Newish to photography. School me on camera options.

[Iamero]

Looking to upgrade from my iPhone camera and a point and shoot that I’ve had for a couple years. I’ve seen some of the photos you guys post on here of for sale items and hunts and I know some of you definitely know a thing or two about photography. Here’s what I’m looking for:

- sub-$1,500 for body and lens
- will be mostly doing still photography but sometimes some pictures of my dogs and camping/hiking/and matches

Open to older models if you tell me what to look for when buying used. Like I said, I’m new to buying nice cameras, but been around some professional photographers in my family for years. Asking them is painful as it starts a 5 hour conversation about stuff way over my head so I’ve resorted to asking you all instead haha.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Pick a lens religion and then buy the camera bodies around that.

You can easily have many thousands of dollars in lenses that will outlast many camera bodies as you upgrade over the years.

If you have professional photographers in your family that are happy to help and offer advice, you might want to go with whatever lens religion they use, so you can ask for help advice, tips and perhaps borrow some of their lenses when you need them.

A couple important points to think about up front.

Are wide angle shots important to you, or is most up close.
Will you need to have close up shots of far away subjects?
Are you shooting in daylight / brightly lit places, or do you want to photograph in low light / indoors without the need for flashes / lighting?
Are you shooting action shots regularly or mostly static stuff?
Do you plan to do a lot of close up product pictures?

 

[808caliber]

Hows it. I would definately stick with a full sensor mirrorless or apsc sensor mirroless as this would give you the biggest upgrade from where you are. I just bought myself a refurbishes z7 nikom from adorama for like 2k (brand new is 2.8k). They just had a z50 come out which may be in your price range, or you can look at a used or refurbished z6. My brother shoots sony, which is beneficial for him because it allows him to use 3rs party lenses quite easily. Id def hop on adorama anand check their refurbished stuff. Legit its like brand new but youll save a ton. And rheir CS is top notch

 

[W54/XM-388]

Here is an example of why you think about lenses

Say this is the view from where you are standing:

 

[W54/XM-388]

Do you need a lens that can do this:

 

[Iamero]

Honestly most of it would be close to mid range photos outdoors. The indoor photos would be pretty limited to pictures of my guns to sell on here lol

 

[808caliber]

Honestly most of it would be close to mid range photos outdoors. The indoor photos would be pretty limited to pictures of my guns to sell on here lol

Id get a used or refurbished z6 or sony a7iii. Get a sigma 50mm 1.8 or similar. Would be all you will need. And will leave you for lots of room for upgrades.

 

[W54/XM-388]

I think perhaps something like a 24-70 in a 2.0 would be a bit more overall useful than just a 50mm 1.8

 

[808caliber]

I think perhaps something like a 24-70 in a 2.0 would be a bit more overall useful than just a 50mm 1.8

Yaa i mean that woukd be ideal. But since he said hes mostly doing stills and products, a prime lense can be faster for cheaper and better quality (not always though).

 

[Candyman87]

As W54/XM-388 mentioned, you'll be marrying a family of lenses. Either Canon EF/EF-S lenses or Nikon F-mount lenses will be more common and have something in the family, or another manufacturer will make the lens you want/need. Personally, I'm partial to Canon as that's what I've been shooting for decades, but either Canon on Nikon will do what you need in a DSLR.

That said, the current Canon Rebel series or EOS D-series prosumer models use the EF-S mount and will take EF lenses as well (there's a multiplication factor here because of a different size sensor), but you'll have plenty of options. Personally, I'm still shooting a Canon EOS 60D and it does everything I need it to, with a small collection of lenses. I use an 18-55 kit lens, 50mm prime, a 70-300mm, and a 35-105mm. Works for everything I've needed it for, but super dark environments, and super long telephoto.

Same goes for the comparable Nikon gear... I just can't spit out the Nikon lingo like I can with Canon.

 

[LA260]

Get a Canon 77D, a nifty fifty and a 20mm and you're good to go. Should have some$$ left over for memory card, extra battery, case, etc... Use it for a year and by then you'll know what your next lens should be.

 

[Threadcutter308]

Fujinon X glass is stunningly good. A 16-55 f 2.8 is what I use 90% of the time. A good used XT-1 body can be had for pennies, as could an XT-2.

Yes, as others have said, you (should) buy into the glass. Digital rot decimates the value of the body, but the value of/in the lenses holds up much better.

Fujifilm [United States]

At Fujifilm we create innovative products and deliver effective solutions in a wide variety of fields to serve society, contribute to the quality of life, and enhance environmental sustainability.

www.fujifilmusa.com

 

[Iamero]

Good to know. I wondered if it was a bit like investing in the glass for a rifle. I also didn’t realize it was such a cult to belong to a lens family but I’m getting that vibe from some forums and reviews I was looking at online too!

 

[C_R_Slacker]

Call cameraland. They are a snipershide vendor, and they were extremely helpful in walking me through the camera buying process. (A gift for my wife) They put me on a sony a6000 and it fits our needs nicely.

Welcome to Camera Land NY

Camera Land offers top brands & low prices - cameras, repairs and binoculars.

cameralandny.com

 

[Threadcutter308]

Good to know. I wondered if it was a bit like investing in the glass for a rifle. I also didn’t realize it was such a cult to belong to a lens family but I’m getting that vibe from some forums and reviews I was looking at online too!

Nah, glass isn’t cult like, it’s just that’s where the retained value is. $3,200.00 Canon 5D iii’s can be had for $800.00 used. All mfr’s lenses hold their value much better, when compared to bodies. That’s what you are buying into.
I had Canon and Nikon. Of the two, I preferred Canon (24-70 f2.8), but it’s huge and heavy. The Canon 6D that married up is a full frame as opposed to the Fuji’s being crop sensor, but the Canon full frames (and lenses) are huge/heavy. The resolution and direct, out of body jpegs from the Fuji are spectacular. I shoot dual Raw and jpeg and find that the majority of my go to’s are the jpegs and I dick with Raw shots less and less as time goes on.

And,if you get to the point of wanting to shoot primes, Fuji has some of the best out there too. Like I said though, my 16-55 gets used the vast majority of the time.