3 Way Holiday Camera Shootout Part 2, The Weigh In

 

The Nikon D5200 is a recent release, current model, upper entry/midrange DSLR.  It's characteristics, capabilities and user interface are typical of a modern  consumer level DSLR.  It is quite compact and light for a DSLR, but still substantially larger and heavier than the two MILC's. Like  other DSLR's the D5200 operates in a generally efficient fashion (with some exceptions as we shall discover) in eye level view with the flipping mirror down. But the segue to monitor [a.k.a. Live] view is not smooth and performance in Live View Mode is underwhelming.  

The Lumix G6 is Panasonic's latest mid range MILC. It is a compact, well integrated design, which offers good handling, viewing, operating and performance with either eye level view or monitor view. Picture quality is better than one might have expected given the DXO Mark scores (dxomark.com), see below.

The Nikon 1 V2 currently sits at the top of Nikon's strangely named "1" system MILC camera line. It shares with it's predecessor, the V1, some remarkable capabilities. It can shoot at 5 or 15 frames per second with VR, Auto Exposure and Predictive AutoFocus on every frame. At 5 fps the buffer can hold an amazing 72 RAW  (or 88 JPG Fine) shots before the shooting frame rate slows.  Through all this the EVF presents the viewer with the appearance of continuous streaming video even while shooting stills, with no blackout at all.

 

Comment on dimensions and Masses  You can see that in general each camera or camera/lens combination is about 1.4-1.6 times larger and heavier than the next smaller one.  The exception is that the G6 with lens is only slightly heavier than the V2 with lens.

 Comment on Sensor Data  Compared to the G6, the D5200 has a larger sensor, more pixels, lower noise at high ISO settings and greater Dynamic Range. You might reasonably expect the D5200 to have clearly superior picture quality but in my tests using  photographs of a wide variety of everyday subjects that is not the case. Many times I preferred the appearance of photos from the G6. The inconsistent performance of the Nikon 18-200mm lens was one but not the only apparent reason for this. Images from the G6 and D5200 were in most but not all cases, clearly better than those from the V2.

 To this you would need to add add: Filter(s), Spare batteries, Lens hood (Supplied with Nikon 18-200mm and Lumix 14-140mm, not supplied with Nikon 1 10-100mm lens), Carry bag, puffer and microfiber cloth.

The process of choice   When I read published camera reviews I often encounter a long list of specifications and numbers by which the reviewer seeks to characterise the camera under review.  I suspect they use the numbers because they are, or at least appears to be,  hard data and therefore perhaps considered "safe", not requiring subjective evaluation by the tester which could more readily be challenged.

If you want  the kit with the largest numbers, the choice is easy. The D5200 is the largest, heaviest and most expensive. It has the biggest sensor with the most pixels and the highest DXO Mark score.  

On the other hand if you want to shrink your camera kit and pick the one with the smallest numbers the V2 fits the bill.

In this big 3 Way comparison I have placed considerable emphasis on important qualities which are not readily described by numbers. These include picture quality, the user experience, real world performance and ergonomics, which devolves to holding, viewing and operating. I have come to realise over the years that technical image quality, (which is not the same as real world picture quality) and numerated specifications have their place in a comprehensive product evaluation but  the human-machine interface (which is a fancy way of saying "do I enjoy using this thing ?") determines whether we will take the camera with us when we venture forth and use it for making photos. The image quality of a camera sitting in the drawer is  zero.