Camera

When I was needing help on cameras and lenses, our @ARMANDII and @wiseowl came to my rescue, and I am sure they will be able to give you some good advice.

Regarding wi-fi, it generally makes it easier to transfer images from the camera to your PC, but tread carefully as some cameras only allow you to view the files via an app and not actually transfer them

 

Hi Kazzawazza,

Well, you've not mentioned your budget or how, or low, you're thinking of the cameras megapixel resolution.

You could consider these

Canon EOS Rebel SL2 / EOS 200D + EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Canon EF-S | Screen: 3in vari-angle touchscreen, 1,040,000 dots | Max burst speed: 5fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

Canon EOS Rebel SL2 / EOS 200D + EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Canon EF-S | Screen: 3in vari-angle touchscreen, 1,040,000 dots | Max burst speed: 5fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

Canon EOS 1300D + EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS II

Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 18MP | Lens mount: Canon EF-S | Screen: 3in fixed, 920,000 dots | Max burst speed: 3fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner


. Nikon D5600 + AF-P 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G DX VR


Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Nikon F (DX) | Screen: 3.2in vari-angle touchscreen, 1,037,000 dots | Max burst speed: 5fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

5. Pentax K-70 + HD DA 18-50mm f/4-5.6 DC WR RE

Type: DSLR | Sensor: APS-C | Megapixels: 24.2MP | Lens mount: Pentax KAF2 | Screen: 3in tilting, 921,000 dots | Max burst speed: 6fps | Max video resolution: 1080p (Full HD) | User level: Beginner

I'm a Pentax fan and have been so as far back as the 1960's. There is a vast range of K Mount (Pentax) lenses, second hand and new, going back to the 1950's which the older lenses (glass) being legendary for their quality. So you can have a top class camera with the ability to fit top class lenses going back from macro lenses to large telephoto lenses over several decades. Pentax are also renown for building tough, weather proof, dust proof cameras.

This was taken with my Pentax K5 DSLR while sitting on a river bank using a 35 year old secondhand Pentax 80mm-320mm telephoto lens....handheld.


Taken with the Pentax K5 and a Tamron 90mm (macro) 25 year old second hand lens in shade by
my Wildlife pond.......handheld.


You might, eventually, also want to buy different lenses for whatever camera you buy so there are two main independent lens manufacturers, Tamron and Sigma, who both make quality lenses. In fact Nikon and Canon don't make their own lenses but get them from Tamron and Sigma.
I would, if you can, buy a new camera which will come with at least one kit lens and then if you want to pick up a decent second hand macro and/or telephoto lens.

 

In my opinion WiFi is, at the very least, secondary. What you need to consider in a camera is reliability. it's resolution (megapixels)....that has basically nothing to do with your lenses but the sensor in the camera, it's quality and ability to take knocks and are supplementary lenses easily and cheaply available either secondhand or new. I have 22 lenses altogether (....I know, I know, and they're a mixture of of Pentax, Tamron and Sigma.

 

Not true, Kazzawazza, that is just sales talk. Nikon don't make cameras directed to "

" They're a vast manufacturer whose camera are directed to photographers on a global scale. To be honest, that sort of sales hype would put me off buying from any photo shop that came out with that sort of stuff in order to get you to buy a different model. To be frank, if I was going to buy either a Canon or a Nikon, (which I would never do), I would go for the Nikon.

It's still just a camera, basically the same as a Box Brownie....well, maybe slightly more sophisticated. I tend to walk around the garden, etc, with the camera in my hand and after a while it feels like it's part of me instead of just a lump of metal/plastic, glass. Whatever you buy, hold it, get to know it, how it handles and how it works...........if a Village Idiot like me can do then you most certainly will.

 

Oh, I wish that was true, Kazz, but I have seen images taken with really basic, cheap, point and shoot cameras that truly outshone and outclassed those taken with a DSLR. A DSLR does not guarantee clearer, sharper shots.........that is up to the photographer A DSLR, once you understand how it works, what apertures, depth of field, etc, there are for you to use to get a good image, will help you to compose a shot and, on auto do most of the work for you. I never use auto but from experience chose my film speed, aperture, exposure speed, etc, but that comes from just understanding what a camera is actually doing when the controls are set. When you get the camera, walk around with it in your hand and you'll soon find you've forgotten it's there and it become more natural to use it..........and take plenty of shots to get familiar with it.

 

I have a Nikon D5500 and it's a great snapper! Definitely ignore wi-fi as although later models make it simple to transfer the images over wi-fi, the earlier ones (such as mine) its a complete faff and frankly if all you have to do is pop the card out and into the pc then the process is easier and faster by manually doing it. Windows actually enables you to automate this process too so you dont even have to click!
If its your first DSLR then i'd opt for the D5300 as it also has gps which I quite like so it tags where the pic was taken and you can pick these up for peanuts now and spend the difference on an extra lens. I use Sigma lenses (F mount) over Tamron but its personal choice again. Sigma have a gizmo that lets you fine tune and make adjustments to the lens itself, something I don't think anyone else does. Why? Because lenses aren't all manufactured perfectly and people like to fiddle in any event! Lenses also come with firmware these days so the gizmo lets you update that too which can bring improvements to, for example, image stabilisation.

 

Good morning @kazzawazza my friend I have owned and tested every make of DSLR on the market,we all have our own preferences mine is the Cannon as the screen suits me better than all the other's but they are all much of the same,its a personal preference ,I am not going to blind you with science,or bells and whistles,as for your question on Wi Fi yes it is very useful at the moment I use the Panasonic F1000 which is a bridge camera but has the largest sensor on the market and also has 4K video,it does everything that my DSLR's do and more,and I don't have to keep changing lens when I am out and about,every time you change a lens ,no matter how careful you are dust will find a way onto the sensor after a while,so there you have it my friend,if you need any more advice just ask

 

I have to confess that although I have had the K5 for around 10 years and swapped lens many times, indoors and out, my K5 sensor hasn't got a speck of dust on it. I always carry my spare lenses in use in an individual plastic bag and in a pocket while always, when removing a lens, pointing the front of the camera downwards while changing onto the new lens. I do have the cleaning kits and blowers but never used them "in anger" yet, maybe I've been lucky

 

I have a Ring Flash, Mike, but found, in certain instances, it gave flat colours, one of the other things is that I tend to take macro images "on the hooF" and found a Ring Flash a bit awkward when having to stick a lens into "undergrowth". I have found I prefer taking images in the soft light of the morning or the evening, but it's all down to personal tastes, experience, etc