New gear please :)

Cosmic182 said:
Been watching a few YouTube videos and one mentioned the Sony alpha 7CII (with the 28-60 lens) there’s a couple on ebay brand new for the same price as the XT-5, is this a worthy contender?

Apologies for throwing a few contenders about, however just trying to narrow it down to then watch some more in depth reviews to decide.
Tia.

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The Sony A&CII has better autofocus than the Fuji, but ergonomically not as good as the Fuji. It lacks a Joystick for a start. On paper the Sony is a "better" camera but you might hate using it.

It's an option for sure, it is an amazing camera.
 
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Based on your intended use, I think you should aim for a smaller camera. An X-T5 and 16-80 isn’t the sort of thing you just happen to carry around for spur of the moment shooting. It’s also typically the sort of camera you buy when you know exactly what you want and why you want it. If you’re still exploring photography and haven’t yet found your groove, I’d recommend not sinking a large sum into a camera you aren’t familiar with.

The best thing you can do is take yourself to a camera shop and handle a few different models to get a feel for what you like and what will be easiest to use for you. Bigger and higher spec cameras don’t necessarily produce better photos. A camera that the photographer has to hand (usually smaller and lighter) and knows how to use quickly is a much more effective tool. You can’t really buy a bad camera nowadays. If you’re not that keen on editing all your photos, Fuji jpegs come out of the camera looking great which is a huge selling point for that system. I really enjoy setting a few recipes up in the camera and using the output without editing.

If you’re set on Fujifilm, have a play with the X-S20, X-T30II, or even the X-E4.

You might well settle on an X-T5 (it’s a great camera) but you may find that one of the other great options is better suited to your needs.
 
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I'm going to throw a spanner in the works. First however, When I shot with Fuji, I had a 18-135 lens for my walkabout, it was great and would suit you exactly for what you want, ideal for everything from landscapes to even portraits of your kids.

However, before taking everyone elses word for what you should get, I seriously recommend you go to a store and play with each brand of camera before you commit, as, like me, I struggled with the Fuji system, it was great in that you had recipes for different photo styles, but me personally, struggled to get anything decent straight out of the camera, and the AF system on Fuji isn't the best on the market, at least it wasn't on my X-H2s or my XT-4, not sure if firmware updates have improved them by now?

I switched my whole system to Sony, and I find it a lot easier to get along with and have now invested probably about £10k in my current system (it's a bottomless pit! lol).

Just to add, that's not to say Fuji isn't a great system, to a lot of people, it is, it just didn't suit me, that's all.
 
Went and held a few today and pretty much narrowed it down to 3, lumix S5iiX, A7Cii, XT-5.

I like how compact the a7cii is, I feel like I could discreetly take this anywhere which is a big win, as well as the premium feel.

The S5iiX - just felt better on the hand, having big hands I just felt like this was a more fitting size, which contradicts my compact needs/wants. From what I’ve read and seen on videos, the s5iix colours are much more vivid too.

XT-5, I’m still yet to see in the flesh.

YouTube isn’t making this much easier either.
 
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Cosmic182 said:
Went and held a few today and pretty much narrowed it down to 3, lumix S5iiX, A7Cii, XT-5.

I like how compact the a7cii is, I feel like I could discreetly take this anywhere which is a big win, as well as the premium feel.

The S5iiX - just felt better on the hand, having big hands I just felt like this was a more fitting size, which contradicts my compact needs/wants. From what I’ve read and seen on videos, the s5iix colours are much more vivid too.

XT-5, I’m still yet to see in the flesh.

YouTube isn’t making this much easier either.
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The S5II might be a better choice over the S5IIX. It's physically the same, loses a few niche video features (whilst being very capable still) and is cheaper.

The new firmware last week has improved the S5II and S5IIX nicely and added some extra features.
 
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Cosmic182 said:
Went and held a few today and pretty much narrowed it down to 3, lumix S5iiX, A7Cii, XT-5.

I like how compact the a7cii is, I feel like I could discreetly take this anywhere which is a big win, as well as the premium feel.

The S5iiX - just felt better on the hand, having big hands I just felt like this was a more fitting size, which contradicts my compact needs/wants. From what I’ve read and seen on videos, the s5iix colours are much more vivid too.

XT-5, I’m still yet to see in the flesh.

YouTube isn’t making this much easier either.
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Decide on if you want to use images straight out of camera with minor tweaks or if you want to fully edit raw files or perhaps both. It's then more about lens choice - focal lengths, prices, weights, speeds etc. The body arguably isn't as important for none pro use. If you aren't comfortable with editing I don't recommend Sony.

There is no such thing as a do it all lens and the closest you can get to this is with lenses that are very expensive, large and weigh as much as a small moon. I have tried with the alternative option to those and don't recommend it either. A two lens setup is very workable though.
 
Well I took the plunge and went for the sony a7cii :)

The only problem at the moment is the brand new battery is coming up saying “battery exhausted” I’ve ordered the Sony BC-QZ1 charger to see if this sorts the problem? I’ve had it on charge via usbC for an hour now (still the orange light remains and says “battery exhausted”

Bit of a dull first hand experience as of now.

EDIT: a quick Reddit search led me to “turning the camera on, remove battery for 20 seconds, insert battery” wallah! 89% and working now. Time to set it up :D
 
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@GMac11 Okay, thanks :) from what I had read a lot of people said to avoid Amazon due to the high numbers of counterfeit SD cards, but that’s good to know.

Would you recommend the likes of a V90 card? I’ve read a few recommendations of the Sony Tough G series V90. Never really realised how expensive a good SD card is!
 
mingeroonie said:
The v90's are certainly a fair bit of money!
I use a Lexar v60 in my Xt-5 and have had no problems
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I agree, the Lexar v60’s are excellent value for money and haven’t let me down yet *touch wood*.
The Silver Pro 64gb is great value and I just see it’s on sale at £17.80 on Amazon at the moment! Slightly annoying as I bought 4 back in prime day for £22 each :o
 
Just had a look at my order history

Lexar Professional 1667x SD Card 128GB, SDXC UHS-II Memory Card, Up to 250MB/s Read, 120MB/s Write, Class 10, U3, V60 SD​

I got the above for 32 quid, its now at £29
 
I've got three Sandisk Extreme (gold coloured ones) as two micro SD (256gb) and an SD (128gb) card for my A7R2. Write speed is pretty quick, although I rarely push them by taking bursts. All purchased during one sale or another.
 
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For personal stuff, UHS-1 V30 cards are perfectly fine. Sure after a bursts of shots the buffer will take a few seconds to write but it’s not really a problem being day to day stuff.

I just go with the Sandisk black Extreme cards with 200mb/s. 256g ones is a good value for money. Or the Samsung Ultimate Pro.

Since my X100VI only writes UHS-1 so I’ve gone with those and it’s been fine.
 
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Hi guys, hope you’ve all had a great bank holiday weekend.

This weekend has been the first test for the a7cii and it’s been a pure joy to use. A whole hell of a lot to learn and watch videos on etc but it’s just so exciting to pick up.

My reason for this post was just to see if there was a staple lens most people go to for a more zoom in shot? Had a lovely trip to Swinton park estate today near Ripon where there is an abundance of deer. The deer being anywhere from 50-100ft away, the 28-60mm lens obviously doesn’t cut it for those type of shots. If I were to be looking at one other lens what would you guys recommend please?

Thanks very much.
 
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