Since my previous deal from Amazon ended most of the retailers have this at RRP with the the £60 cashback from Olympus. Bristol Cameras have dropped it to £389 so £329 after cashback. UK Supplied not import & in stock in both colours at time of posting.
tldr: It's a great cheap camera, however there are lots of great cheap cameras that are great for different reasons.
Every brand has a camera in this £350-£450 band that is well worth considering, their strengths and weaknesses are as follows:
Canon 700D:
+Solid all-rounder for photo and video in DSLR form factor
+Articulating touchscreen
+Best selection of sub-£200 AF lenses of any camera brand, as well as being the only brand with a sub-£200 (most of the time) ultra-wide lens.
-Sensors lag behind most brands in terms of sheer image quality, particularly for high ISO noise and dynamic range
Fujifilm X-E2 & X-T10 (very similar cameras in different form factors):
+High quality sensor with best-in-class JPEG output
+Great EVFs for the price
+Excellent film simulation modes that stand apart from other filter solutions
+High quality lenses
+Great build quality and retro styling
-Those high quality lenses are pricey
-Middle of the road autofocus performance
-Not great choices for video
-No touchscreen
Nikon D5300:
+Excellent image quality
+Extensive autofocus coverage for a DSLR at this price
+Articulated display
+Extensive lens selection
-Poor AF performance in liveview, and therefore in video mode
-No touchscreen
Olympus E-M10 II
+In-body image stabilisation allows the camera to use any lens more steadily at slow shutter speeds
+Micro four-thirds system shares lenses with Panasonic and has a huge amount of options
+High quality EVF
-Smaller micro four-thirds sensors are great but not up to the same level as the best APS-C sensors
-Crappy tracking autofocus
-Doesn't pull off the retro-SLR look as well as Fuji does
Panasonic G7 and GX80:
+Both have in-body image stabilisation, which not only improves non-stabilised lenses at slow shutter speeds but can also work in tandem with certain stabilised lenses to allow for extremely long shutter speeds while handheld (within reason, of course- you still aren't pulling off a 10 second long exposure without a tripod)
+Both shoot excellent quality 4K video
+Solid AF for still and moving subjects
+Shared M43 lens mount with Olympus
-Smaller micro four-thirds sensors are great but not up to the same level as the best APS-C sensors
-JPEG files don't live up to the sensor's potential
-The G7 is bulky enough to be confused for a small DSLR
Pentax K-50
+An enthusiast tier DSLR at an entry level price; Pentaprism viewfinder and weather sealing aren't found in CaNikon until you reach close to double this price
+Only DSLR in this list with in-body IS
+Pairs solid autofocus coverage and tracking performance with 6fps shooting, making it the best DSLR in the list for sports, wildlife etc
+Pentax lenses all the way back to the 70s mount on this camera and will benefit from in-body IS
-Poor support from third party lens brands
-Fixed screen with no touch sensitivity
-Sensor is showing its age compared to other APS-C options
Sony A6000
+Excellent sensor with best-in-class 1080p video
+Great autofocus for stills and tracking
+Stupidly good combination of great tracking autofocus and 11fps continuous shooting make this a powerhouse of a speed camera (if you can find a lens to use it with)
-EVF isn't the sharpest
-No touchscreen
-Sony lenses are generally expensive and their cheap lenses are generally mediocre
I would personally recommend:
*All-rounder (mixed subject matter, photo and video): Canon 700D, Sony A6000, Panasonic GX85
*Portraiture/landscapes and street photography: Nikon D5300 (less so for street for its size, but its the best of the three DSLRs for it), Sony A6000, Fuji X-T10/X-E2, Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
*Sport/Wildlife/Action: Pentax K-50, Sony A6000 (if you can set your mind to saving for one of their full frame tele lenses, because the 55-210 sucks ass)
*Video work: Canon 700D, Sony A600, Panasonic G7/GX85
TK42 to davemhaynes
21 May 17#7
Best midrange mirrorless camera according to review here "it not only takes great pictures; it focuses faster than any other camera we tested, locking onto subjects almost instantly with none of the wobble or focus hunting we often see in mirrorless cameras". There's a review and comparison here: - http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-mirrorless-camera-under-1000/
It's also worth looking at the Fuji X-T10, it's very well made, has an excellent choice of lenses, APS-C size sensor, hi res EVF and lots of well placed manual controls.
fizz
20 May 171#5
great post
HavocLP
21 May 172#6
Thing is you should first consider why you need this, and to do what with it. You don't need to choose camera with fast AF over any other if you are not going to shoot any sport/playing kids etc. Then you could focus on other advantages. Second of all you should think about lenses choice in each system. Is it sound like a good choice to buy "perfect" camera and set it up with **** lens? It does not, is it? And imho this one is great camera, but lenses are quite expensive. But small size, great sensor ergo nice quality raw pictures making it a perfect camera for portrait, street and family photography. But if you would like to shoot landscapes or anything on wide lenses you will need focal like 12mm to get a coverage of 18mm from dSLR camera, and lenses like this are very expensive.
aitchem
21 May 17#8
I like mine but I bought it because I wanted something small and pocketable. Image quality is very good but the menu and all available options is very complex. I still haven't got my head round that. Have a look at Wirecutter's website (above) for an in-depth review. Good range of lenses available too as you can use Zuiko or Panasonics.
TheGalaxy
21 May 17#9
These are really nice, I've got the mark I version and when I have the funds I'll probably get one of these and sell the old one. Shame I can't get one right now as this is a good price
BristolBillyBob
22 May 17#10
I've had this camera since Christmas and really love it. The customisation is excellent. While the pancake lens that came with it produces very solid results, the zoom (40-150mm) lens I got in a kit is superb.
The only niggle I've had is that the touchscreen focus point feature while using the viewfinder can't be permanently switched off without switching off the touchscreen functionality entirely. This might not be a problem for you, but if like me you prefer to use your left eye with the viewfinder, you'll find your nose constantly changing the focus point which is maddening. No biggie, but worth considering if you're a left-eye viewfinder user and you think the touchscreen might be the clincher.
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Opening post
Cashback Claim here https://bonus.olympus.eu/customer-apply-for-promotion/?country_promotion=2&lng=en
11 comments
Every brand has a camera in this £350-£450 band that is well worth considering, their strengths and weaknesses are as follows:
Canon 700D:
+Solid all-rounder for photo and video in DSLR form factor
+Articulating touchscreen
+Best selection of sub-£200 AF lenses of any camera brand, as well as being the only brand with a sub-£200 (most of the time) ultra-wide lens.
-Sensors lag behind most brands in terms of sheer image quality, particularly for high ISO noise and dynamic range
Fujifilm X-E2 & X-T10 (very similar cameras in different form factors):
+High quality sensor with best-in-class JPEG output
+Great EVFs for the price
+Excellent film simulation modes that stand apart from other filter solutions
+High quality lenses
+Great build quality and retro styling
-Those high quality lenses are pricey
-Middle of the road autofocus performance
-Not great choices for video
-No touchscreen
Nikon D5300:
+Excellent image quality
+Extensive autofocus coverage for a DSLR at this price
+Articulated display
+Extensive lens selection
-Poor AF performance in liveview, and therefore in video mode
-No touchscreen
Olympus E-M10 II
+In-body image stabilisation allows the camera to use any lens more steadily at slow shutter speeds
+Micro four-thirds system shares lenses with Panasonic and has a huge amount of options
+High quality EVF
-Smaller micro four-thirds sensors are great but not up to the same level as the best APS-C sensors
-Crappy tracking autofocus
-Doesn't pull off the retro-SLR look as well as Fuji does
Panasonic G7 and GX80:
+Both have in-body image stabilisation, which not only improves non-stabilised lenses at slow shutter speeds but can also work in tandem with certain stabilised lenses to allow for extremely long shutter speeds while handheld (within reason, of course- you still aren't pulling off a 10 second long exposure without a tripod)
+Both shoot excellent quality 4K video
+Solid AF for still and moving subjects
+Shared M43 lens mount with Olympus
-Smaller micro four-thirds sensors are great but not up to the same level as the best APS-C sensors
-JPEG files don't live up to the sensor's potential
-The G7 is bulky enough to be confused for a small DSLR
Pentax K-50
+An enthusiast tier DSLR at an entry level price; Pentaprism viewfinder and weather sealing aren't found in CaNikon until you reach close to double this price
+Only DSLR in this list with in-body IS
+Pairs solid autofocus coverage and tracking performance with 6fps shooting, making it the best DSLR in the list for sports, wildlife etc
+Pentax lenses all the way back to the 70s mount on this camera and will benefit from in-body IS
-Poor support from third party lens brands
-Fixed screen with no touch sensitivity
-Sensor is showing its age compared to other APS-C options
Sony A6000
+Excellent sensor with best-in-class 1080p video
+Great autofocus for stills and tracking
+Stupidly good combination of great tracking autofocus and 11fps continuous shooting make this a powerhouse of a speed camera (if you can find a lens to use it with)
-EVF isn't the sharpest
-No touchscreen
-Sony lenses are generally expensive and their cheap lenses are generally mediocre
I would personally recommend:
*All-rounder (mixed subject matter, photo and video): Canon 700D, Sony A6000, Panasonic GX85
*Portraiture/landscapes and street photography: Nikon D5300 (less so for street for its size, but its the best of the three DSLRs for it), Sony A6000, Fuji X-T10/X-E2, Olympus OM-D E-M10 II
*Sport/Wildlife/Action: Pentax K-50, Sony A6000 (if you can set your mind to saving for one of their full frame tele lenses, because the 55-210 sucks ass)
*Video work: Canon 700D, Sony A600, Panasonic G7/GX85
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-mirrorless-camera-under-1000/
It's also worth looking at the Fuji X-T10, it's very well made, has an excellent choice of lenses, APS-C size sensor, hi res EVF and lots of well placed manual controls.
The only niggle I've had is that the touchscreen focus point feature while using the viewfinder can't be permanently switched off without switching off the touchscreen functionality entirely. This might not be a problem for you, but if like me you prefer to use your left eye with the viewfinder, you'll find your nose constantly changing the focus point which is maddening. No biggie, but worth considering if you're a left-eye viewfinder user and you think the touchscreen might be the clincher.