I need serious help choosing a camera...

If money is no object then the newly announced Nikon 1 V3 may be ideal. Available with an optional EVF and a grip with more buttons it could be a flexible solution that is unbeatable in some respects. Bear in mind it will quite possibly plummit in price like the V1 before it. Great for fast action and very portable. Some lovely lenses available also. Biggest question marks for you I guess are ergonomics and whether that sensor is good enough.

I know that the camera may be ideal, but I am in the camp that is feeling that that price is insane. I might consider it in the future, but for sure not at release at full price.
 
I've just got the EM10. Based on reading your experiences I'd say maybe try one of them but definitely with the grip. It's a fairly small camera so for you I'd go with the grip.

I haven't had a problem with the menu system personally. The thing which makes it ok for me is that if you keep scrolling down through them it just jumps to the next section. So after going through them a few times and just playing with each option, I was fairly comfortable with how it works.

Once I changed the front wheel to do aperture in a mode, speed in shutter mode, and set the fn2 button to something useful like manual focus, I find the camera works great. Face recognition can be very handy too.

Fuji hasn't worked for me to date. I have fast moving kids like you. I found my x100 slow and fiddly. I know it's got better since then but it put me off. Works for other people ofcourse, that's just my personal feelings. So I won't be going back that way anytime soon.

I'm after the 17mm rather than 25mm as I already have the 45mm for portraits and would like the standard 35mm equiv.

I have not ruled out the EM10. I still plan to look at one when they become available locally. I really do wish Fuji had worked out for me, and I did kind of love the X100S. Faster AF, just not even close to fast enough for what I am shooting. When my kids are older, and price drops more, I would still love to have one.
 
When people are saying the AF speed is not fast with the 30mm lens, how not fast are we talking about?
As I am only using the NX system I can't compare it. It is the slowest lens together with the 20-50mm. My impression is that the lens is about half as fast as the 45mm and the 30mm needs about 0.5 - 1 second for focussing.

And when you are talking about the 45mm 1.8, is that the lens that is sometimes available in the kit and listed as 2D/3D, or something different?
There are two lenses for 45mm, 2D only and 2D/3D. They are the same except there is the possibility to shoot 3D photos and videos with the second lens. The 3D option is a bit more expensive, but could be a good option bundled with a body.
 
Easy choice for capturing little kids: Olympus E-M1/45mm combo.

My kids are grown but we have 3 little grandsons who are live wires. (Substitute E-M5/45mm if cash is a problem.) Uber fast focussing, yet excellent image quality up to ISO 3200.

Just my two bobs' worth of opinion. :)
 
Regarding the Nikon 1 series:
Indoors and in low light, the AF switches from DSLR-fast (PDAF) to mirrorless-fast (CDAF). It's still pretty quick, but a decent DSLR indoors will be quicker still.

If any of your children play outdoor youth sports, then many of the other cameras mentioned will also get the job done to varying degrees but will likely require more patience and practice than the Nikon 1. The Nikon 1 series is the best thing short of a high-level DSLR with good glass. AF-C is top notch and FPS is speedy.

Otherwise, have you looked at the Canon G1x Mark 2? It's a Canon so there may be some similarities in the menus and controls between it and your DSLR.

Smaller than your Canon DSLR is the Pentax K-3. Dimensionally, it's not that far off from the OM-D with grip or Fuji X-T1. It is much heavier though. The AF on the K-3 is great and Pentax has a large selection of APS-C sized primes and zooms...much smaller than Canon glass.

Ultimately, it sounds like the way a camera feels and handles is very important to you. These are very personal things and difficult to give advice for. You may have to visit B&H or Adorama in NYC and handle each camera!
 
The 45mm (90mm on 35mm equiv.) on uFT might be a bit long for indoor shots. I am already concerned that my 45mm on NX (67,5mm on 35mm equiv.) might be to long, too, but it will to be better suited than the 45mm on uFT, I think.

I would have no problems with lens selection for micro 4/3rds- I would choose a 25mm to start (most likely the Olympus version, as I just rented the Panasonic version and it is nice but a little big). The 25mm would give me some diversity in focal length, as I almost always shoot 35mm on full frame. And the minimum focusing distance on the 25mm lens makes it work much better than a 50mm on full frame indoors. The 30mm would be ok for me on the Samsung as far as focal length, the 45 might be a bit long. I would think though that I will be using this second smaller camera outdoors fairly often, and indoors/at home I will still use my 5D.
 
Regarding the Nikon 1 series:
Indoors and in low light, the AF switches from DSLR-fast (PDAF) to mirrorless-fast (CDAF). It's still pretty quick, but a decent DSLR indoors will be quicker still.

If any of your children play outdoor youth sports, then many of the other cameras mentioned will also get the job done to varying degrees but will likely require more patience and practice than the Nikon 1. The Nikon 1 series is the best thing short of a high-level DSLR with good glass. AF-C is top notch and FPS is speedy.

Otherwise, have you looked at the Canon G1x Mark 2? It's a Canon so there may be some similarities in the menus and controls between it and your DSLR.

Smaller than your Canon DSLR is the Pentax K-3. Dimensionally, it's not that far off from the OM-D with grip or Fuji X-T1. It is much heavier though. The AF on the K-3 is great and Pentax has a large selection of APS-C sized primes and zooms...much smaller than Canon glass.

Ultimately, it sounds like the way a camera feels and handles is very important to you. These are very personal things and difficult to give advice for. You may have to visit B&H or Adorama in NYC and handle each camera!

I have just in the last few days looked at the specifications for the G1X 2- and it absolutely looks like something I might be interested in. I am not sure when it will be released? I also looked a little bit online at the Olympus Stylus 1? I don't know if that might be an option for me along those same lines.

I wish I could visit a camera store in person, but with my kids at the ages they are, I have trouble getting away to Best Buy or our very limited little Midwestern local camera store.
 
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