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DSLR v. Micro-4/3

Hmm, not looked at it in detail. I have noticed a number of “compact” DSLRs which are often made of “plastic” and are pretty light. Maybe that would be a better way to go. BTW the 5500 will weigh a lot more than 680g with a 15-85 (or similar) lens on it, and won’t be much smaller in front to back length.

What is Nikon reliability / customer service like these days? I had them for years and most packed up just outside warranty, or inside warranty but they refused to repair the camera saying I broke it. The power switch got moved on a 5700 when inside a backpack and it stripped the zoom motor gears (clearly it didn’t current-limit the motor) and Nikon UK went to war on that, with their head of UK cust service saying you don’t change gears on a car without using the clutch, so I paid the hefty repair charge, put it on Ebay, and never bought Nikon again.

The Canon has WIFI which is a great feature (can transfer to a PC or to a phone, which is great when travelling) but inexplicably it does jpegs only, not raw! That really put me off, because when I shoot with a DSLR and doing a trip writeup, I always use a RAW – Lightroom workflow. Jpegs are good enough most of the time but not so good with the perpetual haze…

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

I have noticed a number of “compact” DSLRs which are often made of “plastic” and are pretty light. Maybe that would be a better way to go. BTW the 5500 will weigh a lot more than 680g with a 15-85 (or similar) lens on it,

Well it has to be made of something and plastic is going to be lighter than metal.

You’re right, it’s 683g, not 680g! The body is 420g (incl battery, but probably not a memory card) and the 18/55 lens is 263g.

I’ve always found Nikon’s reliability to excellent. I’ve never used their customer service to be honest, but third party repair has been broadly the same as everyone else’s. With something in this price range and with the level of built-in obsolesce that a consumer digital camera has I doubt one would ever get it repaired outside of warranty anyway. Get it from John Lewis and you’ll get decent customer service.

I don’t know for sure that the D5X00 transfer RAW by WiFi but I’ve no reason to think they wouldn’t – certainly their other models with WiFi do.

Administrator
EGTR / London, United Kingdom

The Nikon 16-85 (nearest to my 16-85) is 485g.

The 5500 is carbin fibre so should be tough enough.

What I find curious is that both that Nikon lens and the 12-60 m4/3 Olympus go back to 2007-2008.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

That wasn’t the lens I was talking about. I was talking about the 18-55. If you want to see significant weight savings you have to compromise somewhere. My main point is that the D5500 body is quite a bit lighter than the K3. If you don’t mind going to 400g you could have an 18-105 lens. etc. etc. etc.

The 18-55 is much more modern than the 16-85. Lenses have changed less than digital bodies in the last few years, though newer ones have better VR.

Administrator
EGTR / London, United Kingdom

I have managed to have a play with a few of these, in real outdoor situations, most recently the Olympus EM1, and definitely it’s not for me. The viewfinder is horrible. And I can see where the battery life impact comes from – it draws power while you are sizing up the scene. OTOH, the low weight is still tempting… maybe 2 years from now there will be more lens choice in zooms, say 12-60.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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