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NeoGAF Camera Equipment Thread | MK II

MRORANGE

Member
xTiB1qt.jpg


Welcome to the new camera equipment thread, it's currently being updated as we go along, please give suggestions on how it can be improved. Before we can begin it's important to know it's better to improve your technique in photography rather than buying a new camera which won't get you that far without learning the fundamentals to get the most out of your camera, the more you practice and shoot the better your shots will get

A wise quote:


"which camera takes the best photos?"

"The one in the best photographer’s hands at the moment."




If you are going to ask for camera recommendations it would be a good idea to copy this section and write your responses to help people in the thread chose the camera for you:

1. What is your budget budget?
2. Main purpose of the camera?
3. What form factor is most appealing to you?
4. Will you be investing in the camera? (buying more stuff for it later)
5. Any cameras you've used before or liked?


Recommended Cameras


DSLR recommendations

Enthusiast::
Canon EOS Rebel T5 / 1200D
Nikon D3300
Pentax K50


Intermediate:
Nikon D7200
Nikon D610
Canon 760D
Canon 6D
Pentax K-3 II

Professional:
Canon 5DmkIII
Candon 5DS
Nikon D750
Nikon D810


High End Point and Shoot recommendations:

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV
Canon PowerShot G1 XII
Fuji X100T
Nikon Coolpix A
RIcoh GR
Panasonic LX100
Fuji X30
Canon PowerShot G7x
Canon G16
Panasonic LX7


Mirroless recommendations:

Sony A7 or A6000 series
Fujifilm X-T1 or X-E2
Canon M Series
Nikon J1
Olympus OM-D E-M1
Panasonic gh4
Panasonic gm5


waterproof cameras:
Fujifilm XP80
Pentax WG-5
Canon PowerShot D30,
Nikon Coolpix AW130
Olympus Stylus TOUGH TG-4
Panasonic Lumix FT5



Useful guides and books to read

Some really useful advice.
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/0817439390/
 
Maybe this is a weird type of recommendation... but when I was kind of new to photography, I spent some time watching the "Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera" series by DigitalRev and thought it was awesome and very inspiring. It's a really humble showcase of the "which camera takes the best photos" line in the OP.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ECB90D96DF59DE5

I know there was a period after I bought my first decent camera where I had the "why do so many of my pictures still look like shit?" thing going on, and I really appreciated this series.
 

Tablo

Member
*Disclaimer, you can take great pics with any gear. That being said it is still necessary to understand the hardware we photographers use as tools, to find what suits you best.

These camera recommendations aren't good, the Canon Rebel series is terrible (the Rebel T5 is utter shit), probably the only one worth getting is the T6S if you already have the glass for it.
Recommending the Canon M series is also a big mistake, it's shit.
I would argue the D3300 besides its good sensor is also bad due to only one control dial despite its DSLR size.

Other inconsistencies include the broad categories, eg: GH4 is only worth it if you're also doing video. The J1 is terrible unless you know you need some of the more unique attributes of it, and again just throwing out the GM5 rec isn't useful because it's usefulness is contingent on wanting an ultra compact MILC...

Honestly OP it seems you don't know enough about Camera HW to be making suggestions, feel free to PM me I can give a revised list for those categories or something.
A good OP should include brief bullet points/descriptions on why you'd want each recommended camera or at least a link to a respectable review of it.
 

Risible

Member
*Disclaimer, you can take great pics with any gear. That being said it is still necessary to understand the hardware we photographers use as tools, to find what suits you best.

These camera recommendations aren't good, the Canon Rebel series is terrible (the Rebel T5 is utter shit), probably the only one worth getting is the T6S if you already have the glass for it.
Recommending the Canon M series is also a big mistake, it's shit.
I would argue the D3300 besides its good sensor is also bad due to only one control dial despite its DSLR size.

Other inconsistencies include the broad categories, eg: GH4 is only worth it if you're also doing video. The J1 is terrible unless you know you need some of the more unique attributes of it, and again just throwing out the GM5 rec isn't useful because it's usefulness is contingent on wanting an ultra compact MILC...

Honestly OP it seems you don't know enough about Camera HW to be making suggestions, feel free to PM me I can give a revised list for those categories or something.
A good OP should include brief bullet points/descriptions on why you'd want each recommended camera or at least a link to a respectable review of it.

While I'll agree that Canon's mirrorless line sucks right now, there's no way the Rebel series is "terrible." That's an insane proclamation.
 

Lucis

Member
*Disclaimer, you can take great pics with any gear. That being said it is still necessary to understand the hardware we photographers use as tools, to find what suits you best.

These camera recommendations aren't good, the Canon Rebel series is terrible (the Rebel T5 is utter shit), probably the only one worth getting is the T6S if you already have the glass for it.
Recommending the Canon M series is also a big mistake, it's shit.
I would argue the D3300 besides its good sensor is also bad due to only one control dial despite its DSLR size.

Other inconsistencies include the broad categories, eg: GH4 is only worth it if you're also doing video. The J1 is terrible unless you know you need some of the more unique attributes of it, and again just throwing out the GM5 rec isn't useful because it's usefulness is contingent on wanting an ultra compact MILC...

Honestly OP it seems you don't know enough about Camera HW to be making suggestions, feel free to PM me I can give a revised list for those categories or something.
A good OP should include brief bullet points/descriptions on why you'd want each recommended camera or at least a link to a respectable review of it.

it's all personal pref,
I think all canon below 6d are shit, maybe with the exception of 7d2 for sports. then again not everyone would want to pay lots of $ to take pictures, not everyone take picture even care about pixel level detail/sharpness (most don't)
 

captive

Joe Six-Pack: posting for the common man
*Disclaimer, you can take great pics with any gear. That being said it is still necessary to understand the hardware we photographers use as tools, to find what suits you best.

These camera recommendations aren't good, the Canon Rebel series is terrible (the Rebel T5 is utter shit), probably the only one worth getting is the T6S if you already have the glass for it.
Recommending the Canon M series is also a big mistake, it's shit.
I would argue the D3300 besides its good sensor is also bad due to only one control dial despite its DSLR size.

Other inconsistencies include the broad categories, eg: GH4 is only worth it if you're also doing video. The J1 is terrible unless you know you need some of the more unique attributes of it, and again just throwing out the GM5 rec isn't useful because it's usefulness is contingent on wanting an ultra compact MILC...

Honestly OP it seems you don't know enough about Camera HW to be making suggestions, feel free to PM me I can give a revised list for those categories or something.
A good OP should include brief bullet points/descriptions on why you'd want each recommended camera or at least a link to a respectable review of it.
The camera recommendations are fine. I'm not sure how long you've been coming here, but this thread has existed for a long ass time (so much so its the second iteration) and we get questions about medium format all the way down to point and shoots. The idea being that different people want different things from their cameras. Someone should do their own research to ultimately decide on a camera but if they have questions someone here might have already used cameras they are looking at and can speak to them.

This thread is also hardware agnostic, I know the OP was including models from all brands from Pro gear, to MILC to point and shoot, whether or not you would shoot with one of them is irrelevant, as is your opinion on specific cameras(until someone asks for an opinion on said camera). The Canon Rebel series for instance, is just fine for casual people, that want to take photos of their kids, in fact that's exactly what several of my friends bought when they had kids. They're never going to do anything with the cameras except photograph their kids, so the rebel series works fine for them. Another friend of mine that shoots with a D800, bought his wife a Nikon J1 or whatever it is, and she loves it, its small enough to fit in her small purse just fine and takes good enough photos of her kids.
 

giga

Member
book is pretty useless...
just go out and shoot
...
and learn some basic post process
This advice is pretty useless. Novices who just go out and shoot will be stuck in auto and will never know how to properly expose. Practicing is important, but so is instruction. The two go hand in hand.
 

Risible

Member
it's all personal pref,
I think all canon below 6d are shit, maybe with the exception of 7d2 for sports. then again not everyone would want to pay lots of $ to take pictures, not everyone take picture even care about pixel level detail/sharpness (most don't)

Do you have a gallery of your work on the web?
 
This advice is pretty useless. Novices who just go out and shoot will be stuck in auto and will never know how to properly expose. Practicing is important, but so is instruction. The two go hand in hand.
Watching vids on YouTube helps a lot too. I never bought a book and I've never really touched auto outside of a couple of desperation shots, which might not have been good any way. I'm mainly in aperture priority or manual depending on what I'm doing. Pretty much as long as you learn from your fuck ups and figure out why you fucked up and learn how to fix your fuck up you should be ok. Granted most casual people probably don't come on here for advice or watch a bunch of photography videos so I can see why a book would be needed as well.
 
Good recommendations, what we could do is make a nice table with pictures and stuff. It looks a little barren now :)

My advice to beginners is usually a D3300 (body only) and the DX 35mm 1.8. This gives you more creative room with subject isolation and very sharp results. The image quality/price ratio is very good in my opinion.
 

wachie

Member
Bought a A6000 over boxing day for ~560. Looking for a prime, hopefully one of the budget Sigmas.

Any other recommendations?
 
Anyone had experience with the Canon 100-400l? Looking to nab one later this year, just unsure of the sharpness out of camera with that zoom range.
 

Syncytia

Member
Bought a A6000 over boxing day for ~560. Looking for a prime, hopefully one of the budget Sigmas.

Any other recommendations?

The Sigmas are great, I don't have the 60mm though. The 30mm is supposed to be one of the best lenses for E mount. Check out Rokinon/Samyang as well if you need an ultra wide angle lens. I really like my 12mm and it's priced well. It's full manual but don't let that scare you, turn on focus peaking and it's really easy to focus. The sigmas are quite a bit smaller if that's a concern.

And for fun to experiment with look into an M43 adapter and get an old lens or two off eBay.
 
Good recommendations, what we could do is make a nice table with pictures and stuff. It looks a little barren now :)

My advice to beginners is usually a D3300 (body only) and the DX 35mm 1.8. This gives you more creative room with subject isolation and very sharp results. The image quality/price ratio is very good in my opinion.
I started with a decent bridge camera and went to a 7100. For some odd reason I have trouble saying get a dslr first for beginners but that's just me. Granted some bridge cameras are actually pretty good but I swear they cost more than my camera, which was refurbished.
 

Rktk

Member
I enjoy using film in my Olympus OM-2n with a Zuiko OM 50mm 1.4. While the whole getting it processed and scanned is a hassle, using film really gets you to take time with your shots and the lens is fantastic. In fact many people use the Zuiko OM lenses with adapters for modern DSLRs, apart from being fantastic they are a cost effective way of getting a very fast lens.

D800-Zuiko.jpg
 

giga

Member
Watching vids on YouTube helps a lot too. I never bought a book and I've never really touched auto outside of a couple of desperation shots, which might not have been good any way. I'm mainly in aperture priority or manual depending on what I'm doing. Pretty much as long as you learn from your fuck ups and figure out why you fucked up and learn how to fix your fuck up you should be ok. Granted most casual people probably don't come on here for advice or watch a bunch of photography videos so I can see why a book would be needed as well.
Sure, videos are great too. The point is that instruction, in whatever form, is necessary rather than just going in blindly and never knowing proper technique.
 

wachie

Member
The Sigmas are great, I don't have the 60mm though. The 30mm is supposed to be one of the best lenses for E mount. Check out Rokinon/Samyang as well if you need an ultra wide angle lens. I really like my 12mm and it's priced well. It's full manual but don't let that scare you, turn on focus peaking and it's really easy to focus. The sigmas are quite a bit smaller if that's a concern.

And for fun to experiment with look into an M43 adapter and get an old lens or two off eBay.
Much appreciated.

I've seen some real cheap chinese (manual) lenses on eBay too, has anyone tried those?
 
Is a Canon EOS XTi Rebel still decent for photography? I don't have any experience, but I'd like to try it and a photographer friend is offering to sell me his with the 18-55mm zoom lens and 75-300mm one for $300, which I'm willing to pay for an entry camera. I've done my research and the camera's ten years old, which makes me wary, but newer models are much more expensive. Should I bite?
 

Zoille

Member
I am surprised to see 2 Pentax cameras in the recommandations, a few years ago, people would have dismissed them without a second look at them.
I have been a Pentax for 8 years now and got a K-3 myself. Since Ricoh bought the brand, terrific progresses have been made.
 
Is a Canon EOS XTi Rebel still decent for photography? I don't have any experience, but I'd like to try it and a photographer friend is offering to sell me his with the 18-55mm zoom lens and 75-300mm one for $300, which I'm willing to pay for an entry camera. I've done my research and the camera's ten years old, which makes me wary, but newer models are much more expensive. Should I bite?

I wouldn't, it really is an old camera. The sensors got a lot better in 10 years. Of course you can still make good pictures with it, but I think for $300 you can get something better. And instead of the 75-300mm I would look for a fast prime lens later on as a second lens.

For $349 you could get a refurbished D3200 with the kit lens, just as an example
 

Oppo

Member
I am surprised to see 2 Pentax cameras in the recommandations, a few years ago, people would have dismissed them without a second look at them.
I have been a Pentax for 8 years now and got a K-3 myself. Since Ricoh bought the brand, terrific progresses have been made.

That's what I have. Amazing camera.

Wife got me a prime lens for my birthday, f1.8, thing shoots in the dark. Love it.

I have the silver limited edition K-3, it gets a lot of attention from other photogs, and I love being able to shoot in the rain since it's all weather sealed.
 
Good recommendations, what we could do is make a nice table with pictures and stuff. It looks a little barren now :)

My advice to beginners is usually a D3300 (body only) and the DX 35mm 1.8. This gives you more creative room with subject isolation and very sharp results. The image quality/price ratio is very good in my opinion.

Agreed on the D3300.

I'm currently using a D3200 along with a bunch of vintage glass and I get paid salary to sit around and press a button. :p

You can bitch about cameras being utter shit, or having one control dial or whatever but at the end of the day that doesn't matter. It really is about knowing what to do with your gear. If all you're doing is blaming your gear for being utter shit, then you ain't doing it right.
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
A7 w/ Zeiss C/Y 50 1.4 (wide open) @ ISO5000


Better quality file. I've finessed it in post, and obviously black and white masks noise better but there's a good amount of detail from both the sensor and the lens. The A7 is such an amazing bargain, used. All this night shooting has me eyeing the A7II though with the IBIS.
 
I wouldn't, it really is an old camera. The sensors got a lot better in 10 years. Of course you can still make good pictures with it, but I think for $300 you can get something better. And instead of the 75-300mm I would look for a fast prime lens later on as a second lens.

For $349 you could get a refurbished D3200 with the kit lens, just as an example

Thanks for the advice. After further research, I think I'll wait a little longer and pick up a D3300.
 

RuGalz

Member
I am surprised to see 2 Pentax cameras in the recommandations, a few years ago, people would have dismissed them without a second look at them.
I have been a Pentax for 8 years now and got a K-3 myself. Since Ricoh bought the brand, terrific progresses have been made.

That's what I have. Amazing camera.

Wife got me a prime lens for my birthday, f1.8, thing shoots in the dark. Love it.

I have the silver limited edition K-3, it gets a lot of attention from other photogs, and I love being able to shoot in the rain since it's all weather sealed.

Ricoh really just needs to get them into hands of more people. The ergonomics is unbeatable and the green button workflow just makes too much sense. Too bad the market is already transitioning to MILC and it will take them a while to even think about getting into that market, which makes the chance of physical stores carrying their products that much more difficult. I'm currently rocking a K-3 as well but I really hope they will come out with a K-S2 with top LCD (i.e. K-3 in more plastic body). Then the total weight and size of my gear wouldn't be that much heavier/larger than Fuji/Sony that I have my eyes on; then I wouldn't have a reason to look. :p
 

Herbs

Banned
book is pretty useless...
just go out and shoot
...
and learn some basic post process

Anyone coming in here ignore this worthless advice.

Understanding Exposure should be required reading for beginners.

Also, just ignore anyone who shit talks certain gear. They're pretty worthless too. Each and every piece of equipment regardless of manufacturer has pros and cons. Anyone who touts otherwise is an asshole.
 
Bought a A6000 over boxing day for ~560. Looking for a prime, hopefully one of the budget Sigmas.

Any other recommendations?

If you're fine with MF, take a look at some vintage lenses or Samyang lenses (VERY good lenses for the money, and will go with you to full frame if you ever do).
 

Aurongel

Member
If you're fine with MF, take a look at some vintage lenses or Samyang lenses (VERY good lenses for the money, and will go with you to full frame if you ever do).
Do Samyang lenses have any electronics in them to report EXIF data to the camera processor? How do they work in aperture priority?
 

Ty4on

Member
Do Samyang lenses have any electronics in them to report EXIF data to the camera processor? How do they work in aperture priority?
On Nikon and Pentax they support automatic aperture control by the body (like a normal lens). On Canon they're fully manual with zero connections. There the aperture will always move with the ring so you'll get a dim viewfinder stopped down.
 
If you're fine with MF, take a look at some vintage lenses or Samyang lenses (VERY good lenses for the money, and will go with you to full frame if you ever do).

This is not specifically true. Several Samyang lenses are APS-C specifc and you'd be forced to use crop mode on a full frame.

This is something I wish I had realized before buying the 8mm f2.8 fisheye. I love the lens for shooting star photos, but you'd shoot in crop mode with an A7, or would require significant physical modifications of the lens itself to use well (http://www.panotwins.de/technical/i...-8mm-fisheye-lens-attached-to-sony-a7-ilce-7/).
 

f0lken

Member
Nice to see this thread, I hope to be more active here than I ever was in the previous ones.

So, what kind of bag do everyone use? Mine was a regular school like backpack, I only had a mini bag for the camera which went inside the big one, but is damaged so I need to replace it, the problem is I don't really like most camera backpacks, specially because they are made like to announce "Hey, there is expensive equipment here, come and steal it", I was thinking in buying this, but I'd like to see yours and maybe change my mind.

http://www.amazon.com.mx/Evecase-88...qid=1451772469&sr=8-6&keywords=mochila+camara
 

NysGAF

Member
Is a Canon EOS XTi Rebel still decent for photography? I don't have any experience, but I'd like to try it and a photographer friend is offering to sell me his with the 18-55mm zoom lens and 75-300mm one for $300, which I'm willing to pay for an entry camera. I've done my research and the camera's ten years old, which makes me wary, but newer models are much more expensive. Should I bite?

I had an XTi until recently. Look at my photostream. Pretty much everything before October 24, 2015 was shot with my XTi. It taught me a lot, including how aperture, ISO, and shutter speed effect the results of a shot. However, I do agree that for $300 you could find something better.
 
This is not specifically true. Several Samyang lenses are APS-C specifc and you'd be forced to use crop mode on a full frame.

This is something I wish I had realized before buying the 8mm f2.8 fisheye. I love the lens for shooting star photos, but you'd shoot in crop mode with an A7, or would require significant physical modifications of the lens itself to use well (http://www.panotwins.de/technical/i...-8mm-fisheye-lens-attached-to-sony-a7-ilce-7/).
You are correct. Many of their lenses are full frame compatible (more than not), and with the exception of their new 50mm 1.2, I think every focal length that a person just picking up their camera would be interested would be full frame compatible.

Do Samyang lenses have any electronics in them to report EXIF data to the camera processor? How do they work in aperture priority?

The camera won't even know there's a lens attached to it. In a lot of ways it's just like using an old lens, except, well, it's not old. Newer coatings, not used, etc. I think the Canon and Nikon version have some form of electronics on them, though I think it's just to turn on focus confirm.
 

FStop7

Banned
I wasn't originally planning to but I just sold my color Leica (M240). The reds were always a bit strong but that was okay. What I got tired of was the banding noise and ugly green cast beyond ISO 3200. The next generation M is likely coming this fall so now was the time to sell.

I mentioned in the last thread I got the Monochrom 246. It's a completely different experience. It's usable all the way to ISO 12,500. At ISO 6400 it looks like beautiful film grain. It's amazing.

But I need a color option. Preferably one that works well with my M mount lenses. I think it's going to be a used A7S. The high ISO performance is one reason why. The other reason is S-Log. I want to try color grading some 4k video with LUTs or Davinci Resolve and then print stills from it.

I also have an Epson P800 on the way. B&H had a $350 rebate that was ending on New Year's Eve, so I went ahead and ordered it.
 

itwasTuesday

He wasn't alone.
Nice to see this thread, I hope to be more active here than I ever was in the previous ones.

So, what kind of bag do everyone use? Mine was a regular school like backpack, I only had a mini bag for the camera which went inside the big one, but is damaged so I need to replace it, the problem is I don't really like most camera backpacks, specially because they are made like to announce "Hey, there is expensive equipment here, come and steal it", I was thinking in buying this, but I'd like to see yours and maybe change my mind.

http://www.amazon.com.mx/Evecase-88...qid=1451772469&sr=8-6&keywords=mochila+camara

Did you mean to link to a $1200 dollar bag?, or I guess that's like 70 usd. never mind
I think it looks like a techie laptop bag though.

Anyway,
LXgiv2i.jpg

Cannon camera bag, Tamrac small single body, Amazon basics laptop bag, and a shure hardcase for audio junk. I try to stay light when I can.
 

kabel

Member
I bought a D3300 3 weeks ago and it's my first DSLR. I love it!
After reading up on exposure time, ISO, etc. it's really great to shoot with.

A picture from new year's eve.
 

Tablo

Member
While I'll agree that Canon's mirrorless line sucks right now, there's no way the Rebel series is "terrible." That's an insane proclamation.
Outdated sensors (up till the newest series where it's somewhat better), bad OVFs, no AF microadjust (same problem with the low end Nikons), and only the T6S has two control wheels...
If you want to recommend them for people to use as point and shoots to photograph their kids sure, then make a category for that and lump that and the Nikon D3XXX in there too!
The camera recommendations are fine. I'm not sure how long you've been coming here, but this thread has existed for a long ass time (so much so its the second iteration) and we get questions about medium format all the way down to point and shoots. The idea being that different people want different things from their cameras. Someone should do their own research to ultimately decide on a camera but if they have questions someone here might have already used cameras they are looking at and can speak to them.

This thread is also hardware agnostic, I know the OP was including models from all brands from Pro gear, to MILC to point and shoot, whether or not you would shoot with one of them is irrelevant, as is your opinion on specific cameras(until someone asks for an opinion on said camera). The Canon Rebel series for instance, is just fine for casual people, that want to take photos of their kids, in fact that's exactly what several of my friends bought when they had kids. They're never going to do anything with the cameras except photograph their kids, so the rebel series works fine for them. Another friend of mine that shoots with a D800, bought his wife a Nikon J1 or whatever it is, and she loves it, its small enough to fit in her small purse just fine and takes good enough photos of her kids.
I've kept up with the old thread for a long time, see above for my thoughts on the Rebel line, put them in a "glorified parental point and shoot category." I do like the most recent Rebels though, a pretty good step forward for Canon.
And yeah the J1 is usable, just probably better off with an RX100/etc.
Again any of these tools can be useful, I just hold the position that the entry level Canikon offerings are bad and only sell at BestBuy and the like by the boatload due to good marketing/mindshare and the mostly BS idea that "oh my lenses etc will work if I ever go to a higher end Canon/Nikon", which mostly never pans out, add to that the fact that many owners of the entry levels never even invest in expensive glass so that justification is even less relevant!

Once Canon updates their higher end offerings with better sensors I'll be thrilled because otherwise they have great ergonomics, accessories, autofocus, fantastic lenses, support etc.
Nikon D5500 and above is very good too.

The Pentax K50/KS2 is the best entry level DSLR there is, great value primes/ WR kit zooms, body is sealed and has two control wheels and good ergonomics, AF micro adjust, and a real pentaprism OVF, not to mention IBIS as an added perk. Of course it has shit video, so there's that, but I assume people should know if they want to take photos or take videos with their camera.
 

oatmeal

Banned
I'm currently running the Red Scarlet for most things (a c100 as well) and am the first in line for a Red Raven but am troubled as to whether I want to pull my deposit and move it to the Scarlet-Weapon or not.
 
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