Starter Cameras for Under $1,000

[nicklmg]

Thanks to B&H for sponsoring this video, check them out here! http://bhpho.to/25LXoYx 

 

Here are links to some of the gear shown in the video:

 

Canon EOS Rebel T6i
http://bhpho.to/1ozQTGo 

 

Sony DSC RX-100 
http://bhpho.to/1XfwIcK 

 

Panasonic G7

http://bhpho.to/1RVrjY0

 

Canon EF 50mm Lens
http://bhpho.to/1UU8Zl2 

 

Fujifilm X70
http://bhpho.to/1V7ELKF 

 

So it's 2016 and camera tech is constantly improving - what can you pick up today under $1000? 

 

 

[HelplmChoking]

Perfectly synced with tonight's Vessel release  nice

[desertcomputer]

Where is the panasonic G7 link btw?

[nicklmg]

11 minutes ago, MrUnknownEMC said:

Where is the panasonic G7 link btw?

Great question...

I added it now. I wasn't the one who created the links today and tbh I didn't even notice! Good catch.

[SafiMajid]

Why aren't there no adapters to F mounts?
F lens to EF mount is available but no adapter for F mounts.
Are Nikons compatible with F lenses only?

[ShadowCaptain]

39 minutes ago, SafiMajid said:

Why aren't there no adapters to F mounts?
F lens to EF mount is available but no adapter for F mounts.
Are Nikons compatible with F lenses only?

 

There are, what are you trying to adapt F lenses to?

Depending on the camera it might not be possible depending on the flange distance

[YT2002]

Great video from Brandon! I use the G7 myself, it's a great camera

[LeapFrogMasterRace]

Why no d3300

[Razor512]

The RX100 mk 4 is an overall bad deal considering its image quality. anything above 400ISO lacks fine detail. It is a bad low light camera, and lacks the ISO range needed to freeze motion in moderate to good lighting, where speeds like 1/100s is not good enough.

 

To make matters worst, it is more expensive than many larger APS-C sensor cameras, including the cost of a lens.

 

For example, for less money than the RX100 IV, you can get the Sony A6000 body in addition to the Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS Lens. The A6000 may be an older camera now, but it offers better quality and better low light performance than the T6i.

 

While the G7 is not listed on DXO yet, it uses the same sensor as the GH4, so the comparison will still be fairly close.

 

http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Canon-EOS-750D-versus-Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-GH4-versus-Sony-A6000___1010_943_942

 

If you are okay with a slightly larger size, you can get the Nikon D5500 + Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM (Constant 2.8) for a total of $868 This leaves enough money left over for a top end SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB card all for less money than the Sony RX100 IV.

[pyrojoe34]

Why haven't recent videos been coming out in 4k? I've noticed the last week or so have all been 1080p?

 

Related to the video: I kinda wish we could get a GoPro camera/sensor in a package that supports interchangeable lenses. The Hero 5 [should] have 4k/60 and 1080p/240 which would be really nice in a tiny package if it could be used for anything other than POV. I don't have a "real" camera and wouldn't want a heavy, fragile DSLR in my pack during my shoots, so I shoot everything on my channel with a GoPro which really limits my shot options. If I could have a camera that works well for both POV and zoom shots, still be able to crash with it and not worry about water damage in the snow, and be light enough to not take too much room or weight in my pack, that would awesome.

[Evanair]

25 minutes ago, pyrojoe34 said:

Related to the video: I kinda wish we could get a GoPro camera/sensor in a package that supports interchangeable lenses.

Do you mean something like this?

 

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicmicrocinemacamera

[pyrojoe34]

36 minutes ago, Evanair said:

Do you mean something like this?

 

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicmicrocinemacamera

Yes, actually... except a 4k/60 and 1080p/240 capable sensor/processor and at the $500 GoPro price point.... although I do like that this camera has professional bitrates (and codecs) much higher than the GoPro, I couldn't justify spending $900 on a 1080p/60 camera as a "hobbyist", and still have to buy lenses.

 

To be honest though, if my videos are just for streaming anyway, there's not much need for me to have 60MB/s bitrates. The 60Mbps of the Hero 4 is just fine (even the 45Mbps of my 3+ is acceptable) for YT, and I'm sure the 5 will have 100+Mbps.

 

I wonder if it'd be possible to use some optical "magic" to clamp a lens adapter onto the fisheye lens of the GoPro that removes the wide angle and allows you to mount real lenses onto it (kinda how they have clampable lenses for phones that change its lens properties). That would be a cool kickstarter/startup if it could be done cheaply.

[Mr.Meerkat]

3 hours ago, Razor512 said:

The RX100 mk 4 is an overall bad deal considering its image quality. anything above 400ISO lacks fine detail. It is a bad low light camera, and lacks the ISO range needed to freeze motion in moderate to good lighting, where speeds like 1/100s is not good enough.

 

To make matters worst, it is more expensive than many larger APS-C sensor cameras, including the cost of a lens.

 

For example, for less money than the RX100 IV, you can get the Sony A6000 body in addition to the Sony FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS Lens. The A6000 may be an older camera now, but it offers better quality and better low light performance than the T6i.

 

While the G7 is not listed on DXO yet, it uses the same sensor as the GH4, so the comparison will still be fairly close.

 

http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Canon-EOS-750D-versus-Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-GH4-versus-Sony-A6000___1010_943_942

 

If you are okay with a slightly larger size, you can get the Nikon D5500 + Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM (Constant 2.8) for a total of $868 This leaves enough money left over for a top end SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB card all for less money than the Sony RX100 IV.

I would agree with this but however, the sony rx100 IV is a completely different form factor/class of camera. You're comparing a DSLR/hybrid to a point and shoot. It may be terrible for it's price but some people may only want a camera that fits easily in their pockets. (I'm too lazy to keep up with so much stuff and cameras are one thing I've stop following so don't take a rant on me on how there's a better point and shoot, as I'm happy with my a65 )

[bob345]

6 hours ago, Razor512 said:

The RX100 mk 4 is an overall bad deal considering its image quality. anything above 400ISO lacks fine detail. It is a bad low light camera, and lacks the ISO range needed to freeze motion in moderate to good lighting, where speeds like 1/100s is not good enough.

You have no clue what you are talking about. The rx100iv is a low light king in its category and the iso is usable WELL past 400. Given all the features the camera gives you its a fantastic deal. 4k video, f1.8-2.8 lens, 1000fps high speed video, built in nd filter, the list goes on and on. There are not many cameras in the $1000 price point that offer these kinds of features. If it was a bad deal, then it wouldn't be one of Sony's bets sellers.

[ALwin]

Where are all the camcorders?  There are dozens of wonderful camcorders under $1000.

 

Or what about the fact that while one can spend around $500-1000 on buying a camera and a lens, this doesn't take into account buying all the other accessories, which may end up doubling or tripling the budget.

[Razor512]

5 minutes ago, bob345 said:

You have no clue what you are talking about. The rx100iv is a low light king in its category and the iso is usable WELL past 400. Given all the features the camera gives you its a fantastic deal. 4k video, f1.8-2.8 lens, 1000fps high speed video, built in nd filter, the list goes on and on. There are not many cameras in the $1000 price point that offer these kinds of features. If it was a bad deal, then it wouldn't be one of Sony's bets sellers.

The issue is if you are looking for more than just usable. While it is the best point and shoot camera available, it is not priced as a point and shoot camera should be priced. It is like those companies that sell ceiling fans for $3000, it may work better than the $200 ones, but it doesn't justify charging as much as a whole home AC unit.

With the RX100 IV, once it goes above ISO 400, there is a very noticeable loss of detail, it is by no means a bad camera, and the limits are due to the crazy high pixel density for a 1 inch sensor, the issue is that it is more befitting a $300 price tag.

 

Most of its features are held back by other limitations, e.g., the 1000FPS recording has an extremely short time limit, people who tried to use it for a practical purpose, often ran into issues because of the 2 second limit, as well as having very little detail.

 

If you look at most indoor photography, you will often find yourself in the 800 to 1600 ISO range if the lighting is good, but if the lighting is a little dim, then you are pushing ISO 3200-4000 in order to maintain a a high enough shutter speed to keep the motion blur of people moving to less than 1 pixel, so they you maximize your detail and keep everything looking as sharp as possible.

 

Beyond that, you need to be able to quickly change focus points, as well as easily and quickly adjust aperture, shutter speed, and ISO

 

The RX100 series of camera, does not cater well to being able to quickly make adjustments.

 

Due to the way that manual focusing works, you cannot use it with a follow focus rig

 

The lens creates some pretty strange looking bokeh.

 

To see the limitations, here are a some sample images from the RX100 IV

 

ISO 80: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/sony-rx100-iv/FULLRES/RXC4hSLI00080NR0.HTM

ISO 400: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/sony-rx100-iv/FULLRES/RXC4hSLI00400NR0.HTM

ISO 800: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/sony-rx100-iv/FULLRES/RXC4hSLI00800NR0.HTM

ISO 1600: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/sony-rx100-iv/FULLRES/RXC4hSLI01600NR0.HTM

 

Very even at the base ISO, the noise is very noticeable, by ISO 400, much of the find detail is gone, and replaced by noise artifacts (larger than some of the fine detail), and by ISO 800, there is no fine detail anywhere to be found. If you examine the textures, you will see that in areas where it looks like some may be there, you instead have luminance noise/ grain. If you focus on the bottom of the image (on the ISO12233 test patterns), you will see that after ISO 400, there is no clear separation of the horizontal lines.

 

The camera effectively tops out at ISO 400 before you start to significantly lose detail.

[Razor512]

2 minutes ago, valdyrgramr said:

My uncle suggested that I go with a canon or just rent a camera.

If you only need a camera for a short uncommon event, but need the best possible quality for that event, then renting can be a good option, especially if it means you can use something like a Nikon D810, 24-70mm f2.8, and 70-200mm f2.8 for the event.

 

For most people, unless you are making money from your photography, it would not be worth it to spend $5000-6000 on camera gear, but it is useful to use it for a few days to batter capture an event, especially if the next time you need a high end camera will be a year + into the future where you will be able to rent the latest technology.

 

If you need a camera for frequent hobby use, then avoid resting as the fees are too high to keep them longer than 3-5 days.

[bob345]

2 hours ago, Razor512 said:

-snip-

You're looking at the rx100iv as if it was a dslr/mirrorless camera, its meant for an entirely different market. If you want a camera that you can rig up and get professional results with the rx100 is obviously not the right camera, frankly none of the cameras listed would be as they all lack the professional features you would need. Would the rx100iv replace my 7d or xpro 1? Not a chance, but it certainly would be welcome along side them. There are plenty of instances where i would prefer having a small camera on me vs a large dslr or medium size mirrorless. Some times it may just be out of pure convenience, or just the fact that i may not be able to carry around a larger camera all day.

[Energycore]

Which of these would do best for shooting birds at long distances?

[SydneySideSteveSomewheres]

2 hours ago, Energycore said:

Which of these would do best for shooting birds at long distances?

 

The Sony α6300 camera Blandon said this was not in the mix as its price was body only. However this camera has an E-mount for lenses, which makes it compatible with old Minolta lenses. In theory if you had a lens or two laying around it would be possible to lower the initial outlay and still be able to produce good quality photography.

[bob345]

3 hours ago, Energycore said:

Which of these would do best for shooting birds at long distances?

on a budget, probably the t6i. You will need to get a telephoto lens of it too though or you wont get the reach. the canon 55-250 stm is a decent budget tele lens

[Inkz]

@nicklmg  Thank you guys for listening, we really wanted this video. Is there any chance we can get more price point comparison of cameras with Brandon?

[nicklmg]

1 minute ago, Inkz said:

@nickmlg  Thank you guys for listening, we really wanted this video. Is there any chance we can get more price point comparison of cameras with Brandon?

Maybe! Tweet him & Linus if you have suggestions for more camera videos

And stay tuned over the next couple of days here for his NAB coverage!!