Mirrorless Camera/Lens Recommendations - Budget < $1500

ONEMariachi on 04/06/2018 - 23:51

Hey all.

I'm currently looking to get a new camera, I'm an amateur looking to ramp up my abilities with a quality camera.
Been using an older point and shoot for the past 6 months (Nikkon Coolpix s9100), but I've pretty much run out of where that thing can take me.

I'm mostly looking to take photos of live music- so very low light situations, as well as taking video of live music too.

An option for adding an external microphone is wanted, but not completely necessary as I do have a H4N- removing bulk would be nice but if there is significant video/picture quality to be gained in a model that has not got that, that feature can be cut.

I'm open to full frame too.

I know nothing about lenses, and would definitely appreciate any good resources to read up on as well as recommendations there as well.

Anything else you think i should consider too, would be welcome.

thank you!

Electrical & Electronics Camera Camera Lens

Comments

  • zyrex on 05/06/2018 - 07:51
    +2

    Sony a6000

  • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2018 - 09:36

    Olympus OMD-EM10 III

  • omgitzrick on 05/06/2018 - 09:52

    E: Never mind, missed the video requirement.

  • afoveht on 05/06/2018 - 10:24

    I have a now old Sony Nex 6 (and even older Nex 5) which I love and use all the time. I've taken shots and videos of stage performances in dark places, and shots around the campfire, and they come up ok, but low light may mean something different to you. In low light I find the auto focus can be a bit sketchy, and often I need to leave aperture priority for manual mode to select a good combo of shutter speed and ISO.

    I'm always carrying 3 lenses that do pretty much everything I ever need: 18–55 mm F3.5–5.6, 55–210 mm F4.5-6.3, 50 mm F1.8.

    I searched long for the perfect camera bag but in the end found a generic $20 3-pocket bumbag was perfect. One lens is always on the camera, 2 spare lenses in the middle pocket. The camera is in the back pocket always ready on a Blackrapid sling which I pack away into the bag when I'm not planning on shooting soon, else I just leave the sling hanging out / over me and rest the camera in the bag. Wherever I go it's only seconds to pull the camera out, change the lens if required, and shoot. In the front pocket I carry one of those cheap tiny tripods, remote control, a basic cleaning kit and a spare battery.

    I expect the newer cameras would be great.

  • dcep on 05/06/2018 - 11:31
    +1

    over double your budget a7s2

  • Fiximol on 05/06/2018 - 11:33
    +1

    This depends on several things:

    1) Are you doing this as a hobby or professionally? i.e. how are you going to use your footage? Are you going to spend a lot of time post processing or do you just want MP4 straight out of camera (OOC)?

    2) Do you need a zoom lens or are you happy to shoot with prime lenses? (This will heavily determine how much the whole kit is going to cost you! faster zoom lenses are generally very expensive)

    3) Are you going to shoot with a tripod/gimbal/stabilizer? (will determine how important image stabilization is)

    4) Is weight/size also going to be a factor?

    The a6300 is a good choice as it does 4k at 100MBps and also includes several colour logs which is useful for post processing. However the a6300 does not have in body image stabilisation (IBIS) so you are restricted to optically stabilised lenses if you are shooting hand held. The newer A6500 does but it is also more expensive. Here is an example of the a6300 in a concert - .

    An alternative would be the Panasonic GX8 which has IBIS (although only on 4 axis) and external mic and also 4k at 100MBPs - however it has a smaller sensor than the a6300, though it is still extremely impressive in low light. Here is an example of a concert shot with gx8. The G7 was released at around the same time as the GX8 and is much cheaper but has much of the same capabilities (minus IBIS) and here is a sample of the g7 at a concert

    I am not responsible for the music in those clips :P just what youtube search turned up.

    The main takeaway here is that they are probably all very capable for the task.

    As for tips for shooting concerts, I would just use google, for example here, and dpreview also published a recent tutorial on exposure and videography which is worth your time.

    • ONEMariachi on 05/06/2018 - 13:43

      Thanks so much for your information :)

      I'm currently doing it as a hobby, but I want to move towards professional quality.

      I'm in the local music scene quite heavily, and I want to help contribute to providing a platform that can help showcase the insane amount of talent we have here. So I want to have something that will give me a high level of quality towards that purpose.

      My ability to edit it post is quite limited but I do want that option moving forward.

      I'm sorry, I don't know the difference between zoom or prime lenses?

      I'm moving towards free hand, or options that allow me to move around a lot. Nothing set up.

      Weight isn't a massive factor, I've got fairly strong wrists- but in saying that I am wanting a mirrorless over a DSLR.

      • Fiximol on 05/06/2018 - 14:10
        +1

        Zoom just means you can change your field of view (what you are capturing) without moving your legs. Prime lenses have a fixed focal length so to change what you capture in your field of view you have to physically move or change to another lens. The trade off is that zoom lenses are generally "slower" and let in less light compared to primes.

        If you are going to be shooting whilst moving I suggest investing in a monopod. This way you can provide some stabilisation for your camera as well as save your arms/wrist a bit. They are pretty unobtrusive and easy to move around (it's literally a stick on your camera :P) . You can also stick a cheap pan handle on it to get smoother pans (if you plan on panning). Otherwise the 3 axis gimbals are also a worthy investment to get buttery smooth footage.

        As for post processing, just bear in mind that 4k video is a lot more resource demanding to work with (depending on your computer) so that might be an issue, though shooting at 4K and then downscaling to 1080p generally gives better results than shooting at 1080p.

        Irrespective of which camera you choose, I'd stay with something in the last generation or two; they have made some great advances in low light sensor technology that you simply won't get with older cameras.

        • ONEMariachi on 05/06/2018 - 15:09

          My computer specs are,

          • i5-4460
          • 16gb Ram
          • 256gb SSD
          • Nvidia GTX970.

          It's a decent little machine, about 3 years years old though, so I will likely end up upgrading it by the end of next year(or at least the cpu).

          Mmm. I'm currently sitting at the A6000 at the moment,

          Camera House seems to have a decent deal.
          A6000, with 16-50mm PZ, 55-210mm, a spare battery, a bag, a tripod and a MDRZX110NC (which I'll flog off as I have a MDR1000X2 already.).

          All that for $1100.

          thoughts?

          Otherwise, I might even consider waiting for my Tax return and go all out on an A7iii, and jsut future proof myself considerably. A friend of mine is really pushing the idea of a full frame, and it's working lol.

        • Fiximol on 05/06/2018 - 16:09

          @ONEMariachi: looking at reviews and specs the a6300 is a much better camera than the a6000.

          The A6300 can be gotten for around $880 for body only after you factor in the cash back from Sony and you can add a zoom like the 18-105mm F4 for another $640. - This is going to be a big kit (the lens looks MASSIVE), but it will probably be the ONLY kit you need - and it fits your $1500 budget (almost). Alternatively, the newer 16-70mm f4 is about $830 after cashback. Both are all purpose premium zoom lenses.

          Camera house also stocks the a6300 body but the SKU number is different to the sony website so I don't know if it is eligible for the cash back; I'd check with them as they are even cheaper than Ryda.

          Generally speaking, it is better to invest in better lens than better body. It is much easier to improve on good sensor/body than a great lens (some may never be surpassed). Between full frame mirrorless + kit lens and A6300 with premium lens I would definitely go the A6300. Nothing wrong with kit lenses, mind you, but the premium lenses just gives better results.

          Just remember that you also have to factor in the cost for a lens with the A7iii (which is double the cost of the full a6300 kit already!) - Full frame E (FE) mount lenses are also more expensive than the E mounts. Oddly enough the A7iii also is not part of the cash back. The ozbargainer in me would not buy the A7iii without discount/cashback offers :P

        • ONEMariachi on 05/06/2018 - 19:01

          @Fiximol: Thank you so much mate. You've given me a great start to do my research from and start to decipher the overwhelming amount of information out there. Really appreciate it. Gonna spend the next month or so researching the shit out of this and use my tax refund to buy I reckon :)

        • Fiximol on 05/06/2018 - 20:57
          +1

          @ONEMariachi: Good luck! :)

        • ONEMariachi on 17/06/2018 - 22:45

          @Fiximol: Ended up spending $1000 more than I set out to, lol.

          Went the A6300, with the FE 28mm f2, and the 16-70mm f4 that you suggested. $2500, all up, plus $350 cashback.

  • Lexus101 on 05/06/2018 - 13:07
    +1

    Second all the above as excellent cameras.

    My Personal Favorites for your budget are (have used them or tried them out)

    Sony A6000
    Sony A6300
    Olympus OM10 II
    Olympus OM10 III

    With various choice of lenses to suit your style of shooting.

    I have not included DSLR sizes cameras as I find them too bulky for everyday carry or holiday use.

    Cheers!

    • ONEMariachi on 05/06/2018 - 13:49

      Thanks, I have been looking quite a bit into the Sony's as most people seem to be recommending them.
      I'll check those Olympus models out too.

      Camera House seems to have a decent deal atm.
      A6000, with 16-50mm PZ, 55-210mm, a spare battery, a bag a tripod and a MDRZX110NC (which I'll flog off as I have a MDR1000X2 already.).

      All that for $1100.

      But then a piece of me is saying. Save up a bit more and go a full Frame mirrorless lol

      • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2018 - 17:43

        The a7iii is very well reviewed.

        Had to toss up between a7iii, a7riii and a9. Cost no object build. I went with the a7iii and just waiting for an Australian retailer to receive stock.

        • ONEMariachi on 05/06/2018 - 19:00

          They had the a7iii at Camera House today. She literally said they just came in, she was putting it in the window as I walked in haha. This was in Adelaide though.

        • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2018 - 19:18

          @ONEMariachi:
          Thanks for the heads up. I'll be getting mine this weekend. Woohoo.

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