Help with choosing my first camera
Hello ~hobbies, I've come to you in hopes of getting some guidance as a newbie.
I have never owned a camera before and am afraid of choosing the wrong one for my use case, so I was hoping some people could enlighten me, if not with model suggestions, then with what I should be looking for.
My main goal is to shoot video, not take photos (though of course I want it to take good photos but the primary use will be shooting videos wherever I go). And specifically 4k 60fps video. I have a 65 inch TV where I want to play these videos so that resolution is a must, as any picture quality flaws will be noticed.
I have a gimbal, a hohem iSteady MT2, which I use with my phone and would like to use with the camera, so whatever camera I get can't go above its 1.2kg payload limit. I really don't want to pay for a separate gimbal for the camera.
I plan on using a separate mic, probably the sennheiser mke 200 based on reviews I saw, so the camera must also be able to support external mics.
And lastly, the budget is roughly 1000€.
There are so many brands and models I really don't know where exactly to turn to. I've mostly been leaning towards cameras like the Sony ZV-E10L and similar as they seem geared towards vloggers and that's more or less the type of video I'll be making (not content creation though, these are just personal videos), but I'm wondering if I'm falling into a trap as the price is so much lower than say an A7 III.
Any advice, pointers, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated as I really don't know much about the world of cameras. I'm frankly not even sure what type of camera (DSLR, point and shoot, etc.) I should even be looking at so yeah.
Any camera without interchangeable lenses is a trap for serious video creation. The lens isn’t just some thing you attach to your camera like a gimble is, it’s the most important piece of gear in determining how good your video quality is.
Thanks for letting me know. I was more or less aware of that but it's good to have confirmation. I'll definitely be going mirrorless.
Regarding the a7iii... To cut a long post short, full frame cameras are way better for photography but the extra cost means you need to up your budget beyond the a7iii to get comparable video features.
Edit: I didn't make it clear, don't bother going full frame. Its just not worth it and it will be way outside your budget and lenses also cost way more and then you need a bigger gimbal etc.
There's a lot of options out there. A lot of creators use the Sony a7, but it's far from the only option out there.
The most important question to answer is this: what will you be shooting? Because if you're just going to be vlogging, that ZV-E10L is probably going to be just fine. You might not need an interchangeable lens system at all, so a point-and-shoot style camera might be just fine. I would avoid DSLRs because they use mechanical shutters, which have some long term problems but in practical terms they're just one more thing to take up battery when you're recording video. If you're looking for interchangeable lenses, the word you're looking for is "mirrorless", though you might find other odd terms for it like "MILC".
This may be a bit dated at this point, but the cameras I heard of the most for people who did both video and photography were Panasonic's Lumix Micro Four-Thirds (MFT) cameras. I did a quick search and it looks like most of the kits (including at minimum the body and a basic lens) were about $1000 US, and some models were even less. Looking online I see a retailer who has a Lumix G9 packaged with a 12-60mm lens with OIS for US $1097.99. While the lens is of ho-hum image quality, it's more than good enough to get started with, especially for video (where the image stabilization will be important, even with a gimbal). You could probably get an even better price if you look on the used market.
I have the Panasonic Lumix. I think depending on the lens, the refocusing noise may be picked up, even with an external mic. Probably going to be an issue with all photo first cameras tbh.
Glad to know I was on the right track with the ZV-E10L. Vlogging style videos is exactly what I'm doing. Basically taking my camera around as I walk, talk to people, record my trips, that sort of stuff. It's really just for personal use, not for youtube or anything, but I'm quite the stickler for image quality so that's why I'd like to invest in a proper camera.
I'm not really sure what benefits for me specifically an interchangeable lens system would provide since I've never dealt with cameras. My main concern is the camera getting too heavy for the gimbal depending on the lens, though I'm not sure how realistic of a concern that is.
I do feel like a point and shoot would fit my needs, but also worried the lack of lens flexibility might bite me in the butt later. Admittedly I don't know how good point and shoots are these days.
I know that point-and-shoots were getting really good, but I don't know much about any newer ones because they basically got replaced by phones.
And honestly, you might just be better served by using a phone with a good camera. Specifically an iPhone, since last time I checked they still are best for video. Even the non-pro models can do 4K60 (on the front-facing camera, even). A camera phone will give you instantly usable quality visuals with much less effort and expertise needed from the operator. But I'm guessing from the fact that you already own a gimbal that you're probably already doing that and want to get further into it from a hobbyist perspective. If that's the case, you might want to go with an interchangeable lens camera since it'll leave you more room to grow.
Yes I've been shooting with my phone be cause so far it's always been good enough but I wanted to go beyond. Especially when I want to shoot longer videos I've struggled with the phone overheating so I figured it's time to actually invest in proper dedicated equipment.
Adaptability and longevity. It’s well known that the lens is what matters for both image and video quality - the body has relatively minimal input. It’s a bit different for video, since frame rate is a thing, but that is to say, lenses are incredibly important if not the most important piece of gear and being forced to used the cheap lense the manufacturer sticks on there is a major detriment to your cameras longevity.
A lens define how much of the scene you're seeing. This is defined by a number called "focal length". At one end you have "ultra-wide" lenses that capture everything in front of the camera. Think "fisheye" lenses. At the other end you have "telephoto" lenses that let you resolve detail on someone that's in a building off the distance. Think bird photography or telescope.
Some lenses let you change the focal length. Those are called "zoom" lenses. Some of those can even let you transition to from ultra-wide to telephoto. However, since that involve a complex mechanism where there's dozen of glass element (vs at most 10 for fixed focal length lenses), this hurts their light-gathering abilities. You can compensate that by having a bigger elements, but this makes the whole device heavier.
Now, for your usage, since you said you're going to do mostly vlogging, you probably won't need those exotic lenses. But there's also a strong correlation between image quality and having an interchangeable lens camera (in general, all ILC have better image quality than point and shoot or smartphones).
I think the Sony ZV-E10L you're aiming for is fine since it's exactly designed for the type of video you're making.
Mirrorless cameras have mechanical shutters as well (the good ones, anyway). What they don’t have is, well, a mirror that flips out of the way before the shot is taken.
That being said for DSLRs can that can record video, they’ll just flip the mirror out the whole time and use an eshutter anyway. You can’t have a mirror or shutter flip in and out at 30 or 60 hz.
This isn't really what mirrorless means - you can have interchangeable lenses on mirrored cameras as well. Mirrorless cameras are relatively new and will be more expensive, but will have the benefit of being lighter and quicker for photos - the weight might matter, but otherwise you may get a similar mirrored camera for cheaper.
Most DSLRs allow you to change lenses. The benefit being the stock one is usually good value but not the best, you will get better background blur (bokeh) with more specialised lenses depending on the distance you want to shoot at, or you could get better zoom, better performance in low light, wider angle etc.
The Sony looks like a good option with the reversible screen etc and it's quite compact. I'd also suggest looking second hand - people tend to sell their old cameras when upgrading and it might leave you some budget to try out another lens. Once you've used it for a bit you can see which focal lengths you use most (16mm, 30mm, 50mm etc) and then invest in a lens that specialises at that distance or expands your range.
If you’re recording video the camera is basically always going to be mirrorless, even if you have a “DSLR”. The point of the mirror is so that the optical viewfinder can have a true view out of the lense, but obviously that implies that the sensor doesn’t get the light. This works for photos, but for video by definition the sensor needs to always be capturing. Not only is it not mechanically possible to flip open a mirror 24, 30, or 60+ times a second, but what would even be the point, since the optical view finder would be seeing a flickering mess, not to mention the clatter.
So I don’t think there’s any benefit whatsoever to using a dslr for video. It’s just worse since you just don’t have a viewfinder now, while mirrorless cameras still have the EVF.
I’m well aware that DSLRs also have interchangeable lenses but I am recommending against them.
For video, Canon 5d mk 3 or 4, Lumix GH4 or 5 are easy bodies to recommend. Picking the lenses will take the most money. Go used.
Sony has an upcoming camera release (29 August). I think the rumor is that it will be a camera primarily for video shooters (see link below). My suspicion is that it will be beyond your budget, but I'm not well versed on Sony pricing.
You can also try to look at the used market, especially sites like keh.com and mpb.com
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Sony-teases-likely-A7C-II-and-A7C-R-launch-date-with-August-29-New-product-announcement-stream-page-on-YouTube.742991.0.html
edit: to be clear, what I've read on reddit is that the expectation is that the A7C II will be announced.
If so (and if the A7C II is beyond your budget) it may force a drop in prices for the original A7C in the used market.
No, neither is a primary video shooter. The a7c2 is basically a compact version of the a7 mark 4. Now, the A7-4 was not bad at all at video, but it’s not specialized for video. More of a hybrid camera.
The A7cR would be even less of a video camera. The R line is for stills specialist and it’ll come with a 61 MP sensor but poor video features to compensate.
Irrelevant to your use case, but I went into photography three years ago, bought a cheap Canon DSLR and got right into it.
DSLR cameras may not be good for your use case (4k video at 60FPS.)
Budget answer Sony a6400.
Upgrade options Sony A6700 (released this month).
Panasonic is great for video but still far behind Sony in autofocus capabilities.
I am not sure about latest Canon R series which might be equivalent of the above Sony cameras.
Edit: adding more context to my answer. There are no more DSLRs. Only mirrorless. Any DSLRs that exist are last of their kind.
You can't go wrong with almost any modern top tier mirrorless cameras. Especially APS-C aka not full frame. For example fuji XT latest, Canon R latest, Sony A6700 (or even A6400). Not sure if Nikon, Panasonic have any APS-C cameras.
I have personal experience with Sony A6600 and it is great for video and photos and even astrophotography.
Your budget needs to be 1500 though. 1000 might be just a little short.
The a6400 (and that line in general) was on my radar since it's a very popular camera with youtube content creators. But yeah the budget is a bit beyond my capabilities right now... Though if that's what it takes to give me some piece of mind while recording I suppose I don't mind saving up for a while longer.
All I want is to record however long I feel like (though realistically always less than 1 hour continuously) without issues or worries like overheating and know I'll have a good video afterwards.
Thanks for the alternative recommendations as well, I've added them all to the list.
Make it Used A6600. I almost traded in mine to get the new A6700 but only stopped because I didn't need it. But I am sure many people did the jump. So you will find A6600 bodies for cheaper. Then either get a used Sony kit lens or one of the sigma/tamron zooms.
One aspect that wasn't that much explored in this topic is recording time and battery life.
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