Cheap device to get started with night videography.

[Levent]

Hi, I am looking for a camera to mostly record videos with. I dont need the highest pixel count, nor the highest fps (1080p30 is what I was thinking) but I am going to be recording videos in the dark so higher aperture might be good to have? The device also has to have some sort of mount that I can use a tripod or other mounts with.

 

Any recommendations? I do not want a GoPro, a DSLR is nice because I can also experiment with photos. I am fine with used devices, though I took photography lessons in university few years back and I am somewhat familiar with lenses but I would also take your recommendations on those as well.

[dizmo]

I'd probably try and define "cheap"

[Levent]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

I'd probably try and define "cheap"

$500 is the absolute limit.

[ToboRobot]

Used DSLR and the fastest glass you can find?

 

a 50mm f1.8 lens is pretty good in the dark, at least for the price.

[dizmo]

11 minutes ago, Levent said:

$500 is the absolute limit.

Do you have money above that, that can be recouped later?

I recently got a camera for my gf, that came with 5 lenses. Sold off the lenses it came with, got a better than free camera.

 

I don't have time to dive too deeply into which cameras are best, but you can get things like the 5D super cheap. Paired with a 50mm f1.4 you might get a decent unit for night shots quite cheaply.

[Levent]

17 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Do you have money above that, that can be recouped later?

I recently got a camera for my gf, that came with 5 lenses. Sold off the lenses it came with, got a better than free camera.

 

I don't have time to dive too deeply into which cameras are best, but you can get things like the 5D super cheap. Paired with a 50mm f1.4 you might get a decent unit for night shots quite cheaply.

I can go as much as $1000 but I would like to stay as cheap as possible. In the end, always tend to destroy things one way or the other when it's my first go around.

 

I distinctly remember having looked at a 5Ds before, I am not sure what it was but I believe it was these devices that offered custom firmware?

 

We are not talking 5D Mk4 right? Second hand market for camera equipment is rather bloated around here (due to erdonomics), not a whole lot of buyers but sellers are also too greedy to read the market so prices are also not that competitive.

[Electronics Wizardy]

20 minutes ago, Levent said:

I can go as much as $1000 but I would like to stay as cheap as possible. In the end, always tend to destroy things one way or the other when it's my first go around.

 

I distinctly remember having looked at a 5Ds before, I am not sure what it was but I believe it was these devices that offered custom firmware?

 

We are not talking 5D Mk4 right? Second hand market for camera equipment is rather bloated around here (due to erdonomics), not a whole lot of buyers but sellers are also too greedy to read the market so prices are also not that competitive.

If you want cheap and low light, something like a 6d/6d2/5d2/5d3 are affordable and fairly good at low light, esp with a fast lens. IDK how dark your working in, but that should be fairly doable for outdoors and night.

 

I have a full frame mirrorless and a 50 1.8 and its pretty good at low light. Id say I can easily get usable footage outdoors at night with just streetlights.

[BallisticPeanut]

At 500 bucks, I think a used Canon 5d2 is probably the best option:

 

https://www.keh.com/shop/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii-21-1-megapixel-digital-slr-camera-body-only.html

 

Combine that with the Magic Lantern Firmware and a cheap 50mm 1.8 and you can have a pretty capable set up.

 

 

[Tjomball1]

Sony A7S would be my choice for a loww light beast. 

[GDRRiley]

a Sony A7sII can be found on major reselling sites for below 800$ that combined with a 35mm or 50mm F1.4 prime would do fairly well in low light. The issue is fast primes on E mount are pricey and sigmas EF to E adapter is 200$.
sonys A7S line has a lower resolution sensor (just above 4K) but because of that has massive sensor area which picks up a ton of light

[YellowJersey]

Are you looking at doing wide angle or deep sky objects (like nebulae, galaxies, etc)? What I recommend will depend on what kind of night sky stuff you're looking to do.