A budget used camera for reference photos and low effort photoshoot

[jaslion]

Hello,

 

I used to have a couple good camera's back in they day and be quite into photography but due to unfortunate circumstances I no longer have them.

 

However recently my old sony wx350 showed up again having been thought lost for years and since its summer it was perfect as a reference picture taking machine.

 

However what I didnt expect was the love for photography to return since this little camera packs some serious features for what it is. I want more and to go back to the featureset of like a canon d5 ish. As I am well pushing the limitsbof this camera :p.

 

So now I come to you guys asking. What would be a great stepping stone to get back into photography? I'd sat upper hobbiest level for me. I do take lots of reference and photobashing photos for art creation but those are perfectly fine to take on what I have now so they shouldnt be the main focus.

 

I always loved landscape and non focus people and animal photography (where the creatures are just there in the picture but not at the center stage of it all).

 

I also really enjoy playing with depth of field and plant pictures.

 

Now for the actual practical info

 

For budget I would like to keep it as low as possible with a hard cap at 350. The lower is better for me.

 

I am located in Belgium.

 

If the camera has a hdmi or display out its an extra nice bonus.

 

Lenses wise I have a macro lens for a very very old cybershot camera still that I no longer have. I will sell that to help finance this a bit more.

[Origami Cactus]

Really really depends on what you are looking for.

If you are looking for more classical photography experience with style, the the Fuji X-Pro1 is hard to beat.

If you want something modern with autofocus, the Sony A6000 is really compact, but it is still powerful enough to give excellent images.

 

These are both super 35/crop cameras, if you want full 35mm sensor with a mirror inside it then it is a bit harder to get them, but probably a Pentax will make for an excellent choice, as they are selling for dirt cheap because of the brand, but the cameras themselves really are good.

[jaslion]

20 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

Really really depends on what you are looking for.

If you are looking for more classical photography experience with style, the the Fuji X-Pro1 is hard to beat.

If you want something modern with autofocus, the Sony A6000 is really compact, but it is still powerful enough to give excellent images.

 

These are both super 35/crop cameras, if you want full 35mm sensor with a mirror inside it then it is a bit harder to get them, but probably a Pentax will make for an excellent choice, as they are selling for dirt cheap because of the brand, but the cameras themselves really are good.

I honestly dont really care about the technology behind the camera. The only thing Im really looking for is a camera that can do about what my old canon 5d did for the photography I enjoy.

 

I looked at the 5d and 6d but both are more expensive than when I bought my 5d with a lens from ebay many years ago in basically mint condition. So those were also out of the question.

 

Both cameras you recommended go well above 500 used so arent in my budget.

 

There are a lot of pentax cameras and I really dont know what Im looking for.

 

I really am just looking at a budget friendly camera to go back to shooting even nicer pictures.

 

[wseaton]

Used Canon T6i or Nikon D7000/71000.

 

The nikon is a bit better sensor.

[Vilacom]

On 6/13/2022 at 7:57 AM, jaslion said:

I honestly dont really care about the technology behind the camera. The only thing Im really looking for is a camera that can do about what my old canon 5d did for the photography I enjoy.

 

I looked at the 5d and 6d but both are more expensive than when I bought my 5d with a lens from ebay many years ago in basically mint condition. So those were also out of the question.

 

Both cameras you recommended go well above 500 used so arent in my budget.

 

There are a lot of pentax cameras and I really dont know what Im looking for.

 

I really am just looking at a budget friendly camera to go back to shooting even nicer pictures.

 

Unfortunately recommendations aren’t going to do much for you as what you’re looking for in combination with your budget really what is available on the secondary market is going to be what you end up getting regardless of what we can suggest.  Please note that for most of your use cases with the exception of macro photography its pretty likely your phone is going to be as or more capable than most of what you can get for under 350.   

If you can find a used M50 mark II its a great little canon camera with a lot of options and decent lenses available for the M mount will probably start being pretty cheap as i dont believe canon is going to keep producing that line of cameras.