Looking to get back into photography

PaulyD

PaulyD

PaulyD

Soldato
Joined
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High Wycombe
Not sure if many people will remember me from this sub forum, been a long while since I posted in here :)

Looking to get back into photography. I previously had a 40D a couple of years ago which I coupled with a few lenses over time. Tamron 17-50mm non VC, 24-105 F4L, Sigma 105mm macro, 50mm 1.8 etc. Unfortunately I had to sell this off after a while to fund moving house which I strongly regret!

Things are looking better though and i'm now in a position to get back into photography. Obviously a lot has changed since then though and not sure whats the best to go for now. A few notes below

1. Preferred a xxD body over the xxxD range from Canon (better control with dual scroll wheels)

2. Preferred Canon over Nikon due to (generally) cheaper lens prices

3. Will be used for shooting everything, i'm not a huge flash lover and prefer natural lighting so strong low light performance would be great

More than happy to go 2nd hand, in fact it would be preferred, but am wondering whats best to go for. I was more than happy with my 40D at the time and the 50D came out when I was still into photography but didn't seem a massive upgrade and due to the increased MP count brought more noise with it.

The 60D is out now, does this get a good write up or would more recent xxxD model bring increased performance over my old 40D but be cheaper?

Also would it be worthwhile looking at the Nikon lineup now that i'm starting afresh again?

Budget for camera + walkabout lens would be £500 to £700. Would be happy to get a body only + 50mm 1.8 for meantime until the following month to buy a more suitable walkabout

Sorry for wall of text, just wanted to try get everything down
 
I can't give any advice other than to rethink not using a flash, I used to be the same , preferring natural light but I took the plunge and got a 580exII a few years ago and it added a whole new dimension to my shots with minimal learning, even something just for fill flash can make photos pop a bit
 
Maybe in time it will be something I pick up again, had a 430 but never really played with it too much
 
You might have a look at the 5D mk1, it has not got as many bells and whistles as your 40D (i have both)but the image quality is in a different league.. they can be had for £350 on the bay
I have been out of the new camera loop for 6 month..up till then their is not a cropped body Nikon or canon to match the 5D IQ ,,also the 5D has something special that's not relaid in test charts etc.. for a lens have a look at the old canon 28-70 f2.8 L this is optically better than its replacement the 24-70 and much better than the 24-105 f4l
Dont know what a 28-70L cost at the mo as the bay has just lost its completed listing button
but i will say its at the top end of your budget or just past
To better the IQ with new kit may cost 4K ?????
 
Sorry for delay updating the thread

davev8app said:
You might have a look at the 5D mk1, it has not got as many bells and whistles as your 40D (i have both)but the image quality is in a different league.. they can be had for £350 on the bay
I have been out of the new camera loop for 6 month..up till then their is not a cropped body Nikon or canon to match the 5D IQ ,,also the 5D has something special that's not relaid in test charts etc.. for a lens have a look at the old canon 28-70 f2.8 L this is optically better than its replacement the 24-70 and much better than the 24-105 f4l
Dont know what a 28-70L cost at the mo as the bay has just lost its completed listing button
but i will say its at the top end of your budget or just past
To better the IQ with new kit may cost 4K ?????
Click to expand...

The idea of Full Frame is nice but the camera is rather old now, would like something with a bigger screen for quicker review and higher burst. Understand if primary use is landscape though.

Energize said:
D7000 with 18-105mm is just under £700.
Click to expand...

An Exception said:
This + 35mm 1.8g when budget allows.
Click to expand...

So the D7000 is the better bet on this "gen" of cameras? Will have to read up on some reviews. Looking 2nd hand I can see a 7D can be had in the low £600's, would the D7000 still be chosen over that?
 
PaulyD said:
Sorry for delay updating the thread

The idea of Full Frame is nice but the camera is rather old now, would like something with a bigger screen for quicker review and higher burst. Understand if primary use is landscape though.

So the D7000 is the better bet on this "gen" of cameras? Will have to read up on some reviews. Looking 2nd hand I can see a 7D can be had in the low £600's, would the D7000 still be chosen over that?
Click to expand...

In terms of body, the 7D has a better burst capacity and more customisable video options.

The D7000 has better image quality, better AF, wider dynamic range (this is very good for landscapes) and far better high iso output.

Its all on whats important to you but having made the choice recently I went with the D7000. I tried my friends 7D & 60D and just couldn't get on with the way Canon's handle, the Nikon felt far more intuitive to me but it is of course entirely an personal thing.
 
If you prefer the XXd bodies, I would recommend the Canon 50d. It has Micro Adjust for when your lenses back/front focus and need adjusting. The 60d actually lost this feature. You could probably pick one up second hand for under £400 now at a guess although I am out of the loop a bit. Walk around canon lens for me has to start at 17/18mm otherwise I miss too many wide shots. That's just me though. I would look at the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8. Buy another 50mm f/1.8 as that's a no brainer lens to own on Canon. Also check the Sigma 30mm out if you like primes, and also the Canon 85mm is nice.
 
Thanks for all your help guys. Will dig up some reviews but looks like the D7000 is the one for me this time :)
 
If you want canon then really it has to be a second had 5dmk2 if you don't at all care about auto focus and you are careful with exposures to avoid shadow banding, otherwise the 5dmk3 is too notch all around. Otherwise if it has to be canon iwould go for a a very old 20d, it is basically as good as any modern canon crop camera and dirt cheap, wait until canon catch up and release a new generation of sensors and bodies.
Canon 7D is good for sports but the IQ is as poor as the others.

Nikon ATM has plenty of solid options for crop cameras, d3200, d5100, d5200, d7000. All great, cameras with amazing sensors. You would likely prefer the d7000.
 
I was pretty shocked the other day to see that the £300 D5100 has a comparable quality sensor to the 5DMKIII.
 
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Energize said:
I was pretty shocked the other day to see that the £300 D5100 has a comparable quality sensor to the 5DMKIII.
Click to expand...

There are different trade off's. D5100 has better dynamic range, 5diii has better ISO. Also the D5100 doesn't have the other advantages that are inherent with 35mm sensors Vs apsc, that DXO doesn't show.
 
I realise that but we are talking about an entry level camera vs a top end professional camera, there shouldn't be any trade offs. Never mind the huge price difference.

Especially considering that the much cheaper D600 has a sensor which destroys the MKIII in every respect.
 
Thanks everyone, seems Nikon have really pulled ahead on the sensor side of things! Will look at picking one up in the next month or two unless I see a great deal 2nd hand somewhere :)
 
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