ATTN Photographers - Need Camera Recommendations!

[GreyGhost]

Really it won't matter what name brand, but research and see what feels good in your hand and in use.

Well, for SLR, name brand doesn't matter as long as it is Nikon or Canon. Sony is an also ran that costs the same to buy, is painful to sell used (little market leads to low prices and long waits) and in my mind offers no advantage over the big players. They had a great idea sticking stabilization in the body instead of the lenses but then priced their lenses at the same level as the stabilized nikon/canon and squandered the advantage.

 

[Riceburner]

Guess I should quantify. Name brand to me is Nikon or Canon. Even my Oly is a lower tier to me. As I already have the glass, it's only the body capability I look at now....body almost is equivalent to film grades now.

 

[sburns]

Well, for SLR, name brand doesn't matter as long as it is Nikon or Canon. Sony is an also ran that costs the same to buy, is painful to sell used (little market leads to low prices and long waits) and in my mind offers no advantage over the big players. They had a great idea sticking stabilization in the body instead of the lenses but then priced their lenses at the same level as the stabilized nikon/canon and squandered the advantage.

Hmm I don't think that is accurate about Sony, they basically created the mirrorless market today, I know you are talking about SLR's but the tech is all moving to mirrorless with Full Frame capable senors. Canon and Nikon have been playing catchup for years (Canon only released a true pro mirrorless this year). Sony's sensors were ahead at the time, the ar7 & 9 bodies from Sony have been selling like mad in both photography and video markets. Whats funny though I see lots of photographers with Sony bodies and Canon lense's

Sony Now #2 in Digital Camera Sales as Nikon Falls to #3

There's a changing of the guard at the top of the camera market. Sony has reportedly become the #2 brand in overall digital camera sales behind Canon,

petapixel.com

Also see DPreviews most popular cameras

Digital Photography Review

Expert news, reviews and videos of the latest digital cameras, lenses, accessories, and phones. Get answers to your questions in our photography forums.

www.dpreview.com

 

[jeff96]

This is a lot of information and potential investment for someone who just wants to dip their toes into photography.

As mentioned earlier, your iPhone is a pretty good camera in it's own right.

The advantage of a dedicated camera is the ability to change lenses, a larger sensor inside the camera that records the image, and the ability to change lenses to get the zoom or other effects you want.

DSLR cameras are the digital equivalent to the 35mm film camera (the type most recognized as a 'professional' camera.)The most expensive type has a 'full frame' sized sensor which is equivalent to the size of 35mm film. Most consumer DSLR cameras use a smaller than full frame sensor, but it's still much bigger than the one inside a phone. Bigger isn't always better. The bigger the sensor, the larger the lense you'll need to get the equivalent amount of zoom.

Mirrorless cameras are more compact because they've eliminated some of the mechanical stuff inside the camera. They range from the point and shoot camera to full frame sensor cameras. There's a few general types:

Your phone. The software built into these things is amazing and compensates for the small sensor and limited optics. The lense is 'fixed' and therefore can't zoom in. It has 'digital zoom' which means the camera enlarges the image and crops it down to what you want to see. Digital zoom degrades the image quality, but often not noticeably so. As noted earlier, you can get apps that allow you to use custom settings just like 'professional' cameras.

Point and shoot. Like your phone but the lens comes out to offer 'optical zoom'. Cheaper ones are often worse than your phone.

Bridge cameras. Look like a DSLR but the lens isn't removable. Also has a smaller sensor than higher end cameras. They allow you to adjust settings more than most point and shoot cameras.

Micro four thirds. A smaller version of the DSLR. They generally have all the same features but use a smaller sensor than DSLR but much bigger than phones. Because the sensor is smaller, so are the lenses making it a popular choice for those wanting less gear to lug around, say for traveling.

The other decision that's been discussed is lenses. Consumer cameras come with a 'kit lense'. They are fine for starting out. The big money kicks in when you want a 'faster' lense. Don't worry about what that is at the moment. Just know that shopping around for a used high end lense for some cameras might be easier than others.

Lots of people spend a lot of money up front, play around with it for a year, then put the camera away in a closet. If I was doing it over again, I'd get one of the most common cameras on Kijiji; a cannon rebel, and play around with that until you know what you want.



Sent from my Redmi 7A using Tapatalk

 

[GreyGhost]

Hmm I don't think that is accurate about Sony, they basically created the mirrorless market today. Canon and Nikon have been playing catchup for years (Canon only released a true pro mirrorless this year). Sony's sensors were ahead at the time, the ar7 & 9 bodies from Sony have been selling like mad in both photography and video markets. Whats funny though I see lots of photographers with Sony bodies and Canon lense's

Sony Now #2 in Digital Camera Sales as Nikon Falls to #3

There's a changing of the guard at the top of the camera market. Sony has reportedly become the #2 brand in overall digital camera sales behind Canon,

petapixel.com

Also see DPreviews most popular cameras

Digital Photography Review

Expert news, reviews and videos of the latest digital cameras, lenses, accessories, and phones. Get answers to your questions in our photography forums.

www.dpreview.com

That's why I said SLR. I am not an authority on mirrorless. Some people use Sony SLR, imo, they made the wrong choice for 99% of photographers. I know nothing about shooting video with an SLR.

 

[sburns]

That's why I said SLR. I am not an authority on mirrorless. Some people use Sony SLR, imo, they made the wrong choice for 99% of photographers. I know nothing about shooting video with an SLR.

Haha I edited my post just after you quoted, I thought you were being specific about SLR and not mirrorless.

 

[sburns]

Mirrorless cameras are more compact because they've eliminated some of the mechanical stuff inside the camera. They range from the point and shoot camera to full frame sensor cameras. There's a few general types:

Ya see the one main things I don't like about mirrorless is not having the mirror to look down the lens. I just find the electronic view finder not as good to see what you are shooting. ?‍ I am sure it will get there.

 

[GreyGhost]

Ya see the one main things I don't like about mirrorless is not having the mirror to look down the lens. I just find the electronic view finder not as good to see what you are shooting. ?‍ I am sure it will get there.

If you want to be amazed, look through the viewfinder on an old film camera with a split prism. It is shockingly easy to manual focus (because it had to be. There was no AF). Manual focusing a modern SLR manually is donkey balls and I rarely do it.

 

[MaksTO]

Sony A7ii was on a great discount recently. Something like $700 off.. Switched from M4/3 to that. Very happy with it!

Might be overkill for hobby stuff though (I sort of shoot professionally?). I did pro work on Olympus EM-10mkii for years, great format, especially if you don't plan on doing gigantic prints - it's just kind of dying now that FF mirrorless is getting more and more accessible it seems.

That being said, great lenses can be had for CHEAP in M4/3 world. 45mm F1.8 Oly was one of the best lenses I've ever used. Sony is much more expensive on the lens front ugh...

 

[Trials]

Fella that spends a fortune on fancy cameras told me just last week he's going to replace most of his camera use with his new iPhone, apparently the iPhone takes incredible pictures. 100% for travel use because then he won't be lugging around all the camera equipment and can conceal the phone easy.

 

[GreyGhost]

Fella that spends a fortune on fancy cameras told me just last week he's going to replace most of his camera use with his new iPhone, apparently the iPhone takes incredible pictures. 100% for travel use because then he won't be lugging around all the camera equipment and can conceal the phone easy.

In good light, if you are happy with the field of view of a phone camera, it is really hard to beat them. As the light gets worse or you start trying to shoot narrower/wider or you want to properly control depth of field, the big stuff rockets ahead. I really really like shooting full frame with a 50 1.2 or APS-C with 70-200 2.8 but each of those are over 4 lbs. They will blow the iphone out of the water, but you are at over 10lbs and a whole pannier of space instead of 1/2 lb in your pocket.

 

[Mina]

@jeff96 - Appreciate the feedback, that makes things a whole lot easier.
Currently leaning towards the Canon Rebel SL3 -- seems to be getting mixed reviews but I feel it's more than good enough for my current needs.

Any thoughts?

 

[GreyGhost]

@jeff96 - Appreciate the feedback, that makes things a whole lot easier.
Currently leaning towards the Canon Rebel SL3 -- seems to be getting mixed reviews but I feel it's more than good enough for my current needs.

Any thoughts?

I havent looked at any recent bodies. In the past, I would look for used xxd bodies instead of new rebels. I like the dual control wheels provided by xxd and feel I am fighting a rebel to make it do what I want. Honestly, the body makes the least impact on the shots, what lenses are you thinking of getting?

 

[Mina]

what lenses are you thinking of getting?

It comes with a 18-55 mm lens. Which covers a wide range of angles, seems suitable for me. ?‍
I'm sure as I get better and want more from a camera, I'll be either buying new lenses or a new camera or possibly even both.

 

[GreyGhost]

It comes with a 18-55 mm lens. Which covers a wide range of angles, seems suitable for me. ?‍
I'm sure as I get better and want more from a camera, I'll be either buying new lenses or a new camera or possibly even both.

18-55 isnt terrible for the money. Depending on what you are shooting, focal lengths from 10 to 400 are helpful as you expand the collection. In general, I hate all the lenses that are 5.6 max aperture. They really limit the performance of the camera and narrow the gap from a real camera to a phone. Ideally, look for f4 or larger, but size/weight/cost jumps. Maybe a use 17-55 2.8? I havent checked used prices in ages, I have no idea what things are going for.

Dont get sucked into spending any money on 75-300, they are a mangy dog and worth nothing.

 

[sburns]

In good light, if you are happy with the field of view of a phone camera, it is really hard to beat them. As the light gets worse or you start trying to shoot narrower/wider or you want to properly control depth of field, the big stuff rockets ahead. I really really like shooting full frame with a 50 1.2 or APS-C with 70-200 2.8 but each of those are over 4 lbs. They will blow the iphone out of the water, but you are at over 10lbs and a whole pannier of space instead of 1/2 lb in your pocket.

I know, I use to have 1 saddlebag with camera gear. But once I started playing around with the editiing options in my phone, it wasn't worth it anymore to bring the SLR for those quick hope off the bike 1 or 2 shots then move on. Now if am purposely going someplace to do some shooting that is different.

 

[jeff96]

@jeff96 - Appreciate the feedback, that makes things a whole lot easier.
Currently leaning towards the Canon Rebel SL3 -- seems to be getting mixed reviews but I feel it's more than good enough for my current needs.

Any thoughts?

That's more than I'd spend on a first camera, but it should work well for you and have a decent resale value if you decide to switch to something else.

 

[Mina]

Well... I picked up the SL3 yesterday and I've been playing with it every chance I got today. Starting to get a clue of the options/tools available, still plenty to learn but I feel like I'll be making progress soon. Thank you all for your input, it has been extremely valuable!

My first decent shot:

 

[Mina]

Long exposure is cool.

 

[GreyGhost]

Long exposure is cool.

Interesting. A few vehicles had modulated LED tails and one didn't.