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New camera - opinions

JBuk

JBuk

JBuk

Soldato
Joined
28 Nov 2002
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11,325
Location
Cumbria
My wife wants us to buy a decent camera, she doesn’t know much about cameras so for her decent means something that will give decent image quality , better than her IPhone 15 pro max

I used to be into photography and have previously owned various decent cameras and lenses , the last SLR being a D800 ,

There seems to be a whole bunch of next gen cameras now and I’ve had to do a lot of learning but I really can’t decide what to get


Primary uses would be general walk around, bit of urban ,landscape, travel and probably loads of my missus posing so she can post about her travels on Facebook my wife also likes to make small videos for various social media


I got rid of all my gear last time as I didn’t have time to use it as much and I also got fed up of carrying the weight round all the time, changing lenses etc , I just wanted to be able to go out and enjoy myself instead of spending half the time eyeing up shots and messing about with camera stuff


So I guess the question is- considering what I’ve said ,if you could recommend a modern camera & lens / lenses for about £1k what would it be?

I’m not against buying an import either
 
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If ultimate portability is priority then:
  • The Sony RX100 VII is very pocket friendly, a nice 1" sensor and has Sony's epic AF system, so good that you can often just aim the camera in the general direction of your wife and it will find her eye automatically and stick to it. Less faffing around to nail the focus. Can be had for £849 link
  • If you want even smaller, but which actually has a larger APS-C sensor, then there's the Ricoh GR IV. Not quite as good autofocus as the Sony, but still good. Might have to dig a little deeper though at £1,179 link
  • Getting slightly larger, but still pocketable and has a lovely 42MP full frame sensor is the Sony RX1RII. But it would be used and still costing £1,149+ for "good" condition.

If it can be small but perhaps needs a slightly larger pocket:
  • Sony's full frame Sony A7C with something like the excellent Sony FE 40mm f/2.5 lens. It's got their excellent eye tracking af system. Would probably cost a little over a grand new (grey), unless happy to go used.
  • Smaller APS-C sensor, something like the Sony A6400, which also has their epic AF system and can be had for £469 new link and the excellent dual linear af motor and compact FE 40mm f/2.5 for £379 link leaving you £152 for a bag / SD card etc.
 
You mention she doesn't know much about cameras, but does she want to learn? If yes then great, otherwise I'd say stick with phone cameras to be honest as they're very good for what you're describing, require no knowledge, and make social media a doddle.
 
Thanks for the info so far

Makhaira said:
You mention she doesn't know much about cameras, but does she want to learn? If yes then great, otherwise I'd say stick with phone cameras to be honest as they're very good for what you're describing, require no knowledge, and make social media a doddle.
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She knows enough that a decent camera in general will give better iq than a phones tiny sensor and lens, she’s not too interested in the technical side of photography but she loves taking photos or having her photo taken

ninjag said:
If ultimate portability is priority then:
  • The Sony RX100 VII is very pocket friendly, a nice 1" sensor and has Sony's epic AF system, so good that you can often just aim the camera in the general direction of your wife and it will find her eye automatically and stick to it. Less faffing around to nail the focus. Can be had for £849 link
  • If you want even smaller, but which actually has a larger APS-C sensor, then there's the Ricoh GR IV. Not quite as good autofocus as the Sony, but still good. Might have to dig a little deeper though at £1,179 link
  • Getting slightly larger, but still pocketable and has a lovely 42MP full frame sensor is the Sony RX1RII. But it would be used and still costing £1,149+ for "good" condition.

If it can be small but perhaps needs a slightly larger pocket:
  • Sony's full frame Sony A7C with something like the excellent Sony FE 40mm f/2.5 lens. It's got their excellent eye tracking af system. Would probably cost a little over a grand new (grey), unless happy to go used.
  • Smaller APS-C sensor, something like the Sony A6400, which also has their epic AF system and can be had for £469 new link and the excellent dual linear af motor and compact FE 40mm f/2.5 for £379 link leaving you £152 for a bag / SD card etc.
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I’ve just gave my nephew my old RX100 mk i, nice little camera for what it was but had a few of drawbacks, it’s an interesting camera but not for me

Te A7c is one I’ve considered and the A6400 reminds me of an E-mount I see to own

Also looked at a few Nikons, z5ii, z6iii and z50ii. , also a few older Olympus second hand but tbh each time i look at stuff I’m going way over budget heh

Even considered getting a d800 again or a 5d classic , fairly cheap these days but none of the modern features which i would like
nlel1975 said:
This would be a good choice…

https://www.e-infin.com/uk/item/3555/sony_alpha_a7_iii_mirrorless_digital_camera_(body_only)

It’s a grey import otherwise it would be more expensive.
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I haven’t looked at that one yet , I’ll have to watch a few reviews but it would push me over budget with a half decent lens
 
Step 1 should be getting to a camera store, putting some modern mirrorless options in her hands and seeing if she can see herself carrying it around all day. Realistically a flagship phone from the last couple of years will likely do 90%+ of whats wanted while fitting in a pocket or small bag.
 
Fuji are good on a budget in my opinion, although I think over time they moved more production out of Japan.

Fuji gear made in Japan tends to be well made.
 
The new OM System PEN is reviewing favourably and looks good.

The Fuji X-M5 is also a solid camera at the price point, albeit without an EVF.

It is easy to rabbit-hole into reviews and tech specs. Lots of people do this and end up with a full frame camera with huge lenses that they leave at home. In this case, it sounds like a compact and stylish camera might get used much more often. If anyone mentions pixel pitch, please shoot me. Either of the above options are very capable cameras and will be more than enough for the use case.
 
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SonicSW20 said:
Step 1 should be getting to a camera store, putting some modern mirrorless options in her hands and seeing if she can see herself carrying it around all day. Realistically a flagship phone from the last couple of years will likely do 90%+ of whats wanted while fitting in a pocket or small bag.
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Been to a few shops but i know it will be me who will be carrying it all day heh
 
Scuzi said:
The new OM System PEN is reviewing favourably and looks good.

The Fuji X-M5 is also a solid camera at the price point, albeit without an EVF.

It is easy to rabbit-hole into reviews and tech specs. Lots of people do this and end up with a full frame camera with huge lenses that they leave at home. In this case, it sounds like a compact and stylish camera might get used much more often. If anyone mentions pixel pitch, please shoot me. Either of the above options are very capable cameras and will be more than enough for the use case.
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Yep im getting deeper into the hole each day

dave28 said:
Fuji are good on a budget in my opinion, although I think over time they moved more production out of Japan.

Fuji gear made in Japan tends to be well made.
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Thanks for all the suggestions , i will have a good look at them all
 
JBuk said:
My wife wants us to buy a decent camera, she doesn’t know much about cameras so for her decent means something that will give decent image quality , better than her IPhone 15 pro max

I used to be into photography and have previously owned various decent cameras and lenses , the last SLR being a D800 ,

There seems to be a whole bunch of next gen cameras now and I’ve had to do a lot of learning but I really can’t decide what to get


Primary uses would be general walk around, bit of urban ,landscape, travel and probably loads of my missus posing so she can post about her travels on Facebook my wife also likes to make small videos for various social media


I got rid of all my gear last time as I didn’t have time to use it as much and I also got fed up of carrying the weight round all the time, changing lenses etc , I just wanted to be able to go out and enjoy myself instead of spending half the time eyeing up shots and messing about with camera stuff


So I guess the question is- considering what I’ve said ,if you could recommend a modern camera & lens / lenses for about £1k what would it be?

I’m not against buying an import either
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For general snap shots, honestly - the phones are pretty hard to beat, when it comes down to actual photography most of it is 'you' rather than the camera these days, unless you were going to do serious outdoor photography, fashion, sports, wildlife, or whatever - I generally always recommend just getting the latest phone.

If you really want a camera, the best bet is to actually go to a proper camera shop like Park Cameras or Wex or something - and actually play around with them, as the ergonomics are a big thing, and they're all very different.
 
JBuk said:
She knows enough that a decent camera in general will give better iq than a phones tiny sensor and lens, she’s not too interested in the technical side of photography but she loves taking photos or having her photo taken
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I mean this helpfully, wary of coming across argumentative on forum posts - if this is for social media then any image quality gain is going to be impossible to see.
 
Felon said:
For general snap shots, honestly - the phones are pretty hard to beat, when it comes down to actual photography most of it is 'you' rather than the camera these days, unless you were going to do serious outdoor photography, fashion, sports, wildlife, or whatever - I generally always recommend just getting the latest phone.

If you really want a camera, the best bet is to actually go to a proper camera shop like Park Cameras or Wex or something - and actually play around with them, as the ergonomics are a big thing, and they're all very different.
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Imo although phone cameras can be quite good they are no substitute for the image quality of a decent slr camera, having owned a few various cameras I have yet to see any images from my or my wife’s various phones that surpass or even match the images from say a 5d classic, that’s not to say a phone camera in the right hands won’t produce good shots but the I’m sure if they had a decent body and lens they would get the same shot but better iq, plus they would get a lot more flexibility when editing. Part of the idea of getting a camera is because we both feel some nice shots we’ve taken lack the image quality to produce a biggish print

We have been to a few shops and held a few , I’ve already tried a few that I now know are too small for me, not to bad for the wife though, there are some similar sized cameras but they feel better and don’t feel awkward due to the size , i didn’t really want a biggish set up but i understand i will need to compromise on things to buy what i feel is right.
Makhaira said:
I mean this helpfully, wary of coming across argumentative on forum posts - if this is for social media then any image quality gain is going to be impossible to see.
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A lot will be for social media but some will be printed at largish sizes that we will use to decorate our home, I’ve never really liked the idea of putting cheap mass produced prints up on our walls but i do like the idea of putting up prints of what we feel is a good shot taken by ourselves of somewhere we’ve visited and enjoyed, my wife has a decent eye and is quite creative whereas I’m more technical , i guess she’s the director and I’m just the camera tech heh
 
Phones are a great tool to have for photos online and up to a certain size before you realise the quality goes off. Certainly with the iPhone and The Huewai I had before it produced very clear and bright images however the phones work. For low light photography I believe they composite images together and the results are really good and not easy to replicate with a proper camera. I often find I am disappointed with my own photos being muddy in style to the vibrant ones my wife takes on the phone - I think she is much better at seeing and shooting than I am.

As for your camera dilemma I think the post above about handling the camera is important especially coming from the very well handling Nikon D800. Some mirrorless cameras I tried just seemed too small in my hands and the retro cameras also felt quite unsteady. I moved from pretty much the same camera as you/your wife as I had/have a D800e. Most of the mirrorless cameras are lighter and smaller but you have to consider the lenses which for me were mostly a lot bigger and heavier compared for a full frame camera to what I was using on the D800e.

I ended up with a Nikon Z50ii and so far so good, being able to send photos to your phone for upload is handy when it works. It handles nicely and the autofocus is fab. I do miss the extra mega pixels at times and the general wide open performance of my previous prime lenses. The kit zoom lenses are very flexible but have taken some getting used to as they extend out and are not very wide open or fast.
 
For people who had never had a real camera and always shot with a phone…this is a general sweeping statement so take it with a grain of salt.

1 - if it’s too far away from a phone UI, it throws them off. This means touch screen is a must.

2 - if it’s too big, they will never take it out of the house.

3 - it doesn’t need EVF, 9/10 when I show people a photo in my camera and ask them to look in the EVF because we are outside so it’s better than the LCD. They look at it like they never seen a EVF before.

3 - they will never edit and process the photo in a computer so “recipes” is a must for the prebaked look.

4 - camera to phone transfer is a must, the entire thing can be used without a computer.

With those in mind….Fuji. And if you want small, X100VI….but that’s way too expensive and possible restrictive.

So, XM5. Lack of EVF not a problem, single card not a problem, it’s cheap, you can use whatever lens you want.
 
Quartz said:
Cameras in phones these days take a lot of beating. Unless she has special needs like a wide-angle or zoom lens, why bother? Perhaps she needs a stabilising stick or similar?
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phone cameras are good and have lots of smart features but a decent camera and lens will beat them hands down for image quality , a lot of phones now have wide angle and a telephoto built in but they have their limitations which we’ve experienced

Buying a camera will not stop us using a phone cam either , it’s not one or the other.

She is interested in a stabilising stick or the dji camera also

Just to clear something up , this potential camera is for both of us not just my wife , I fully envisage I will be the one using it and setting it up most of the time , she will just direct me as she has a good eye for a shot but I will know the camera inside out after a few weeks
 
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