A colleague of mine is looking to buy his first camera. I recommend a Fujifilm X100F in used market but i really want to ask the community what would they recommend for someone who would like a lighter built, easy to travel with, fast enough to capture children and must have wifi and can vlogging. I don't think he should be spending more than $1k on his first camera. Also, I have phased out DSLRS as they are huge and heavy. I was thinking that he should get a camera body with lens attached but if you are recommending just body than please recommend a lens to go with it. Please do not recommend a phone as he is not interested in buying a new phone.
Best First Camera for Family Portraits and General Photography
whatswrongwithya on 08/04/2022 - 07:44
Last edited 08/04/2022 - 09:39
Last edited 08/04/2022 - 09:39
Comments
iPhone Pro is a pretty good camera. You can't trigger external strobes with it though, so if you're serious about photography you will want a micro 4/3 and a trigger for strobe lights.
If your colleague is new to the camera game, it might be better to start him with a compact camera such as the RX100. Very small/portable, good image quality, fast F1.8 lens and many other features. I had the MkII many years ago and really enjoyed it for the above usage. He can always sell it if he decides to up his game one day.
How about a G7x Mark 2/3 or M6?
I haven't used those so I can't say. I'm sure they are also good choices though.
I strongly recommend your colleague to shortlist cameras that fit his budget & requirements and check reviews for any red flags.Rant: Too many times I see people buy ICL cameras with kit lenses and never bothering with different lenses. If that is the case, they might as well stick with fixed lens compacts and enjoy the better portability.
I have a X100F - I don’t really find the interface as intuitive as Canon or Sony cameras. It is simple and it is a great travel camera. The colours and in built filters are nice. Make sure the operator is aware that it it doesn’t zoom and the lens can’t be changed.
Alternatively, I think a 200Dii would be an option for its versatility and ease of use.
EDIT: plenty of prime lenses available too
a lighter built, easy to travel with, fast enough to capture children
Sounds like he's not carrying professional gear like tripods, external flashes and just wants to be able to take nice pictures of his family, particularly the kids when they're running around.
For this he wants a good quality mobile phone camera. Nothing beats the portability, quick access and post processing of a modern Samsung or iPhone. By the time you reach for your Compact camera, turn it on, focus it, and potentially configure settings the moment may be gone. Instead he could have taken 25 mobile phone photos in the same time.
If he doesn't have an S21 or iPhone 13 Pro just tell him to buy that. There's a reason mid range cameras are hardly sold anymore. Just look at the Apple "Shot on iPhone" ads.
He is not interested in upgrading to a new phone and secondly the phone techs is updated every year. a camera with interchangeable lens will do just fine or something like X100T or X100F perhaps.
secondly the phone techs is updated every year.
So you get better photos time and time again rather than being stuck with 2022 tech for multiple years?
I have a Sony RX-100 and on my recent trip to USA I took about 30 photos on it compared to thousands on my 13 pro.
If he wants small, light and fun to use then can't go wrong with X100F. As long as he is happy with a prime lens. I know some people don't like the Fuji menus but the physical controls for the main things are so easy to use, especially coming from a Canon DSLR.
I've got an X100S which is a little old now. The autofocus sucks for children. Newer models are much better.
I feel like the X100 series are overpriced at the moment, new or secondhand. Depends if you get a good deal I guess.
If somebody wants to buy their first 'camera', then I think it should probably have very usable manual controls (think, at least a dial front and back is good for aperture and shutter control on the fly). If you're not planning on learning the foundations of exposure, then I don't see why you wouldn't just stick with a premium smartphone. Of course you'll still get a quality bump when using decent glass on a bigger sensor than a phone, though phones are heavy on computation to make up some of the difference.
A used Olympus E-M1 (ii or iii), whilst not up to the standard of the Sony tracking in recent bodies, will give the tracking for kids and a small size (heaps of them coming up on eBay with owners now upgrading to the OM-1). Sony is another great option particularly when there's good refurb deals, but my experience with AF/Tracking on the original A7 is lacklustre (shame, as it's still a great compact body, and refurbs were recently available around $500) - subsequent A7 models have improved on the AF with each release.
Fujifilm has bodies for the ultimate in manual control of course, with many of their models having old fashioned dials for ISO and shutter speed - this is an awesome setup in my opinion, though I've actually never laid hands on one. The Fujifilm tracking is supposed to be getting pretty good?
…and…prime lenses are the go. As somebody mentioned, kit zooms are usually ordinary (though some newer designs might make a lie of that statement).
But thought really needs to be given to phone vs real camera. No point doing the real camera thing unless there's a desire to go in a little deeper than one would with a phone.
I cannot believe we've gone through multiple iterations of X100 and it SITLL doesnt have IBIS.
Imo fast moving subjects really do benefit from real I/S.
It works be nice but its only a 35mm eqv lens and it is designed to be small and light.
If size matters, then got the longest lens! The Nikon P1000 will break the distance limits if you calculate Paparazi dollors.
Portraits are pieces of art. A camera normally freezes a moment in time. There are very nice pieces of well built cameras that turn the visible electromecnetic spectrum into numbers and store it in a file. Then the hard work begins: Lightroom and millions of clicks with a mouse. Just like nobody has ever created a piece of art at the end of the day who is going to applaud you?Just watch the right youtubes on how to create the Bokeh that Artists dream to surround a portrait. The hardware becomes insignificant!
X-S10 is probably the best value entry/mid level camera around. That or the E-M10 IV or E-M5 III if you want to go MFT
Also for most people I think they would want a camera that has a really good "auto" mode. All the other settings are great and all, but I think most people just use the auto mode at the end of the day, maybe playing around with the semi-auto settings sometimes.
Maybe the sony zv-e1 that will be good for vlogging and selfies it isn’t weather sealed like the a6xxx but it’s lighter and has better mic. I’d recommend the zve10 but not any budget left for lenses with a 1k limit.
The problem is the stock lenses that come with your typical go-to APSC camera are pretty crap IMO
Personally I'd start off with something in the Sony A6X00 series (perhaps not as old as the A6000 itself though) but I'm a Sony fanboi
Lenses - sky is the limit and there's pros and cons for whether to get a good zoom or go primes