Spec me a camera...

1337_KR3W

1337_KR3W

1337_KR3W

Soldato
Joined
24 Jan 2003
Posts
2,560
Location
Cornwall
Having never owned a camera other than a few cheap digital ones before my phones superseded them, I would like to buy a decent camera primarily to take product images and case studies of installations, but secondary to this I travel a lot with work and some jobs lined up over the winter include Scillies (very dark skies, coastal), Swiss alps and North Scotland.
Trying to capture some shots of the sky at night with milky way etc visible, northern lights, and mountain ranges all interests me, as do dawn/dusk and wildlife.

My budget is hundreds, but not thousands.
I would like to get at least 3-5 years use from the camera, imagine any lenses would have an indefinite lifetime if well cared for, so am prepared to consider spending more on these as required in the future, especially for some night sky stuff and maybe surfing or wildlife shots too with so much time spent on the coast.

I stress again that I am a complete novice, so want something I can learn with and have the versatility to experiment with a lot, but perhaps with an interface that allows me to save presets that I can come back to if I'm trying out similar shots weeks/months apart.
I would like the ability to shoot in 1:1 aspect ratio too so it's obvious to me how I'm framing a shot, as that is how most of my product photos will be displayed.

Thank you!
 
Have a look at Nikon's crop sensor DSLR's, maybe the D5XXX series (D7XXX series if your pockets are deep enough). Kit lens to start with and take it from there, you will have a multitude of choices both from Nikon as well as third parties like Sigma and Tamron. Canon just as capable, but I'm not familiar with their product range. Sounds like you'll be needing a tripod and maybe even some lighting for your product images (I think if this is important you should give some indication of what these products are). Do you intend to go on any courses? How will you go about learning what it is that you want to achieve?

You can get decent deals from what are known as "grey market" dealers, if you buy from official Nikon dealers it'll cost you quite a bit more. Here's some grey market examples in line with models I suggested above (they both use the same lens, just the bodies are different):-
D7500 Digital SLR Camera + AF-S DX 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Lens
D5600 Digital SLR Camera + AF-S 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens
 
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Quoting myself to respond :o
doodah said:
I am biased but you can't go wrong with some of the entry level Nikons like the D3XXX range of D5XXX range. I have the D5200 which is an excellent entry level DLSR, the latest iteration is the D5600 which can be had under £500 with a kit lens. The D5XXX range typically has more features than the D3XXX range such as WiFi, fully articulating screen, more focus points, higher resolution screen and NFC. If you get a Nikon, you will have a huge catalogue of lenses! To start off I recommend the Nikon 35mm f1.8 which can be had for ~£150 (very cheap for a lens) and produces great results especially for the price.

Another contender might be the EOS M50, which a friend recently got as his first camera and rates it highly.
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I started with a Panasonic Lumix bridge camera, the FZ200, which allowed me to learn some decent fundamentals, and got me shooting and understanding the exposure / iso / aperture / shutter speed relationships, it having the fully manual settings, alongside the partially manual settings ( Aperture Priority / Shutter Priority ) was a real benefit.

Its not got the longest optical zoom of a bridge camera ( about 24x ), but it does maintain its speed f2/8 for the full length of the zoom.

I've now moved on to a Nikon D5600, with a few lenses to start refining my skills, further, and will likely upgrade to a full frame DSLR in another year or two.
 
Thanks for the advice.
Both cameras are within budget, assuming I'm using the included lens.
We supply technical services, mainly in the hospitality industry. For a lot of sites as a single point of call for everything, but the stuff that would make nice pictures (beyond images for ecommerce which would be sundries etc too) it would mainly be point of sale systems installed mainly in restaurants and hotels, but with a lot of sites now having tablets for order input too it's likely that a lot of images could be outdoors with coastal backdrop etc.
I've read up on both cameras and think that the weatherproofing of the 7500 would be good, I also understand it should perform better in low light? I don't understand a lot of the specifications but although the 5600 has higher max resolution both are beyond the resolution I would require.
We have a lot of lighting available with different work lights etc we use on installs. I could experiment first of all with this, I don't think it would be practical to take anything extra on site. We engage the services of a local media company when we want to have video shot and edited, this is really just to promote a lot of the work that we do.
I don't really have the time to go to any courses or attend any local camera clubs. I think a lot will be trial and error for me, but I'd be interested in doing this online.

Are tripods fairly universal?
I'll want to be able to travel very easily with one in order to make the most of it.
 
If weather proofing is vital, then that will be down to a combination of the body and the lens...

Im still getting to grips with low light, but I suspect my limited selection of glass was one of the issues.. I've managed to find a fast/cheap Tamron, that Im looking for an opportunity to get some practise with on the slr.

Most tripods have a standard thread size, certainly both my bridge and slr have the same size thread.. I'd say its important to get one that will support the weight you are going to put on it though, and a decent quality head I'd say is a must. I have a travel tripod for hiking, which is smaller and lighter, then a heavier sturdier effort, for when I dont need to carry it far, with a big tele lens, a tripod is a must for me, and the weight does soon start to mount up. I have a couple of interchangeable heads though, a standard ball head, and then a gimbal head, which I can switch between the 2 sets of legs. Add in a couple of quick release plates, and sliding them on and off is less of a pain.
 
1337_KR3W said:
Think it's almost certain that I'll invest in the D7500, would this tripod be a good one to get?
https://uk.kentfaith.com/KF09.007_t...JvAjNgXcvix1ILkQvqK41rJadMbnYG9waAmOeEALw_wcB
Thank you.
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It will work okay. Not sure about its pedigree though and whether or not its any good. I bought myself an excellent condition second hand Manfrotto 190 tripod (for 60 quid) and I chose a nearly new second hand XPro 3-way head (paid around 50 quid) for it, but that's what suits me, you may prefer a ball head or even a trigger head. I'd get the camera and have a look on Ebay for a decent tripod that's nearly new, you may have to do what I did and that is to buy the tripod (legs) separately from the head. Manfrotto make good stuff, you can check out the new stuff on their website and then have a hunt on Ebay. There are plenty of other brands out there that make good stuff, but I doubt any of them make anything decent for less than 100 quid. If you have a camera shop nearby maybe you could pop in and have a look, get a better idea.
 
I've got the D7500 kit here now, have played a little with it, have a lot to learn!
Have several weeks over on the Isles of Scilly and some work in the Swiss Alps this side of Christmas, so looking forward to seeing what I can manage while there.
My time in the office is limited at the moment, but hopefully by the end of the week I'll have had a chance to start attempting some shots of products and seeing what works well.
 
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