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Help me buy a camera
Orca
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've decided my iPhone SE's pictures are just not cutting it anymore, so it's time to upgrade to a big boy camera. Since this is a first camera, I don't want to go all in on a full frame and a boatload of lenses I'll never use, so I figure I'll jump halfway in. 
Budget: around $2000 before shipping/tax, with generous wiggle room for the right arguments. Including a first set of lenses.
Types of photography I'm going to do (based on the photos I take with my iphone):
* Landscapes. Lots of landscapes. Either while skiing, hiking, driving (so behind glass), in a train (so still behind glass), or in an airplane (yeah, I'm that asshole with his nose stuck to the window clicking away)
* Wildlife
* Time lapses (I can't do this with an iphone and I have seen some shit that would have been so cool if I could have captured a time lapse of it...)
* Portraits
* Macro photography (fairly limited and uncommon...so far)
* Astrophotography (maybe. Eventually. I'd like to but I rarely overnight in areas with limited light pollution. Time for me to suck it up and start doing multi-day hikes? It's going to require some fairly specialized and expensive lenses too...and $1000 doesn't buy you a full frame sensor, which makes a big difference in this space)
Other requirements:
* Remote trigger (given the complaints I've read about Snap Bridge a physical IR remote is preferable)
* Weather sealing since I'll be taking it outdoors
Nice to haves that aren't deal-breakers:
* External Mic
* GPS support for tagging
* Decent video
I've tentatively gravitated towards Nikon due to the selection and quality of lenses and good color performance. It comes at a price though: the lowest-end camera they make with weather sealing is their high-end consumer D7500, which seems like a bit much for a first camera. But a refurbished one is $600, which seems reasonable.
If the D7500 isn't a terrible choice, I was thinking the following lenses given the kinds of things I want to do:
* 10-20mm f/3.5-5.6 VR for landscapes/cityscapes ($300)
* 35mm f/1.8 prime for when I want to get serious about composition or work in low light ($200)
* 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR for general purpose shooting or when I only want to use a single lens. ($600). Or should I just go for the 18-300? They're basically the same price, the same weight, and reviews indicate they're both good for what they are (covering an enormous range with reasonable quality and distortion that can be fixed on camera or in post).
Total including refurb body: $1800
Other options:
* 16-80mm f/2.8-4 VR lens for general purpose shooting, and has a moderately larger aperture than the above set allows for ($700).
* 35mm f/1.8 prime ($200)
* 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens for when I want to reach out and touch something ($400)
Total including refurb body: $2000
Unfortunately both sets have some overlap in the ranges handled.
But I may have gotten fixated on Nikon simply since it allows me to dig in on one of the half dozen major brands. Should I just back off, get an entry-level Pentax for the weather sealing and call it a day? A new K70 with an 18-135mm kit lens is just $800. Should I revisit this whole discussion after I've been using the Pentax for a year and am ready to drop the dough on a full frame sensor and some really nice optics?
Budget: around $2000 before shipping/tax, with generous wiggle room for the right arguments. Including a first set of lenses.
Types of photography I'm going to do (based on the photos I take with my iphone):
* Landscapes. Lots of landscapes. Either while skiing, hiking, driving (so behind glass), in a train (so still behind glass), or in an airplane (yeah, I'm that asshole with his nose stuck to the window clicking away)
* Wildlife
* Time lapses (I can't do this with an iphone and I have seen some shit that would have been so cool if I could have captured a time lapse of it...)
* Portraits
* Macro photography (fairly limited and uncommon...so far)
* Astrophotography (maybe. Eventually. I'd like to but I rarely overnight in areas with limited light pollution. Time for me to suck it up and start doing multi-day hikes? It's going to require some fairly specialized and expensive lenses too...and $1000 doesn't buy you a full frame sensor, which makes a big difference in this space)
Other requirements:
* Remote trigger (given the complaints I've read about Snap Bridge a physical IR remote is preferable)
* Weather sealing since I'll be taking it outdoors
Nice to haves that aren't deal-breakers:
* External Mic
* GPS support for tagging
* Decent video
I've tentatively gravitated towards Nikon due to the selection and quality of lenses and good color performance. It comes at a price though: the lowest-end camera they make with weather sealing is their high-end consumer D7500, which seems like a bit much for a first camera. But a refurbished one is $600, which seems reasonable.
If the D7500 isn't a terrible choice, I was thinking the following lenses given the kinds of things I want to do:
* 10-20mm f/3.5-5.6 VR for landscapes/cityscapes ($300)
* 35mm f/1.8 prime for when I want to get serious about composition or work in low light ($200)
* 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR for general purpose shooting or when I only want to use a single lens. ($600). Or should I just go for the 18-300? They're basically the same price, the same weight, and reviews indicate they're both good for what they are (covering an enormous range with reasonable quality and distortion that can be fixed on camera or in post).
Total including refurb body: $1800
Other options:
* 16-80mm f/2.8-4 VR lens for general purpose shooting, and has a moderately larger aperture than the above set allows for ($700).
* 35mm f/1.8 prime ($200)
* 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens for when I want to reach out and touch something ($400)
Total including refurb body: $2000
Unfortunately both sets have some overlap in the ranges handled.
But I may have gotten fixated on Nikon simply since it allows me to dig in on one of the half dozen major brands. Should I just back off, get an entry-level Pentax for the weather sealing and call it a day? A new K70 with an 18-135mm kit lens is just $800. Should I revisit this whole discussion after I've been using the Pentax for a year and am ready to drop the dough on a full frame sensor and some really nice optics?
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(the general question is "are you going hiking and taking photos as you hike, or are you going hiking _to take photos_?". If the former, then size/weight matter more than the latter, of course). I like having the ability to fit camera + wide-mid lens in one jacket pocket, have mid-tele lens in the other pocket, and get on with hiking without really noticing them too much.
One question -- are the lenses you're looking at weather-sealed, as well as the body?
The ONLY con I can think of is that Pentax autofocus lags a bit behind the other brands (not as fast, tends a hunt a bit, but spot-on once focus is attained). For your wildlife photography that means pre-focusing (which is what you should do anyway since the best AF in the world will never be 100% on the random movement of living beings). Or taking advantage of the catch-in-focus feature (you set a focus distance, press down on the shutter button, and the camera automatically takes a shot anytime something enters the pre-set AF range).
Color performance does not matter as much these days, since you can tweak the camera's color profile however you like your images. I have a "Nikon" preset on my Pentax to make it take more Nikon-y photos for friends who like that color profile.
My only upgrade path from here would probably be one of the full-frame mirrorless cameras (Sony a7iii...). But for full-frame you end up hauling so much weight in glass that it becomes taxing.
My most common day out lens setup is a 15, 20-40, and a 50-300. I leave the 50-300 at home if traveling light.
Also you are taking a bit step by going from a phone camera to a setup with separate lenses and all, nothing wrong with that except it is a big investment and maybe you should start with just the camera and then build from there and/or consider getting some of the gear 2nd hand - lots of people buy a lot gear yet never use it and lenses doesn't age that bad.
You get an industry standard (if a little on the older side) camera that has tons of options and upgrade options.
The best camera is the camera you have with you. Don't get something so heavy you'll only want to leave it at home.
Astro-photography alone would take your whole budget (and then some) if you want to get into that, unless you want to do a ton of post-processing/exposure stacking. If you want to do single-exposure stuff, you're looking at spending ~$1500 on just the mount, much less the glass.
That said again size and weight are huge factors. If you don't bring your camera it's worthless a 4/3 setup is nice and compact and has the benefit of being able to use full size lens with adapters
I would agree with all your points, but just one point of correction. The KP is APSC. Pentax's FF camera is the K-1.
It may even turn out that if you don't use it all the time, rental + insurance is a better route a few times a year.
you can get around first party lenses on the sony by getting an adapter. they work well
Just a tip. A 35mm on an A6300 gives you approximately 50mm. While it's the "standard" focal length, I've always found it a bit long for flexible work. Good for portraiture, but just doesn't cut it for landscapes and indoor shots. The fastest prime in the world won't do you any good when you just can't get far enough to get things in frame. A 20mm gives you closer to a regular human eye pov (30mm), maybe Sony's 20/2.8 pancake. From what I can find, your iPhone SE's focal length is 29mm, so the pancake might be more what you're used to seeing through. If you find you've always needed zoom on the phone, then maybe consider a longer focal length.
Or just get a good-ish somewhat compact zoom lens. Your family and friends will love you for not needing to constantly stop and swap lenses to get the shot.