Recommend me a camera please

james-safc

Central Defender
I've been interested in photography for a number of years now but have never taken the plunge and actually bought a camera. I've always had smartphones with excellent cameras (pixel 4) and have a good understanding of editing software and manual controls on third party apps to really push the photos i take to the limit.

I'm wanting to go to the next level and spend money on a proper camera though. I like to take stills (not interested in video) of anything any everything- landscapes, wildlife, sunsets, light trails/long exposure, buildings etc.

My budget is definitely under £500 and im not wanting anything huge- ideally something fairly small/light to chuck in a backpack. I'd like a good point and shoot option but also the ability to mess with settings for long exposure shots. I also like the idea of seeing the image before it is taken (my understanding is that mirorless cameras can do this but dslr cannot?).

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I've seen things like the fujifilm xt100 receive good write ups but no idea if that would be suitable for me.

Thanks in advance
 


Lots of modern dSLRs will let you have a live view where you flip the mirror up and view the live image on a screen if that is what you mean? Its not great in bright sunlight though!

Mirrorless main advantage is size and weight, but your budget will restrict you. Doing all the things you want would really need multiple lenses which is where the money would go.
 
Yes live view is what i mean, thanks.

It looks like the sony a6000 could be a good option, especially from ebay in near new condition. What do you reckon?
 
You might want to check out some reviews on the links in this thread, he's very thorough and will give you a good idea of your options

 
Olympus em10mk2.
super little camera, available at Jessops with two lenses for less than £500. The 40-150mm kit lens is a fantastic bit of kit.
 
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Very little difference for the money. I've used the mk2 for a couple of years and it does everything I need.

Fair enough. Having done more research tonight, it looks like my options are: a6000, fuji xt-100, panasonic gx85 or olympus em10 mk2. Im not interested in video whatsoever- which would you recommend? (I like the idea of the sony the most but the age of the model concerns me)
 
The Sony is supposed to be the best selling mirrorless camera, but sony lenses tend to be expensive, same with Fuji. Very good glass, but very pricey.

personally, I'd go with either the Panny or Olympus. You have the benefit of their lenses being interchangeable.
Visit Jessops or another camera seller, get the feel for them, and simply choose the one you like best. At the end of the day they'll all very capable cameras for not a huge amount of money.
 
I shoot Sony, a7iii and a6400. Glass ican be expensive, but the crop stuff can be had for little money. 16-55 for around £70 second hand and 55-200 for about £120 second hand, just depends on how serious you go if you want better lenses!
 
I shoot Sony, a7iii and a6400. Glass ican be expensive, but the crop stuff can be had for little money. 16-55 for around £70 second hand and 55-200 for about £120 second hand, just depends on how serious you go if you want better lenses!
i’m considering moving from an A6000 to an A7RIII, what’s the A7III like in comparison? I’ve looked online, but apart from pixel shift and pixel count, I can’t see much.
 
I've been interested in photography for a number of years now but have never taken the plunge and actually bought a camera. I've always had smartphones with excellent cameras (pixel 4) and have a good understanding of editing software and manual controls on third party apps to really push the photos i take to the limit.

I'm wanting to go to the next level and spend money on a proper camera though. I like to take stills (not interested in video) of anything any everything- landscapes, wildlife, sunsets, light trails/long exposure, buildings etc.

My budget is definitely under £500 and im not wanting anything huge- ideally something fairly small/light to chuck in a backpack. I'd like a good point and shoot option but also the ability to mess with settings for long exposure shots. I also like the idea of seeing the image before it is taken (my understanding is that mirorless cameras can do this but dslr cannot?).

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I've seen things like the fujifilm xt100 receive good write ups but no idea if that would be suitable for me.

Thanks in advance
I've got an olympus E-M10 and a couple of lenses going for not a huge amount if you want it.
 

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