What camera do I buy? / general gear talk

Big thanks to everyone.

I feel armed with some great resources now.

I’d like to also add my thanks, the choices are bewildering though…

I’m looking to invest in something to take better family and (lense permitting) wildlife shots. My Canon G10 although having plenty of features seems old hat now compared to my iPhone pro camera so looking to the next step up. I had a quick play with a friend’s Fujifilm X-t2 and was really impressed so I’ve mainly been looking at these secondhand on eBay but feel very out of my depth. In my head I wanted to be around £1k all in but I now realise a decent zoom lense will double that so open to alternative suggestions please Lufguss.

You could always look at the older X-T1, still a very capable camera but a fair bit cheaper which would free up some money for the zoom lens. There's actually one on eBay at the moment with the 18-55 lens for 600 quid (not mine!). If after using it for a while you decide you really need the extra features of the X-T2 you can always trade the older body in and keep the lens.

What kind of wildlife are you hoping to take photos of? Birds in the distance will require the longest focal length you can afford but the lens will be big and heavy and won't be much good for catching family moments (unless they are also in the trees with said birds). It might be worth considering a separate lens for wildlife, Fuji do a 55-200 which if you go with the older X-T1 you might even be able to get the body and both zooms for within your 1k budget.

Probably worth noting that 200 is still relatively short in zoom lens terms if you're doing wildlife photography but a 'decent' one,say the 100-400 will blow your budget immediately unfortunately!

I am an oddity, in that I shoot Pentax with is less and less common sadly but their bodies offer huge bang for your buck and they have massive amount of legacy glass available. Their main weakness is for wildlife or sport they have far less telephoto options than say Nikon or Canon, the ones they do have are great but more expensive than rivals. This would keep you busy for a good while until you decide what it is you really enjoy and you wouldn't lost much if you went to sell it in a year:

Pentax KP - £539
https://www.harpersphoto.co.uk/digital-slr-mirrorless-cameras/used-pentax-kp-body.html

Pentax 16-85mm - £264
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-photo-and-video/used-lenses/pentax-hd-pentax-da-16-85mm-f-3-5-5-6-ed-dc-wr/sku-1179101/

Pentax 35mm f2.4 - £89
https://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/dpt/used-equipment/used-pentax-da-35mm-f24-al-lens--1-year-gtee__5150

Pentax 55-300 PLM WR - £280
Can't see one to link at the moment but I paid around that and have seen them going for that in the last week or so

that comes to £1172 so slightly over budget but two of those lenses are weather sealed as well along with the camera which you won't be getting at other price points. Being a DSLR rather mirrorless it will be a little larger though

If you wanted to stick tot he £1k, you could get a K70 which is almost as good as the KP, main difference being the KP has better high ISO capability
K70 -£414
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-photo-and-video/used-digital-slr-cameras/pentax-k-70/sku-1237134/

@inchpincher

the X-T2 is a very capable camera indeed and I've happily used mine for 4 years. It was my first venture into Fuji (and mirrorless) coming from an extensive Canon full frame setup and I've never looked back.

I guess it very much depends on what you consider a "decent zoom". I have and love my 50-140 2.8 and it's definitely my workhorse on the X-H1. It's great for my type of photography but probably on the long end for anything indoors.

However, this opinion changed when I was in Kenya where this lens was clearly lacking focal length (even with the 1.4 extender) and I was super happy I brought the 100-400 lens as well.

There's no need to get all the gear at once of course, I'd recommend to first get a body together with a lens that will cover your main need. Use it for a couple of weeks / months and it'll become clear which type of lens you'll want to get next.

If you feel like you can't get close enough to your subject, you can start looking at a telezoom lens. If you experience the opposite, where you can't get enough of the surroundings within your frame, you'll probably want to get more of a wide angle orientated lens.

+1 for MPB.com, which was recommended to me on here.
I've bought 3 or 4 things from them now and and sold a lens too, had no problems with the kit received or the service apart from communication being a bit slower than anticipated, which was probably due to lockdown.

Thanks for your replies (also @greentricky @MementoMori), great food for thought.
Here’s my thinking... up the budget to £1.5k as there’s no rush, I don’t mind saving a bit longer to get the right bits.
I’d prefer mirrorless and I’m not sure I’m ready to go Pentax as a format as like you say, wildlife - particularly shooting birds will be much easier with technology on my side.
When I tried the X-t2 it had a 27mm 2.8 pancake lens and I loved its flexibility and slimness for lugging around so again I’m leaning this way but probably only because I’ve actually handled it which means I really should pop into a bricks and mortar shop to play with it’s competitors.
Zoom lens will probably start with 55-200 but I have a feeling that will come down to luck on the secondhand market.

If you do want to shoot birds, 200mm won't be enough, generally accepted on APS-C is you want 300mm as a minimum and even with that you will find you are cropping your photos a lot most of time unless you are shooting large birds reasonably close. So it needs to be a good 3o0mm so you can crop or ideally longer, i don't know what the options are on Fuji. Most people land us using a 300mm with a 1.4-2x teleconverter if that is their longest lens.

Nikon and Canon have lots of options at all price ranges and I would probably lean Nikon as they seem to have better autofocus. Micro 4/3 is another option for shooting longer focal ranges in a more compact format.

I’d go for Fuji if you liked the feel of the camera, but personally I use micro 4/3 for wildlife - an Olympus OMD-EM5 Mark 2. Slip a 17mm prime lens on it and it’s pocketable too. I use an adapter to fit a fuck off 400mm manual focus lens on it though, which I original bought for use with my Minolta gear - the resulting 800mm reach really brings stuff close.

Hi, thinking of getting my paws on a new camera.
I’m reasonably competent with a camera, heck I even have a degree in photography, did a few exhibitions did a fair amount of paid published work..but that was in the days Before digital.
I did get a Sony alpha SLR about 15 years back and it was ok, just a ball ache too lug about. I currently have a Fuji XP compact thing that’s waterproof and rugged and small…it’s a compact that I can drop while cycling or give to the kids.
I’m looking for something with a little more to it.

Small enough to carry or put in frame top bag.

A viewfinder would be great

Manual/Aperture priority/shutter priority essential

Ability to go F1.something /f22 ish and preview would be great.

Spot metering also would be handy

I’m not crazy about integrated zoom lenses, but if the rest of the camera is the shiznit then I’ll go along. I used to enjoy old coupled rangefinder cameras back in the day..anything like that?

I’ve looked at Richoh Gr ii/iii and they seem interesting. Also Sony A6000

Anything else I should be looking at?

I used to enjoy old coupled rangefinder cameras back in the day..anything like that?

Fuji X100 has rangefinder/EVF.

Thanks for the steer. Picked up an X100t, it’s great to have a camera that I get. Good enough lens, no bloody zoom so no silly distractions, proper controls very happy so far.

I want to get one myself actually, to replace some M4/3 kit.

Anyone use a Peak Design Slide? Is it worth the money?

Anyone use a Peak Design Slide? Is it worth the money?

Use the Slide Lite with a X-S10, it is very good but it's a bit too chunky for the X100 and will be getting a PD leash for that.

I can't remember if mine is a Slide or the 'lite' version but echoing what @spinnnout says, really good straps and very well made.

That seems to echo online reviews, guess I'll just have to pony up and take the plunge

That seems to echo online reviews, guess I'll just have to pony up and take the plunge

If you are looking for a Slide Lite (black), could be tempted to part with mine. I'm about to order a leash and as they can be moved between cameras easily, don't see the need to own both for my relatively small setup. Like new, £25 posted.

Thanks for the offer but am looking for a new strap as I am a getting a 150-450mm telephoto lens so think I will land up going for the Slide

I believe I have all possible PD straps in my possession and can confirm they all work great. I use the heavy duty one with the XH1 and my 50-140 or 8-16 lens. The smaller ones I use on the X100v.

I did notice they start to fray a bit when used with a stabilizer that attaches to the strap with velcro. In this case, I’m pairing a third party stabilizer to the strap and the velcro catches the strap from time to time so more my own fault than anything else really.

I'd like to experiment with a DSLR - I've been using a Sony compact but I'd like something with multiple lense choices and RAW support. I have a couple of lenses for my Canon EOS film camera, so ideally I'd get a Canon again.

If I have a budget of around £200, will I be able to pick up an older DSLR body and not be disappointed?

Anyone have any utlrawides? I'm planning a shot for a commercial that's an overhead in a room with max 330cm ceiling height. The shot is of someone lying on a couch and we don't have budget to get access to a studio for this one shot, it's all on location. I've got an 18mm which I used on the recce and it's viable but wondering about going wider. 14mm a possibility but I've also spotted this which looks fun:
https://cvp.com/product/laowa-12mm-t2.9-zero-d-cine-lens-ef

Just not sure about distortion and movement. The shot spirals (slowly) so presume the edges of frame would show motion more, would be softer etc. Anyone have any experience of ultrawides on people (centre frame) that aren't super close for intentional distortion?

It might be worth going for an older full frame, which would be a 5D, EF lenses would work. The main difference with older cameras apart from resolution would be the interface and usability, focus tracking etc.. I think the 450D was the first low-end camera with Live view, around 2008, so worth checking if that's important for you.
Something newer but lower end would be a 60D or 100D, EF (and EF-S) lenses would work, it's a crop sensor (APS-C) camera. The 18MP crop sensor Canons are not renowned due to sensor noise at higher ISOs though. But if not bothered about high-ISO stuff, a modern low end would have live view and touch screen.

If you'd like a Panasonic GX80 with 12-32mm (24-64mm full frame equivalent) lens, I'd be after £180, one of the rear jog wheels is sticky, apart from that it's in great condition. It's an excellent camera, just going to pick up a GX9 to replace it.

Thanks both, @caveatgez that's given me some helpful reference points, and cheers @gav, I'll do some research and see if it would work, but I'm probably a month or two away from making a purchase