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Photographers what are you shooting with?
I'll start, Sony A7C, w/ Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 as my main lens. Have a Sony 28-60mm f/4 as well, though its more for where I need a really compact setup.
Looking to get a Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 for a little extra fov when indoors, while still having some reach. Planning on getting the A7CII when it comes out supposedly later this year according to sonyalpharumors.
I cannot recommend the modern mirrorless systems enough. Sony, Canon and others all do amazing things you just can't do with a DSLR. the superzoom lenses you can get are just amazingly versatile for those of us who don't want to carry a mass amount of lenses around,. When stuff moves, they also give the flexibility to let us get all the shots.
Right now I'm on a Canon EOS R-series. I mostly shoot with a 24-240mm f/4, a 50mm F/1.8 and a 100-400mm f/5.6 which i also have a 2x splitter to make it 200-800mm.
Realistically though, you could get your preferred R-series (just R, R7 or R8) with the 24-240mm for less than $3000, selecting a model by combinations of stills/videos you shoot.
Then we can all drool over those who splash out on the R3 or R5.
I think I'll close out my lens collection with something like a 75-200 even larger focal length, depends on what tamron comes out with! They've stated theyre going to be pumping out new lens.
Im not really aware of the other brands including this, but any opinions about the AI features in Sony's newest cameras that help focus/frame the subject?
For shooting stuff like birds, sports and other moving things, modern algorithms and AI for autofocus are basically game-changers.
Phones used to be as good or better for most people to shoot with compared to cameras because of the software. It took time, but now the software in modern cameras is miles ahead of phones again.
I haven't found a case where I'd actually use auto-framing, or stood there shooting thinking "I'd love to auto-frame this shot!" I assume I'm not the target audience for this, and it's something more for influencers/tiktokers/youtubers, maybe?
Auto-framing is definitely for content creators, as its currently on their "vlogger" cameras.
I would love to get an R7, but sadly it's not in the budget currently. For now I have to make do with my 80D, not a bad camera either.
Enjoy yours!
I'd skip switching out my phone (if it still works) and rather save for a mirrorless camera.
The 80D is a great camera and will continue to serve you well. In the meantime, the development of mirrorless technology will surely continue, and prices gradually come down, at least a little.
/offtopic: Curious what photographers stopping by this thread would recommend as the cheapest possible option that takes noticeably better photos than a phone camera.
This is a really hard question.
A quality prime lens on any modern camera that accepts interchangeable lenses can produce better images than most phones, but doing so isn't easy.
You sacrifice portability, connectivity, and the learning curve is steep. When really, phones are usually good enough... outside of sports, studio and portrait work.
True, but quality isn't the only upside of having a single-task device:
And then to beat most phones reliably for an amateur, you're quickly looking at a couple thousand dollars in gear at least.
I’ve been having similar thoughts, both in considering a dedicated camera and about all of the conveniences of just using my phone.
Are any of the phone attachable lens worth getting? The optical zoom leaves a lot to be desired for wildlife/bird photography when on a walk at the park, at least with my iPhone 11.
I actually come from mobile photography first #TeamPixel. Whatever you do, do not buy Moment. Their cases use some weird brittle plastic that will break inevitably where you attach the lens on.
However, I found the 58mm and Macro lens the best for photography, and wide angle (17mm?) best for videography since phones crop in for stabilisation these days. There's also anamorphic lens for those wanting to get fancy with their videos. I'd take a look at shiftcam.
Huh, interesting you say that about Moment, I haven’t had that issue with the lens mount breaking. I guess YMMV. At least they come with two mounts so in the instance that one breaks, you have a replacement. I personally recommend the lenses though.
Replaceable mounting points wasn't available for android phones at the time and I wasn't going to pay for a new case everytime it broke. This happened across two generations of phone and I sold off all my lens. The lens themselves were fine, but I couldn't trust the mount anymore. The case anchor points were also made of the same plastic, which I had attached a peak design anchor on it. It suddenly broke on me while I was at the beach, thankfully I was holding on to the phone.
It's entirely possible they've fixed by now, but I'd only really use the macro lens for photography as I don't shoot videos enough to justify the wide and anamorphic lens. Zoom lens included in phones now have made the 58mm obsolete too imo.
Wildlife photography can get really expensive, because to do it well, you need a really good telephoto lens.
I only know about Sony cameras but I'd suggest something in the a6xxx series. For the lens, theres plenty of budge lens companys like samyang, rokinon, or a bit in the middle like tamron. You can get a "prime" lens, which is of only a single focal length. These are typically cheaper and have clear images than "zoom" lenses which have multiple focal lengths. I'd suggest something in the 35-50mm range, with a f/number of f/2.8 or lower. However, keep in mind that there are different lenses for APSC cameras and Full Frame cameras. a6xxx series are APSC.
I'm just getting into the hobby so I'm not sure how this will be received by people who know more than me, but when I was looking at cameras I wanted something small, cheap, and like you said, noticeably better than a phone. I decided on an Olympus om-d em10 and I'm pretty happy with it. Not every shot is consistently better than my phone, but in good conditions it's night and day. I think I'd recommend going a step up and getting the slightly more expensive em5 though, since mine isn't waterproof, which worries me a bit.
I started with a good olympus prime and added another cheap chinese-made prime, which are both fun. But I recently upgraded to the olympus 12-40 f2.8 which is really nice, and way easier than switching lenses. Again, I think I made a slight mistake though, and would probably take the 12-45 f4 if I could choose again, just because of the size.
Everyone is welcome! We all had to learn somewhere and r/photography and r/sonyalpha were key resources for me in learning!
I’ve been using film lately. Canon giii and an old rolleiflex. I’m impreeeef how much 35mm film cost now.
Having film developed is a nightmare too. It's so expensive!
Late response sorry. Here in NY I think it’s fairly cheap to develop. It’s the film itself which is outrageous
I used to use darkroom and it was super expensive and took a long time. My uncle has a darkroom set and I am tempted to take it from him but then again I don't know what I am doing with film in the first place. I have a nikon df from the 1960s and i love it.
Having a full darkroom setup is really great if you get into printing (further down this hobby rabbithole), but you don't need anything crazy if you're just looking to develop film. If your uncle has a film development tank, all you need to get started developing black and white film is the right chemicals and a changing bag (or totally dark room for ~10 minutes as you load the film). Chemical cost is probably ballpark $30 for beginner quantities of the most forgiving developing agent.
I'm using a Fujifilm X-T3 with a 90mm F/2. The photos I get straight out of the camera are gorgeous and I need minimal editing. I also have a 35mm F/1.4 which is good for wides but my vision of the world is better captured with the 90.
What picture profile do you use? I'm not sure if the same ones are used across cameras but I use PP10 and have been very happy with how the colors come out and don't really need editing, but I try to match the actual colors at a time to have as true a snapshot as possible.
I actually shoot raw!! I'm not trying to make my photos real-to-life, I take photos and then edit them to match my aesthetic and show my friends how I see the world.
I was originally going to say that I enjoy editing, but then I realized that I enjoy instilling my photos with a vibe that I like and I don't think any profile captures that. I can make a recipe for my editing, but I don't want to lose the subtle differences that arise from doing it manually. Plus, sometimes I go for an edit that's starkly different from my normal style. I think the act of editing is an activity that lets me put my character into the "objective" snapshot that my camera captures. To me, it takes my photos of normal, mundane things and makes them unique!!
Fuji XE3. Bunch of primes in my bag: 8mm and 12mm manual focus Samyangs and a Fuji 60mm. The 8mm is bonkers at first but with some practice you can get very nice ultrawide images out of what is near-as-dammit a fisheye. The 12mm is the best street/walkaround lens I've used. The 60mm portrait is a bit tight for some situations but it's very kind to people's faces. Macro rail and tubes for close up stuff (I do product photography of small items). I have a few other lenses but I almost never use them. Occasionally I'll drag out my Jupiter-8 50mm f2, which is a Sonnar clone and personally, I think it's better that the Leica. Beautiful lens, little twitchy to use but can get amazing results.
I just adore Fuji's incredible colour rendition and outstanding film emulation. I don't shoot RAW, I have 5-6 emulation presets going straight to JPG because my life does not have enough time for post-processing photos and I like the creative restriction of having to using a certain type of "film".
I also love the physical controls of the Fuji X-series - I used to be all Nikon, big chunky DSLR and hyperzoom lenses until I picked up a Fuji X100 and within a month sold all my Nikon gear. The X100 remains the most joyful digital camera I've ever owned, and I've owned digital cameras from the days when 2Mpx was good! It's just so... camera-y. Knobs, not menus. Viewfinder not screen. It's touchable and after a while it's just part of your hand in a way no digital-era camera I'd used before was. The XE3 does that too, although not quite as successfully, but the fixed lens on the X100 wasn't quite flexible enough for me.
I wish Fuji would bring out an XE5 with their latest sensor and processing system, not to mention better video capabilities but the XE range doesn't seem to be one of their priorities. I'm fine with the one I have though. I don't want an SLR-style camera again, I loved rangefinders back in my film days (FED-4 forever!) and I'm happy enough to have a professional grade digital in that style even if it's not so cutting edge any more.
My main camera is a Canon EOS R (not one of the numbered ones, but the first full frame mirrorless Canon released). It has the same sensor as their 5D Mk IV. I love it. My main lenses I use are the EF 24-70mm f/2.4L II, Sigma Art 50mm f/1.4, and Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4. I have other lenses but don't use them as much as these three.
I also have a Leica M240 with a 50mm Summarit-M f/2.4 and a 35mm Summarit-M f/2.4. I mainly only use this for street photography.
Pentax K-1 mark II DSLR with a variety of fast primes when doing "serious" shooting. Fuji W-3 stereo camera when being quirky. Pentax MX-1 point and shoot, or my phone, when traveling. Like @Dotz0cat I keep a variety of other digicams about, even if they're rather dated, sometimes it's fun to pull one out and play. One of those I have a especially soft spot for is an old Panasonic/Lumix DMC-ZS25.
I'm currently shooting with a Sony A7III. I converted from a Canon 5DmkII a couple years ago. I'm still using my EF mount lenses with a MC-11 adapter since I wasn't sure I would stick with Sony, but I've been really impressed with their platform. On the last few trips I've taken, I rented some E-mount lenses and they perform a lot better, so I'm thinking about swapping out all my lenses finally.
Highly suggest the Tamron 28-75mm!
Thanks for the suggestion, that is a good focal range! All my current lenses are Sigma, but I've actually never had a Tamron, though I've looked at them often.
Using a Nikon D7200 with a Nikkor 17-55mm 1:2,8G that I got from Ebay for around 200€. I have a cheap Nikkor 18-200mm that I got 14 years ago. Its best times are definitely over.
The only thing I can say about mirrorless cameras is, that DSLR equipment got laughable cheap 2nd hand. The 17-55 used to cost almost 2k. Never tried mirrorless cameras before. I like to make photos but I'm not too deep into it or professional. I usually make concert and wildlife photos, and for that, the hardware does its job very well.
I'm using the Nikon D3200 with the Nikkor 35 mm lens, I've been trying out photography for around 7-8 months now, street photography to be more precise, haven't done that much but it's a lot of fun :) I love how the photos come out, and maybe I'm gonna get an 85 mm if I get more into shooting portraits.
I mainly do street photography as well! I'm slowly getting into portraits more and just looked into some poses on tiktok, seems like theres a few easy basic poses that really bring out the subject.
I've got to read lots of tips and such on Reddit also, especially about approaching people in the streets for pics, now it's all about actually trying it
I love using digicams. I called then nuggets. I mainly use a Sony cyber shot dsc-w300. I also use a Nikon coolpix s9. I have an Olympus camedia c-4000z. It’s an amazing macro camera for what it is. I also sometimes use a Minolta dimage g500. I call the Minolta a dad camera.
I switched from Nikon dslr late last year to sony mirrorless and am loving it. a7rv x 2, 24-70 gm ii, 70-200 gm ii. Next up will be the 16-35. Currently in the process of selling all my old gear. fuji x100v is gone already, x100f is about to go, nikon d850, d750 x 2, 14-24, 24-70, 70-200, 35 1.4, 85 1.4 are all up next. I wanted to keep the x100v but I've spent a lot on the new sony stuff and need to offset some of the cost.
Panasonic GX85 with the 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6, 25mm f/1.7, 45-150mm f/4-5.6 and a Yongnuo 42.5mm f/1.7.
Micro Four Thirds is great if you enjoy compact bodies and lenses. Wish there were more third-party autofocus lenses though.
I have two cameras which I use frequently:
An A7rIII for most of my shooting, as well as an A7s which has been converted to a full spectrum camera for infrared photography. For both, I have a set of the three Tamron f/2.8 zooms which I've really enjoyed using.
Primarily a D600 with a 50MM prime but lately I have been shooting on a cropped Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED. What I am getting is an extreme vignette. I'd be lying if part of my reasoning is being to cheap to buy a full frame lens but the effect is pretty cool.
I love using DSLRs though I don't have one right now. I use my Pixel 6's camera and it's good enough for almost anything I do on a normal basis. I still have my old Canon Rebel film camera though!
I have a Pixel 6 Pro, which is great for most situations, but the A7C is amazing in most situations.
Still using a Fuji X100. The only downside is that the viewfinder rubber has gone sticky over the years. Not sure how to fix that -- so it makes my glasses dirty every time I use it.
GSW690 III and a random pointo & shoot ricoh myport mini are the daily carries though. Having a lot of fun with the GSW690 after having picked up on a trip to replace my 645 setup (heavy). It's my first camera with a manual film advance (and no meter) and something about the tactility of having to wind up the advance is nice right now.
Can't you buy a replacement eye cup ? I did for my xt3
I wish I could, but it doesn't look to be removable/replaceable like the XT3's
Off the top of my head you can try baby power on the viewfinder! There may be other better fixes out there.
Never knew about that! will wrastle up some and try that
I picked up shooting film last year, mostly a Nikon FE with a few primes, but I was lucky to get my hands on a few other cameras as well. Expensive but really fun, and provides something different to digital.
My main driver is the APS-C mirrorless Fujifilm X-T3 and I just picked up an old Nikon F2 35 mm camera.
The X-T3 is just a dream to use. Having physical controls for the main parameters for setting exposure makes it really easy to learn and set up the shots. While I shoot RAW and do post-processing to get the best possible images, I've been having a ton of fun with the film simulations and all the recipes available online. It's added a tricky layer for editing and shooting since some need higher ISO settings to accommodate the dynamic range, but they are quite beautiful.
Fooling with the film sims are what drew me to getting an actual film camera, my Nikon F2. I haven't yet been shooting with it but I'm looking forward to getting it out soon.
Nikon z6ii, an absolute stunner of machine in every way.