Shooting great pictures has never been so easy.

Compact System Cameras

Coming closer to realising that previously unattainable dream is a relatively new class of camera: the Compact System Camera or ‘CSC’.

Neither traditional DSLR nor compact camera per se, these high performance models provide the best attributes of both: improved picture quality yet a more portable form factor.

The smaller construction has been achieved by removing the SLR mirror box mechanism to bring camera

The Holy Grail of photography is a camera that fits in the pocket, yet delivers still and video image quality on a par with a professional digital SLR (DSLR).

sensor and interchangeable lens closer together. One advantage of this set up is that compact lenses now provide the equivalent reach of a physically longer lens on a DSLR.

A Compact System Camera then is one that you’re more likely to take out with you on a regular basis than a fully blown DSLR. You can swap the lens on the front, just like a DSLR, plus achieve near equivalent quality thanks to, in most cases, a larger sensor than a standard compact.

Welcome To Photography’s Future Welcome To Photography’s Future

Compact System Camera Advantages

• Improved image quality over a snapshot camera thanks to (typically) a physically larger sensor, plus the ability to change the lens on the front of the CSC

• Compact and lightweight build when compared to the alternative of a digital SLR

• Less of a learning curve required in order to start taking more professional looking pictures and video

• Because sensor and lens mount are closer together, due to a mirror-less design, physically smaller lenses can also be used

• You’re more likely to take a Compact System Camera out with you on a regular basis than a DSLR. The result: superb pictures you might otherwise have missed!

BULKY

HEAVY

Digital SLR Camera

COMPACT

SIMPLE

LIGHTWEIGHTDIFFICULT

Compact System Camera

To take one example, 500 lenses can be attached to an Olympus PEN camera if purchasing an adapter. Consider too which camera system offers the most ‘support’ in terms of available accessories, such as electronic viewfinders, flash and external microphones, as well as lenses.

The PEN image sensor in comparison with the average sensor for compact cameras.

Compact System Cameras can take a wide range of lenses, including SLR and DLSR

Compact System Cameras include many of the same features as traditonal digital and older SLR models, giving you the best of both worlds

Alternative systems include the Nikon ‘1’, which offers the smallest camera with a sensor size larger than one inch, plus the Pentax Q, boasting the smallest and lightest camera body in its class. Its lens mount is 2/3rds the size of the K-mount used by the Pentax K-01, while its 1/2.3-inch sensor is back illuminated for increased sensitivity.

Once again, would-be purchasers of Compact System Cameras have to weigh up the image quality advantages of a large sensor and large lens against the user-friendly benefits of a smaller body and more compact, lighter lenses.

Own brand and third party lens adapters are also available, allowing for older SLR and current DSLR lenses to be attached to smaller models, thus widening creative potential.

Sensor Size Explained Interchangeable Lenses Explained

How great your images and video look depends not only on the number of pixels, or your skill as a photographer/videographer, but also the size of the sensor in the camera – which, like a frame of film, is what collects the light – plus the quality of the lens attached, which directs light onto said sensor.

The rule of thumb is the physically larger the sensor and the lens, the better your results. A larger surface area on a sensor also means that pixel count is often higher too, so again more detailed imagery.

Bear in mind when choosing a CSC that different manufacturers incorporate different sized sensors however, which in turn means lens mounts and lens sizes vary too.

Currently an APS-C sensor – the same size as that found in most consumer-level digital SLRs – is the largest sensor currently available in a Compact System Camera. Sony NEX, Samsung NX, Fujifilm X and Pentax K cameras all use an APS-C sensor.

However a Micro Four Thirds Sensor, currently used in the Olympus PEN, Olympus OM-D and Panasonic Lumix G ranges

is still 8x larger than the sensor found in your average digital point and shoot.

It’s also worth noting that the larger the sensor, usually the bigger the camera body and heavier the lens needed to go with it. So it’s worth seeking out a system, like the below, that makes for an ideal compromise of lightweight lens, lightweight body, yet heavy-duty imaging performance.

High sensitivity sensors & rock-solid image stabilisation systems

Top-end Compact System Camera models offer the ability to shoot up to such see-in-the-dark light sensitivity settings as ISO25600, like on a pro DSLR. Higher sensitivity settings in general enable more natural, life-like results because flash isn’t always needed. Improved image processors now rid shots of the traditional bugbear of more pronounced image ‘noise’ (grain) the higher the ISO number selected.

Also providing images with greater detail, especially when shooting handheld, is an image stabilisation system. This is either provided via the lens attached (Panasonic Lumix G, Nikon ‘1’, Sony NEX systems), or is built into the camera body (Olympus PEN, Olympus OM-D and Pentax K systems). The advantage of a camera body with a built-in sensor shift anti shake mechanism – whereby gyro sensors detect exterior hand wobble and vibrate the camera’s sensor to act as a counterbalance – is that any lens attached immediately becomes stabilised, so seeking out lenses with this feature isn’t a necessity.

Other improvements to image quality are delivered by CSCs with built-in dust removal/reduction features, such as the Fujifilm X series and Olympus PEN range. This ensures sensors remain dust free after swapping lenses.

High Definition movie making & digital effects filters

A now ubiquitous feature on digital cameras is also a huge selling point for a Compact System Camera, as the ability to swap the lens in use allows for more creative video making – for example by utilising a shallow depth of field (sharp subject, deliberately hazy background). Such versatility, along with the ability to apply colour boosting or scale-reducing digital effects to video plus stills, arguably now gives these cameras the edge over a traditional camcorder. On the left are a few examples of the kinds of image-enhancing effects filter you might find as a useful extra on a Compact System Camera.

Accessory ports further allow for the attachment of external extras, such as stereo microphones to better the sound quality of the camera’s more limited built-in microphone. Manufacturers have also started introducing quieter auto focus lenses, mindful of the dual use Compact System Cameras, like HD SLRS, are being put to.

Key Compact System Camera Technology Key Compact System Camera Technology

The chance to start afresh with a new camera system has inevitably led to manufacturers competing to introduce their own specific little innovations and standalone selling points.

That’s not to say Compact System Cameras don’t additionally feature a healthy best of blend of what also makes digital SLRs and pocket cameras appealing in their own right, while adding their own spin.

Features and technologies to look out for when choosing a Compact System Camera include:

In-camera guides & shooting assistance

We mentioned at the outset that a Compact System Camera is in most cases easier to use and offers less of learning curve for anyone stepping up from a compact snapper, than a digital SLR does. Creative tasks have in general been simplified to allow those picking up the camera for the first time to start taking more professional looking pictures and video from the off. Often this help comes in the shape of on-board assistance and hand holding user guides.

Olympus’ Live Guide feature, to take one example, allows photographers to see the effects of camera adjustments on an image before actually firing the shutter. In this way even a novice user can feel as though they are having more control over the end result, and previously daunting functionality such as aperture and shutter speed can be adjusted without the need to fully grasp what the terms mean.

Fast auto focus and advanced AF tracking

How often have you missed a shot on your point and shoot camera because by the time you’ve fully pressed the shutter release button the subject has moved on? To avoid this happening, Compact System Cameras, like the best DSLRs, feature not only lightning fast auto focus (‘AF’) to determine the focus and exposure for you in literally the blink of an eye, but also continuous auto focus and AF tracking.

By utilising the latter, your subject is not just sharp when dead centre of frame, but remains in focus into whichever corner they may wander. Different manufacturers’ systems naturally claim different AF response times, with the likes of Olympus and Panasonic, which both utilise a Micro Four Thirds sensor, currently claiming the world’s fastest AF across all interchangeable lens cameras, including DSLRs.

Subject info: face, skin colour. Tracking face

Subject info: face, skin colour. Subject being tracked disappears

Subject info: face, skin colour. Tracking beginsagain

Subject info: face, skin colour. Tracking face

Without Image Stabilisation

With Image Stabilisation

Pop Art

Diorama

Dramatic Tone

Pin Hole

Sepia

Grainy Film

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Lenses For Compact System Cameras Lenses for Compact System Cameras

THE WIDE-ANGLE LENS

Sometimes we need to squeeze more into our frame but taking a few steps back simply isn’t an option. It’s time to screw on a wide-angle lens, the most extreme example of which is the perspective warping ‘fisheye’. A premium-build ultra wide option comes in the shape of the Olympus 12mm M.ZUIKO Digital ED. This also benefits from a bright f/2.0 aperture to grab as much light as possible, even in confined spaces.

THE PORTRAIT LENS

Want to take people pictures that bring faces to the fore while selectively blurring the background and guiding your viewer’s gaze? A dedicated portrait lens offering a bright aperture and a shallow depth of field will do the trick. Look for lenses between 50-90mm. Olympus’s 45mm M.ZUIKO Digital ED – offer-ing a 35mm equivalent focal range of 90mm – is one ideal.

THE CLOSE UP/MACRO LENS

Like photographing the exquisite fine detail of wild flowers and insects in all their glory, or want only the nose and eyes of a portrait to be sharp and the rest softly and attractively de-focused? Then you need a close up or ‘macro’ lens. This allows you to get closer than close and bring seldom seen or little noticed details to the atten-tion. The Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro provides one such example.

THE ‘PANCAKE’ LENS

A perfect option for street photography, where you want to make your com-bined camera and lens as lightweight plus as portably unobtrusive as possible, is to go for a fixed focal length ‘pancake’ lens, so-called be-cause of the narrow-in-depth ‘squashed’ appearance. Examples of this include the ultra compact 17mm f/2.8 M.ZUIKO Digital ED lens from Olympus, and the Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5.

A final point worth bearing in mind is that third party manufacturers including Sigma, Tamron and Tokina are now making lenses for Compact System Cameras. These can prove cheaper as well as system broadening alternatives.

As with any interchangeable lens camera, whichever lens you select to go with it, or use to expand the creative options in your kit bag, can have a direct and positive effect on the resulting imagery.

Here therefore are a few horizon-broadening lens options to consider:

ALL-DAY, EVERY DAY & TELEPHOTO LENSES

A good general purpose lens choice when starting out – if you don’t own any lenses at all – is to go for the standard zoom often included by manufacturers in a bundle deal with a Compact System Camera body. While this is often a good jack-of-all trades tool, the more you use your new camera the more you’ll get the itch to expand your repertoire of lenses – often to find the best fit for a specific subject or interest. Alternatively you might want to supplement your kit zoom lens – typically a 18-55mm on a camera with an APS-C sensor (Sony NEX) or 14-42mm on a Micro Four Thirds system camera (Olympus PEN) – with a second ‘telephoto’ zoom boasting a longer reach, and picking up where the focal length of your current lens ends; a 40-150mm for example.

A unique selling point of Micro Four Thirds cameras is that the quoted focal range is effectively doubled, due to the sensor dimensions and relative distance between sensor and lens mount. Therefore a compact 14-42mm lens does the job of a traditionally larger 28-84mm optic on a 35mm film camera.

Accessories For Compact System Cameras Accessories for Compact System Cameras

It’s not purely all about the camera, nor the lens. A broad range of camera accessories is a good signifier of a well-developed and established compact camera system.

This means that there will be bags of support and expansion options available and ongoing. Plus it reveals that the particular manufacturer is serious about its system. The following are a few examples of useful add-ons you should consider and look out for:

LENS CONVERTERS

Photographers don’t always need to buy a whole new lens to achieve a desired effect; make the most of what you’ve got with a lens converter. Typical examples include wide-angle converters to extend the breath of the information that can be packed into your frame and deliver panoramic landscapes or group portraits, view bending and perspective warping ‘fish-eye’ converters, which adds drama and dynamism, and macro converters, to bring small detail up close and personal.

EXTERNAL MICROPHONE

Sometimes a camera’s built-in microphone, whether stereo or mono, will pick up not only the sounds of your subject, but also the mechanics of the camera and the movement of your fingers about its surface. One solution to achieve more professional, high quality sound is an external microphone, which can be positioned either on-camera or off. Some sort of muffler to avoid sound disruption from wind – such as a Micro Muff – can also be beneficial when shooting outdoors. Some Compact System Cameras also offer in-camera wind reduction solutions, usually implemented via the camera’s menu.

ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER

Only a handful of premium priced Compact System Cameras supplement their larger back screen with an integral viewfinder. This is typically of the electronic variety (an ‘EVF’), but can be analogue (an optical viewfinder) too. Fuji’s X-Pro1 even features both options via one uniquely ‘hybrid’ viewfinder.

For those seeking greater flexibility in their picture taking an accessory EVF that attaches to the accessory port or hotshoe can come in handy. In the case of options from Olympus and Panasonic this can be tilted so the photographer is looking down into the viewfinder to better enable low angle shots. Also, the same shooting information displayed on the backscreen is relayed to the EVF, and pictures and video can also be reviewed in this manner. When it comes to photography, more options are always better than fewer.

WIRELESS MODULES & GPS UNITS

While most Compact System Cameras will accept the likes of an Eye-Fi card that will wirelessly transmit and back up images to your PC, others offer separate modules and adapters that attach to your camera, enabling photographers to go from taking a picture to posting it on their social network site in no time at all. One such example is the Bluetooth-enabled ‘Penpal’ device from Olympus. For photographers on the go, Nikon also offers a GP-N100 GPS unit for its ‘1’ system, which adds ‘geotags’ to images’ EXIF data.

ACCESSORY FLASH

Not all Compact System Cameras come with a built-in flash nor a clip-on variety in the box, so you may well want to invest in a supplementary flash. This typically attaches via a combination of the camera’s accessory port and vacant hotshoe. Again there are a range of options here, including compact flashguns to maintain overall diminutive dimensions, macro lights for close up work, plus larger flash modules for getting the best on-camera coverage possible.

BATTERIES AND BATTERY GRIPS

For obvious reasons more power at your disposal is never a bad idea. Spare and replacement rechargeable batteries are a sensible accessory to invest in, while certain manufacturers have started introducing battery grips for their compact system cameras to boost the number of shots available. The likes of the HLD-6 battery grip for the Olympus OM-D range has the added advantage of making the camera itself appear extra sturdy and professional when attached. For those that literally want to push the boat out, the same manufacturer has also recently introduced a range of underwater housings for its CSCs.