Help in choosing a suitable camera for work

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No idea: teh man has two compacts, a big pro Canon, that Pentax... Work hard, play hard.

Actually, he uses one of the compacts, an Olympus or Pentax if I'm not mistaken, when he has to cover some event.

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Seems someone had mentioned the Panasonic DMC-GH1. According to Dpreview, it is just gorgeous. Here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcgh1/page30.asp

Still, I'd like to hold it and see how it fits in my big hand. And I won't make teh mistake of buying the first one with the "newest" technology. I mean, when I bought my Panasonic, it was the only one in teh market with IS. Now it's standard.

[Rascal]

Sure, the EP1 isn't perfect; it has its flaws as it is basically a compromise between two kinds of camera, but that review was just idiotic.

dpreview echoes those comments (lack of viewfinder and flash) albeit in different words. They give it a "Highly Recommended" though.

If it really takes 2 secs before it makes a picture I would not even take it for free.

Image quality and being able to take clear, steady shots from a distance are a must.

Small DSLR with a zoom lens then.

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If it really takes 2 secs before it makes a picture I would not even take it for free.

Rascal, this is my current problem with the old Canon. It is way too slow. The images are gorgeous but for my kind of work, you don't get that many shots.

I am afraid I will have to upgrade to DSLR, since I need something fast. I like teh feeling of a big camera, it is steadier, but I recoild from heavy equipment. Yesterday, one of our photographers was carrying a backpack with his camera and stuff, it weighted a ton. This was a full size, backpacker style kind of luggage he was trailing around for a news event.

[Rascal]

I am afraid I will have to upgrade to DSLR, since I need something fast. I like teh feeling of a big camera, it is steadier, but I recoild from heavy equipment. Yesterday, one of our photographers was carrying a backpack with his camera and stuff, it weighted a ton. This was a full size, backpacker style kind of luggage he was trailing around for a news event.

No need to carry around that much stuff unless you want to go "pro", see also my post here; I think for your needs a small body with a small zoom lens will be sufficient.

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Yep, and I don't have time to change lenses anyways. I often get into melees with other photographers, you know, the free for all, everyone getting the same shot of the same person doing/showing something, or worse: hanging on the edge of a stand with the rest of the camera gang. That's how stuff gets bumped/broken/thrown around... including me!

ps.
unless they have a model with knives or bumpers on the sides...

[Poagao]

Yep, and I don't have time to change lenses anyways. I often get into melees with other photographers, you know, the free for all, everyone getting the same shot of the same person doing/showing something, or worse: hanging on the edge of a stand with the rest of the camera gang. That's how stuff gets bumped/broken/thrown around... including me!

What a nightmare; I remember that kind of thing from back when I was a cameraman at TVBS news; don't miss that bit at all and glad I don't have to do that kind of photography now.

Btw, the slow focusing speeds I saw being complained about were in the neighborhood of half a second, which is about what my Panasonic LX3 does when not using macrofocus.

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Repeat after me: It pays the bills, it pays the bills, it pays the bills...
I have five mouths to feed, I have five mouths to feed...

Mantras are good for mental health. Toys too, like a nice camera.

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OK, now the section photographer and I have the same camera. I am testing mine in an actual event tomorrow night -big gala opening- after holding it less than a week in my hands... Wish me luck.

ps.
yes, I got the big a** SLR and yes, our photographer dropped her equipment on her foot last week and was walking around with a big swollen foot in a big bundle for a while...

[Jaboney]

Which big ass slr did you get?