Advice for a newbie

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Wolfram

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Name
Philip
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Hi all,

I’m new to the hobbie, but I think I know the theory of sensors, aperture, focal length, resolution, MTF, noise, etc from related work.

I’ve owned Olympus XA2 and 4 film rangefinder cameras since the 80’s. These were bought for their technical spec, build quality, pocketability, and design chic. However, they had been ignored in a draw for at least a decade, and have recently been sold as film is not where I want to be.

i bought a Ricoh Caplio R1 in 2004 as a first digital camera to take the place of the Olympus xa4.

IN 2010 I bought a Pentax K-x as my first dSLR, and first interchangeable lens camera. I have collected a number of vintage k-fit lenses over the years. it’s a charity shop dream! I have a later k-r body which is very similar, but cmos sensor rather than ccd.

I also have GoPro action cameras. The hero 9 and the 360. I use these to film my motorbike trips and competitive dinghy sailing.

ONTO TODAYS ISSUE.

I want new kit to start serious photography and video. these are my requirements:

1. street photography - looking at Vivien Meyer style stuff. She shot with medium format, but equivalent to 40mm (full frame), 28mm (aps-c), or 20mm (MFT) primes and fast glass.

2. workshop and selfie youtube - looking at some face to camera stuff, and filming mechanic/restoration/bimbleing.

3. Dinghy sailing photo/video - filming other competitors while in shore or from a rib. This will require a long lens (From the shore), and good image stabilisation (from a rib). Probably a long zoom 150-600mm (full frame), 100-450mm (aps-c), 100-300mm (MFT)


lens quality and fast glass are key I think. You can always stop down, but I like bokeh/subject separation.

autofocus is also important.

need 4k video, and don’t want any rolling shutter artefacts or similar (not really sure of the difference between 30fps and 24fps cinema mode, but I understand Panasonic is good here)

want good bit depth, so I can potentially colour grade in post.


SO:

candidates are so far:

Sony A7 iii or newer

Sony A6600 or newer

Panasonic GH5 or newer


views?
 
I think for stills I would go Sony A7iii over the Panasonic, however I don't do much in the way of filming, and I can imagine filming from a rib would require more than just good image stabilisation and you would need something like a good gimble etc. to help smooth out any motion and keep the camera level as the boat tilts fore/aft and side to side. Image stabilisation, either in body, or in lens, usually only accounts for small movements (from a shaky hand or similar), not traveling through the sea at several knots.
 
my concern would be about the camera and lens be water proof and sprey getting onto the lens. Also weight may be an issue so I went for a four thirds setup with panasonic. Of it also depends on your budget .also consider if the camera has a time limit for videos
 
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I'd say get a hold of them all in your actual hands. Sometimes it just feels "right" because if it doesn't it'll go in a drawer...
 
realspeed said:
my concern would be about the camera and lens be water proof and sprey getting onto the lens. Also weight may be an issue so I went for a four thirds setup with panasonic. Of it also depends on your budget .also consider if the camera has a time limit for videos
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The gh5 and the a6600 are both weather sealed according to rtings- the a7iii not, but the a7c is
 
billgatese30 said:
I think for stills I would go Sony A7iii over the Panasonic, however I don't do much in the way of filming, and I can imagine filming from a rib would require more than just good image stabilisation and you would need something like a good gimble etc. to help smooth out any motion and keep the camera level as the boat tilts fore/aft and side to side. Image stabilisation, either in body, or in lens, usually only accounts for small movements (from a shaky hand or similar), not traveling through the sea at several knots.
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Yep, the a6600 is probably the most gimbalable being the lightest. closely followed by the a7c - the gh5 is a monster weight, but the lenses will be lighter
 
A6700 is a far superior camera to the A6600 in regards to usability (better controls and menu in particular). Similarly the A7iv has a number of improvements vs the A7iii (although worse rolling shutter).

I would also consider the Fuji aps-c range as well with good balance of size/price/image quality.

What's your total budget including lenses?
 
Gold said:
A6700 is a far superior camera to the A6600 in regards to usability (better controls and menu in particular). Similarly the A7iv has a number of improvements vs the A7iii (although worse rolling shutter).

I would also consider the Fuji aps-c range as well with good balance of size/price/image quality.

What's your total budget including lenses?
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I hadn’t looked at Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Pentax… because of the video requirement. Also Sony seem to be difficult to beat on autofocus. I’ll take a look at your suggestion.

As for total budget, as little as possible! I need batteries, gimbal, probably a cage, all the lenses, a tripod… it will all add up. I also want a drone, and I have already sprung for the GoPros. Realistically, the camera body is gonna be about a third of the budget! No more than £1500 for the body, but preferably a lot less.
 
Fuji X-S20 would be the Fuji to look at - they do a free 48 hour test drive, as do some of the other manufacturers.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Weather sealed maybe, but a rib can be very wet (having had two) I'd say you'd need more than just relying on the shower proofing most companies call weather sealing.
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Good point! It will be very occasional rib stuff. And not at sea, so less unpredictabl. We sail on reservoirs mostly.
 
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