Recommend a Camera for Photography n00b

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  boomramada on 20/10/2023 - 19:13

  Sony A6000, second hand.

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  JIMB0 on 20/10/2023 - 19:24

  iPhone

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  localhost on 20/10/2023 - 19:46

  -1

  Sony A7C - small, compact, full frame.

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  OverburdenedWarrior on 20/10/2023 - 20:03

  +1

  My trusty Nikon D5100 died recently after many years of service, and I ended up replacing it with the Canon EOS R50. It's a nifty little camera, compared to the hulking great DSLR I'm used to. It's very beginner friendly, with loads of on-screen help. It's marketed as the next step-up from phone photography but has all the features you'd need as your skills progress. Canon also has a great companion app on iOS (and I'm assuming Android as well) that allows you to view/transfer photos from the camera, or even shoot remotely. I ended up with the dual lens (18-45, 55-210) kit for around $1400 from JB Hi-Fi.

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  deme on 20/10/2023 - 20:03

  Pixel 8 Pro

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  7ekn00 on 20/10/2023 - 21:50

  Whatever you can afford, anything less than a 1inch sensor - just use a camera phone ;)

  As an example:
  camera + lens ~ $2000 - MFT like Panasonic G9 (body goes on sale ~ $1000, lenses typically < $1000) or OM systems
  camera + lens ~ $3000 - APS-C like Sony A6000 or Fuji XT
  camera + lens ~ $4000 - Sony A7 iv, Panasonic S5ii, Canon R6, etc

  Can go well beyond $10k like this :P

  You really need to decide what your budget is which will partially determine sensor format (MFT / APS-C / Full Frame / Medium Format). From there you will need to determine how many lenses you need for your interests.

  For example, you can get away with portraits and macros on a single ~ 90mm equivalent prime. However "Travel" is vastly different for many people (some just use a 35mm prime for everything, but if the travel is animal tours in Africa, you will need 400mm+ telephotos).

  If you want good and cheap equipment without a lot of research, you can't look past second hand Canon 5D mark 2, 3 or 4 - they use cheaper Canon EF mounts that are often also sold commonly second hand!

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  OldSchoolHarry on 22/10/2023 - 15:02

  What's your budget?
  You can pickup a used Canon 70D for around $500 with lens.

  • 

    Calcifer on 22/10/2023 - 17:20

    No set budget. Don't have the money just now. But working out what I'm working towards as best options. $500 sounds quite cheap from what I have been seeing so far

    • 

      OldSchoolHarry on 22/10/2023 - 17:50

      Yeah you can definitely go the ‘used’ route if it’s just going to be a hobby, especially when starting out. Don’t get too attached to specs. You can always upgrade in future if it plays out well for you.
      All you need is a camera such as Canon 70d or 80d (or equivalent) and a decent entry level lens such as 18-135mm or 15-85mm and you can do amazing things with it.
      If anyone says you need to spend $1000s of dollars for hobby photography, they’re either too rich or have been spoiled by having used professional gear.

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  Calcifer on 06/12/2023 - 17:05

  Looking at the Fujifilm X-T5 as my preferred option so far. Is there a particular discount level for cameras or for the brand I should look out for?

  For other non-camera things there are repeated percentage discounts that come up (ie 40-50% off Bonds, 20% off Lego, etc) - hoping there is something similar for cameras or even Fujifilm specifically.

  From what I can tell, they don't get discounted very much or often, and hold their value.