Assistance required please on choosing Camera

[Woody1]

Hi there everyone

I have just retired and would like to purchase a good quality camera for some travelling.

I know nothing about cameras apart from what I have read on the internet and the camera on my mobile phone.

I have read about DSLR's and they seem a wonderful camera with interchangeable lens to obtain the most pristine photos, but I also understand they can be rather largish and heavier. I also understand that they are more for professionals and there are a lot more manual adjustments available.

I will also be taking the Camera on overseas trips

They are probably not suited for me ( i don't know your thoughts)

What I would like to do is take scenery as well as close up, (which i believe would require changing lenses, I got no probe with that) I would also like to be able to download to media (to my iPad pro so as I can email photos to my family.

I would also like to be able to reduce the size of photos so I can export them across the media and they are not megabytes in size and slowdown the transfer rate.

I have recently been looking at a mirror less cameras (your opinions please) One that has caught my eye is the Canon EOS M5 body which I believe have interchangeable lenses.

Basically what I am saying is I need a very good point and shoot camera that is not to big takes good photos and has wifi and bluetooth so I can transfer to either my Apple lap top or Apple iPad pro then to the media.

Its a bit late in the day for me to go into a big learning curve on how to manually operate a camera to obtain the best possible photo. Don't get me wrong I simply love looking at the most beautiful photos from forum members like Grumpy John etc but my main hobby is woodwork.

I realise I have been babbling on a bit but I need all the help I can get as I need as many facts as possible to make the best decision to suit me and I probably won't get another chance.

Kindest regards to all Forum members and thank you in advance

Graeme

[Dareen]

Hi Woody1,

I bought a Fujifilm Finepix S9400W earlier this year, took it on a trip to Vietnam and have taken an assortment of shots at home and find it versatile enough for me.
I have not been able to get shots as sharp as repliconics and Grumpy John, along with many other excellent photographers on this forumwho post some magnificent photos, but I am just an amateur and past getting too serious.
Some of my shots are in the photography section.

Download is via WiFi to my PC which I find excellent. No lens change ability but a terrific zoom. Have a look at this site for all sorts of info, if this interests you.
Fujifilm FinePix S9400W Review | PhotographyBLOG (http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/fujifilm_finepix_s9400w_review/)

Good luck and look forward to seeing some of your shots.

Cheers, Fred

[Woody1]

Many thanks Dareen, I will have a good read.

[Chris Parks]

A DSLR is really what you want it to be. Set it on auto and everything is done for you, use it semi manually or full manual if you want and put on a lens to suit what you are shooting. They are bigger and bulkier than a point and shoot of course. Uncle Al uses both from memory and he may comment if he sees this. You might be better asking in the photography forum here Forums - PhotoForums (http://photoforums.com.au)

[Woody1]

Chris, Many thanks I will take that on board with your valued advice and as you suggested I will post on the photography photo forum.

[Woody1]

Dareen
I joined the photo forum as Chris suggested and posted a reply from some advice I received and my changed circumstances in regards to what I can now purchase. I will now post this reply here so you and Chris can read. Once again thank you both for your great advice.
Hi there Brad and GJ
First go all thanks so much for your valued replies.
Brad your information in regards to weight was very interesting as you say there is negligible as compared to the M5 and you can use the DSLR as a point and shoot with starting off simple.
I went to the minister of finance and told her this info.
I nearly fell off my chair when she said its OK if you want to get a full Frame DSLR.
I have always wanted to do things the best way I could afford and this will be my opportunity
Well that has now changed things a lot."Yippee"

May I ask for your advice please with details as follows
I would like a full frame DSLR with the features I mentioned in my original post and I will add lenses as required
I imagine K2.5 up for a body bearing in mind I will probably only be a point and shoot person so it won't need to be a full on professional camera
I also understand that buying package deals with included lenses is not a good way to go as they are not very good quality so I would buy individual good quality lenses just starting off with one lens.

GJ
I was going to contact the club about a month ago and I read the info on there web site and it sounded to me like they required you to already have a camera so I shied away from contacting them. But I will now make contact early in the new year and see what they say. Thank you for the info.

Thank you

​​​​​​​Graeme

[Woody1]

Chris
Thank you for your great advice. I have joined the Photo forum as you suggested.
My circumstances have changed in regards to what I can purchase and I will post the reply here from the photo forum

Hi there Brad and GJ
First go all thanks so much for your valued replies.
Brad your information in regards to weight was very interesting as you say there is negligible as compared to the M5 and you can use the DSLR as a point and shoot with starting off simple.
I went to the minister of finance and told her this info.
I nearly fell off my chair when she said its OK if you want to get a full Frame DSLR.
I have always wanted to do things the best way I could afford and this will be my opportunity
Well that has now changed things a lot."Yippee"

May I ask for your advice please with details as follows
I would like a full frame DSLR with the features I mentioned in my original post and I will add lenses as required
I imagine K2.5 up for a body bearing in mind I will probably only be a point and shoot person so it won't need to be a full on professional camera
I also understand that buying package deals with included lenses is not a good way to go as they are not very good quality so I would buy individual good quality lenses just starting off with one lens.

GJ
I was going to contact the club about a month ago and I read the info on there web site and it sounded to me like they required you to already have a camera so I shied away from contacting them. But I will now make contact early in the new year and see what they say. Thank you for the info.

Thank you

​​​​​​​Graeme

[Ironwood]

Hi Graeme. Sounds like you are making progress on narrowing down your choices.

You say you will have approx $2500 for a full frame body, so I will just say what I would do in the same position. I am biased towards Nikon because I have always used Nikon since the film days.

I would buy the Nikon D750 http://www.nikon.com.au/en_AU/product/digital-slr-cameras/d750
I think it has Wifi, you would have to check on if it will transfer photos as you wanted.

Something you need to realise is once you have the camera, you then need to buy some suitable lenses, this will eventually cost you more than the camera body, its easy to get carried away here.

You can get the D750 packaged with the Nikon 24-120mm f4 lens, although technically this makes it a kit lens, don't be fooled, its a very good quality lens and will get you started off with a good walkaround lens, and would suit most of your needs initially. Once you use that lens for a while you will be able to see what more you need in the lens department. Sigma also make a 24-105mm f4 lens that is also very good, and would maybe save you a bit of money over the Nikon.

I am not familiar with Canon, Sony or Pentax, There will be models in their range that would suit your needs also. In the end, you need to buy what you feel comfortable with.

As I said before, you can start off using full auto settings with these cameras, and as you gain experience you can start taking more control of your shots.

Just to clarify the statement I made about the weight difference being negligible between that M5 and a DSLR. The M5 might be a little bit lighter (its 427 grams vs 470 grams for a Nikon D5500, or 840 grams for the D750 which is a bigger camera) but you will be using the same lenses as a DSLR, so all you will be saving is a few grams on the body.

[ian]

Hi Graeme

I'm going to try and steer you away from a full frame DLSR.

Despite the hype, a full-frame DLSR is only worth the investment if you
1. have an existing stash of full frame lenses -- which you don't.
2. you have the budget and interest to invest in a number of full frame lenses -- which from what you have described you are unlikely to do.

Importantly, for 99% of users, the pictures produced by a full frame DLSR are no better than those from a point and shoot, let alone any real discernible difference from those from a reduced frame DLSR.

I currently use a Nikon D7100 and a Sony NEX 6 (the current model is A6000), and my wife has taken over 30,000 shots with a Sony Cyber-shot (an advanced point and shoot fitted with a Carl Ziess lens).

Some observations:

in terms of ease of use and photo quality there is not much difference between the Nikon and the Sony.
(I will admit that when the Nikon is sporting the 85mm/1.8G lens it takes a much better photo than the Sony, but the difference is all in the lens, and I'm guessing that you are unlikely to want to spend $2500 on a single focal length lens! BTW, my Nikon using friends lust after my 85/1.8 G.)
the mirror-less Sony is much, much lighter than the Nikon.
the 16-50 mm "standard" lens supplied with the Sony is pretty good and covers a wide enough focal range to use every day.
when fitted with the 16-50 the Sony fits into the pocket of a jacket -- and I'll sometimes carry the telephoto zoom in another pocket.
the panoramic feature in the Sony means that a true wide angle lens is rarely needed.
one of the things I like about the NEX 6 / A6000 is that the viewfinder energises when brought to eye level.
if you want shots of flowing water you'll also need a good tripod.
if you want to use a super telephoto lens (300 mm or greater) you'll need to invest in a Nikon or Canon mount. But these lens come at a significant cost.
the Nikon has more focus and exposure options than the Sony, but I've been using an SLR for 45 years and have learnt how to use functions like spot metering, Auto exposure lock, and auto focus lock so I don't need all the new bells and whistles bundled into the Nikon. Besides, if like many DSLR users the camra is left in one of the auto modes, the "bells and whistle" options are not used anyway.
what ever camera you purchase, invest in a second battery. Where I live, the second battery travels next to my skin to keep it warm, so that I can swap it for the cold one in the camera.
although I usually shoot full resolution fine detail images (4900 x 2700 pixels), in practice an image a quarter that size is generally better, in terms of pixels, than what can be displayed on a tablet.



Anyways, best wishes for your decision making

EDIT
If you do decide on a full frame body, like a D750, I suggest you invest in a very good "standard zoom" lens. Something like a 24-70 / 2.8
Just be siting down when you hear the price.

Personally. I don't see much point in buying a $2,500 body and matching it with a "good enough" lens. IMO you'd be better off spending less on the body and more on the lens.

[Big Shed]

I might also point out that one of our regular photo contributors, Trev aka replionics, uses a reduced frame DSLR, a Canon 1000D from memory.

I have been using a Canon 450D for some years now and when teamed with a good quality Canon lens it gives superb photos. I particularly like my Canon 10-22mm USM lens when traveling.
I also am very impressed with my Canon 60mm USM Macro lens.

I agree with staying away from the kit lenses, I bought the kit with the 18-55 and 55-250 lenses and whilst the 18-55 is quite a nice lens, and light, the 55-250 is a bit ho-hum.

One day I will lash out on a 70-200 USM.

[Uncle Al]

I have a Nikon D800 DSLR which is way outside your price range, and that is for the body only. My most used lense is a Sigma 50 - 500mm F5.6 which is primarily used for shooting birds ( 2 legged variety!). Birds being as un co-operative as they are, can be in a bush just in front of you (50mm lense), and then take off to the other side of the field (500mm lense), and swapping lenses is just not going to happen in these circumstances. There is usually a Nikon flash sitting on top, and all up weight is quite significant. Not an ideal set up for a few happy snaps, and quite cumbersome, but a great lense for my interests.

For a camera for everyday use and not overly cumbersome, something like the Nikon D750 body and a versatile lense such as the Nikon 28 - 300 or a Sigma or Tamron equivalent should be considered. The number of times a bloke has the wrong lense on when out and about is incredible. If you have a 28mm lense on for a landscape shot, and see a pretty bird in the distance, you will wish that you had a 300mm or bigger lense on, and conversley, after checking out the bird you will want to take a shot of the general area with a 50mm lense or so, which you haven't got on the camera at the moment. Something to do with Murphy's Law I think!

I also have a compact style camera, a Nikon Coolpix P7100 which has all the functionality of a DSLR without the weight or ability to change lenses. The advantages of this camera is it is almost pocket sized, has a great zoom lense, an optical viewfinder and a hot shoe flash mount. I don't know what the modern equivalent is these days, but a very good allrounder, especially for overseas travelling where bulk and weight are a major consideration.

Mirrorless cameras seem to be the flavour of the month, apparently considerably lighter than a DSLR with the ability to change lenses. I haven't looked into the pros and cons of these cameras, but a professional photographer friend of mine has recently sold all of his Canon DSLR's (D5's, D7's etc) and has bought Fuji's. He usually has two cameras with him at all times, especially when shooting weddings, one with a wide angle lense, the other with a longer lense.

It is an interesting road you are about to travel down Graeme, these days virtually all cameras will do a great job, it is just a matter of weighing up all the options and taking the plunge. One thing to consider though, is the ergonomics. If you have little hands, a big DSLR may be a touch awkward to handle, and vice versa with a compact camera.

Anyway, get the dollars organised, and have some fun.

Alan...

[Sawdust Maker]

I'd agree that you probably don't need a full frame camera.

I've got the Canon 7D but that is because I mainly wanted to take sports photos and wanted the frames per second along with duration ie I wanted it to take a high number of photos over about a 15 - 16 second period without missing a beat - My previous camera stopped taking photos to enable it to write to the card just as No1 son hit the second last hurdle and crashed out. a right pain in the left buttock. I commonly take 120 - 130 per race

I use most of the functions on the camera and only rarely use the program mode. It has a couple of self program modes which I find very useful.

I've found over the years that the setting I use the most is Aperture Priority, probably followed by the manual setting. I like the control but then I've been taking photos with SLRs for about 40 years.

When I first bought a digital I went for the canon 20D (since well and truly superseded latest is a 80D I think) and I still use it. I mainly went for the 20D as it was comfortable in my hand - the smaller consumer SLRs didn't feel at all comfortable, they felt too small and too light.

And the main aspect of getting a clear crisp photograph is the lens. You will be surprised with the difference between the lenses as you go up in price and quality. I'd suggest that you go into your local camera store and look through the different lenses. With lenses you tend to get what you pay for. If it's cheap the quality will suffer.

[Woody1]

Hi Brad I had a look at the D750 and it does not appear to have Wi Fi. After much deliberation and help fem forum member I have finally decided on a mid range full frame which ticked all the boxes for me, including slightly smaller and lighter but as expected not all the bells and whistles as the big brother DSLR's.
It is a Canon EOS 6D
I just don't know which lens to get.
I look forward to contributing to this forum when I get out on the road next year and begin learning.
Thank you for your assistance
Graeme

[Woody1]

Hi Ian. After much deliberation and help from many forum member I have finally decided on a mid range full frame which ticked all the boxes for me, including slightly smaller and lighter but as expected not all the bells and whistles as the big brother DSLR's.
It is a Canon EOS 6D
I just don't know which lens to get.
I look forward to contributing to this forum when I get out on the road next year and begin learning.
Thank you for your assistance
Graeme

[Woody1]

Hi Nick. After much deliberation and help from forum members I have finally decided on a mid range full frame which ticked all the boxes for me, including slightly smaller and lighter but as expected not all the bells and whistles as the big brother DSLR's.
It is a Canon EOS 6D
I just don't know which lens to get.
I look forward to contributing to this forum when I get out on the road next year and begin learning.Thank you for your assistance
Graeme

[Woody1]

Hi Alan Wow the Nikon D800 DSLR must be one beautiful Camera.
After much deliberation and help fem forum member I have finally decided on a mid range full frame which ticked all the boxes for me, including slightly smaller and lighter but as expected not all the bells and whistles as the big brother DSLR's.
It is a Canon EOS 6D
I just don't know which lens to get.
Thank you for your assistance
I look forward to contributing to this forum when I get out on the road next year and begin learning.
Graeme

[Woody1]

Hi Fred After much deliberation and help from forum members yourself included I have finally decided on a mid range full frame which ticked all the boxes for me, including slightly smaller and lighter but as expected not all the bells and whistles as the big brother DSLR's.
It is a Canon EOS 6D
I just don't know which lens to get.
Thank you for your assistance
I look forward to contributing to this forum when I get out on the road next year and begin learning.
Graeme

[Woody1]

Hi Nick You certainly must be able to take superb photos with using the manual control and all the years experience behind you.
After much deliberation and listening to forum members excellent advice I have finally decided on a mid range full frame DSLR lighter and smaller camera with WiFi. It ticked all the boxes for me and of course it does not have all the bells and whistles as the big brother DSLR's

I look forward to contributing to this forum when I get out on the road next year and begin learning.

Thank you so much for your valued advice
Graeme

[Woody1]

Hi there Chris. After much deliberation and help from forum members yourself included I have finally decided on a mid range full frame which ticked all the boxes for me, including slightly smaller and lighter but as expected not all the bells and whistles as the big brother DSLR's.
It is a Canon EOS 6D
I just don't know which lens to get.
I intend to contribute to this forum next year when I do some travelling

Graeme

[Sawdust Maker]

As a carry around lens I'd seriously consider this one Canon 24-70
(https://www.canon.com.au/camera-lenses/ef-24-70mm-f-2-8l-ii-usm)
I don't have one but would dearly like one

This is my usual subject - taken more than 100m away using a 100-400 Canon
402726 (https://www.canon.com.au/camera-lenses/ef-24-70mm-f-2-8l-ii-usm)

[Woody1]

Nick
Wow I would have to save up a bit more for that one but you never know I might be lucky!!

I double clicked your photo and it blew up in size. It is crystal clear and the subject is in total focus. Very Nice.
I googled the 100-400 lens and that is some lens, looks beautiful.
So Nick is that the ultimate to have the Canon 24-70 and 100-400 and also a wide angle lens?
Graeme

[ian]

As a carry around lens I'd seriously consider this one Canon 24-70
(https://www.canon.com.au/camera-lenses/ef-24-70mm-f-2-8l-ii-usm)totally agree.

I have the equivalent Nikon lens. It's a very very nice beast.

[Woody1]

Thanks Ian:)

[Sawdust Maker]

Thanks I've been taking photos of him doing this for quite some time

The 100-400 isn't an everyday lens and is quite heavy

I've just bought this lens 70-200 (https://www.canon.com.au/camera-lenses/ef-70-200mm-f-2-8l-usm) and am very happy with it, we (the ever helpful forum members) went through some of my reasons for the purchase here (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f58/quandry-domino-lens-204914)
I'm sure that the slightly slower f4 lens would cover most situations (I didn't get the lens stabilisation version as I didn't have the money, but it helps with longer lens). Also the links in that thread are worth a read and will give you an idea of where to go for discussion and comparison.

and something else that came to mind
if you're going to get a monopod (or tripod) make sure it folds down small enough to fit in your luggage
I've a 3 section monopod and it can be a bit long a 4 section would be better.

PS I wouldn't recommend the 70-300 DO lens. I had it for a while and it is a very useful lens. It falls down in its clarity. It is considered a soft lens in image quality

[Woody1]

Many thanks Sawdust. I will be purchasing that 24-70 Lens along with the Canon EOS 6D body from Camera House in Rockhampton tomorrow.
If I was to purchase another lens for further away photos you would recommend the 70-200 lens. Is that correct?
Thanks
Graeme