Camera for high quality family photos

[Participant]

Hi all

Our kids are growing up fast and we're tired of poor quality mobile phone shots of them. We don't want to look at photos of them in twenty years and for them all to be rubbish, so we want to buy a proper camera.

I told my brother, who's quite into photography, that we wanted an SLR, and he advised against it and suggested a 'bridge camera', as apparently with an SLR you need different lenses, each of which costs as much as the camera is likely to cost.

So two questions I'd be grateful for answers to:

1. Does he have a point about bridge cameras?
2. What camera should we look at? Budget wise, we're probably talking around £400 new.

Cheers.

 

[Participant]

OP, what is it you want? To be easily able to take a half decent photo or actually get 'into' photography?

The former. I'm not currently fussed about getting into photography as a hobby as I have enough to keep me amused. I just want to not regret the photos of my kids when I'm older.

Thanks for the replies. I'll have a read about mirrorless (never heard of them before!) vs. compact.

 

[Participant]

Cheers all. Any recommendations for a high end compact then please?

If you want to get pictures that are significantly better than what your phone produces, then you need to invest some time in learning a little bit about photography. Better kit helps but only if you know roughly what you're doing with it.

Well that's just not true though, is it. If I spend £400 on a camera I'm going to have to try pretty damn hard and be pretty damn special to take a picture that isn't a thousand times better than anything I can take with my phone .

I took some shots of my kids with my brother-in-law's SLR about a year ago and with relatively little knowledge, skill, or ability, I took what was in my humble opinion, a fantastic photo.

So I'm imagining what I could do with a little knowledge, and it makes me want a decent camera. It's that simple really. So I don't think it's true that I need to invest time learning about photography in order to get photos that are MUCH better than I can take with my phone, since I've already proven that I can take an SLR and instantly get a really good shot.

 

[Participant]

I'm not sure there are many people on this forum that would agree that a better camera instantly makes you a better photographer.

I was responding to your initial point, which I disagree with, 'If you want to get pictures that are significantly better than what your phone produces, then you need to invest some time in learning a little bit about photography', not your subsequent point, which I agree with, 'I'm not sure there are many people on this forum that would agree that a better camera instantly makes you a better photographer'. These are two completely different things.

Ceteris paribus, a better camera will result in better photos in almost all occasions. Whether it results in a better photographer, is a completely different question and one that no one asked.

Anyway cheers for the advice all. Sounds like a decent compact is the way to go.

I'll look at the models mentioned in this thread...meanwhile, are there any others that I should be considering? That JL price seems to have gone up to £550!

 

[Participant]

Thank you all.

Having read (a lot) about my options, I've come to the conclusion that shooting hyperactive kids in low light conditions but having a camera I'm actually likely to use a lot and bother getting out of the drawer = Sony A6000. So that's what I'm going to buy.

My poor wallet.

 

[Participant]

Too bad you didn't make your decision sooner, because the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals on the A6000 were very, very good.

Rumour has it that Sony is making an announcement about the A6000's replacement at CES in early January. Might be worth waiting 3 weeks for?

What was the deal? Might wait for January, though it would be nice to have some proper photos over Christmas.

 

[Participant]

Oof, ouch.

 

[Participant]

I wouldn't buy a mirrorless camera for tracking anything in low light conditions, the cheapest SLR's focus better.

But I've got to factor in usability and will I bother even getting it out of the drawer. The A6000 is meant to be one of the best mirrorless camera for focusing and reviews seem to think it's pretty decent in low light?

Thanks for the reply though. When I say low light I'm talking lamps in a living room in the evening rather than an unlit field or street. Still think the A6000 will struggle?