OT - DSLR Questions - OT

Eoin

One for @Botch and other camera experts.  My camera knowledge stops at film - I still have an OM1 loaded with black and white at home.

Anne likes taking pictures and had a Canon DSLR ages ago that our daughter 'borrowed', never to be seen again, so I want to get her a camera set up for Christmas.

Recommendations please.  Must be easy to use at first, she won't want to be messing with settings at the start, but still able to do the manually adjusted stuff later on. Should I be looking at mirrorless is another question that I haven't spent time looking at either.

I don't know on budget, I'm not that concerned really, I'd rather get the right camera.

CTMike

First question is what is your budget?

I have a Canon EOS R and it is a great mirrorless camera. 

Many people also swear by the Sony A7 iii - also mirrorless. 

The Sony body ($1,800) is $200 more, but is 24 MP vs the Canon’s 30 MP. You could step up to the Sony A7 iiiA - ($2,000 body only)  and it is 42 MP.

Both are FF sensors so no cropping. 

Both will shoot full-auto but also allow complete manual control.  Both will shoot 4K30 video also.

Good glass is where you will wind up spending most of your money.
I consider both of these good “prosumer” level cameras, but if you want to spend more, you can go up quite bit from there. 

pgprescott

Not an expert at all, but my SIL complained about his mirrorless battery life. Maybe not an issue for the amateur photographer but was an issue for him. Just something to consider. Maybe you just buy some batteries? 🤷🏼‍♂️

Eoin

CTMike said:

First question is what is your budget?

I have a Canon EOS R and it is a great mirrorless camera. 

Many people also swear by the Sony A7 iii - also mirrorless. 

The Sony body ($1,800) is $200 more, but is 24 MP vs the Canon’s 30 MP. You could step up to the Sony A7 iiiA - ($2,000 body only)  and it is 42 MP.

Both are FF sensors so no cropping. 

Both will shoot full-auto but also allow complete manual control.  Both will shoot 4K30 video also.

Good glass is where you will wind up spending most of your money.
I consider both of these good “prosumer” level cameras, but if you want to spend more, you can go up quite bit from there. 

I'm OK with that budget level and I understand the on cost in terms of lenses.

Why did you go mirrorless?

CTMike

Eoin said:

CTMike said:

First question is what is your budget?

I have a Canon EOS R and it is a great mirrorless camera. 

Many people also swear by the Sony A7 iii - also mirrorless. 

The Sony body ($1,800) is $200 more, but is 24 MP vs the Canon’s 30 MP. You could step up to the Sony A7 iiiA - ($2,000 body only)  and it is 42 MP.

Both are FF sensors so no cropping. 

Both will shoot full-auto but also allow complete manual control.  Both will shoot 4K30 video also.

Good glass is where you will wind up spending most of your money.
I consider both of these good “prosumer” level cameras, but if you want to spend more, you can go up quite bit from there. 

I'm OK with that budget level and I understand the on cost in terms of lenses.

Why did you go mirrorless?

A mirror on a digital camera is redundant - I went that way because it seemed one less potential failure point to me.

https://www.techradar.com/news/mirrorless-vs-dslr-cameras

dstearn

Eoin said:

One for @Botch and other camera experts.  My camera knowledge stops at film - I still have an OM1 loaded with black and white at home.

Anne likes taking pictures and had a Canon DSLR ages ago that our daughter 'borrowed', never to be seen again, so I want to get her a camera set up for Christmas.

Recommendations please.  Must be easy to use at first, she won't want to be messing with settings at the start, but still able to do the manually adjusted stuff later on. Should I be looking at mirrorless is another question that I haven't spent time looking at either.

I don't know on budget, I'm not that concerned really, I'd rather get the right camera.

I have the Canon EOSR, it was the first Canon mirror less camera. The R6 is another option which has some focus improvements over the EOSR. For the lens I would recommend the RF 35mm as a great starter lens. If she is shooting people indoors or outdoors than a flash will be needed as well unless she is skilled at using available light. She could get along using program mode at first and eventually learn Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes. 

Processing images and exporting them for sharing is another thing. An Adobe subscription will run $10 per month.

Botch

It's taken me 30 years to collect all the Nikon "F"-mount lenses I've wanted, decided not to jump to the "Z"-mount/mirrorless at this point.  I wouldn't be much help here.
Nikon's mirrorless system does offer no viewfinder blackout, and apparently the AI built-in that keeps autofocus on a critter's eye works extremely well.  

Legume

I just jumped back in and bought a mirrorless after years of only using my phone. I’ve been wanting something with changeable lenses but without the size and bulk of most dslr.  I did compromise with aps-c sensor, but at 26mp it’s all that I need.  I ended up getting a fujifilm xt-30 paired with their xf 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens.  Much smaller form factor than most which is what I wanted so that I could easily drop in a backpack.  So far I’ve been very happy with it, but of course it didn’t take long to start wanting more lenses.

Kayak

Really depends what you think she’d like to do with it. That’s the hard part to figure out. Travel, nature, people? Everything, none of those? She might not want a bagful of gear, so an all in one with a super zoom might be the ticket. A separate flash that is dedicated to that model will be important no matter what. Mirror or mirror less is not nearly the most important thing to decide first. If you think she wants a dslr, then there are kits available with body and two zooms that are good places to start. The only practical difference between a ’consumer’ camera and a ‘pro’ camera is the ease at changing settings. The image quality can be just as good, and depends on technique.

Eoin

We have a good local camera shop in Lincoln, so I'll go and talk to them.  Thanks for the pointers.

nolaegghead

Agree with Mike's summary. 

I would start off with a mirror less Sony or Canon if buying new.  The mirror less cameras are a bit smaller than the DSLRs.

You can buy a used Canon 5D Mark II, for example, for $0.20 on the dollar.  

dstearn

One thing to add, the mirror less cameras allow you to check things like exposure while you are composing the shot in your viewfinder. The sensor can be fooled in auto mode. So shooting in one of the semi auto modes allows you to use exposure compensation while composing the image. Bryan Peterson’s book “Understanding Exposure” was on of the first books that I read when I started out and was very helpful.

pgprescott

dstearn said:

One thing to add, the mirror less cameras allow you to check things like exposure while you are composing the shot in your viewfinder. The sensor can be fooled in auto mode. So shooting in one of the semi auto modes allows you to use exposure compensation while composing the image. Bryan Peterson’s book “Understanding Exposure” was on of the first books that I read when I started out and was very helpful.

That's exactly what my SIL said he liked most, Checking the exposure in real time. 

Photo Egg

pgprescott said:

dstearn said:

One thing to add, the mirror less cameras allow you to check things like exposure while you are composing the shot in your viewfinder. The sensor can be fooled in auto mode. So shooting in one of the semi auto modes allows you to use exposure compensation while composing the image. Bryan Peterson’s book “Understanding Exposure” was on of the first books that I read when I started out and was very helpful.

That's exactly what my SIL said he liked most, Checking the exposure in real time. 

Not to mention checking color balance.
And the ability to view taken images through the viewfinder even in bright light.

Eoin

Does that mean lots of cheap SLR lenses on the used market?

dstearn

Eoin said:

Does that mean lots of cheap SLR lenses on the used market?

With Canon you can use the EF Lens models with an adapter. If you are looking for used lenses KEH is a reputable source. The Canon 50 mm lens also known as the nifty fifty can be found for $125 or less, it is a very sharp fast lens and is great for portraits.

Eoin

Made a decision today. I liked the compact model for size, but the full size mirrorless is a much nicer camera. I've gone for the Canon EOS R which was available in a kit with a 24-105mm zoom.

Photo Egg

Eoin said:

Made a decision today. I liked the compact model for size, but the full size mirrorless is a much nicer camera. I've gone for the Canon EOS R which was available in a kit with a 24-105mm zoom.

Pick up an extra battery. It will go through a battery quicker than a traditional DSLR.
I have the 24-105rf with my new camera and it’s super sharp.
Congratulations