Getting back into photography- which DSLR?
Discussion
Hi All,
My daughter plans to take photography for GCSE in September, so I’d like to buy a camera and a few lenses we can share.
Probably 10 years ago I had got into photography quite seriously. I had a few Canon bodies, not full frame but next best and had a good idea of what I was doing.
I’m quite keen to stay Canon but open to options as I’m sure the world has moved on - I see a full range of mirrorless now, what’s the advantage?
Thanks !
My daughter plans to take photography for GCSE in September, so I’d like to buy a camera and a few lenses we can share.
Probably 10 years ago I had got into photography quite seriously. I had a few Canon bodies, not full frame but next best and had a good idea of what I was doing.
I’m quite keen to stay Canon but open to options as I’m sure the world has moved on - I see a full range of mirrorless now, what’s the advantage?
Thanks !
Fair point.
All I have is a nice Lowe Pro rucksack.
Body wise, I guess £500-800.
I’d probably try and buy lenses second hand or maybe as a kit. 50mm was always a good one. I have a feeling mirror less lenses might be expensive?
Would an EOS 5d mk whichever now be a bad idea? Good value or out of date?
All I have is a nice Lowe Pro rucksack.
Body wise, I guess £500-800.
I’d probably try and buy lenses second hand or maybe as a kit. 50mm was always a good one. I have a feeling mirror less lenses might be expensive?
Would an EOS 5d mk whichever now be a bad idea? Good value or out of date?
8-P said:
Body wise, I guess £500-800.
I d probably try and buy lenses second hand or maybe as a kit. 50mm was always a good one.
That's a very good budget for just a body for a GCSE. I can only speak about Nikon kit, but either way, but if you go crop sensor then a 50mm is of limited use, you need something that covers 35mm.I d probably try and buy lenses second hand or maybe as a kit. 50mm was always a good one.
As you have some Canon experience (there’ll be little difference in images, whichever system is chosen) why not go for a used Canon 5D of some sort, as they have the full frame sensor that allows proper depth of field control, especially with 50mm f1.8 lens, for example.
5D Mk3 for £400 in good condition.
EF 50mm lens £60 in good condition
EF 85mm lens, £200, great for portraits etc.
Maybe £70 for a decent used flash.
A few tenners for filters.
Reasonable SD card, say 64Gb for £20.
Just examples of what’s possible.
5D Mk3 for £400 in good condition.
EF 50mm lens £60 in good condition
EF 85mm lens, £200, great for portraits etc.
Maybe £70 for a decent used flash.
A few tenners for filters.
Reasonable SD card, say 64Gb for £20.
Just examples of what’s possible.
Simpo Two said:
That's a very good budget for just a body for a GCSE. I can only speak about Nikon kit, but either way, but if you go crop sensor then a 50mm is of limited use, you need something that covers 35mm.
I’m torn between buying something half decent we can both use or just entry level, the worry is she won’t want to continue or damage it etc.With that in mind, second hand might be a good idea. If she ads a few marks to it, I’ll never know nor care less.
This sort of thing https://ebay.us/m/q87Tok
8-P said:
I m torn between buying something half decent we can both use or just entry level, the worry is she won t want to continue or damage it etc.
With that in mind, second hand might be a good idea. If she ads a few marks to it, I ll never know nor care less.
This sort of thing https://ebay.us/m/q87Tok
I'd be very tempted to go 2nd hand if I were you rather than new as you are going to be able to get a (potentially good bit) better spec of kit that way. If you're not wedded to canon due to existing lenses etc (which you don't seem to still have), would be worth considering one of the nikon or sony mirrorless jobs as well tbh rather than necessarily sticking with canon only. With that in mind, second hand might be a good idea. If she ads a few marks to it, I ll never know nor care less.
This sort of thing https://ebay.us/m/q87Tok
Edit - oops my bad for some reason I thought something like a sony a7 iii would be cheaper now than it seems to be. a used dslr like a d500/d750 might be a better shout then.
Edited by isaldiri on Monday 9th June 12:10
I only know Nikon, but at that budget my DSLR suggestion would be a D750 and mirrorless a Z6.
Lens for the D750 would be the 24-120mm f/4 and for the Z6 the 24-70 f/4 (There's a 24-120 f/4 but it's still pretty pricey)
You're looking at around £550 for the body and £300-£400 for the lenses.
How to decide?
I think it comes down to whether you prefer and electronic viewfinder, or actually looking through the lens. Battery life on the D750 will be a lot better, but spare batteries sort that.
The main drawback of the Z6 is expensive memory cards, but there isn't another FF mirrorless at your budget.
Go mirrorless without giving it a second thought if video is something you'd like to do as well.
Lens for the D750 would be the 24-120mm f/4 and for the Z6 the 24-70 f/4 (There's a 24-120 f/4 but it's still pretty pricey)
You're looking at around £550 for the body and £300-£400 for the lenses.
How to decide?
I think it comes down to whether you prefer and electronic viewfinder, or actually looking through the lens. Battery life on the D750 will be a lot better, but spare batteries sort that.
The main drawback of the Z6 is expensive memory cards, but there isn't another FF mirrorless at your budget.
Go mirrorless without giving it a second thought if video is something you'd like to do as well.
I'd try and have a quick chat with the tutor. The tutor would prefer all their students to be using similar equipment, so if the tutor favours Nikon, look that way, or if Canon are the preferred option, go that route.
Secondhand gives most for your money, and a dSLR goes further than mirrorless. Whilst mirrorless is the future, there are many a bargin in lightly used dSLRs and lenses, and with adaptors, the older lenses will probably work seamlessly on a newer mirrorless - Canon fit certainly does.
Secondhand gives most for your money, and a dSLR goes further than mirrorless. Whilst mirrorless is the future, there are many a bargin in lightly used dSLRs and lenses, and with adaptors, the older lenses will probably work seamlessly on a newer mirrorless - Canon fit certainly does.
Simpo Two said:
If it was me I'd look at D300 + 18-70mm for starters, and change left over if needed. More than adequate for a GCSE. Which just shows we're all different 
guess it's more a question for the OP how much or if he will want to be using the camera or his daughter would in future or is it just something meant to be adequate for the course. It would, imo anyway, be worth spending a bit more for capability if the former would be likely to apply.Thanks for everyone’s input. I was looking at 5D mkiii earlier on eBay, one guy has one that looks good and a number of lenses but I was on a shopping list of £1000. Sat next to me is a 13 year old yob, who doesn’t look after anything very well, struggles to make her bed etc.
The reality is that something for a few hundred quid with a lens or two, pre owned, that I can hand over and not get upset about would be a better bet. I could still use it if I wanted. Something like this won’t hold her back.
https://ebay.us/m/RF7OCH
The reality is that something for a few hundred quid with a lens or two, pre owned, that I can hand over and not get upset about would be a better bet. I could still use it if I wanted. Something like this won’t hold her back.
https://ebay.us/m/RF7OCH
8-P said:
Fair point.
All I have is a nice Lowe Pro rucksack.
Body wise, I guess £500-800.
I d probably try and buy lenses second hand or maybe as a kit. 50mm was always a good one. I have a feeling mirror less lenses might be expensive?
Would an EOS 5d mk whichever now be a bad idea? Good value or out of date?
I still use my pair of 5dmk4's for all my commercial work daily, absolute workhorse bodies with a decent lens on, won't upgrade them until they break!All I have is a nice Lowe Pro rucksack.
Body wise, I guess £500-800.
I d probably try and buy lenses second hand or maybe as a kit. 50mm was always a good one. I have a feeling mirror less lenses might be expensive?
Would an EOS 5d mk whichever now be a bad idea? Good value or out of date?
I would pick a used mk4 up, would be my advice. Not as outdated as you think unless your comparing to mirrorless bodies, the mk4's hold their own very well, even by today's standards.
7 5 7 said:
I still use my pair of 5dmk4's for all my commercial work daily, absolute workhorse bodies with a decent lens on, won't upgrade them until they break!
I would pick a used mk4 up, would be my advice. Not as outdated as you think unless your comparing to mirrorless bodies, the mk4's hold their own very well, even by today's standards.
My usual tip for cameras is go to a shop and find one that feels good in the hand and that and that you will enjoy using. If she finds it fiddly to use and can't read the menus then she'll never get the most out of it and using it will be a chore.I would pick a used mk4 up, would be my advice. Not as outdated as you think unless your comparing to mirrorless bodies, the mk4's hold their own very well, even by today's standards.
That said, a 5D3 or 5D4 would be an excellent choice. Mk 4 is a fantastic camera (I only changed to mirrorless due to an accident meaning my insurers were paying to replace them) but the Mk 3 is usefully cheaper and still a great piece of kit.
EF mount has the advantage of a huge quantity of second hand lenses, currently at bargain prices as other people switch to mirrorless RF mount. And if she ever does switch to mirrorless EF lenses all work perfectly on RF bodies too.
I’m going to suggest something different based on the fact you’re not locked into a particular eco system at the moment.
For your daughter and your use go mirrorless, the difference is significant in use and hit rate. For example your viewfinder and rear screen will give you a WYSIWYG view of what you are going to shoot, eye focus is a superb feature to have, focus points across the whole sensor, dynamic range and a whole lot more.
Something like this if second hand https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336001192449?_skw=sony+...
Or you can get a new Sony A7iii for just over £900 at Cotswold Cameras, or get a kit with a lens. Enormous range of Sony and third party lenses available, new or used.
Very capable camera even though it was first released in 2018, I left Nikon DSLR for it and never looked back.
For your daughter and your use go mirrorless, the difference is significant in use and hit rate. For example your viewfinder and rear screen will give you a WYSIWYG view of what you are going to shoot, eye focus is a superb feature to have, focus points across the whole sensor, dynamic range and a whole lot more.
Something like this if second hand https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336001192449?_skw=sony+...
Or you can get a new Sony A7iii for just over £900 at Cotswold Cameras, or get a kit with a lens. Enormous range of Sony and third party lenses available, new or used.
Very capable camera even though it was first released in 2018, I left Nikon DSLR for it and never looked back.
8-P said:
Sat next to me is a 13 year old yob, who doesn t look after anything very well, struggles to make her bed etc.
The reality is that something for a few hundred quid with a lens or two, pre owned, that I can hand over and not get upset about would be a better bet. I could still use it if I wanted. Something like this won t hold her back.
https://ebay.us/m/RF7OCH
Absolutely. There's every chance that once her GCSE is over she'll never use it again, and if it gets dropped/broken/stolen you won't be too upset.The reality is that something for a few hundred quid with a lens or two, pre owned, that I can hand over and not get upset about would be a better bet. I could still use it if I wanted. Something like this won t hold her back.
https://ebay.us/m/RF7OCH
8-P said:
Thanks for everyone s input. I was looking at 5D mkiii earlier on eBay, one guy has one that looks good and a number of lenses but I was on a shopping list of £1000. Sat next to me is a 13 year old yob, who doesn t look after anything very well, struggles to make her bed etc.
The reality is that something for a few hundred quid with a lens or two, pre owned, that I can hand over and not get upset about would be a better bet. I could still use it if I wanted. Something like this won t hold her back.
https://ebay.us/m/RF7OCH
Seems an ideal first camera for someone who may not actually be very interested. I'd possibly add the 55-250 IS lens as well.The reality is that something for a few hundred quid with a lens or two, pre owned, that I can hand over and not get upset about would be a better bet. I could still use it if I wanted. Something like this won t hold her back.
https://ebay.us/m/RF7OCH
I have a real problem with recommendations being made for APSC cameras for photography students. I might be wide of the mark, but I’d imagine that there’ll be at least some requirements for portrait photos, and on a full frame sensor, a cheapy 50mm f1.8 can give wonderful results. On an APSC camera, the results are generally a bit disappointing.
I doubt there’ll be a need during the course to photograph a kingfisher 80 metres away, so I don’t think the extra ‘reach’ of an APSC camera/lens will be of much benefit.
A 5D3 or Nikon/Sony/Pentax (?) equivalent will perform much better in low light, and has more buttons rather than endless menus. Or is that more buttons as well as endless menus?
In the end, it’ll be difficult to make a bad choice, and the whole set up won’t lose much money if it survives the course and is then sold.
I doubt there’ll be a need during the course to photograph a kingfisher 80 metres away, so I don’t think the extra ‘reach’ of an APSC camera/lens will be of much benefit.
A 5D3 or Nikon/Sony/Pentax (?) equivalent will perform much better in low light, and has more buttons rather than endless menus. Or is that more buttons as well as endless menus?
In the end, it’ll be difficult to make a bad choice, and the whole set up won’t lose much money if it survives the course and is then sold.
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