Need help finding the right camera

[Spork829]

I want to begin looking for a camera. It will be used for journalism (photos that will be professionally printed/published through my school). They have some that I have been renting to use for a while now (Canon Rebels and some Nikon D series DSLRs) that work well for our purposes. I was looking at buying my own DSLR but they are bulky and expensive so I turned to mirrorless. To my dismay they are also pretty expensive, but I would still prefer them for the smaller size. Can anyone recommend a good one that will be at least comparable to the specs of those DSLR's for less than $300? Does such a thing even exist? 

[YedZed]

Mirrorless cameras will always be more expensive than DSLRs. 

[ALwin]

43 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

I want to begin looking for a camera. It will be used for journalism (photos that will be professionally printed/published through my school). They have some that I have been renting to use for a while now (Canon Rebels and some Nikon D series DSLRs) that work well for our purposes. I was looking at buying my own DSLR but they are bulky and expensive so I turned to mirrorless. To my dismay they are also pretty expensive, but I would still prefer them for the smaller size. Can anyone recommend a good one that will be at least comparable to the specs of those DSLR's for less than $300? Does such a thing even exist? 

Do you actually need an interchangeable lens system? If not there are some options for cameras that are compact, light weight and capable of taking photos that are more than suitable for journalism.  And of course, those kinds of prints that appear in news papers are not really high quality print jobs.

Does the camera have to be brand new?  You can find something like a Sony A5000 on the used market.  Or perhaps a Canon EOS M or Nikon 1 series.

 

For $300, you can definitely find something in the second hand market.

[Spork829]

3 minutes ago, ALwin said:

Do you actually need an interchangeable lens system? If not there are some options for cameras that are compact, light weight and capable of taking photos that are more than suitable for journalism.  And of course, those kinds of prints that appear in news papers are not really high quality print jobs.

Does the camera have to be brand new?  You can find something like a Sony A5000 on the used market.  Or perhaps a Canon EOS M or Nikon 1 series.

 

For $300, you can definitely find something in the second hand market.

Many of the photos are going to be of sports and also in low light conditions, so I'm not sure how a point and shoot with no interchangeable lenses might perform then. Would those have full manual mode? I do definitely still need that (aperture control, white balance, shutter, ISO, etc). I could do second hand although I'd rather not have to. I think I probably don't need interchangeable lenses as long as the permanent one has a decently wide angle to start and solid zoom (enough for getting good pictures from bleachers, etc.). I'll check out those used ones, but is there anything new that would fit that description? 

[Spork829]

44 minutes ago, YedZed said:

Mirrorless cameras will always be more expensive than DSLRs. 

I've noticed. Really would rather have one for the size, though.

[ShadowCaptain]

A used A5000 for sub $300

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-ILCE5000-20-1MP-Mirrorless-Digital/dp/B00JS50TUY/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1472716576&sr=1-5&keywords=sony+a5000

[Spork829]

14 hours ago, ShadowCaptain said:

A used A5000 for sub $300

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-ILCE5000-20-1MP-Mirrorless-Digital/dp/B00JS50TUY/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1472716576&sr=1-5&keywords=sony+a5000

Well, used and without a lens. Still maybe an option though.