Camera Suggestion $500-$800 (Travel/Landscape Photography) - Mirror less/DSLR

Zurog on 23/07/2018 - 20:12
Last edited 23/07/2018 - 20:13

Hey Guys,

I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with choice and am looking for some suggestions about my first digital camera purchase before my Japan trip at the end of the year. My primary uses for the camera will likely be Travel/Landscape photography with a budget of around $500-$800, looking to buy something second hand (Gumtree/Ebay) if that's a lot more cost effective. I've heard mirrorless is now a great choice that fits into this niche, what are your thoughts on this?

I also understand that the lenses used are more important than the camera itself. For an amateur such as myself should I just start with a kit lens and go from there or use something else?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • nakahanap on 23/07/2018 - 21:28

    I have a dslr (nikon d3300) which I use for travel photography. It was, at the time of purchase, their entry level dslr. It came with a kit lens (18-55mm). I later bought a zoom lens because I like taking some long distance shots. As it's entry level it is not a full frame camera but it is lighter in weight and also lighter than a canon.

    However…if I upgrade the camera body at any point, I would probably upgrade the lenses. The old body wouldn't benefit from the features of the newer or higher price point lenses. The newer body may not have the right connector for the old ones and the quality of the shot wouldn't be quite as good. Older lenses are also considerably heavier. Essentially…get the lens that matches the camera level.

    Personally, I would have probably looked into a 18-200 lens (or similar) instead of the 55-300 to eliminate having to carry more gear in a travelling sense in hindsight. The kit lens is fairly good for using on a trip, though. Some camera deals come with two kit lenses.

    I bought mine after playing with a friend's dslr and getting an idea of what I wanted. We share lenses sometimes, too, which is a bonus.

    • Randxyz123 on 23/07/2018 - 22:38
      +1

      This or a RX100 MK3 or ideally 4

      • Zurog on 24/07/2018 - 18:13

        Thanks for the suggestion

  • zaddaz on 23/07/2018 - 22:43
    +1

    Are you going to actually going to change lenses between photos or really will you just use 1 lens all day.

    If just 1 lens, look at a fixed lens camera (with 1 inch sensor) -eg. used sony rx100, panasonic lx10, tz200
    They are much smaller and lighter, have a similar photo quality, even in low light (compared to kit lens), and some have superzoom.
    They have full manual controls -learn to use some of them. And RAW -needing to spend time at home manually processing and optimising them.

    The advantage of mirrorless is better manual handling (bigger and more buttons), able to use specialty lenses, and easier to achieve blurred backgrounds.

  • TheBilly on 24/07/2018 - 08:50

    Nikon D3400 … Very good entry level, I think if your requirements surpass this camera at one stage in the future, you wont be needing to ask people for advice. This is the equal best entry point with the canon equivalent. Also in this range the best advice I got was from a youtube video which said, purchase either the canon or nikon but go with whatever most of your friends use. That way you can swap and borrow lenses if required.

  • chrisd82 on 25/07/2018 - 02:29

    For travel and second hand I'd be looking at Sony RX100 IV or V at the price range if image quality/performance from a small cameras is most important. If doing a lot of outdoor activities I'd probably go towards the Olympus TG5 as you can use it almost anywhere to get those creative angles and shots without worrying about your camera. I've broken two RX100's on my past overseas trips. I do carry a Canon 5Dm3 on those trips too for diving/photoshoots but RX100 or TG5 or S7 phone end up taking the bulk of the trip images out of convenience. Also carrying large camera gear everywhere and being flashy paints a large target on you to be taken advantage of or robbed.

    • elektron on 11/09/2018 - 16:42

      I know this is a relatively old thread but I'm just curious why you're recommending the RX100 IV or V for photography and not video? Wouldn't going beyond mark III be getting into the territory of significantly diminishing returns?

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