Searching for photo camera (price range in post)

[SMR]

Hi guys,

 

My girlfriend is looking for a photo camera for her and our travels. She want's a good quality camera (obviously) for mostly outdoor photography. 

 

First of all, price range : 630$ USD (weird I know but equivalent to 800$CAD)
 

We travel a lot, so portability is a thing, like we do mostly hiking, camping, these kinds of things.

 

I am far from an expert in this domain but at first I would say a mirrorless ? Not a point and shoot because I think she might get serious in this and start loving photography so I think she would at least wan't a model with interchangeable lenses, iso settings, these kind of things.. you know..... I don't so I'm asking you 

 

Cheers !

[SMR]

Update : She likes DSLR's lol

[thekillergazebo]

Sony a6000

[Infernal Burrito]

If that's all the money you'll spend (you don't plan on buying lenses later), I would not recommend an ILC (mirrorless or DSLR). With those, you must factor in what lens you want, and I would definitely not recommend kit lenses, as they're often worse than or equal to the optics on point and shoots at a higher cost. Look at premium point and shoots, maybe an older RX100 or such. 

 

Interchangeable lenses are really nice to have, especially if you decide to switch to a different style of photography and want to keep the body, but it doesn't come in useful for most of the people I know who use it. They just stay with their kit lenses and don't feel compelled to upgrade, this is especially common for people on a tight budget, from what I've observed. There are lots of really good fixed lens cameras, often providing excellent value for money. These cameras often have all of the features of an ILC, except of course changing out the lenses. If it has an M on its mode dial, its most likely capable of manual SS, F-stop, and ISO at least. You can get serious about photography on any camera, even a phone, and chances are that if you're willing to buy new lenses, you're also willing to sell your point and shoot and buy an ILC.

 

If you do want an ILC, a nicer alternative for you would be the NX500 from Samsung. It is basically a crippled NX1, with the more advanced features, like full sensor 4k, removed. It is a beast for its price and has image quality comparable to the best of the APS-C camera market (the few that outperform it are often significantly more expensive). Also, it is incredibly compact. The downside is that you're buying into a dead platform, Samsung cut support for NX in lenses and in accessories. If you're not going to buy aftermarket lenses, or if the limited selection available is enough for you, it should be OK. The kit lens it comes with is just like any other kit lens, so if what you're after is high sharpness and or low distortion, you'll have to spend some more money. Also, it doesn't cover telephoto lengths, so you'll need a second lens for that. Samsung has a relatively inexpensive one though.

[SMR]

I get your point. And to precise mine, she might get serious enough to buy lenses, that why having an ILC is important to me (and her).

 

I will look at the NX500, hoping it is still easy to get. And if I may ask, is there a non-dead platform camera that will enter her price range while also being widely available ? 

 

I live in Canada and I don't know why but everything is harder to find and get.

[xQubeZx]

The A6000 should have dropped in price if I'm right. That would be a very good camera with pretty much all abilities to expand while being very small. And while traveling a small camera is a huuuge advantage. Just the ability to skii with it without having to carry a backpack. Much easier to get it out quick too. (I usally do anyways though but if you stay in the slopes its amazing to be able to just put the camera in the pocket.)

[SMR]

Hey guys, quick follow up, we went to the local photography store yesterday. We talked to a expert there and narrowed down our choice to two model, the Sony A6000 and the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. 

 

After reflection we went for the Olympus because their are more lenses available for it since it shares the same socket as Panasonic and that the lenses are smaller in size for the equivalent of other brand.

 

Thank you guys.