Beginner camera

[Bennick16]

Looking at getting a camera to capture some of the cool shots I see when I'm out hunting, fishing, or just driving around. What is a good camera to get that won't break the bank. (cheaper the better). I am also a pilot and would like to get some good aerial shots with it as well.

[Bean Counter]

"the cool shots" you see? Just landscapes then? Or wildlife? You can get plenty of camera by going used, just like binos. Stuff made 5 years ago is still excellent.

[Bennick16]

I guess what I want is more so aimed at wildlife action shots, like Waterfowl and such

[Bean Counter]

K. That means a DSLR + telephoto lens. Which means bulk and some weight. So the principle questions is one of budget: how much total do you want to spend? There's also the issue of weather sealing and your own aversion to the elements. Will the camera only see dry environments? You can keep it in a plastic sack inside your camera bag whilst hiking around and just leave it in there if the rain comes. If you want to pull it out in the rain and crawl through tall, wet grass you'll need either one of two things: a weather sealed camera and lens or a nice camera condom. I just bought this Altura Rain Camera Cover. I don't shoot wildlife much. Its for weddings in case I'm outdoors and the show must go on. Its bulky and stoogy, but should last for at least one gig in the rain. I'm good if it stays unused as a cheap $15 insurance policy. I just checked Costco and sadly it seems as though they quit carrying Pentax DSLRs which is sad, because I don't think there's a better deal out there for a new DSLR and telephoto lens than the $600ish two lens kits they were selling. I think all their cameras have like 80+ weather seals on them. Beware getting a semi-sealed Cannikon body and an unsealed lens. You need a weather sealed lens to complement a weather sealed body or water will enter the body from the lens. Bad juju.

[Firedogg]

 It's not cheap to get a good camera to consistently get good wildlife action shots. You need a camera that focuses quick and a lens that will gather light in less than ideal conditions.  At a minimum you are looking at one of the mid range sub pro bodies running near $1500, then at least a 100-400mm 4.5-5.6 lens, another $1500 plus. Even that set up is a compromise between cost and quality.
  Can you get away with less? Sure, but the results will be frustrating unless you are really experienced with photography and how to get the most out of the equipment.

Those commercials that show the mom getting "Sports Illustrated" quality shots of little Johnny playing football from the stands are one of the biggest commercial lies trying to sell cameras.

[huntnphool]

It's not cheap to get a good camera to consistently get good wildlife action shots. You need a camera that focuses quick and a lens that will gather light in less than ideal conditions.  At a minimum you are looking at one of the mid range sub pro bodies running near $1500, then at least a 100-400mm 4.5-5.6 lens, another $1500 plus. Even that set up is a compromise between cost and quality.
  Can you get away with less? Sure, but the results will be frustrating unless you are really experienced with photography and how to get the most out of the equipment.

Those commercials that show the mom getting "Sports Illustrated" quality shots of little Johnny playing football from the stands are one of the biggest commercial lies trying to sell cameras.

 On a budget I'd look on Craigslist for a used Canon 40D and Canon 70-200mm f4 IS, you can get a lot done with those two pieces and be under $1500.

[Thorny]

Check out the Sony a6000.

It's a mirrorless camera that has a lot of the bells and whistles of the top end DSLRs in a decent price.  This is not a point and shoot, and a lot of pros are going to the Sony's. Also, they're small in size, not in features.  So you won't need a truck to carry the brick, and you still have a plethora of lenses to choose from.

If you're in the south end check out Robi's camera, and I even heard Costco is carrying them.

[Bennick16]

Haha oh... Crap. Yeah I can't afford three months rent for a camera. I guess I'll be sticking with my IPhone. I guess I was under the wrong impression that something like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J34YO92/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1462135209&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=dslr+camera&dpPl=1&dpID=51M-BtvEWAL&ref=plSrch

Would would work well.

[Bennick16]

I could get this if I sold a lot more of my walleye lures
Sony Alpha a6000 Black Interchangeable Lens Camera with 16-50mm and 55-210mm Sony E-Mo... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9FH6O0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awd_UOMjxbEQJVW7M

I do like the photos in the review section

[Thorny]

I could get this if I sold a lot more of my walleye lures
Sony Alpha a6000 Black Interchangeable Lens Camera with 16-50mm and 55-210mm Sony E-Mo... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O9FH6O0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awd_UOMjxbEQJVW7M

I do like the photos in the review section

Beware of some of the Amazon deals because some of their deals are refurbished cameras. 

Also YouTube Sony a6000.  There is a lot of info on it.  We have one, and my wife prefers using that to our heavy Nikon DSLR because how light, fast, and the options it has.

[Smossy]

If you want something easy and small and affordable to treck around with in the woods and do whatever you need to do... Get the Olympus TG-4
Waterproof, Shockproof, Dustproof, Lifeproof. Can withstand 220lbs of direct weight so if you manage to roll around on it stalking game your not gonna hurt it.
I got one similar for my mom. Works great and takes good enough photos with enough resolution to be able to sacrifice the zoom to an extend, you just crop your photos. 16 mp and its small enough to go right into your pocket.

[Bean Counter]

Haha oh... Crap. Yeah I can't afford three months rent for a camera. I guess I'll be sticking with my IPhone. I guess I was under the wrong impression that something like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J34YO92/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1462135209&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=dslr+camera&dpPl=1&dpID=51M-BtvEWAL&ref=plSrch

Would would work well.

There ain't no shame in that T5. Unfortunately that telephoto lens doesn't have image stabilization so you're going to have to use really high ISOs at dawn and dusk in order to use a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake at 300mm, which has 480mm equivelent field of view due to the 1.6x crop factor. You'll want 1/500sec or faster. That's not a problem in the midday, but your images will look very grainy/noisy in low light. I would try to find a similar package with IS on the tele end, not the midrange zoom.

 If you want, you could save even more money by walking the model back to a t3i and just grab one used zoom lens on Craigslist. I'm sure a 75-300mm IS will pop up sooner or later and that shouldn't run you Just remember to get you a good weather coat like the one I linked. Neither the camera body nor the lens are weather sealed. The 7d and 7dII are the only cameras by Canon outside the expensive 1D series that are weather sealed. Even my 5d Mark III, which I paid $2,000 for the body only a year ago, has some weather sealing on it, but isn't weather sealed. It has seen some light rain at a gig and did fine with a weather sealed lens, but after that I bought the camera condom.

Gary Fong is all over YouBoob making noise about Sony but I've yet to come across a wedding photog that uses one. Granted they make the best sensors in the business right now. Nikon has Sony making their sensors.  Mirrorless cameras (regardless of manufacturer) have a deplorable battery life, and while AF and response has come along way, it still isn't as precise as a DSLR.

[Bennick16]

Haha oh... Crap. Yeah I can't afford three months rent for a camera. I guess I'll be sticking with my IPhone. I guess I was under the wrong impression that something like this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J34YO92/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1462135209&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=dslr+camera&dpPl=1&dpID=51M-BtvEWAL&ref=plSrch

Would would work well.

There ain't no shame in that T5. Unfortunately that telephoto lens doesn't have image stabilization so you're going to have to use really high ISOs at dawn and dusk in order to use a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake at 300mm, which has 480mm equivelent field of view due to the 1.6x crop factor. You'll want 1/500sec or faster. That's not a problem in the midday, but your images will look very grainy/noisy in low light. I would try to find a similar package with IS on the tele end, not the midrange zoom.

 If you want, you could save even more money by walking the model back to a t3i and just grab one used zoom lens on Craigslist. I'm sure a 75-300mm IS will pop up sooner or later and that shouldn't run you Just remember to get you a good weather coat like the one I linked. Neither the camera body nor the lens are weather sealed. The 7d and 7dII are the only cameras by Canon outside the expensive 1D series that are weather sealed. Even my 5d Mark III, which I paid $2,000 for the body only a year ago, has some weather sealing on it, but isn't weather sealed. It has seen some light rain at a gig and did fine with a weather sealed lens, but after that I bought the camera condom.

Gary Fong is all over YouBoob making noise about Sony but I've yet to come across a wedding photog that uses one. Granted they make the best sensors in the business right now. Nikon has Sony making their sensors.  Mirrorless cameras (regardless of manufacturer) have a deplorable battery life, and while AF and response has come along way, it still isn't as precise as a DSLR.

http://moseslake.craigslist.org/ele/5558680269.html

Opinions?

[Bean Counter]

 Not bad, but that's a little more than I would pay for that kit. You can spend a little bit more and get new stuff. Especially since that lens doesn't look like it's image stabilized. Gotta be a detail hound esp when buying used--there's both an IS 75-300 and a non-IS.  Best indication from that advertisement is that it is not image stabilized. Again who cares if the 18-55 lens has IS?

  You can always email him and confirm whether the longer lens is image stabilized or not. If it is, should be good for at least two stops at the longer end so instead of 1/500 you could shoot 1/125, which is fast enough to freeze docile movement of a deer or elk as long as they ain't running. Ergo that could mean shooting at ISO 1,600 instead of 6,400. Much cleaner image.


Do your own web search and you'll find tons of resources on how to evaluate the condition of a used dslr. Don't forget to check the sensor. Basically point it at a white wall and focus to infinity or point it at a clear blue sky and focus close. Stop te aperture down to max and shoot for a few seconds with the Is off. Upload the image and pump the contrast and you can see how much crud is on the sensor. If it's enough to bother you then you're looking at another $50ish to get it cleaned unless you have big testicles and want to attempt it yourself.

With my spastic fingers that's a colossally 

[Bean Counter]

Also, if you have a friend with a Nikon I would go finger it a bit and see if it feels comfortable to you. If you're dead set on not spending a lot on your total camera Investment I think Nikon is better at the entry level than Canon. It matters which feels better in your hand with the controls. When you get into $1,000+ lenses, I think there are a few reasons to stay with canon, besides just being too lazy to switch (me).