Camera Info Thread

    Alright, so I finally have the dough to start getting into this whole photography stuff, which I've wanted to get into for awhile now. I've read through most of the polycount thread on this same topic in regards to what kind of body and lenses to choose etc, but there's a sh*t ton of info in there and I think maybe if you camera dudes on the core had some simple, to the point advice for people who want to get into photography about how they'd recommend picking their equipment, it might be a better resource than sifting through that entire pc thread.

    Reading through the pc thread again, didn't realize people are still posting in it, pretty much has all the info I (or anyone for that matter) need for starting out. Still, I always like hearing what you guys think so any general thoughts on photography and equipment would be nice to read.

    My advice would be to go to a shop and play around with the cameras yourself.


    To write down my recent experiences from the beginning of the year (though my considerations are probably different from yours): To my surprise I didn't really like any of the DSLR offering in the price range I was aiming at because they felt kinda flimsy in the hand and ended up going with a sony mirrorless offering as it had firmer feel with a metal body and the smaller form factor, which is quite important to me as well. But to be fair chances are it is not nearly as durable as low/mid level DSLR's when it gets run over by a bus or something. As a side note I also decided to go for Legacy lenses as they should offer better quality at considerably lower cost but compromising the ease of use (should have started 3 years ago as old glass is getting more expensive by the minute). Kinda happy thus far, but there are several caveats and I am just getting started.

    What seir said, if you don't know the answer to this, then you really can't go wrong with any manufacturer today, canon, sony, nikon, pentax etc - they are all fantastic and as good as each other until you enter the realm of high end pro.


    my advise for equipment is to buy something with interchangeable lens options, so a mirrorless system or dslr - they start from about £300 including a kit lens.

    Quote from 2d-chris

    What seir said, if you don't know the answer to this, then you really can't go wrong with any manufacturer today, canon, sony, nikon, pentax etc - they are all fantastic and as good as each other until you enter the realm of high end pro.


    my advise for equipment is to buy something with interchangeable lens options, so a mirrorless system or dslr - they start from about £300 including a kit lens.


    Yeah, that's kind of the conclusion I came to, Chris. My main concern is getting a body that won't (hopefully) box me in as far as lens options go if my interests in photography grow after I get my first camera.


    EQ gave me some advice on the pc thread: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost…6&postcount=547


    Still a toss up on if I should go with the cheaper body, such as the t2i and get a few lenses such as EQ said or go with a mirrorless system as he's also suggested. I think I'm heavily leaning toward the mirrorless at the moment.


    Getting a decent body with a decent prime 25mm/1.8 (50mm) to start off with seems really appealing to me.

    get a sony mirrorless they are brilliant, don't get too hung up over the long term investment if your just getting into it, give it a try with something cheap and then make the jump up to serious gear if your really into it.


    if you have some cash to burn, then yeah a decent body and a prime lens is a good choice, but I'd prob get a zoomy kit lens if I was just starting just so you have something to play around with, I shoot pretty much only primes now but that's because I set out looking for specific things.


    Now this new sony has me very excited, it hits a serious sweet spot for value and performance + lens options http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/in…e-6000-body-kit


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    11 fps with continuous auto focus tracking? jesus that's canon 1dx territory

    That a6000 looks pretty interesting and with their 35mm/1.8 e mount, it'd come in at about $1100, which I have. I actually have enough to get the zoom kit and the prime... I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy the gear, otherwise I'm going to be researching forever.

    Quote from 2d-chris

    don't get too hung up over the long term investment if your just getting into it, give it a try with something cheap and then make the jump up to serious gear if your really into it.


    This is really true. Worrying about making an investment in a piece of consumer-grade equipment like this is a mistake. New equipment comes out all the time and there's not much of a resale value for this sort of thing because the market is already saturated with used equipment so you're not going to get much back if you decide to upgrade and want to sell your old equipment. If you choose to invest in some more professional equipment later down the line the investment becomes more of an issue but I wouldn't bother until you figure out you enjoy this sort of thing and actually need a higher tier of equipment. I second going for something cheap(er); you can spend a lot of money on expensive equipment but it's not going to make your photos any better and even the lower-grade cameras nowadays are really amazing.

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