Photography

[Bigsidavies]

I got myself a second hand Sony A6500 due to reviews and its compact size as a starter camera. I’m still using it now with a 150-500 lens and a couple of prime lenses.
Other than that I don’t really have any knowledge of the various brands and models.

 

[Bigsidavies]

It's that time of year again, although your photography skills put mine to shame, here's a screen shot from our wildlife camera taken at 1130PM;

View attachment 329118

Four Barn Owl chicks getting used to life outside the owl box.

Been watching the barn owls hunting very successfully but not seen the chicks yet, even though I’ve seen the parents going into the owl box.

 

[TeeCeeJay]

Need some advice on a digital camera for my sons 18th as 35mm processing is getting expensive at 75p a shot inc film!

I’ve done a bit of research and was going to get a Yashica City 100 but it gets average reviews on Amazon. Upping the budget and looking at something like a Panasonic Leica DC-TZ99.

The price range is massive from £80 to £4k plus and not much in the low hundreds. The mobile phone has probably killed off that bit of the market.

Any suggestions? Its mainly for photographing cars.

I would avoid the Yashica, personally. Panasonic Lumix are excellent cameras with high quality Leica lenses. The TZ 95 &99 have huge optical zoom ranges. They also have good video and tiltable screens and WiFi connection

Have a look at MPB for some quality second hand versions, often in great condition as people upgrade their current cameras. It's where I buy all my camera kit.

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/panasonic-lumix-dc-tz99

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/category/used-cameras/premium-compact-cameras/panasonic-compact-cameras

 

[DaveD]

Been watching the barn owls hunting very successfully but not seen the chicks yet, even though I’ve seen the parents going into the owl box.
View attachment 329155

Wow, that really is fantastic photography.
Our barn owls have all been weighed and ringed by the Barn Owl Trust, they say that the weather over the last 12 months has, in our area at least, been ideal for shrews, mice and voles, so there is an abundance of food out there, resulting in large broods of well fed owlets. Our video footage shows the adults bringing in food very frequently and the young don't even fight over it, suggesting that they're getting plenty.

 

[Ayjay]

@Paynewright - For not much more than the sort of money the Panasonic seems to be, you could also look at a 'beginners' mirrorless. The Canon EOS R100 gets well reviewed and can be had with 18-45mm and 55-210mm lenses for just over £500 if you go to Cotswold Cameras - they specialise in selling 'grey imports' and are often therefore much cheaper than the usual sources but the downside is that the cameras do NOT come with the manufacturer's warranty. That said, they do provide their own warranty which wouldn't bother me too much as you've probably got to be pretty unlucky nowadays of get a wrongun. To be honest, I've never used the 55-200 but have the short one and it's a cracking little lens if you recognise its limitations. I suspect a set up like that would be a lot more 'inspirational' for him to use than a compact like the Panasonic.

Have a look at Digital Camera World for reviews and recommendations. Ken Rockwell is also a very good source of information but he sort of divides opinion in the photographic community (personally, I like him).

You don't say what it is but If he's really interested in photography, tell him to keep hold of his current film camera and start using start using B&W film which he can process himself - the kit to do it is cheap as chips nowadays and it can be a very rewarding experience. Also it's a very good way to learn the basics if he were so inclined - the mind set required for setting out to take B&W images is a lot more educational that the mindset of a lot of people nowadays who take a crappy colour image on digital and then turn it into an even crappier B&W imager because they think it looks 'arty'.

 

[Ayjay]

PS @Paynewright. And don't forget that with lenses on a mirrorlesss camera with less than a full frame sensor, the stated focal length usually has to be multiplied to get to the 35mm (or full frame digital) equivalent (called 'the crop factor') - in simple terms, that means that the 18 - 45mm lens on the Canon R100 is the equivalent of about 29 - 72mm on a 35mm (ie. a crop factor of 1.6 - on a lot of other brands it's 1.5). That sounded clearer in my head than it looks on the screen and sorry if it's stating the obvious.

 

[The Bear78]

Need some advice on a digital camera for my sons 18th as 35mm processing is getting expensive at 75p a shot inc film!

I’ve done a bit of research and was going to get a Yashica City 100 but it gets average reviews on Amazon. Upping the budget and looking at something like a Panasonic Leica DC-TZ99.

The price range is massive from £80 to £4k plus and not much in the low hundreds. The mobile phone has probably killed off that bit of the market.

Any suggestions? Its mainly for photographing cars.

Assuming that a used camera is acceptable, I would be very tempted to look at some of the later DSLR cameras that were released just as mirrorless was finding it's feet.
It's ridiculous that these cameras are almost considered obsolete now as they were essentially professional grade not that many years ago. As such, they represent incredible value on the used market as the prices have just plummeted.
I used to be a Nikon fanboy, so only know a bit about their product line, but cameras like the D610, D750 for full frame (35mm equivalent) of even some of the smaller sensor "DX" bodies like the D7500 and D500 can be had for under £500. Throw in a couple of prime lenses like a 35 mm and a 50mm/f1.8 (well under £100 each) and you'll have a very competent set up that can be upgraded as the hobby grows.
I realise that used equipment might not be the ideal choice but, as mentioned above, companies like MPB and also London Camera Exchange often have near mint examples that you'd have trouble telling they were used at all.

Having been an early adopter of the mirrorless movement, I can recommend that the first models are avoided! They simply do not compare ro the DSLR's of the same era, especially in auto focus performance. I actually ended up going back to a DSLR after my first foray into the mirrorless world!

The latest mirrorless cameras have finally caught up but obviously run into the thousands for the high end stuff. Sony is definitely ahead of the game currently and they also make few gems like the A6*** series (like the A6500 mentioned by @Bigsidavies ) which offer leading performance in a much more compact (user friendly) size and price point.

 

[Ayjay]

I only sort of agree with @The Bear78 about the benefits of a used pro level DSLR being very, very capable (when paired with the right glass) BUT my major reservation is that they tend to be quite bulky and heavy in comparison to modern mirrorless cameras. I've got both a Nikon D6 and D850 in a bag in a cupboard somewhere along with a few lenses but haven't touched any of it in years as I just got tired of hauling the stuff around, especially when I wasn’t being paid to do it (but you could use either to bash in nails and they would still carry on working).
My solution was to buy a small and very pocketable compact (a Sony RX 100 Vii) and I used it for quite a while before realising that I really missed using a 'proper' camera.
In the end, I ummed and aahed for a while before taking the plunge and buying a Canon EOS R7 along with an 18-45, 18-150 and 100-400 lenses and haven't looked back. In every day use, it takes as good a picture as top end full framers (unless you're looking to print to the size of a living room wall!) and the body reasonably small and very light. I also think that we sometimes forget quite how astonishingly good modern cameras and lenses can be - speaking as somebody who has been using pro level kit since the mid-1970s (IIRC with a Nikon F2AS being the first 35mm along with Hasselblad medium formats) my current Canon delivers pictures which are absolutely light years ahead in terms of picture quality but whether or not they take good photographs is another question entirely and where the human factor comes in - that's why guys like Ansel Adam and probably the rest of the f64 group are still so revered by those in the know (there's loads more examples as well).

 

[TeeCeeJay]

I have yet to try a mirrorless camera but agree that I certainly notice the weight of my 5D MK3 after carrying it round all day.

 

[Bigsidavies]

Yeah my little A6500 with my 24mm Viltrox 1.8 (36mm FF equivalent) prime lense is so compact and light that I can carry it round all day on a hand strap when on holiday.

 

[Stay Frosty]

I whip mine out of my trousers... phone that is, set the the exposure, shutter speed and focal length or in the real world dash off a series of auto settings snaps and call it done.
Reading the posts on here I realise there's a world I've been aware of but never managed to participate in despite a bit of reading and quite a bit of You Tube long, saying that I can read/watch them on my camera/phone but you would think by now some of the info would have stuck?
Xiaomi 15 Ultra, pretty good spec but hard work at times when the subject won't keep still.
Edit and a jungle shot yesterday looking from the house end of the garden...

The Red Kite from Hurley a couple of weeks back...

Then the garden shed Ligularia collection...

 

[The Bear78]

I only sort of agree with @The Bear78 about the benefits of a used pro level DSLR being very, very capable (when paired with the right glass) BUT my major reservation is that they tend to be quite bulky and heavy in comparison to modern mirrorless cameras. I've got both a Nikon D6 and D850 in a bag in a cupboard somewhere along with a few lenses but haven't touched any of it in years as I just got tired of hauling the stuff around, especially when I wasn’t being paid to do it (but you could use either to bash in nails and they would still carry on working).
My solution was to buy a small and very pocketable compact (a Sony RX 100 Vii) and I used it for quite a while before realising that I really missed using a 'proper' camera.
In the end, I ummed and aahed for a while before taking the plunge and buying a Canon EOS R7 along with an 18-45, 18-150 and 100-400 lenses and haven't looked back. In every day use, it takes as good a picture as top end full framers (unless you're looking to print to the size of a living room wall!) and the body reasonably small and very light. I also think that we sometimes forget quite how astonishingly good modern cameras and lenses can be - speaking as somebody who has been using pro level kit since the mid-1970s (IIRC with a Nikon F2AS being the first 35mm along with Hasselblad medium formats) my current Canon delivers pictures which are absolutely light years ahead in terms of picture quality but whether or not they take good photographs is another question entirely and where the human factor comes in - that's why guys like Ansel Adam and probably the rest of the f64 group are still so revered by those in the know (there's loads more examples as well).

I agree completely, although mirrorless lenses can still be just as bulky!
I was trying to think of the best value set up around the price range of the Panasonic DC-TZ99.

Edit. Not knowing much about Canon, I wasn't aware of the R7. It looks a decent bit of kit!