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Looking to change camera equipment
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Aug 8, 2021 23:51:32   #
wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
 
rsworden wrote:
Seconding this… Olympus OM-D E-M5 is quite small and quite powerful. I am not familiar with a 14-150, but I have got along quite well for a couple years with a 14-42 and a 40-150.


The 14-150 is an older design that was redone as a waterproof design. It is a little on the slow side but is optically still very reasonably for the price. For a beginning lens, it really is hard to beat.

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Aug 9, 2021 00:41:15   #
Carl1024 Loc: Kaneohe, HI 96744
 
i own 1 & i love it. was using the 40-150 f/3.5 but interest fell shy as it couldn't what the 14, can.
.....................................message ends......................................

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Aug 9, 2021 11:48:52   #
Blues Dude
 
You should check out used cameras from KEH, Adorama, B&H, etc. They have good quality gear, great reputations and will save you money.

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Aug 9, 2021 12:06:26   #
Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA
 
Lovephotography wrote:
Hi,
I am a first time poster here!
I have been collecting and using Nikon equipment for many years. As I am in my senior years, I find it is extremely hard for me to hold a lot of my cameras and lenses.
I am looking for any suggestions on lightweight equipment I can purchase. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Kathy


Here's my suggestion which was my solution for a light weight rig to shoot birds. I bought a used Nikon 1 J1 on ebay for less than $100. It has a 1" 12MP sensor which means I can crop to 100% without loss of resolution or pixelation (which a smaller sensor on a bridge camera cannot do).. I bought a new Nikon FT1 adapter for $250. This lets me use my Nikon auto focus lenses with center point autofocus on the J1. Result is a 2 lb package that with my Nikor 55-300 lens gets a focal length of 810mm due to the J1 2.89x crop factor. For wide angle there is a J1 10-30mm kit lens that gives a focal length of 29-81 mm. The camera and lens are selling used on ebay for about $150.

Nikon J1 with FT1 dapter and Nikkor 55-300 autofocus lens.
Nikon J1 with FT1 dapter and Nikkor 55-300 autofoc...
(Download)

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Aug 9, 2021 12:24:48   #
NotAnselAdams Loc: Pueblo, CO
 
For many years I carried a Canon. Finally the weight got to me and I switched to Olympus. I highly recommend the mirrorless 4/3 system. You may want to rent an Oly camera at your local camera shop and see how you like it.
I know there has been a lot of talk about Olympus "going out of business". My understanding is that the corporation sold the Olympus portion of the business. The new owners are continuing the camera line and the name.

Not Ansel

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Aug 9, 2021 15:11:04   #
Muddyvalley Loc: McMinnville, Oregon
 
You might look in to the Nikkor 300mm PF with the addition of a 1.4 extender, you get 420mm. Very light and worth a trip to a camera store to check one out. The IQ of the fresnel lens is excellent and as sharp as it gets. The weight of the lens is a bigger factor than the weight of the camera, and while a mirrorless camera like the Nikon Z series is small and light, the glass they sell for it isn't.

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Aug 9, 2021 20:03:07   #
jimpitt
 
I am thinking the same way. I have a full size Nikon DSLR with two heavy zoom lenses.
Considering the Sony RX series (100-600) - much better for travel, but still exceptional quality. Compact Leica another consideration.

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Aug 10, 2021 09:30:23   #
RKL349 Loc: Connecticut
 
Lovephotography wrote:
Hi,
I am a first time poster here!
I have been collecting and using Nikon equipment for many years. As I am in my senior years, I find it is extremely hard for me to hold a lot of my cameras and lenses.
I am looking for any suggestions on lightweight equipment I can purchase. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Kathy


Don’t rule out the Nikon Z50. I just picked up a refurbished kit from Adorama at a terrific price. Very light and images I am getting from this kit meet my needs very well.

Good luck with your decision.

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Aug 10, 2021 11:59:28   #
wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
 
Lovephotography wrote:
Hi,
I am a first time poster here!
I have been collecting and using Nikon equipment for many years. As I am in my senior years, I find it is extremely hard for me to hold a lot of my cameras and lenses.
I am looking for any suggestions on lightweight equipment I can purchase. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Kathy


Again, your statement is "lightweight equipment". The main weight savings between formats is to be found in the lenses, not the bodies. The lenses are heaviest usually with full frame and lightest with 4/3rds. The other benefits are usually the full frame lenses are the biggest and most costly while 4/3rds are the smallest and least costly. The APS-C camera lenses tend to fall in between full frame and 4/3rds in weight, size, and cost. Hopefully, when you go to a camera store, the sales person doesn't try to convince you to go heavier so his sales commission is "heavier".

Go Thomas Stirr's website and see why a working pro changed from FF and APS-C to 4/3rds. He will not be buying the new 150-400 Olympus lens because of weight. And that lens is the smallest, lightest, and least costly for the angle of view it produces of any lens in any format. He saved weight by meeting his needs with the smaller, lighter, and less costly Olympus 100-400. There were tradeoffs for him. But he knew that he could carry that lense basically all day while with the heavier lens it would be only about three hours before getting "heavy" around the neck.

Again, the weight saving is in the lenses, not the bodies. If you want a quality lightweight system that you could expand at any time in the future, look at the Olympus and Panasonic 4/3rds systems.

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Aug 10, 2021 14:30:04   #
A. T.
 
larryepage wrote:
Hi Kathy. I am also a user of Nikon equipment since switching to digital about 15 years ago. Before that, I had amassed a significant collection of Olympus OM film equipment. Others have asked what you have now and what you shoot now. That is an important question, because there really isn't an ergonomically significant difference in the weight of cameras from one brand or format to another. (I am a retired industrial engineer, and managing this sort of thing is what I did for 40 years.)

The real difference in weight and in the weight distribution (even more important) is in the lenses. So a better (not to mention cheaper and less operationally impactful) approach is to see what you can do about figuring out a way to use different lenses to accomplish your photographic goals. If your cameras are fairly recent, there may be some surprising changes that you can make without impacting either your photographs or how you achieve them without ditching everything you have learned to use and to be comfortable with. And once you start thinking a little differently, you are likely to find that you can figure out what to do on your own, without having to navigate all the well-intentioned but sometimes misguided advice you are going to receive here.

I do not claim to have the final answer for you, but will be glad to suggest some things to think about once you can give us a little more information.

Welcome to the forum.
Hi Kathy. I am also a user of Nikon equipment sin... (show quote)


Outstanding response to their question Sir.

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Aug 10, 2021 20:52:05   #
Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA
 
Lovephotography wrote:
Hi,
I am a first time poster here!
I have been collecting and using Nikon equipment for many years. As I am in my senior years, I find it is extremely hard for me to hold a lot of my cameras and lenses.
I am looking for any suggestions on lightweight equipment I can purchase. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Kathy


Kathy, some things to consider: If you are having a problem with the weight, think going smaller but stick with the system you know best. I have lots of lenses and bodies and some are pretty heavy. When I want to take a lightweight camera and lens, I use a Z50 with the adaptor and mount and a 24-85 mm Nikon lens. It is very lightweight and is very sharp. Also I have both the 70-200 f2.8 lens and the 70-200 f4. The f4 is noticeably lighter. If you had those two lenses and either a Z50 or better a Z6 or Z7, it would give you a nice range for photos. One thing, if you are planning to sell some of your present equipment, there is no better way than to list it here on UHH. Depending on the equipment and condition, members here will pay a fair price. If you try to trade it in for new equipment, you will be low-balled by the shops. They have to make a decent profit so they do not give much value for used equipment.

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Aug 10, 2021 21:16:46   #
jimpitt
 
Great suggestion.
The Canon is mostly metal (as is Nikon), the Olympus is mostly plastic. Hence the weight differential.
If weight is really an issue, go with the also much cheaper Panasonic/ Lumix; however I do not recommend because of the unsatisfactory flimsy construction and poorer glass. As weight (and size) goes, Canon, Nikon, Leica, Sony all have superior "shirtpocket" models .... details to numerous to mention here. Quality, weight, size are all considerations .... so prioritize.

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Aug 11, 2021 02:25:17   #
mundy-F2 Loc: Chicago suburban area
 
mwsilvers wrote:
Until I bought my first Nikon a few days ago I was solely a Canon shooter. At 75, the weight of my Canon 7D Mark Ii with lenses attached came close to 4 pounds. Beside the weight there was the bulkiness of carrying a large camera and lense on my shoulder all day.

My solution was to purchase the new Nikon Z fc mirrorless DX camera with the Nikkor 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 kit lens. A similar kit can be purchased at a relatively similar price with the Nikon Z50 body. The Z50 uses the same sensor as the Z fc.

The Z fc has a vintage form factor and looks almost exactly like a Nikon FM2 film camera from the 1980s. The Z 50 looks like a conventional modern camera. While I don't know what the Z50 weighs, the Z fc weighs a bit over 13 oz and with the unexpectedly excellent Nikkor 16-50mm lens attached the weight increases to a bit over 17 oz. It is very light weight and very compact.

Most of the other available Z lens are full frame, but are generally lighter and smaller then their DSLR counterparts. When it becomes available, I will be also be purchasing the new Z 28mm f/2.8 FX lens which is also small and light weight The only other Z DX lens currently available is the Nikkor 50-250mm. I don't know very much about this lens.

Whether my solution will work for you will depend on what and how you shoot and which lenses you will need. The Nikon Z fc has received excellent reviews. The only negative is that it does not contain in body image stabilization, which is not an issue for me.
Until I bought my first Nikon a few days ago I was... (show quote)


I agree with the Nikon Z tc. I personally do not have one, but the reviews are good and the size is smaller than most other cameras. One down side is Nikon has not released many longer lenses.
Mundy

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Aug 11, 2021 03:22:26   #
wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
 
jimpitt wrote:
Great suggestion.
The Canon is mostly metal (as is Nikon), the Olympus is mostly plastic. Hence the weight differential.
If weight is really an issue, go with the also much cheaper Panasonic/ Lumix; however I do not recommend because of the unsatisfactory flimsy construction and poorer glass. As weight (and size) goes, Canon, Nikon, Leica, Sony all have superior "shirtpocket" models .... details to numerous to mention here. Quality, weight, size are all considerations .... so prioritize.
Great suggestion. br The Canon is mostly metal (a... (show quote)


You do not know what you are talking about. The Olympus E-M series has magnesium alloy frames. The E-M1X uses its metal frame to heat sink not one but two high speed chips (just ask Nikon what happens when there is not enough heatsinking for their one chip). I have banged my E-M1 mkII on the ground in a fall and it needed no repairs. Next time you go to the camera store, check out what Olympus and Panasonic 4/3rds are about instead of just guessing. Even in the Olympus literature, they show all the weather sealing, so one can go shooting in the rain. The many, many seals are shown on a metal camera frame. All cameras use plastic to lighten their cameras as much as they can. But all Olympus cameras except for the E-M10 mkIV can take any rain storm without any rain covering and the E-M1X can actually take a dunking in a shallow puddle without water damage. How many "plastic" cameras do you know of that can take wind, dust, salt spray, and rain - and can be rinsed off under a gentlely running faucet? Olympus can but I am not sure how many others can. One video shows an E-M5 under a hard running shower for 30 minutes and the videographer picked it up wet and just kept right on shooting. Three of Olympus's best features are the industry best image stabilization, its weatherproofing, and superior optics. They are not cheap "plastic" cameras.

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Aug 11, 2021 06:51:36   #
yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey
 
wdross wrote:
......(just ask Nikon what happens when there is not enough heatsinking for their one chip)


Not aware of Nikon having any heatsink problems - what are you referring to? Did you mean Canon?

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