p.1 #1 · Recommend a second camera for me for casual use
I currently have a Canon 5D mark II and a few lenses that I love and use as a hobby to shoot mostly family (fpj style) and landscape. I'm looking for a second camera for a couple reasons. 1) for my wife to carry so that I can actually get into some family pictures and 2) to use as a fill-in for my 5DII when I want to carry something smaller. I don't want to compromise image quality as much as going down to a P&S camera.
I do alot of shooting in poor light so I think my priorities are having acceptable IQ at high ISO, image stabilization and/or having a wide aperture lens and good flash exposure.
I think size is also a factor. It doesn't have to be P&S size, but the smaller the better. Like throw it in my wife's purse or kid's diaper bag.
I think my ideal pick would be the fuji x100 but it's used price is probably about twice what I want to spend. I guess my budget is around $350 and I would prefer to buy used to save some $s.
Would something from the m4/3 world fit the bill?
I'm pretty new to anything outside of Canon and Nikon SLRs so I'm looking forward to hearing some ideas. Thanks in advance!
p.1 #2 · Recommend a second camera for me for casual use
Look at Cameta auctions on eBay. I bought a refurb Oly E-PL1 for around $150, then found another auction for Panasonic 14-42 Asph for around $100. E-PL1 has built-in flash (weak, but usable) and decent 12MP sensor. There maybe other stuff there too.
I bought a used E-P2 from kehoutlet on eBay for $225, so now I have to knockaround M43 bodies I don't have to worry about.
Watch out for buying lenses -- it's like an addiction. I next bought the Oly 40-150 refurb from Cameta for about $150 IIRC, and then later got the electronic VF-2 refurb for $179 from them.
It adds up over time, but it's still pretty reasonable starting at the low end.
p.1 #3 · Recommend a second camera for me for casual use
The E-PL3 is a really nice little camera. It is acceptable at medium-high ISO, not great, but for $350 it is hard to find anything much better overall.
