i want a camera but its stressful

[Jessentis]

so a little about me im 17, out of school, looking for a job and kinda middle class i guess.

 

i really want a camera and have done for years and im 100% with sony but i dont know between an a6*00, a7sii or even a7siii now that's out (if the budget allows for it)

imma need a fisheye, zoom lens, cage, drop handle, etc which would be somewhere around 1000gbp, so its just deciding what body to get.

the hardest thing about it is i still dont know what my budget is, but im just wondering if any of the more experienced people have anything to say on it

 

oh and it would mostly be used for bmx edits, telephoto stills, and a lot of low light. ive had hands on with a a6500 with an 8mm fisheye and 18-105 (i think) f4 ois lens fyi

[jaslion]

Ok hi you want to get into videography and photography here right?

 

Well let me give you some golden advice. The tools don't make the artist. Sure they will help but first you need to get a good grasp on making the things you do before splurging out. Getting expensive tools but not knowing how to use them doesn't really do much for you. So really get out there with your smartphone or some cheap camera and make stuff to your hearts content and learn.

 

After you've done that hit up ebay for some older camera's and get one of those. Plenty of older canons, sony's, nikons, fuji's,... with all the add-ons you'd need and for a lot cheaper to boot.

 

My friend go through college with an iphone 5s for the first 2 years of his degree and he abused the limited stuff that thing could do so much he developed a really good style working with a more limited set of tools and the moment he got a used canon 6d his quality shot up for what he was doing and he went out to experiment like crazy. He's a pretty darn successful photographer now and still uses the 6d for most of his stuff as it's just enough. The only time he uses his better better r6 is when the 6d can't keep up with the speed or when there needs to be fast low light photography. Other than that it is a secondary camera.

 

Also don't worry about high res stuff really. 1080p footage is still plenty fine especially for someone that would be learning same with the resolution of the camera.

[Jessentis]

11 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Ok hi you want to get into videography and photography here right?

 

Well let me give you some golden advice. The tools don't make the artist. Sure they will help but first you need to get a good grasp on making the things you do before splurging out. Getting expensive tools but not knowing how to use them doesn't really do much for you. So really get out there with your smartphone or some cheap camera and make stuff to your hearts content and learn.

 

After you've done that hit up ebay for some older camera's and get one of those. Plenty of older canons, sony's, nikons, fuji's,... with all the add-ons you'd need and for a lot cheaper to boot.

 

My friend go through college with an iphone 5s for the first 2 years of his degree and he abused the limited stuff that thing could do so much he developed a really good style working with a more limited set of tools and the moment he got a used canon 6d his quality shot up for what he was doing and he went out to experiment like crazy. He's a pretty darn successful photographer now and still uses the 6d for most of his stuff as it's just enough. The only time he uses his better better r6 is when the 6d can't keep up with the speed or when there needs to be fast low light photography. Other than that it is a secondary camera.

 

Also don't worry about high res stuff really. 1080p footage is still plenty fine especially for someone that would be learning same with the resolution of the camera.

ive been doing mobile photography for years now, just picking up on things, watching youtube videos on the topic. i now have a p20 pro now and i use each lens individually with full manual settings. i borrowed my friends a6500 with 8mm fisheye and 18-105 zoom for a week and got on really well with it, hes also got a gimble which i had some fun playing with but didnt particularly like it. ive also had hands on with a sony vx1000 (old school tape cam/famous in the skate scene) so i think ive got a pretty good basis on how to use a camera, plus im a quick learner. 

 

one of the main reasons for wanting a 'pro' camera is the way better low light capabilities and the option for interchangeable lenses as i feel like not having those available to me has really held me back

 

also i wish to use the time now to get better with cameras and maybe a few years down the line do film/photo work since im still young

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Jessentis said:

ive been doing mobile photography for years now, just picking up on things, watching youtube videos on the topic. i now have a p20 pro now and i use each lens individually with full manual settings. i borrowed my friends a6500 with 8mm fisheye and 18-105 zoom for a week and got on really well with it, hes also got a gimble which i had some fun playing with but didnt particularly like it. ive also had hands on with a sony vx1000 (old school tape cam/famous in the skate scene) so i think ive got a pretty good basis on how to use a camera, plus im a quick learner. 

 

one of the main reasons for wanting a 'pro' camera is the way better low light capabilities and the option for interchangeable lenses as i feel like not having those available to me has really held me back

 

also i wish to use the time now to get better with cameras and maybe a few years down the line do film/photo work since im still young

Then I'd say look for a few years old camera that comes with all the stuff on ebay. Contrary to popular belief you do not need the best and newest of the new at all. My parents ancient sony cybershot delivers some incredible  low light photo's if I leave it going for long enough :p. (talking about a 17 year old digital camera here that is beaten up to hell and back).

 

So really I'd say browse ebay for a bit and see what you can find. You can easily find a full set of everything you want under 1000gbp just gotta look around a bit and not be brand focused like at all. That is what I would do.

 

Oh also another fun thing that really gets you going is doing small gig work. I used to do stuff on a platform that was very similar to fiverr and the fact that I had to deliver a good product to a customer really pushed me to up my own skills in art and reference photograhpy :p. Not for everyone tho but it really helped me get to where I am today. That and the little bits of money are always welcome.

[Jessentis]

3 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Then I'd say look for a few years old camera that comes with all the stuff on ebay. Contrary to popular belief you do not need the best and newest of the new at all. My parents ancient sony cybershot delivers some incredible  low light photo's if I leave it going for long enough :p. (talking about a 17 year old digital camera here that is beaten up to hell and back).

 

So really I'd say browse ebay for a bit and see what you can find. You can easily find a full set of everything you want under 1000gbp just gotta look around a bit and not be brand focused like at all. That is what I would do.

 

Oh also another fun thing that really gets you going is doing small gig work. I used to do stuff on a platform that was very similar to fiverr and the fact that I had to deliver a good product to a customer really pushed me to up my own skills in art and reference photograhpy :p. Not for everyone tho but it really helped me get to where I am today. That and the little bits of money are always welcome.

i really like the sony eco system and i dont think my budget is so tight i have to loose that. getting money is definitely an issue but with gov/parent funding and odd job bits i think i could get it.

 

oh and about the lowlight ill be filming bmx at night in sometimes stupid dark scenes, and higher fps is what i like so i need the iso of these sony a7s* cams. i briefly looked at the a7s but no ibis was a bit of a deal breaker for me.

 

i think ive already got my heart set on a sony a7sii, sony 24-105 f4 and a samyang fisheye (not sure yet), and im just trying to see if anyone has anything they want to add/mention/contribute 

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Jessentis said:

i really like the sony eco system and i dont think my budget is so tight i have to loose that. getting money is definitely an issue but with gov/parent funding and odd job bits i think i could get it.

 

oh and about the lowlight ill be filming bmx at night in sometimes stupid dark scenes, and higher fps is what i like so i need the iso of these sony a7s* cams. i briefly looked at the a7s but no ibis was a bit of a deal breaker for me.

 

i think ive already got my heart set on a sony a7sii, sony 24-105 f4 and a samyang fisheye (not sure yet), and im just trying to see if anyone has anything they want to add/mention/contribute 

If you know what you want then go for it more power to you.

[Jessentis]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

If you know what you want then go for it more power to you.

so in a sense you agree with me/don't think im being stupid? because that's the kind of gratification i need right now

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Jessentis said:

so in a sense you agree with me/don't think im being stupid? because that's the kind of gratification i need right now

I personally wouldn't spend such massive money when still learning and just get a step down or older camera for cheaper but if you want to go for it and it doesn't put you into financial distress then go for it.

 

However also keep in mind that if buying this means you are broke then it's not a smart idea as well only buy stuff that you are ok with losing especially a camera as well an accident happens very quickly especially when used for sports.

[Jessentis]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

I personally wouldn't spend such massive money when still learning and just get a step down or older camera for cheaper but if you want to go for it and it doesn't put you into financial distress then go for it.

 

However also keep in mind that if buying this means you are broke then it's not a smart idea as well only buy stuff that you are ok with losing especially a camera as well an accident happens very quickly especially when used for sports.

i hear you man i appreciate the words. my mother was insisting on getting insurance on it so i think im covered there. outside of cameras i have pretty much all i could need, so once ive got a job i dont think I'll actually end up buying much and ill do alright

 

i appreciate your advice and the heads up and providing your own opinion, to help me see the bigger picture/from a different perspective

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Jessentis said:

i hear you man i appreciate the words. my mother was insisting on getting insurance on it so i think im covered there. outside of cameras i have pretty much all i could need, so once ive got a job i dont think I'll actually end up buying much and ill do alright

 

i appreciate your advice and the heads up and providing your own opinion, to help me see the bigger picture/from a different perspective

I've basically been through it all before too when doing reference photography and small gigs :p. Like my canon 6d is chilling at the bottom of a watering hole for example and that wasn't my fault :p.

 

 

I used to be also all about the equipment when I was 18 and wanted like the biggest and best wacom cintiq and all that stuff but really now 5 years later after managing to snag a cintiq 27 qhd for 600€ (that thing is 3k still and I was looking for a new drawing tablet as the current one I had was beyond it's last legs and broke days after getting the cintiq :p) and honestly I can do just as well on a non screen drawing tablet that is 1/20th the retail price of this massive thing and I really just shouldn't care about the hype. That and using a standard drawing tablet allows me to sit in a better position but the cintiq is very nice for fine detail and standing drawing. So each has their advantages and disadvantages.

 

I just couldn't pass it up getting a massive tablet for so cheap and all it had was a scratch that I cannot see ever :p.

[Lord Vile]

On 11/16/2020 at 1:42 PM, Jessentis said:

ive been doing mobile photography for years now, just picking up on things, watching youtube videos on the topic. i now have a p20 pro now and i use each lens individually with full manual settings. i borrowed my friends a6500 with 8mm fisheye and 18-105 zoom for a week and got on really well with it, hes also got a gimble which i had some fun playing with but didnt particularly like it. ive also had hands on with a sony vx1000 (old school tape cam/famous in the skate scene) so i think ive got a pretty good basis on how to use a camera, plus im a quick learner. 

 

one of the main reasons for wanting a 'pro' camera is the way better low light capabilities and the option for interchangeable lenses as i feel like not having those available to me has really held me back

 

also i wish to use the time now to get better with cameras and maybe a few years down the line do film/photo work since im still young

Just FYI the settings in phones aren’t real they’re just software trying to mimic hardware. 
 

I have a bargain basement Fuji mirrorless and for me it was between Sony and Fuji. Ended up going Fuji for the better menus and the fact that the X mount is a plus for me because though you can only buy Fujinon glass (which isn’t the cheapest but isn’t the most expensive either) it’s all good quality. 
 

Maybe just get something at about £400-600 with a solid kit lens, get to grips with that and push on afterwards with more lens’

[MkTonic]

My first camera setup was a canon 650d with a few lenses i brought, i recommend

 that for just starting off you get a lot of features for a decent price got mine a few years ago for around £250/300 with a few extras plus a len and that, worth searching google on beginner cameras or budget cameras etc.

[theonly500]

Since you know what you wan't to do, Go for it. Like the others said:
I wouldn't spend too much money on the sensor. Yes, a better sensor will get you better shots in the dark. But since what you're doing is more of a fast paced thing, I feel like getting a better lens is the more desirable route.

If you wan't to stick to one Ecosystem of mounts, then this Lens will probably continue to go with you from now till your death, or you crash it.
Heck, I still use a Lens from my Dad, he bought, when he started Photography. And I must say: Even if that Lens doesn't provide the sharpest Image, it still has this awesome look to the Footage, that in the end makes that pieve of glass, my most loved Lens out of the collection.