Another camera query

menamestom

@dazzajl ; Thanks for sharing, some lovely shots there.  I like the way you have captured the way nature decays and consumes everything we create, you don't see it as much in preened suburbia but in the mainly unoccupied rail ways it marches on.  Rust never sleeps, as they say.

I love the meandering track lines as well.

Very nice deep colours from the Fuji, can't wait to get my hands on one and get creative!:)

sev112

Ok, am thinking about getting a camera for daughter’s 16th birthday.  She’s doing art o level and takes lots of pics with her very old iPhone.  


(I used to take loads of film pics, did my own b&w develop and printing, even sold stuff, and moved into digital when Minolta brought out their hugely overpriced first DSLRs.  Moved to some Sony alpha DSLRs about 10 to 5 years ago, and haven’t taken a camera on holiday for circa 5 years now.  I just use the iPhone, and most pics are extremely good on an iPad / computer screen.  So I used to know what I was talking  about.   But I never really got into digital, and always believed 95% of my film pictures were better.  I’ve lost all track of what cameras are about these days and am shocked when I see the price of DSLRs and “mirrorless” cameras these days.

So using someone above’s Analogy about being the same as buying guitars, I need some advice on something in the camera world that be between say a Harley Benton and a Mexican Strat prices.  You know, something that only the gear snobs will claim is crap, but in reality everyone knows will do the job for most jobs. 

I think that means a compact. I just don’t know where to start these days?  Not necessarily zoom, but I guess it’s difficult to get one without?  Ability to manually override exposure would be good.
Any good suggestions ? I reckon up to about £200top end ?

a good basic lens and aperture is key I always found in compacts.  My wedding was shot by an old fleet st picture editor on a very small film compact in 1995 and we got fab pics. Good lens on it was the key.  

RaymondLin

I would go an old Canon DSLR with a kit lens.  

Go get a Canon 50D with a kit lens and a 50/1.8.

ThePrettyDamned

RaymondLin said:

I would go an old Canon DSLR with a kit lens.  

Go get a Canon 50D with a kit lens and a 50/1.8.

Yup, this. 

Or for less tele, got for a nikon d3100 or d3300 with a 35mm 1.8. Canon probably has a similar aps-c lens - cheap as chips, sharp as hell and small  

dazzajl

Older model dslr cameras do offer great value but they lack any cool. That might matter more to a teen than to most of us. The most important aspect of the choice will be to choose something she wants to pick up and use. 

Jimbro66

dazzajl said:

Older model dslr cameras do offer great value but they lack any cool. .......

Dare I say that a lot of youngsters see DSLRs as a bit archaic They seem perfectly happy using their mobiles but those that do want a camera seem mainly attracted to mirrorless or the better quality compacts.

I had a very nice little Fuji X20 that I used when out cycling but it became redundant when I bought the X-E3. I sold the X20 to a gap year girl who was just going off for an Africa trip. I asked her why she hadn't chosen a DSLR and lens(es) and she said she wanted better image quality than her mobile but without the bulk of a DSLR kit. She had done her online research and specifically wanted an X20 (a used X30 being over her budget).

ThePrettyDamned

dazzajl said:

Older model dslr cameras do offer great value but they lack any cool. That might matter more to a teen than to most of us. The most important aspect of the choice will be to choose something she wants to pick up and use. 

That is true. 

I would, in that instance, likely recommend a fuji, or for a fixed lens compact, a ricoh grii - older model, amazing sensor and lens, tiny, and beautiful. 

RaymondLin

It’s like learning guitar, you pick with your eyes, like a weird looking pointy thing that plays crap over something designed to fit your hand better with features and buttons and dials at the right place with easy access.

menamestom

A DSLR might be best bang for buck but a more compact option might be something like the Fuji x-A20.  A little over budget (£260ish) but is compact, has a flip screen, manual option, wireless transfer of pics, interchangeable lens.
I think you’d have to ascertain whether a DSLR would stay in the bag or not.

The other option might be controversial, but if she is not interested in the mechanics of photography perhaps putting the money to a better phone with more memory might be a better option.  Some of the camera phones nowadays are excellent and can be manually controlled by apps like Halide.  Depends exactly what photography she wants to do.

RaymondLin

For £260 you can get a Fuji X-T1, which is where my money will go.

stickyfiddle

RaymondLin said:

For £260 you can get a Fuji X-T1, which is where my money will go.

Yep. That’s a ridiculous amount of camera for the price of a posh fx pedal.

RaymondLin

stickyfiddle said:

RaymondLin said:

For £260 you can get a Fuji X-T1, which is where my money will go.

Yep. That’s a ridiculous amount of camera for the price of a posh fx pedal.

It's mirrorless, so its cool.
It has wifi as well built in.
It has a tilty screen, all the dials for settings clearly marked at the top.  AF is adequate, not amazing (compared to the latest gen bodies) but gets the job done for almost everything but someone running towards you.

stickyfiddle

RaymondLin said:

stickyfiddle said:

RaymondLin said:

For £260 you can get a Fuji X-T1, which is where my money will go.

Yep. That’s a ridiculous amount of camera for the price of a posh fx pedal.

It's mirrorless, so its cool.
It has wifi as well built in.
It has a tilty screen, all the dials for settings clearly marked at the top.  AF is adequate, not amazing (compared to the latest gen bodies) but gets the job done for almost everything but someone running towards you.

Yeah, I used mine for 3 years and would still happily use it for most applications. I'm keeping it as a second body in preparation for an eventual Kenya trip to avoid lens swapping. 

dazzajl

RaymondLin said:

stickyfiddle said:

RaymondLin said:

For £260 you can get a Fuji X-T1, which is where my money will go.

Yep. That’s a ridiculous amount of camera for the price of a posh fx pedal.

It's mirrorless, so its cool.
It has wifi as well built in.
It has a tilty screen, all the dials for settings clearly marked at the top.  AF is adequate, not amazing (compared to the latest gen bodies) but gets the job done for almost everything but someone running towards you.

I’m still not sure it would be far enough away in looks from the crusty old stuff we take to be ‘an camera’? You’d have to ask someone much younger than this crowd I guess. 

It is most definitely the lovely Squier Strat version of the camera world though. Absolutely all you’d ever really need in more than 99% of situations. 

menamestom

Update:- I didn't buy a camera.  I ended up getting a new iPhone 11 which has taken car of most photography needs since buying it.

However, a phone can't replace a proper camera.  I definitely need a viewfinder so I'm looking at a replacement for my DSLR again.  It is hard to justify due to the phone cams being so good, but It's more about having interchangeable lenses.  On my DSLR I tend to use a 50-200mm mostly, so I'm going to get something in that range from the get go.

Fujifilm have brought out the XT200 which is supposed to be a cheaper version of the X-T30 but it's actually more expensive in this country.

So, I'm looking at the X-T30 again.  Saving up for a bit then I'll decide, stock levels don't look great at the moment, but on the plus side second hand stuff seems to be getting a good price, so I'll move my DSLR on.

ThePrettyDamned

Great work.

I currently use a 6D and would warn away from older dslrs as they're less intuitive. WiFi apps are crap, no touchscreen etc.

There are dslrs which are better, but @RaymondLin hit the nail on the head with xt-1 or xt-20, or one of the many micro 4/3 cameras that are around. Beautiful, small cameras with amazing quality images and tons of great, useful features. 

Stratavarious

I went Canon Ds after lots of research.   They have a mature, full system. The cheap bundled lenses can be improved.  I got a high quality zoom with my body that is on 99% of the time and was a leap in image quality and fast.

i also have two fixed lenses if I want to take time to pose stuff but the zoom is still better to quickly frame and capture stuff at all distances when walking about.

it kills with video too.. its main use now, as I am having to produce TV / media from home with the lockdown.

strumjoughlamps

Sony A7 for me, never been happier with a mirror less and I’ve had them all.

ThePrettyDamned

strumjoughlamps said:

Sony A7 for me, never been happier with a mirror less and I’ve had them all.

Which is funny because I borrowed an A7iii and absolutely hated the thing despite image quality and, arguably, the best AF I've ever used. It just wasn't nice for me to use. I have small hands though, so I'm one of the few that would probably prefer the older, smaller gripped versions (although I didn't like the button layouts on those either!). 

Meh, what stupid things to complain about, they're all absolutely amazing cameras. We are so bloody lucky. 

goldtop

I've got the A7ii, and If Sony had made an A7 with dedicated dials, it'd be perfect. But the X-T2 that I've now got just suits me better.