What I value in a camera has evolved over the years, as my skills improved. Sadly, there seem to be few cameras readily available today that have what I value:
Must haves:
- Twin command dials: As someone that primarily shoots "M", a dedicated front dial for choosing the aperture and a rear dial for setting the shutter speed is the feature that I value the most in a camera.
- For cameras without a dedicated third dial, the ISO must be adjustable with either the front or rear dial, after toggling or holding a button.
- An exposure meter that either shows an active reading as the shutter speed and aperture are changed, or shows the reading when the shutter is half pressed.
- An APS-C sized, or larger sensor.
- A 16 MP or higher sensor.
- Weights ~500 grams, or less
- Dials must be placed horizontally (I'm looking at you, Canon).
- If a viewfinder is present, the diopter must be adjustable down to -4 (I'm looking at you, Nikon).
Nice to haves:
- A third dial on the top plate, accessible with the thumb, that allows setting the ISO manually.
- When using auto ISO, the ISO reading must show the actual value the camera will use for the selected aperture and shutter speed values. Sony shows this when the shutter is half pressed. Fuji unhelpfully displays the "max" auto iso value.
- Ability to change the aperture and shutter speed in 1/3 (failing which, in 1/2) stop increments.
- A viewfinder, preferably on the top left of the body (rangefinder style).
- Crop modes, preferably assignable to the focus ring or a dedicated custom button.
- AI subject detection and continuous tracking. Sony absolutely dominates here.
- Film simulations. Fuji excels at these, and I wish I could get their simulations (or something similar) on all cameras.
- Highlight clipping indicator.
- Focus peeking assignable to a custom button.
- Built-in flash.
- IBIS
- Focus / exposure bracketing.
- MTP support for quick transfers over USB to my phone.
- Weather and dust sealing.
- The dedicated "Auto" switch Fuji has on their older bodies. These are great for when you are handing the camera to someone else to take a picture of you. I'm not sure why they stopped adding these on the newer bodies.
Features most cameras have that I dislike / rarely use:
- The mode dial: This seldom left the "Auto" position in my early cameras. These days, it pretty much stays glued on "M". Either way, I find the mode dial to often take up valuable real estate on the top plate, and yet the dial I engage with the least.
- Exposure comp dial: I prefer the unmarked dials in recent bodies that can be used to change the ISO instead.
- Marked dials: Almost all Fuji bodies have these, and I never use them. Using the front / rear dials instead makes it easier to switch bodies across manufacturers.
- Touchscreen: I always turn these off, if I can. As a right hand shooter that is left eye dominant, there's nothing more annoying than finding that your nose moved the focus point to the corner of the screen.
- Focus ring: I rarely, if ever, use manual focus.
- Raw: All my laptops run Linux, and lack the ability to run professional editing tools exclusive to Windows and Macs, so I usually shoot JPEGs, and edit on my phone if needed.
- Joystick: For static subjects, I usually use a (small) center spot for focus with spot metering, then focus and recompose. For moving subjects, I usually rely on AI focus tracking with continuous focus. The joystick (and touchscreen) seem primarily useful to folks that move the focus point around, a style of shooting that I never developed.
- "DSLR Styling": I think these were meant to attract transitioning users. As someone that isn't weaned on DSLRs, I find the design aesthetic generic and unappealing, even in a compact form factor (like the R50).
Picks:
I've been on the hunt for camera bodies that check as many of these boxes as possible, and found surprisingly few cameras that fit the bill:
- Sony A7CR / A7Cii: This is my primary camera. I find the ergonomics very enjoyable for my shooting style. The ability to mess up composition, and crop later to my heart's content is amazing. However, I dislike the colours of the sooc jpegs, and almost always have to tweak them a bit. Even worse, some of the built in "creative styles" like VV2 can cause strange artifacts in skin tones, so I have to be very careful to make sure these are disabled if humans are in the picture.
- Fuji X100V / X100VI / X-T20 / X-E5 / X-Pro2 / X-T5: Fuji really pour their heart and soul into their products, and this is evident when using them. Their ergonomics are just right (for my hand size), and the sooc jpgs with any of their various film simulation never fails to impress.
- Ricoh GR 1 / 2 / 3 / 3x: Love these. The lack of a viewfinder is a bummer, but the compact form factor and EDC potential more than makes up for it.
- Olympus Pen E-P5 / E-P7 / EM-5 / EM-10: I haven't had a chance to try these, but the form factor and manual controls seem very appealing. I'm skeptical about the M43 sensor size, but the lower price compared to the competition seems to make up for it.
Also rans:
- Fuji X-E3 / X-T1 / X-T2 / X-T10 / X100S/T/F / X-Pro1: Although these have twin dials, they lack the ability to use the aperture ring in "command" mode, so the aperture can only be set directly on the lens when using a lens with a dedicated aperture ring. I own an X-E3 and enjoy it very much, but have to carefully chose lenses without aperture rings for it so the camera will allow me to set it from the front command dial (only ~3 Fuji lenses lack an aperture ring, and most third party lenses seem to come with one for the X mount as well).
- Nikon Z-fc: This camera looked very promising, but there were several small gripes with it that ultimately made it unappealing to me. First, the body is surprisingly big for an APS-C sized sensor (likely due to the size of the mount). Second, the bundled kit lens is a FF lens, adding to the bulk. The diopter adjustment was inadequate (a problem I've never had with any other manufacturer), making the viewfinder unusable. The ISO and auto-ISO implementation is very strange (why does the dial default to the minimum value of auto ISO?). The camera looks beautiful to behold, but felt very cheap and plasticy to use.
- Pentax K-S2, etc: Previous generation Pentaxes seem to be plagued with an odd "aperture block failure" problem. I picked up a body for cheap at a yard sale, only to discover this problem, and having to turn around and sell it again for cheap. Apparently, these are fixable with some skill and patience, but the effort wasn't worth it to me.
- Panasonic LX100/ii / GM-5 / GX-85, Leica d-lux 7/8: These have dedicated aperture (with the kit lens) and shutter dials. I tried the LX100, but it wasn't for me, I prefer the generic front / rear dials.
What do you value in a camera? What current or past models suit your needs best? What does your ideal camera look like?