Mini Digital SLR cameras

[Alie Barnes]

I was thinking of getting a new camera sometime in the near future and would like an SLR but dont have the money for a proper jobbie.

Ive seen some Mini digital SLR cameras but know little about them or whether they are even worth investing money in even though they are about cheaper than a proper SLR.

Does anyone have any experiance with them and can make any recomendations?

Thanks all.

 

[cambournepete]

To which mini digital SLRs are your referring?

The Panasonic and Olympus micro-4/3 cameras are small but by no means cheap.

AFAIK the Olympus E-420 is the smallest SLR (it's 4/3) and is pretty good from what I've read.
The E-520 is a little larger, but even cheaper and has IS as well.

Check out the forums on dpreview and dc_resource and others for more opinions.

If you want practical reports from an experienced Olympus user the Wrotniak site is one of the best information sources.

 

[bugbear]

I was thinking of getting a new camera sometime in the near future and would like an SLR but dont have the money for a proper jobbie.

Ive seen some Mini digital SLR cameras but know little about them or whether they are even worth investing money in even though they are about cheaper than a proper SLR.

Does anyone have any experiance with them and can make any recomendations?

Thanks all.

Do you have any specific requirments - e.g. focus speed, wide angle, macro, zoom length, physical size etc?

Or to put it another way - what features of an SLR appeal to you?

BugBear

 

[matt]

If you're thinking along the lines of an SLR then I'd recommend starting with the lens. IMO the "kit" lenses that are usually supplied are too slow. They draw people in with the zoom spec but disappoint on flexibility of a faster lens - the latter being a more valuable asset IMO.

Personally I'd go body only plus a fast, fixed focus (cos they're cheaper) lens. Sure you'll have to move about a bit to frame photos and distant objects may be out of your reach, however, I'd rather buy a zoom lens later.

FWIW, I have a 30mm F1.4 lens which is on my camera most of the time. The 28-105, F3.5-4.5 goes on occasionally but not often. Years ago SLR's tended to come with a 50mm f1.8 lens as the "kit" lens.

If you decided to go with a compact... I've got a hankering for one of these to use when my SLR is a bit too much to drag around: http://www.johnlewis.com/230508998/Product.aspx . One point to bear in mind - it does not have a viewfinder as standard. You have to use the screen unless you're prepared to spend a ridiculous sum of money on the viewfinder accessory.