Photographers - help!
- Thread starter Jake
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This is the camera I have now, bought it when they first came out so it's quite old. If you can find a used kit with low shutter count, I reckon it'd be a very good buy. Full frame sensor, 21megapixels (plenty for larger prints, and good quality pixels as they're on a large sensor). The kit will come with a good zoom lens, 24 - 105mm.
I've not bought from this company but they look decent (not checked reviews, but considered buying from them in the past).
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii
I should have added - it's easier to use than the smaller SLRs that use fewer physical controls, instead having multi-function buttons that require you to remember sequences and locations more. My daughter was doing the same two years ago and she seemed to get along well with it. Much better to use than a new slr of the same price, I think.
I've not bought from this company but they look decent (not checked reviews, but considered buying from them in the past).
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii
I should have added - it's easier to use than the smaller SLRs that use fewer physical controls, instead having multi-function buttons that require you to remember sequences and locations more. My daughter was doing the same two years ago and she seemed to get along well with it. Much better to use than a new slr of the same price, I think.
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I carried a camera a lot when I travelled abroad for work 2010 through 2017.
It was a professional standard DSLR - Nikon D800.
A camera that retailed around £2300 for the body alone is now worth maybe £500 out of date and used, but still excellent. It has 80% of it's life left and they are readily available.
Professional grade lenses to match run £1000 to £1500 apiece new. You don't actually need a lot of them. A working photographer might get by with a 24-70 wide angle zoom plus a 70-210mm telephoto zoom, and the 24-70 is the more useful of those.
For a student and a family on a budget, I would say buy used. Older tech is still amazingly high quality and photo gear tends to depreciate hard once you are a couple of generations behind the latest models.
What cameras like mine have that amateur stuff may not is many years experience of the needs of working professionals, so gear is solid and ergonomics designed to let you do complex things fast while shooting without having to stop and navigate around software menus.
Video may or may not be important to your boy's course. Older cameras are not so good at that. My DSLR only has HD 1080p grade video. Newer ones will have 4k, but whether this matters, you'll have to ask him. Professionally, video is done with video cameras but video on an SLR is a low cost accessible intro for student films.
It was a professional standard DSLR - Nikon D800.
A camera that retailed around £2300 for the body alone is now worth maybe £500 out of date and used, but still excellent. It has 80% of it's life left and they are readily available.
Professional grade lenses to match run £1000 to £1500 apiece new. You don't actually need a lot of them. A working photographer might get by with a 24-70 wide angle zoom plus a 70-210mm telephoto zoom, and the 24-70 is the more useful of those.
For a student and a family on a budget, I would say buy used. Older tech is still amazingly high quality and photo gear tends to depreciate hard once you are a couple of generations behind the latest models.
What cameras like mine have that amateur stuff may not is many years experience of the needs of working professionals, so gear is solid and ergonomics designed to let you do complex things fast while shooting without having to stop and navigate around software menus.
Video may or may not be important to your boy's course. Older cameras are not so good at that. My DSLR only has HD 1080p grade video. Newer ones will have 4k, but whether this matters, you'll have to ask him. Professionally, video is done with video cameras but video on an SLR is a low cost accessible intro for student films.
Have a look at canon 600d
@ London camera exchange
@ London camera exchange
I will add:
For professional grade cameras, 100,000 shutter operations is a bit like 100,000 miles on a car.
Anything under 30k is not heavily used.
SLRs are a very mature technology, they are ending and the new tech that is on the rise have Electronic View Finders" EVFs. You pay much much more for a pro grade camera with this technology and cheaper ones aren't as good as the better SLR cameras with optical viewfinders.
More pixels means more detail and the ability to make large prints for exhibition. I suspect 20mpix is plenty but more can be nice to have.
You will hear the tems "full frame "and "crop sensor". Full frame means the camera has an optical sensor the same size as traditional 35mm negative. This is big and collects a lot of light for decent photos in dim conditions pr of moving objects. The cameras built around them are bigger and heavier. Crop sensors are physically smaller, gather less light but lead to a smaller and dlighter camera and lenses. It can be nice carrying a smaller lighter bag of gear.
Brands:
Canon and Nikon are the two traditional professional competitors. Each has it's fans.
Sony and Fuji make some great cameras but have a lesser professional history and market share.
There are other good cameras that will surely be good enough for an A level course.
For professional grade cameras, 100,000 shutter operations is a bit like 100,000 miles on a car.
Anything under 30k is not heavily used.
SLRs are a very mature technology, they are ending and the new tech that is on the rise have Electronic View Finders" EVFs. You pay much much more for a pro grade camera with this technology and cheaper ones aren't as good as the better SLR cameras with optical viewfinders.
More pixels means more detail and the ability to make large prints for exhibition. I suspect 20mpix is plenty but more can be nice to have.
You will hear the tems "full frame "and "crop sensor". Full frame means the camera has an optical sensor the same size as traditional 35mm negative. This is big and collects a lot of light for decent photos in dim conditions pr of moving objects. The cameras built around them are bigger and heavier. Crop sensors are physically smaller, gather less light but lead to a smaller and dlighter camera and lenses. It can be nice carrying a smaller lighter bag of gear.
Brands:
Canon and Nikon are the two traditional professional competitors. Each has it's fans.
Sony and Fuji make some great cameras but have a lesser professional history and market share.
There are other good cameras that will surely be good enough for an A level course.
Alternatively - I know the pic makes it look like a joke - would he like to borrow this for a couple of years? Despite the way it looks, it's a damn good camera for its age, and capable of great pictures (not mine, other people's). I'd clean it up and check it's working ok - it may surprise you but it's not been used in a while.
artie
Sawdust manufacturer.
Doesn't your son have any input. Is there something he prefers.
The camera matters little in photography provided that it is of good quality with a range of interchangeable lens
Be careful when buying from non camera shops
Artic,s post is something I have seen, if the shop is displaying the camera in the window without a lens fitted or a cap on the body then it could have a lot of dust and so on in the body
Artic,s post is something I have seen, if the shop is displaying the camera in the window without a lens fitted or a cap on the body then it could have a lot of dust and so on in the body
ajs
Established Member
I'd be tempted to give the college a ring and see what they say, you may need a call back when a suitable teacher is available. I be very surprised if they have said they need a DSLR. May be nice to have, if you're getting one this is what to look for, but needed? In general schools and colleges will provide the equipment needed especially when it probably means dropping a grand or more.
Hell I did a three year undergraduate course in computer science and didn't need a computer. We all had them of course but no real benefit except you could work away from the Uni. This was the late nineties, not the dark ages.
Hell I did a three year undergraduate course in computer science and didn't need a computer. We all had them of course but no real benefit except you could work away from the Uni. This was the late nineties, not the dark ages.
Amplidyne
Established Member
I'd also say to give the college a ring and see what they say.
You'll get almost as many answers to "which DSLR shall I buy" as there are types of camera.
Any of the major players will give good results. Canon. Nikon, Sony, Pentax, all have their good points.
Remember that a range of lenses to suit the camera will cost more than the body, and that they're not really interchangeable between types.
You'll get almost as many answers to "which DSLR shall I buy" as there are types of camera.
Any of the major players will give good results. Canon. Nikon, Sony, Pentax, all have their good points.
Remember that a range of lenses to suit the camera will cost more than the body, and that they're not really interchangeable between types.
Are you sure they state DSLR? The majority of cameras today are mirrorless. If it really is DSLR then Canon are a solid choice. If there is the option for mirrorless then Sony is the way to go. An important point to keep in mind is that lenses are more important than the camera body. There are also many good lenses to chose from.
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