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prince

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Hi,

Thinking of buying as full frame camera and have about £1200-£1400 for a budget for the camera and then have about £600 for lenses. This will solely be used for portraiture in a studio.

Which do you think is the best camera out of the following:

  1. Brand New Sony A850
  2. Second Hand Canon 5d Mk1
  3. Second Hand Sony A900
  4. Second Hand Nikon D700
  5. Second Hand Canon 5d Mk2

Im thinking a new Sony A850 would be best as i would have warranty then. But.... do the others break alot or are they a good second hand buy?

Matt
 
2nd hand D700s are a bit thin on the ground but you can get them. Their relative scarcity is keeping the price high. Your budget is a little tight for both to be honest. Full frame cameras require decent glass. You could manage a D700 and a prime lens but the best lenses for it are the 24-70 or 70-200.
 
you can get a brand new canon 5dmk2 body from kerso for around the £1500 mark(i paid £1549 about a month ago)that would still leave you money for a new or s/h Lseries lens
 
Well this will only be used in a studio so was thinking i could get just one prime to start with (say a 105mm macro which i can get for roughly £400 for any make)

Im pulled towards the canon 5d mk1 but heard alot of horror stories about them breaking down way before they should do and dont want to spend alot of money on a camera that may only last me 6 months.

The Sony's look nice and have a high mp count but dont know if they are as good as canon and nikon?
 
batemansxxxb said:
you can get a brand new canon 5dmk2 body from kerso for around the £1500 mark(i paid £1549 about a month ago)that would still leave you money for a new or s/h Lseries lens
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The canon 5d mk2 with the 24-105mm lens would be ideal for me but they are about £350 more than my budget. What price do you think kerso would offer? Who is kerso?
 
I'd agree with the above, if the camera is ONLY going to be used in a studio i'd going for the 5D at the cheapest cost and invest in a great lens. it's not like you are going to have to crank the ISO right up is it if you are using studio light.
 
swordjo said:
I'd agree with the above, if the camera is ONLY going to be used in a studio i'd going for the 5D at the cheapest cost and invest in a great lens. it's not like you are going to have to crank the ISO right up is it if you are using studio light.
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Thats what i thought as the iso would never go over 100!

Matt
 
I'd imagine that either Sony would be pretty difficult to beat for a studio shoot. If you search the web you'll find some studio shooters saying very nice things.
 
For studio work, would a D300 do? Although the d700 is lovely.

Your best studio portrait lens would then be a 105mm or 135mm Nikon DC lens which is supposed to be the best and sharpest around. Or you could go for a 85mm 1.4?
 
Consider the 1Ds mkII also, can be had from Ffordes for £1100-£1500, they have seven (7!) of them in stock :) But if you shoot at all outside the studio, 5D mkII all the way because of high ISO performance.
 
prince said:
Well this will only be used in a studio so was thinking i could get just one prime to start with (say a 105mm macro which i can get for roughly £400 for any make)

Im pulled towards the canon 5d mk1 but heard alot of horror stories about them breaking down way before they should do and dont want to spend alot of money on a camera that may only last me 6 months.

The Sony's look nice and have a high mp count but dont know if they are as good as canon and nikon?
Click to expand...

i had 2 5D's and both worked a treat. Both were second hand, one needed the mirror housing replacement (early model design fault) which was repaired free of charge. Fantastic camera's and a steal at 2nd hand prices. I think the 24-105 F4 may limit your creativity slightly due to the aperture only going upto F4. I would recommend

1x Canon 5D
1x Canon 85mm 1.8
1x Sigma 50mm 1.4

All of the above can be had for around £1100-£1200 2nd hand.
 
All mentioned bodies would do well. Perhaps leave out 5D mk1 as it is quite old and doesn't have sensor cleaning. It shows up when stopped down. Sony sounds like a decent plan, particularly with in body IS.
Lenses are the easy part if you are only shooting in the studio. Primes are the best, f/2.8 zooms are a total overkill and not as sharp. 35mm, 85mm and 135mm would do just fine. Perhaps also consider 100mm macro.
 
Assuming you'll be doing typical studio shots at f8/f11 I'd get a pair of 5D mk 1s and a s/h 24-105. Only having one body is a massive risk.
 
Would a D90 not be a better choice than a D700, for studio work on a budget?

May leave enough for an 85/1.4, definitely a 50/1.4, if that's the kind of thing you're after
 
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