Beginner Am I going the right way?

M

Magkat

Messages
3
Name
Ken
Edit My Images
No
Second post from a newbie who's been away from photography since 35mm days except for now playing with a Canon 400d for the last few weeks and trying to get into the digital processing malarkey.
I've read and maybe over read articles on various camera reviews. I've only been able to handle a couple of Canon and Nikon models because there is only one retailer available to me but I'm about to take the plunge and buy. I've handled the Canon R7, Nikon Z50 and Zfc and thought them to be a little small and even a little fragile in feel. The Nikon Z6 ii or Z5 are, to me, a little more 'chunky' or robust in build and sit better in my grip. The Zf appeals as it's a reminder of my old black Nikon F but is probably just beyond the budget unless it is recommended/worthwhile to settle for a prime lens like the 40mm.
I'm lucky to have a budget to cover the cost (retirement/birthday a good 'boss') along with an initial, 'kit' lens. So advice, please, am I going the right way in bypassing DSLRs like the Nikon D7500 and going into full frame? If so, can anyone recommend or advise on a camera and 'kit' lens e.g. the Z 24-120 F/4 S, the Z 24-70 F/4 S or Z 24-200 F/4 VR among others, as a starter?

​

 
Welcome to TP. A DSLR will still give you good service, but other than Pentax I think they've all but stopped production. Mirrorless is where the money is.
 
Hi Ken, welcome to TP.

Agree with Nev about the mirrorless thing.

In my opinion, most modern digital cameras are excellent. If it feels good in your hand and inspires you to get out taking photos, then it's a worthy investment. You don't mention your interests but assuming it's "general" rather than "only motorsport" or some other very specific area of photography, I reckon you'll struggle to get a bad camera & kit lens in your budget range.
 
Magkat said:
Z 24-200 F/4 VR
Click to expand...
This is actually f/4-6.3. Which might. or might not, be a consideration for you.

As Ian says, it's hard to find bad cameras and lenses these days.
 
I would say in terms of bodies - anyone new should probably give due consideration to current mirrorless bodies, whether full frame of crop.
In terms of lenses, there is a wide selection of lenses for dSLRs which work well, arguably better than they did on their dSLR bodies on mirrorless with a suitable adaptor.

The R7 is a smaller form factor body than the R5/R6.
 
As per the other posts, I think that mirrorless is the way to go for building a new system. However, I would advise looking past just Canon and Nikon.

Whilst the body is an important part, you need to look at the system as a whole. I considered changing systems recently, but decided to stay with Fuji, as I felt that it suited me best. Canon seemed to have good bodies, both the APSC R7 and full frame R3/5/6, but the RF system seems a bit restricted on lenses. Sony seems to have a good range of lenses, including from third party manufacturers, but I don't like the bodies. Olympus looks good if you are interested in wildlife/macro.

My main advice is to try and borrow some kit and see how you get on, I know that both Canon and Fuji offer free 48 hour test drives on their kit.
 
Either / or - the eternal shopper's dilemma. Too many choices!

I think from what you said that you'd be happy with a Z6ii with the 24-70 f/4. Others may have special requirements - birds, sports or macro. Personally I'm happy with 50mm as my longest lens but usually go wider. Tastes vary. The main trick thereafter is to get on with what you've got & how to use it. The image is the thing, not the shopping.

Be yourself. Focus on life. Nobody can be (or have) everything. ;-)
 
If you just want a camera for 'general' photography (rather than something specific like wildlife/weddings/etc) then pretty much all of the mirrorless options will do the job for you really.

I think the two things to look into are ergonomics of the camera body & range/cost of lenses available that might/will interest you.
 
My suggestion if you are not certain what you want to do yet, is to buy a lower budget used camera, a Canon APS-C or a Panasonic m43 for example (Canon 650D Panasonic G80 or similar) and start using it, and see what direction you will be going in, then you will be in a better position to choose the right camera, and the loss on reselling will be minimal.
Plenty of reasonably prices lenses for them, and depending what you final choice is, they may be useable on that too.

(The 650D is dSLR and the G80 is mirrorless, both have good features for the money and both give excellent results. There are of course other similar cameras from different manufacturers :) )
 
Craikeybaby said:
Canon seemed to have good bodies, both the APSC R7 and full frame R3/5/6, but the RF system seems a bit restricted on lenses.
Click to expand...
Native ones - but get the EF/RF adaptor and the EF lenses seem to work better on RF than on their native EF to me... There was some noise about the EF 100mm 2.8 macro (the non-L version) not working but that's a fairly esoteric lens in itself.
 
Personally, I am not sure that I would want to be buying in to a system where you start off by adapting older lenses. If I still had a bag of Canon L lenses it would be a different story.
 
Thank you, everyone, for taking the time and trouble to offer advice. I think I'll go with the Nikon Z6 ii but then again the Zf does look very nice....... Thanks, everyone!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top