For me the major drawback of that combo is bulk/weight and despite the bad news from last week I keep on dreaming of a one-inch sensor follow-up to the X10/X20.
 
I went through a period of preferring fixed lens cameras to ILCs, but my fixed lens were all fixed focal length too, and I'd just carry 2-3 of them at a time so I could just grab a camera instead of changing a lens. But what I realized is I don't really change lenses (or, in that case, cameras) often enough for it to be a problem. I tend to go with one camera/lens combination for an hour or two and then maybe switch to a different focal length and shoot with IT for an hour or two. So, realizing that, changing lenses is not a problem at all - I don't tend to change them more than a handful of times per day when I'm out shooting.

But I think this is different than what you're talking about. Because I absolutely can't get along with zooms except at the really long telephoto lengths, where it seems pretty critical to framing a distant subject. When I have an ultra-wide zoom, it ends up being a binary lens - I use it at the widest and longest settings and basically never in between. A standard zoom is absolutely worthless to me unless I'm shooting some event like a parade or some other public thing where I have to zoom in and out all the time. But in those situations I'm less interested in composition than just getting a specific subject in the frame. I can't compose a shot to save my life with a zoom - just too many variables and possibilities at any given moment for my little brain to cope with. The only way I can SEE is use one lens with one focal length for quite a while and don't even think about changing it for a good chunk of time. I get used to that length and I can see. When I go out with a zoom, I tend to come back with a lot of worthless photos.

Everybody sees and perceives and thinks differently. Whatever works for each is great, but to me the bigger distinction is between zoom and prime shooting than whether the lens is permanently fixed to the camera or interchangeable.

-Ray
 
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? :D

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
 
Andy, I know where you're coming from...and think it's good to air one's thoughts. You are, however, a bit like a kid in a candy store aren't you - working where you do? It's difficult enough for me just reading Amin's forums with an occasional foray into Leica forum not to start to drool and feel my fingers reaching for my wallet...

My very general thoughts are that for many of us who are really not professionals, there are too many choices...or not enough in the bank account. ;) I just keep telling myself "less is more" and try to act (or not) on that.:D
 
I never find myself changing lenses a lot. I also accept that fact that I miss certain shots this way. I can live with that. Since I do like teles, the zooms are heavy, slow, and/or expensive.
 
So, assuming the XE1 gear is gone, what are you left with? Inquiring minds need to know. Or, at least, are curious...

-Ray

I'm left with the RX1 and the X100. I can't seem to eliminate one even though they should cancel each other out. The X100 is just a joy to use and outputs beautiful files. But that RX1 files are magical (I hate how stupid that sounds, but anyone who has ever opened up a file on their computer knows what I mean).

I'm thinking of getting a Panasonic FZ200. The new house we're living in is in a small community that is largely wooded and I'm constantly hearing and seeing new birds and would like to get a better look at them. The other night was the first one since we moved where it was warm enough to sleep with the windows open (it only went down to 45 degrees) and when I awoke, I thought I was a rainforest (!) with all the exotic bird sounds I heard.

I've flirted with the idea of getting an E-M5 with a 100-300 and just leave it glued on there, but I know my LBA would kick in and pretty soon, I'd have a 25mm and a 45mm and a 75mm. So I'll avoid temptation and take the small IQ hit. The FZ200 will be my partner when I'm walking the dogs and one of the other 2 when I'm pretending to be a photographer.
 
I'm left with the RX1 and the X100. I can't seem to eliminate one even though they should cancel each other out. The X100 is just a joy to use and outputs beautiful files. But that RX1 files are magical (I hate how stupid that sounds, but anyone who has ever opened up a file on their computer knows what I mean).

I'm thinking of getting a Panasonic FZ200. The new house we're living in is in a small community that is largely wooded and I'm constantly hearing and seeing new birds and would like to get a better look at them. The other night was the first one since we moved where it was warm enough to sleep with the windows open (it only went down to 45 degrees) and when I awoke, I thought I was a rainforest (!) with all the exotic bird sounds I heard.

I've flirted with the idea of getting an E-M5 with a 100-300 and just leave it glued on there, but I know my LBA would kick in and pretty soon, I'd have a 25mm and a 45mm and a 75mm. So I'll avoid temptation and take the small IQ hit. The FZ200 will be my partner when I'm walking the dogs and one of the other 2 when I'm pretending to be a photographer.

Wow, that is interesting. I can't imagine owning both the X100 and RX1, let alone as my ONLY two cameras. Although I FULLY understand the appeal of both, having owned them both. I could see using a single focal length more than any other - I pretty much live at 28mm a lot of the time. But I don't think I could ever be satisfied not having other options available. But if you can pull it off, more power to you.

-Ray
 
It's funny how many of us have fallen for the siren song of sexy primes, forgetting momentarily how convenient a good zoom is. I still contend that the next mainstream sensor size will be one where the 5x and 10x zooms are small. APS-C and Micro Four-Thirds have wonderfully small primes, but still haven't cracked the code of a small 5-10x zoom.

That's why I think Nikon went to the 1" sensor - the kit zooms (10-30 and 30-110, roughly equivalent to 14-42 and 40-150 M43, 18-55 and 55-300 APS-C, and 27-70 and 70-300 FF) are tiny. My Nikon V1 with those two zooms gives me the same range and IQ as a Nikon D70/D80 with two much bigger zooms. And the sensor performance will just get better, whereas the APS-C zooms won't get much smaller than they already are.

I'm still very much intrigued by the Sony RX10 and will probably get one used in a year's time.

I mused about this just last year: I Was a Primes Kind of Guy, Until I Wasn't.
 
It's funny how many of us have fallen for the siren song of sexy primes, forgetting momentarily how convenient a good zoom is.
Zooms are massively convenient. IF you can work well with them. I can't. It's years of experience that's taught me this and it's a lesson I relearn every time I think it might be nice to go shoot with one more versatile lens and I take a zoom instead of a prime. And I either slam it to the wide end and negate the whole point or I try to use the whole thing and then end up coming back with worthless photos. Our brains all work differently. I need to limit my easily available options. I don't mind having a couple of primes in a bag and switching between them once or twice in a day. But zooms just don't work in my head. The new Fuji 10-24 f4.0 is a fantastic lens that realistically includes every focal length I use for 98-99% of my shooting. I've tried taking it out a few times instead of 2-3 primes that are all contained within it and I come back with crap, other than maybe a couple of OK shots at 10mm. I tend to shoot it fully wide or occasionally all the way at the other end at 24, but almost never hit the in between focal lengths of 14, 15, and 18, where I ordinarily LIVE with primes. Whenever I try to set it to one of those lengths I always think a given image might be a little better a little wider or longer and pretty soon I'm living at the ends of the range again. This was a little bit less of a problem with the step zoom in the LX5 and LX7 I had for a while, but I still was pretty bad at using anything other than 24mm. The 10-24 is destined to live it's life as a specialty 10mm for me, a lens that's great to have and use occasionally, but a lens I won't use anything CLOSE to it's full potential.

The same thing happens with my excellent Olympus 12-40. If I haven't shot with a zoom in months, I can sometimes take it out for a couple of hours and do OK with it. And its my weatherproof option, so it'll get some use in trying circumstances. But then if I think, "oh, that worked pretty well - think I'll take it out again", by the second or third outing my photography goes to hell. It just does. It's just my wiring. I need constraints and a good prime is the kind of constraint that works for me.

For shooting certain types of sports events, school events, parades (when I'm shooting the actual parade, not the other spectators), zooms are da bomb. Hugely useful for that kind of thing. I do just barely enough of that kind of thing to keep a couple of zooms on hand. But I almost never use them otherwise. Because I just can't - I suck with them.

I don't consider the primes sexy and I don't think it's a siren song. I think it's years of hard-earned awareness of my own limitations. So I'm a primes guy. I don't claim they're better in any fundamental way - zooms now are better than they've ever been. They're just better for me.

-Ray
 
All you have to do, Andy, is get one body for each lens. Problem solved. :D

Seriously, I am with you. It seems like every time I change lenses in the field, no matter how careful I am, I end up with dust or pollen on my sensor. I guess I need to quick hanging out on the windswept plains.
 
I'm another one who doesn't change lenses all that much. Generally, my Pentax K-5 has the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 on it. My Olympus E-PM2 usually had the Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 on it and we'll see how it goes with my E-M5. I generally only change lenses if I need a bona fide wide-angle or telephoto focal length - or am on a mission to specifically shoot portraits. My general, grab-it-just-to-have-a-camera-with-me choice is currently the Fuji XF-1. I'm still getting used to the X-E1.
 
I'm left with the RX1 and the X100. I can't seem to eliminate one even though they should cancel each other out. The X100 is just a joy to use and outputs beautiful files. But that RX1 files are magical (I hate how stupid that sounds, but anyone who has ever opened up a file on their computer knows what I mean).

I sold my X100 to fund the RX1 purchased. Part of it was to help with spousal non-disaproval (allegations of too many cameras in the house), but also I figured it didn't make sense to have two cameras with a similar fixed FoV and of relatively the same size.

Now I regret parting with my X100. Partly because my RX1 is in the shop waiting on backordered parts, for sure, but also because the X100 did great with candids at family and friend outings. Great colors and skin tone, with little monkeying around in post, and I loved the fill flash.
 
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? :D

Not fed up. If I do take a camera out with interchangeable lenses I almost always take one lens. But in general I prefer fixed-lens cameras. I also like how they are optimally paired with the sensor. Ricoh GR most of the time, and lately the ancient Ricoh GXR 50mm A12 too.

This past weekend I took the X Vario out for the first time in a while... looking at the pictures I was amazed and reminded just how good it is. Just wow. As I've said in the past it and the GR make a fantastic pair.

I've also come to realize the APS sensor size is my optimum sensor size. Fixed-lens APS cameras... perfect.

I just remembered that I also have the Sony RX10 as my all-around family camera, which has some tele reach.
 
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