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Need help with a camera decision.


schgr.cube

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About 6 years ago, I bought my wife a Nikon D40 (antique, I know). She loved it for a while, but with how great phone cameras have gotten, it's become hard for her to want to use an old DSLR. I bought her a Fujifilm Instax for her to have fun with (wanted to have that instant photo joy), so she said I could sell the Nikon off and buy whatever I want. I had toyed with the idea of buying new glass for it, since I constantly hear "it isn't the body, it's the glass", but can't really justify spending a lot of money on a camera I don't feel like I'll enjoy all that much. I really am not an amazing photographer, and don't want a massive camera. I had seen some recommendations on here for the Canon Powershot, but I feel like there are a lot of opinions floating around.

 

Ideally, I would love to stay below $250, I want it to be somewhat compact (just not the size of a full DSLR really), and I want to be able to take good photos of my aquariums. I will be using this for other things, but ultimately I want something I can actually use on my tank as well. I kind of fell in love with the Sony A5000 while I was out browsing, and love the ability to change lenses still, but that breaks my first rule of staying somewhat affordable.

 

Any advice on cameras I should look at that won't break the bank? I tried searching a bit, but theres a lot of older posts and technology moves quickly.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Edit: talked it over with the wife, she is actually surprisingly on board with the idea of a mirror less camera in the $500-600 range. I have it narrowed down between the Sony A6000 and the Fujifilm X-A2. It seems like the Sony is the better choice, but there seem to be a lot of people saying the Fuji sensors are really nice. Any thoughts?

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I know this will be my first post on a reef forum, but here is my suggestion. I used to own a Nikon D3100 (they have the D3200's out now) and honestly it was an amazing camera Cropped sensor but would do everything you want it to do (I'm a Nikon guy, sorry). It will shoot raw format as well (reccomend, makes editing so much better). As far as the two you are looking at, if you have any way of getting your hands on one at a store or something I would reccomend that and see if you can get a feel for one, and then I would reccomend placed like dpreview to compare different cameras. If you have any questions I'm going to try and actually be active on here, so I will try and answe them if you like.

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Ideally, I would love to stay below $250, I want it to be somewhat compact (just not the size of a full DSLR really), and I want to be able to take good photos of my aquariums. I will be using this for other things, but ultimately I want something I can actually use on my tank as well. I kind of fell in love with the Sony A5000 while I was out browsing, and love the ability to change lenses still, but that breaks my first rule of staying somewhat affordable.

If you'd like to stick to this $250ish budget, you might want to pick up this used G12 (in excellent plus condition). This point and shoot has a decent lens and sensor; plus it has all the manual controls necessary to get nice tank shots. It's fairly compact and you don't have to mess with large lenses. It's definitely a step up from smart phone cameras for tank shots; however, the newer camera phones have improved significantly for general photos.

 

Edit: talked it over with the wife, she is actually surprisingly on board with the idea of a mirror less camera in the $500-600 range. I have it narrowed down between the Sony A6000 and the Fujifilm X-A2. It seems like the Sony is the better choice, but there seem to be a lot of people saying the Fuji sensors are really nice. Any thoughts?

Mirrorless cameras (with their kit lenses) are awesome general use cameras. If you are primarily looking for a camera for general photography (with the ability to take decent tank shots), I think this might be the way to go.

 

But what you said about glass is true; if you are looking for specialized lenses, you still might find better lens choices for DSLRs. To get those incredible macro shots for your reef tank, it's hard to beat a modern DSLR with 100mm true macro lens.

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I adore my A6000, I really do. It's a do anything body. I will say I'm not all that impressed with the native glass, but I haven't had the money or the inclination to splurge on the zeiss line up. The Sigma 60mm is cheap and insanely sharp, it's my go to for tank shots.

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I know this will be my first post on a reef forum, but here is my suggestion. I used to own a Nikon D3100 (they have the D3200's out now) and honestly it was an amazing camera Cropped sensor but would do everything you want it to do (I'm a Nikon guy, sorry). It will shoot raw format as well (reccomend, makes editing so much better). As far as the two you are looking at, if you have any way of getting your hands on one at a store or something I would reccomend that and see if you can get a feel for one, and then I would reccomend placed like dpreview to compare different cameras. If you have any questions I'm going to try and actually be active on here, so I will try and answe them if you like.

 

Haha wow, I'm honored! Member for almost 6 years and I get the first post. My problem is that I KNOW there are some great cameras out there within the same budget that will be absolutely incredible, and fully versatile. The biggest problem I run into is that I have shot on multiple DSLRs, and just really find them to be too cumbersome. I've always heard the saying that the best camera is the one you have on you, and I feel like a DSLR will not be that camera. That being said, I did get to play around with a few options, and I think I'm going to go with the A6000. It just felt right, and seemed to be enough of a jack of all trades, but with strengths in all the areas I wanted out of it. I really appreciate the feedback!

 

If you'd like to stick to this $250ish budget, you might want to pick up this used G12 (in excellent plus condition). This point and shoot has a decent lens and sensor; plus it has all the manual controls necessary to get nice tank shots. It's fairly compact and you don't have to mess with large lenses. It's definitely a step up from smart phone cameras for tank shots; however, the newer camera phones have improved significantly for general photos.

 

Mirrorless cameras (with their kit lenses) are awesome general use cameras. If you are primarily looking for a camera for general photography (with the ability to take decent tank shots), I think this might be the way to go.

 

But what you said about glass is true; if you are looking for specialized lenses, you still might find better lens choices for DSLRs. To get those incredible macro shots for your reef tank, it's hard to beat a modern DSLR with 100mm true macro lens.

 

Yeah, that is something I had been thinking. The day I posted this, I almost just went out and bought a point and shoot. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I wanted something just a little more versatile. Nothing too crazy, but something that felt comfortable and usable. The A6000 seems to fit that bill for me.

 

I adore my A6000, I really do. It's a do anything body. I will say I'm not all that impressed with the native glass, but I haven't had the money or the inclination to splurge on the zeiss line up. The Sigma 60mm is cheap and insanely sharp, it's my go to for tank shots.

 

Good to know, I really appreciate the feedback on it. I will have to check out the lens, that is one thing that I have been trying to do some more research on.

 

Thanks for all the responses, it really helps to have some extra opinions on this.

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