Making my first time DSLR purchase

Question

Question

Making my first time DSLR purchase

by kdt7943 Nov 24, 2014 8:53PM PST

I'm looking to buy my first DSLR camera. There seem to be a lot of black friday sales so I thought I'd take advantage and buy a camera this weekend. My budget is $600 or less and i want to stick with Canon or Nikon. I enjoy shooting landscape mostly with sunrise/sunset & beach scenes as well as some of friends and family. I would like something that is decent in low light because I'm interested in learning to photograph the moon and stars.

I've found the following that fit my price range:

1. Canon EOS Rebel T3i with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lenses ($500 best buy)

2. Canon EOS Rebel T5 with 18-55mm Lens, Extra 75-300mm Lens ($450 best buy)

3. Canon EOS T5i refurbished with 18-55mm IS STM Lens Kit ($510)

4. Nikon D3300 with 18-55mm Lens ($500 target)

5. Nikon D3200 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm Lenses ($500 best buy)

6. Nikon D5200 refurbished with 18-55mm VR Kit Lens ($500)

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Also, what are your thoughts on mirrorless cameras?

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4 Posts

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re: Making my first DSLR purchase

by kdt7943 Nov 25, 2014 7:49PM PST

Thanks for your advice. I am pretty set on getting a DSLR so I'm still exploring those models.

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Change of heart

by kdt7943 Nov 26, 2014 4:37AM PST

I went to best buy and played around with the cameras to get a feel for each. I liked the Nikon d3300 a lot but I found that my favorite camera to handle is the Sony A6000 mirrorless for its small size. Will anyone tell me your experience with or advice on cameras similar to this?

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re: Sony A6000 mirrorless

by MarkatNite Nov 26, 2014 9:37AM PST

Take this with a grain of salt since, as previously noted, I own several of the cameras I'm recommending. But IMO the a6000 is the worst of all worlds for the following reasons:

1) since you said small size appeals to you, all of the fixed lens cameras I mentioned previously are significantly smaller than the a6000.

2) as mentioned previously, the APS-C sensored a6000 loses a lot of its size advantage relative to a DSLR when you attach a long and/or bright lens. (This would be less true with an m4/3 (micro four thirds) camera like an Olympus E-PL7 or Panasonic GM5 or GX7 which also start off with smaller bodies than the a6000 to begin with.)

3) since you are on a budget, Sony e-mount lenses tend to cost more. e.g. Sony's 50mm f1.8 costs more than twice as much as Canon or Nikon's.

4) there are fewer e-mount lenses than Canon or Nikon or even m4/3 lenses.

My 2¢ - Mark

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MarkatNite · Answer 1 · Nov 25, 2014 9:39AM PST

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Answer

re: Making my first time DSLR purchase

by MarkatNite Nov 25, 2014 9:39AM PST

There's not a whole lot of difference at that price point. There's also not a whole to "shooting landscape mostly with sunrise/sunset & beach scenes as well as some of friends and family." (Although, I would probably recommend a 50mm f1.8 prime lens for sunrise/sunset pics on a budget. Both Canon and Nikon have one for around $100.) Astrophotography ("the moon and stars"), however, is very difficult to do on a budget. So personally, I'd forgo a DSLR and astrophotography and buy a large sensor compact -- Canon G7 X, Sony RX100, Panasonic LX100, etc. -- for all your other needs. (Full disclosure: I own a Canon G7 X and previously owned a Sony RX100 (original model).)

As for mirrorless cameras: generally, the camera bodies are smaller, but the larger sensor (APS-C and above) bodies especially lose their size advantage when you add a long telephoto and/or bright f2.8 or brighter lens. (Full disclosure: I own a Panasonic GH2 and Olympus E-PL5.)

HTH - Mark

Making my first time DSLR purchase

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