Advice for re-investing please?

[DigglerDawg]

Hello,
I recently sold off all of my Canon gear - a range of L lenses and a 1DS III. Please don't berate me for this! The plan was to sit on the cash and invest in something small for travelling early next year. However it's now occurred to me that my travels can be delayed but I would need to invest in some quality gear for the more immediate future.

I have retained my EOS M kit but with the exception of the 22mm, the lenses aren't up to the job. I come mainly from a landscape and press background but I'm keen to concentrate on natural light portraiture. I need superb sharpness at wide apertures (<2.8) primes in a range not lower than 22mm and not longer than 200mm in a system with extremely low noise below ISO800.

System brand isn't important to me now, so I'm keen to explore all options. I'd love to go mirrorless if possible but open to all suggestions. Should I keep the M and add a suite of EF lenses to it or should I consider another system? My only concern with the M is the lack of viewfinder.

So there it is - if you were no longer tied to a brand and needed noiseless sharp images from a few fast primes, preferably in a reasonably portable system, where would you be looking?

Thanks for your time.

 

[Dylan777]

Fuji has decent mirrorless system. Great lens selection. IQ is very good.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Unfortunately, small and lightweight versus high quality tends to be a conflict. Medium Format is more what you need for the highest quality portrait and landscape photos.

The issue with mirrorless and wide angle is the reduced distance to the backplane (Lens sits closer to the sensor). This makes it very difficult to design wide angle lenses for a large sensor camera, which is what you need to get low noise. For small sensors, lenses can be better, but they have to be a lot better just to match the IQ from a lesser lens in a large sensor camera.

Beware of buying any camera based on advertising or specification sheets. Try one if you can, or look at multiple independent reviews. Owner reviews tend to be biased, we all are biased towards our decision of what to buy, no problem with that.

The Sony RX III seems to be very good for a smaller sensor mirrorless camera, and it has a reasonably wide lens. But, it falls short for portraits, since it does not cover the normal portrait range of 85-135mm. That stopped me from getting it.

Look at the Fujii's, they do seem to be making evolutionary improvements with each new model release, the newest round might be good, but also expensive.

The best mirrorless cameras are grossly overpriced, and the technology is moving rapidly, so consider that before investing thousands in a mirrorless system that almost matches your "M" in IQ. You can use a adapter to mount a Zeiss lens to the "M" and have something very special.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

You are in a position of rare advantage. Don't squander it! Take your time.

Now is the chance to really look at the other brands. Look at them all... all of them. You might be surprised at what is out there. Last year, I was in a simular situtation where I had a "once in a lifetime" chance to choose a camera system from scratch. It took me over 6 months to make my decision. It is good to have this freedom, but also intimidating as there are many good choices out there.

Sometimes it appears that these days we have too many good choices to choose from.

Good luck with it. I hope you are able to find a brand that gives you what you need for your particular type of photography.

 

[Maximilian]

Fuji has decent mirrorless system. Great lens selection. IQ is very good.

I second that. They seem to have a really good APS-C sensor - although I don't want to reduce a system to the sensor.

And if you're willing to choose even smaller sensors, I would look into the Mirco Four Thirds systems (MFT).
Here I would prefer Olympus with their PEN and OM-D cameras, because of the in-body image stabilizer and because they have shown, that they can built quite good lenses.

As for the EOS M:
You say, you miss the view finder. As you've already sold the other Canon stuff (which I wouldn't have done, honestly), I would concentrate on one system. I don't know if or when we'll see an EOS M with EVF. So sell it and spend the money for good lenses in your new system.

Maybe just wait a few days to see, what Canon wants us to know with their "See Impossible" Teaser.

 

[tayassu]

I'd go for Fuji XT-1 + 23/1.4 & 56/1.2, supplemented by the 16-50 and 50-140 2.8 zooms (as allround workhorses ).

 

[RLPhoto]

Nikon d810 + zeiss otus primes and the 135 APO.

 

[DigglerDawg]

Thanks everyone, some good advice here. Where mirrorless is concerned, it definitely seems we're in a transitional phase somewhere between the good and the sublime. As such, I suppose I should be weighting my thoughts on which system has the most promising lens mount. Larger sensors are also on my shopping list.

Ziess has been mentioned a few times in terms of lenses, but my recent research is pulling up some disappointing reviews, certainly where 50mm primes are concerned. Sigma Art seem to be hitting high and showing promise.

I'm in 2 minds about adding amazing glass to my EOS M, or investing more in a new full system. If sticking with Canon, the lenses I buy could later be used on a system such as Sony via adapter, but if there's a lens system offering primes of a quality equalling Canon L's, I'd be very tempted to take that route.

...This is not easy!

 

[sdsr]

The best mirrorless cameras are grossly overpriced, and the technology is moving rapidly, so consider that before investing thousands in a mirrorless system that almost matches your "M" in IQ. You can use a adapter to mount a Zeiss lens to the "M" and have something very special.

Some seem overpriced to me too, but the best aps-c mirrorless camera is probably the Sony a6000, which costs <$600, while right now the ff a7 is <$1500 and a7r <$2100 (often less). Provided they're compatible with the use to which one wants to put a camera, they all seem like a pretty good deal to me, especially since you can attach just about any lens to them, albeit usually with complete loss of AF performance (or with the Metabones Canon adapter, considerable loss of AF performance - though I would note it's much faster on the a6000). With such a body there's no need for a "system" at all.

 

[dickgrafixstop]

I envy you while I sit here with bags full of Canon equipment. I'm tempted to sell it all and start from scratch
with a Fuji. I borrowed a friends XT with the 58mm f1.2 lens and was blown away by the quality. He only has
that and an 18-55 (good by not great lens) but he has a shopping list of several more primes that he's after.
I like the fact that Fuji seems to support improvements in older gear, is open about their plans, and excels at
execution. The quality is good, the handling feels good and the new 18-135 weather sealed lens might be a
good starting point.

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

I need superb sharpness at wide apertures (<2.8) primes in a range not lower than 22mm and not longer than 200mm in a system with extremely low noise below ISO800.

Considering your statements, I suggest Nikon D810 + some prime lens like Sigma Art and Zeiss Otus.

In Canon land, you will find what you need with 85mm F1.2 lens and the 200mm F2, but the current Canon bodies will can not offer better sharpness than your old 1Ds Mark iii.

 

[DigglerDawg]

Thanks again for all your replies. I was about to click the buy-button on a Fuji setup but bailed in favour of a suite of Sigma Art lenses to use on the EOS M. The lenses seem to be some of the best available and I'm crossing my fingers that the M's sensor is going to be good enough to hold up. I know so many people bang on about big lenses on a little camera, but Im not too bothered by this at the moment. If it turns out that the M is a very weak link, I'll have a set of awesome lenses to stick on a Sony or anything Canon might come up with in future.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with this setup, thanks for all the advice, even if I did only take a little of it on board!