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Camera recommendations
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By (user no longer on site) OP 40 weeks ago
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Looking to start taking higher quality photos as phone camera just isn't good enough.
Any photographers out there who have some recommendations and advice? |
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If you want to go into it then look at a bridge camera it’s a halfway house between a full DSLR and a compact. Pixel size, optical zoom lenses are important as is weight you can get fed up jumping one round, and of course lighting. |
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By *aked_magicMan 40 weeks ago
the gutter looking at the stars (S.Australia) |
if youre looking to start using something with different lenses I'd recommend a Nikon Z5 but its a big jump from a camera phone - i am biased as i have a long line of Nikon cameras though. its also a big investment though, you could always go down the used path and pick up something like a used D3300 cheaply to see if you catch the photography bug and upgrade from there. Functions would be mostly the same and the picture quality is great and gets better with better lenses obviously. just my 2pence, photograpy is a minefield of contrasting opinions! |
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Look for a mirrorless digital camera. Their size makes them easier to carry around. As for the make it's really a personal choice. I've gone for a Sony due to the range of lenses available.
But most important is your photo editing software. Adobe (Lightroom & Photoshop) are the most expensive but they have a massive wealth of features and lots of tutorials on youtube. |
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I’d avoid a bridge camera as you can get better deals with dSLR or mirrorless camera bundles.
Brand comes down to personal preference and how it feels to you… ergonomics are both personal and very important to how the camera will work for you.
Another thing to consider when talking brands… you’re buying into a system rather than any one single camera so look at it from a longer term perspective. How much are the other lenses and accessories that you may want later on?
Second hand is a great option too, as you don’t need the latest and greatest. Anything from the last 10 years should be more than good enough for you.
But… before spending any money take time to have another look at your phone photos. What are they lacking? Can your phone shoot in Raw mode? Lots of practice and exploration of the settings on your phone can lead to much better results. You may be surprised! |
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"Do lenses from old 35mm SLR's work on digital bodies? I am curious as I still have my old kit but haven't used it in years.
Generally no, the fittings are different."
Actually, yes. It depends on the brand and then in some cases the lens itself. For example, Nikon F mount will fit Nikon dSLR bodies and Canon EOS mount lenses will fit Canon dSLR bodies. Adapters are available to use those lenses on each mentioned brands mirrorless bodies.
Almost all lenses can be adapted for mirrorless cameras.
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"My son has given me his old camera. It's a Canon EOS 70D. Need to practice or get some tuition. Any offers or suggestions?"
Join your local camera club. You'll learn loads and meet like-minded peeps |
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"if youre looking to start using something with different lenses I'd recommend a Nikon Z5 but its a big jump from a camera phone - i am biased as i have a long line of Nikon cameras though. its also a big investment though, you could always go down the used path and pick up something like a used D3300 cheaply to see if you catch the photography bug and upgrade from there. Functions would be mostly the same and the picture quality is great and gets better with better lenses obviously. just my 2pence, photograpy is a minefield of contrasting opinions!"
This is really good advice and a great beginners camera. The only thing I’d add is that with any ‘proper’ camera, to get the most from your photos you’ll need some basic editing software. There’s a lot to choose from, depending on your budget. Just don’t forget about it  |
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Impossible to answer.
Do you know what kind of photos you want to take? how much you want to spend? Do you have fat fingers?
Forget about brands and specs first understand what it is you want to achieve. Some of my best photography is on my iPhone, It’s always ready to shoot. Little Sony with the Carl Zeis Lens and 1 inch sensor is good for travel but iPhone more accessible
Studio & planned sunrise, sunset work I use a prime lens and often tripod, In the desert & street. a GX7, With a pancake lens or a prime 37 or 75mm. Always a prime , zoom
Lens are rubbish |
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By *ularliWoman 40 weeks ago
Worcester |
I have 3 canon cameras. My favourite it the 5D3, it’s full frame and is fantastic. I take it to a lot of horse events.
I also use a mirrorless crop sensor R7. My advice would be to either get a full frame like the 5d4 or if you want mirrorless then the RP is good. If you want to do other photos like sport then you’d need a faster one, so the R3/5/8 |
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By (user no longer on site) OP 40 weeks ago
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"I’d avoid a bridge camera as you can get better deals with dSLR or mirrorless camera bundles.
Brand comes down to personal preference and how it feels to you… ergonomics are both personal and very important to how the camera will work for you.
Another thing to consider when talking brands… you’re buying into a system rather than any one single camera so look at it from a longer term perspective. How much are the other lenses and accessories that you may want later on?
Second hand is a great option too, as you don’t need the latest and greatest. Anything from the last 10 years should be more than good enough for you.
But… before spending any money take time to have another look at your phone photos. What are they lacking? Can your phone shoot in Raw mode? Lots of practice and exploration of the settings on your phone can lead to much better results. You may be surprised!"
My phone cannot take a good photo unless it's a clear day. Can't use it indoors, photos are just extremely poor quality. |
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"My son has given me his old camera. It's a Canon EOS 70D. Need to practice or get some tuition. Any offers or suggestions?"
There will probably be a photography club local to you with people willing to offer help and guidance |
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By (user no longer on site) OP 40 weeks ago
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"Impossible to answer.
Do you know what kind of photos you want to take? how much you want to spend? Do you have fat fingers?
Forget about brands and specs first understand what it is you want to achieve. Some of my best photography is on my iPhone, It’s always ready to shoot. Little Sony with the Carl Zeis Lens and 1 inch sensor is good for travel but iPhone more accessible
Studio & planned sunrise, sunset work I use a prime lens and often tripod, In the desert & street. a GX7, With a pancake lens or a prime 37 or 75mm. Always a prime , zoom
Lens are rubbish "
Photos only of myself, I'm not looking spend £1000+. |
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By *ost SockMan 40 weeks ago
West Wales and Cardiff |
"I’d avoid a bridge camera as you can get better deals with dSLR or mirrorless camera bundles.
Brand comes down to personal preference and how it feels to you… ergonomics are both personal and very important to how the camera will work for you.
Another thing to consider when talking brands… you’re buying into a system rather than any one single camera so look at it from a longer term perspective. How much are the other lenses and accessories that you may want later on?
Second hand is a great option too, as you don’t need the latest and greatest. Anything from the last 10 years should be more than good enough for you.
But… before spending any money take time to have another look at your phone photos. What are they lacking? Can your phone shoot in Raw mode? Lots of practice and exploration of the settings on your phone can lead to much better results. You may be surprised!"
I may be remembering this wrong, but here goes. There’s an Australian photographer called Jerry Ghionis who is hugely in-demand wedding photographer. He’s shot some of the most glamorous, high-end weddings there’s been and it’s not hard to see why.
He’s won the most prestigious wedding photographer competition in the world a few times. One year, he agreed to shoot his friend’s wedding, but said he’d only use his iPhone.
He entered the photos in the above competition - he came third, using just his phone.
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If I gave you his boots, could you bend it like Beckham? Or if I gave you his clubs, could you win a Masters like Woods?
The gear has so little to do with it. Learn technique, lighting, posing, and composition. Master photography… the camera means little. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP 40 weeks ago
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"If I gave you his boots, could you bend it like Beckham? Or if I gave you his clubs, could you win a Masters like Woods?
The gear has so little to do with it. Learn technique, lighting, posing, and composition. Master photography… the camera means little."
Already stated what was wrong with my current phone camera. Wanted something a little better. |
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By (user no longer on site) 39 weeks ago
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Very much depends on what type of photography you want to take.
When I got into photogeaphy I bough an old nikon D40 which suited my needs to learn but I got bogged down in lens choice, which aren't cheap and ended up not really knowing what I wanted to shoot and what lens to take out with me
I predominantly take street photography (whatever that really means) so have a fixed lens fujifilm X100V for that , perfect for shooting without faffing around with lenses and capturing moments around me.
That said I fully understand the limitations of a fixed lens but happy with my choice for what I want to take |
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"My son has given me his old camera. It's a Canon EOS 70D. Need to practice or get some tuition. Any offers or suggestions?
Join your local camera club. You'll learn loads and meet like-minded peeps"
Good advice if I can find a local club, thanks |
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Depends on your budget really.
I went from a Canon 7D mk2 DSLR with a whole suite of lenses to a Sony mirrorless with a couple of lenses and it transformed my photography- that said, i spent over 2k on the new kit (although the old lot sold over 4k, so i was actually up all round on it).
The mirrorless systems are great and expandable- which you don't get with a bridge camera. Have a look at the Sony a6400/6500/6600, depending on if you want to buy new or decent used.
One of the main advantages is the focus zoom button. quick press and it 10x the image to allow for perfect focus, which is awesome for wildlife and sports shooting. The Sony lenses are pretty decent but limited in range and second hand sales, but you can also get adapters to take Nikon & Canon lenses if you want decent glass- so i retained my main Canon lens when i changed so have the choice of the Sony kit pancake lens for compact portability, the high quality Canon glass for general shooting and the Sony extended zoom for my wildlife shooting.
All round, spanking bit of kit that does everything i want and no longer breaks my back to carry 6 heavy DSLR lenses round just in case (and far easier to set up and control).
If you want to go down the cheaper and simpler bridge camera root, i can recommend the Panasonic Lumix. Tried out a friends on holiday and was rather impressed with the excellent zoom range, image quality and it also shot RAW if required, should you wish to explore the world of proper image editing and manipulation of uncompressed images. |
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By *imbo59seMan 39 weeks ago
North Norfolk area |
"Do lenses from old 35mm SLR's work on digital bodies? I am curious as I still have my old kit but haven't used it in years.
Generally no, the fittings are different.
Actually, yes. It depends on the brand and then in some cases the lens itself. For example, Nikon F mount will fit Nikon dSLR bodies and Canon EOS mount lenses will fit Canon dSLR bodies. Adapters are available to use those lenses on each mentioned brands mirrorless bodies.
Almost all lenses can be adapted for mirrorless cameras.
"
I've an old Minolta SLR, and the 3 lenses from that not only fit my Sony DSLR I bought, but doubles the focal length as well (with a 2x adapter even greater, although you do sacrifice a bit of clarity to be honest). |
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By (user no longer on site) 25 weeks ago
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I use a Sony Rx10iv, it’s a bridge camera but suits my needs and skills.. the lens goes from 25-600mm which means I don’t need a massive bag with multiple lenses when I go hiking.. if I’m set up for landscape photography and a buzzard starts hovering near me I dont miss it because it takes too long to swap lenses.. and its a lot lighter  |
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By *ddie1966Man 25 weeks ago
Paper Town Central, Essex. |
The Canon 7D is a great camera for its age and you will get good results from it.
However, the question, as many have asked, what do type of image do you want to capture?
Personally, I would recommend a Canon R10. Get the adapter to allow you to use RF-S lenses from Canon.
Then get the Canon RFS 18-135 IS USM nano.
Blisteringly fast auto focus (almost telepathic in fact) superb motion tracking, almost silent in operation and ridiculously pin sharp in execution.
A good lens is the main thing
However, to take a good picture, you first have to see it. It's what's behind the camera that counts the most, not what's in front of it. For this reason alone, you need to join a camera club.
Incidentally, unless you're going to print massive images, you don't need a full frame body. A crop sensor is fine, just remember to shoot it on 4/3 aspect ratio to get the most of the sensor.
Personally, I'm a canon man due to their neutral handling of colour, but all the top names make good systems. Don't get drawn in to manufacturer snobbery.
I've had images exhibited in salons of photography all over Europe that were shot on an old Olympus Trip 35.
The camera plays a big part, but the biggest part is played by you.
Happy snapping whatever you choose. |
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"My son has given me his old camera. It's a Canon EOS 70D. Need to practice or get some tuition. Any offers or suggestions?"
I do most of my Photography on a 70D..
Basic lens is the 18-55mm, still a very versatile lens!
I also have the 10-18mm for landscape/portrait, a 50mm for dark shots and stars.
Also have the 70-300mm for some bits and the 100-400mm for my main hobby of Military Aviation (see Mach Loop)
Best advice I can give is Practice! You'll learn more on the settings by finding it out Yourself |
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By *eavenNhellCouple 25 weeks ago
carrbrook stalybridge |
bought a cheap dslr (nikon D40 ) second hand with a basic kit lens and went from there .learned my craft by taking pics and experimenting used free editing software slowly upgraded my kit with better lenses and camera body's flashes etc .got a nice little set up now mainly shoot models on location and landscapes etc enjoy the process don't share many pics on here |
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