CSC Camera Hunt And Shutter Shock

I’ve been back to my local Jessops today in my hunt for a CSC camera. As no one came to help me, I just went ahead and started playing with the various compact system cameras on display. First one I pick up, the alarm goes – seems like the security cable has a loose connection. What a charming shopping experience it is looking at cameras now!

Anyway, I had a good play with the Fujifilm X-T1 and X-T10. Both lovely cameras to hold, and the EVF is really nice. The X-T1 is noticeably larger, has weather sealing but no built in flash. The X-T10 has a built in flash but no weather sealing! Typical, I really wanted both. The Fuji X-T1 is considerably more expensive too.

After playing with the Fujis, I had to ask for help as the Olympuses both were lacking batteries. This was soon resolved by the staff, and I was left to play with the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II and OM-D E-M5 II. Both of these are similar in size, and both felt nice to hold. One of the main differences in controls is immediately apparent: the OM-D E-M10 II has raised control dials on the top. At first glance they look a bit odd, like they’ve sprouted up from the body, but once you use them it makes sense, and visually they grew on me. Once again it seems it is a choice between the more expensive E-M5 II with weather sealing but no built in flash, or the cheaper E-M10 II with flash but no sealing. This time though the size is not very different. The viewfinders on both were nice to use.

I’ve also been looking into shutter shock, as I was alarmed to read about this in relation to the Panasonic GX8. Shutter shock describes the slight blurring of an image caused by the camera vibrating as a result of the shutter movement. I’ve not ever come across this on a DSLR (where the primary camera generated vibration would be from the mirror movement) although it could in theory cause an effect. It turns out that mirrorless system cameras are more susceptible to shutter shock vibration for a couple of reasons. The main one is that the shutter first has to close before the picture is taken (it is open to allow the EVF or LCD to “see” until you trigger the shot) and then immediately open and close to expose the picture – this means a lot more shutter movement than with a DSLR. Secondly, your typical CSC camera is a lot lighter than a DSLR, and seems to be more affected by the small vibrations than a lager heavier camera body.

So, it is likely that all CSC cameras are going to exhibit shutter shock effects. You tend to see it at certain shutter speeds (too slow and most of the shot is taken after the vibration has died down, and too fast and the exposure is too quick for it to affect the sharpness). There are ways to work around it: by introducing an artificial delay between the shutter closing and the exposure beginning – enough to allow the vibration to die down, or by using an electronic (ie not physical) shutter at appropriate shutter speeds.

You are most likely to notice the shutter shock effect when shooting from a tripod – if you are handholding then you can expect your own vibrations to affect the sharpness more.

Therefore it seems it was foolish to rule out the Panasonic GX8 just because of this – but I think it is probably going to be a bit bigger than I want. I have not actually held one, as none of the shops here have it in even though teh GX8 is now available. In fact, I only found one Panasonic to try, the older and fast disappearing GX7 (I’m ignoring the GM1 and GM5 that I saw in John Lewis as they were not going to meet my needs). Strange that no one seems to have the full Panasonic range on display here. In the absence of any to try out, I’m going to rule them out – unless I find myself in a better stocked shop.

I also played with some Sonys, but whilst they are certainly very capable cameras and pleasingly small, I did not like the look and feel of them so I’m ruling them out. Just personal taste, which for this purchase is a factor. It seems the aesthetics are as important to me as the size – I’m not sure this is actually a good or sensible thing!

This could be a straight fight between Fuji and Olympus, and weather sealing versus flash, size and price. Or is it? You see, I’ve been thinking more about what I want this camera for, and have begun to wonder whether I should look at some of the advanced compacts out their, like the Panasonic LX100 or Fuji X30. I was imagining mainly using a short prime like a 27mm on the CSC, and supplementing it with a zoom lens. I’m not looking to build up a collection of lenses, I have enough SLR lenses (and cameras) for more specific work. So, do I really need to be able to change lens, or would I be better of with a compact zoom that offers the same or similar levels of control without the interchangeable lens? Time for a little more research. If you forced me to choose right now, I think it would be the Olympus E-M10 II, and accept the lack of weather sealing. The sprouting controls on the top are just about swinging it for me – wouldn’t have imagined that before I picked it up and tried it.