550$ what camera?
 

Ok so I have $550 for a camera. It needs to be best buy because 250 is a gift card.

I think most of the pictures and video will be from the boat for mainly wakeboarding and a little bit of surfing.

I also have a 3.5 year old and would like to take really good pictures of her and those moments you wish you had a really good camera.


I know GoPro isnt great from the boat but is versatile. I do not think we will be in a tube shooting video and I do not think we will be worried about mounts etc. That is why I am saying most likely we will just shoot from the boat. I do not know much about any other cameras but I know a lot of you do. Ive read a lot of post and seen some of your replies to other threads but none really mention cost lol and these things can get very expensive! I was shocked by some of the pricing.

I would like to be able to get decent video and capture really good pics. So any adivce you have even if it is to save up more money and get something a little more pricey please let me know.

Thanks for all your help and input.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/nikon-d3...&skuId=4437132 - SOLID kit

or if you REALLY can't swing the extra $50.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/nikon-d3...&skuId=3394038

The only difference is that the first one comes with an added 55-200mm lens

I would go mirror less honestly
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-alp...&skuId=8428893

If you could I would go up to a6000 and get the viewfinder
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-a60...&skuId=1558119

Open box gets you close to 550 and might could go open box body only and then get a lens used

550$ what camera?
 

Tom put up good kits, I converted 100% to Sony and love it. Video quality and dynamic range is out of this world. They are also really compact while still being big enough to hold, like a film slr. So I'm more likely to take it with me. I leave my big a77 at home and take the mirror less nex6 (old a6000) a lot

I would also consider an rx100

my daughter just got a sony A58 kit with 18-55 lens open box on amazon for $300, prime shipping.

I'm sony/minolta so I gave her a few of my less used lenses to use.

550$ what camera?
 

^ I had an a57 before my 77 and that is a fantastic buy for that price. That camera treated me very well. Love that Minolta glass

Remember best buy will price match any competitor so don't forget to shop around. Amazon can get you deals with price match just make sure it's actually Amazon selling or it won't fly

Joel do you have A77 or A77mkii? I am A57 myself, but A77Mkii does have be interested in upgrading the body.

As with anything, the glass is half the battle on good pics. Kit lenses will generally take ok to good pics, but somewhat nicer glass will really step up the image quality.

Because the crop sensor is a zoom itself, my tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens is my go-to 99% of the time. can zoom out enough for great portraits/candids, and zoom in enough for action shots (especially from the boat). I also have a Minolta 80-200 APO F2.8 lens which takes great pics, but 80 is too long for anything closer than 20' if you want to get a "whole person" in the frame. Here's an example my son got of me from the boat with the tamron a couple of weeks ago. Basically I just set the white balance and aperture and give someone the camera. It also shoots really good video (better autofocus than the nikon and canon competitors at the same pricepoint when I bought in 2012).

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...97333107_o.jpg

550$ what camera?
 

Can't believe you rock a M 80-200. Drooling. I run original a77. I considered upgrading but have been putting money into the boat instead... You know how that goes. Will probably go for glass next anyway. (Minolta 300 or Sony 70-400) I got caught up in body's for a while and realized I was missing the picture... Haha.. And not focusing on what I was taking and instead the camera I had to have.

I would upgrade to mk2 for one main reason and thats high ISO ability. My 77 struggles at 1600 and I have to overexposed to keep it usable noise wise (to my standards). I have done one shoot where I was okay with delivering 1600 ISO photos and I wish I could grab at it more commonly for wildlife. My main is honestly a 50 prime 1.7 Minolta. Even cropped restricting myself to a 50 for 3 months took my shooting to a different level. But now also use Sony 28-75 2.8 commonly plus a beercan. What body are you on? If I had an a99 I would only go 77.2 for wildlife reach (probs just crop) or a backup body.

That is a beautiful picture.

So I still have no idea what to do. I have been watching reviews and trying to find action shots of the cameras you all have mentioned and I am just no expert at all. So do you all have some wakeboarding pics you can post from the boat? Also next month if I wait to purchase I can probably throw down up to 900$ or so. I am not going to be a professional but want something that I will be happy with for a long time.

Or if a camera in the 550-600 range works great with certain glass maybe I can get that next month and the camera now.

I do appreciate all the input and I cannot wait to start sharing photos and learning from you all!

I'm on an A57. The 80-200 is money shooting my son's wrestling indoors. Great minolta colors. But outdoors if I'm being honest, I get just as good out of a beercan (which I "lent" my daughter).

I have a sony 50 prime but I think something is wrong with it... it never focuses as sharp as the tamron. I have been looking for a craigslist minolta 35 or 50 prime tho...

But yeah, low light performance is definitely marginal with sony. sounds like a77ii is a big step up there.

Beware what you ask for people will rain down with photos. Note that these aren't artsy, they're just taken by regular people from the boat (99% of the time they are taken by my wife or son because I am driving).

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...6b&oe=55E9EFE3

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...b6&oe=55FE0C94

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...02&oe=56299F6C

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...cf&oe=56012410

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...94&oe=55F85741

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...29442453_o.jpg

(^^^^ miss you old boat!!)

550$ what camera?
 

You don't need to spend $900. A D3300 is perfect for your needs. Use the extra money later for alternate lenses.

Mirror less is probably the future, but I'd let that mature a bit before going that route.

Nikon D3300 👌🏻

https://flic.kr/p/nGuDkT

Scroll around that album. All shot with a D3200

550$ what camera?
 

Sorry I don't take mine on the boat often since No one else uses it and I either am out in the water or I'm driving. I'll try to bring it out next time I can get out! Tom links to a great kit. I would do that or the Sony a58. While personally I would go Sony ...Nikon makes a wonderful camera, they wouldn't be a leader in the field of not. They will both work well for you

Agreed that you don't need to spend 900 right now. If anything I might add a tamron 70-300 to either of these cameras next month, still be well under 900 and have a large focal range and plenty of camera body for your needs

I am pulling the trigger this week! I am excited and very nervous all the same.

So in all the research and youtube videos I have watched it seems that the A6000 has won all comparisons between the A58 and D3300.

Any reasons I should not get it for the boat, hiking etc? You guys use these cameras so I am listening to your personal experiences. It seems like the glass truly makes the difference in the picture.

Thanks

The biggest reason why I lean towards Nikon and sticking with a traditions mirrored camera is the availability of accessories. You can find GREAT deals on lenses on craigslist and at camera shops that sell used equipment.

BTW, here is a video I shot entirely on my D3200. https://vimeo.com/102286026 edit: actually not entirely... forgot some of it was gopro footage.

550$ what camera?
 

Reasons not to go a6000

Smaller body of you are gonna try to hang a massive telephoto off the front.

A mount Sony/Minolta lenses require an adapter (autofocus ones are like 200 dollars)
A6000 uses e mount

Less accessories like Tom says

Pros:
Video quality will be fantastic 1080/60 progressive

Smaller body is often more convenient on hiking trips etc when space and weight matters

Super easy to buy any old manual focus vintage lens and get a 10 dollar adapter. Gorgeous canon fd glass is crazy cheap

I think the accessories really is the major hardship. There are a lot of Nikon accessories in the world used. Many more than mirrorless. Further, the need for an expensive adapter to use autofocus Minolta lenses is annoying. But I bought one, it works well and now I can use my ginormous Sony long lenses on the mirrorless

https://vimeo.com/130763445

I tried to go over a lot of stuff here, it was all adlibs and rushed so I'm sure it rambles plenty.

I wanted to actually show you the camera styles you are looking at and some lenses and how they hang.
*i mention how much heavier my a77 is and an a58 will not be near that heavy, my 77 is bigger and made of magnesium alloy, it's pretty heavy but worth it. I'm not sure how heavy Nikon stuff is, in sure it's online somewhere.

Hope this helps a little bit... It's a little long

joel that is so awesome man! I really do appreciate that and I think you have helped make up my mind.

Tom, Shawn, Joel, you have all helped and I thank you.

I am leaning towards the A6000 for the size and I will be carrying it a lot. I hike a lot and will use it on the boat a lot so I think the size works best for me. As far a lenses and all I will probably only need a good for shooting kids from 5-10' away. And I will need something for photos and video of wakeboarding, so 65-80' away.

I do not think manual focus and adapters will bother me to much. I think if I did use old school parts I may learn more.

How is the durability of these cameras, I know i dont want to drop it but are they toast if you do?

thanks again!

a6000 will be a little less durable most likely, but they all have at least a magnesium alloy chassis(so thats pretty awesome). It should hold up fine to normal stuff but if you drop any on a rock from 6 ft hold your breath who knows. If it hits the body you're probably fine, but if it hits the lens it might break the lens mount. I think I have dropped the ned 6 a few times and its completely fine.

as far as dropping goes, to me these http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ba_KGP_02.html are worth their weight in gold. simple, and effective

If I were to want a longer lens for the a6000 you could probably use that 28-70 I showed you, those are 270 used on amazon. If you wanted to wait another month the sony 18-105 f4 looks pretty awesome and you could pretty much just use that lens. great focal range, and aperture.

Manual focus is for the birds. Not even pros use manual focus.

Im gonna have to disagree on that considering almost all zeiss lenses and all Leica glass is literally only offered in manual focus. But yes af is used most often now

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-alp...&skuId=4660008

Ok so I am right in saying one has the viewfinder and one does not as mentioned above? This link is the the black one with a viewfinder and open box is $524? Why is the white and silver more? Anything different than the color?

550$ what camera?
 

All 3 of your current options have viewfinders. On the a6000 the viewfinder is at the top left on the back like a rangefinder and not in the middle. Usually there is a small difference in price for some reason due to it being a different store that had the open box or whatever. They both say excellent condition so I think there is no difference other than for some reason best buy decided to list the other colors more expensive. Maybe the have a couple black ones and are trying to get rid of them. All colors should only be different by the color, everything else should be he same

I'd go with a Canon t5i.

those sony's are making some damn nice pictures. does it lack anywhere that a full bodied DSLR would excel? Low light couldn't be compensated with ISO I'm guessing

The Sony pictures on this thread are all from full body sony (a57) but the mirrorless ones run same or better sensors so the pictures are just as good. Mirrorless did struggle with af speed but the new ones have a much better af system

Another great choice.

I can see some upside of the little sony mirrorless... sometimes having a "big" (DSLR sized) camera is dorky/inappropriate, and people don't like it shoved in their face. For a super high quality point and shoot that doesn't give the impression of having a big camera stuck in your face they seem awesome. <--- I hope this is read as me wanting one, cuz I do.

For shooting sports or outdoors or wildlife where you will rely on the viewfinder more.... I still think I'd gravitate toward a big camera.

Damn! 25MP and built in wifi is pretty nice! Its true, I don't bring my DSLR with me on trips because of its size. I'm liking this option more and more.

can you swap lenses on the a6000?

Sure, any Sony e mount. The video I posted explains a little about lenses and such

I'll check it out

A6000 should be here thursday! cannot wait!