Camera Upgrade - Choices
Derek Smith • 18 May 2020
Camera Upgrade – Choices
So, I would suggest that the first choice that you need to make is DSLR, or a mirrorless camera.
A DSLR as you know has the mirror that swings out of the way to expose the shutter and take the photo. The viewfinder is an optical device essentially looking through a prism and out through the lens, that’s why the viewfinder goes dark as you stop the shutter down, and there’s a preview button to open the aperture so that you see your subject. Focusing, the phase detect array (PADF) sits below the mirror and gives the focus accuracy, occasionally the PDAF array does not align the focus correctly and the camera and lens have to be sent away for recalibration. On the sensor are the contrast detect focus points (CDAF), if you switch to “Live View” the mirror swings out of the way, and the image is now displayed on the rear screen, (as all mirrorless cameras do) and the focusing is by way of CDAF rather than via the more accurate PDAF. This all comes into play when taking a portrait, in a studio, setting up for using flash I’m used to switching to Manual mode, setting the aperture f/2 as an example, and ISO fixed at 100, then increasing the shutter speed until the rear screen goes dark, then adjust the flash until the lighting on the subject is the correct exposure. With a DSLR, you have 2 choices with this situation, either take the shot, and see if the exposure is dark enough, or switch to “Live View”, and use a different focusing system. Wildlife photographers will not be concerned by this as “Live View” is very rarely used, but for macro photography, and portraiture this may be a consideration.
With mirrorless cameras the PDAF, and CDAF sites are on the sensor, in the case of the latest Sony A6xxx APS-C cameras 425 hybrid (combination of CDAF / PDAF) focus points. The viewfinder, and rear screen are essentially TV screens, whichever you look through is exactly what the photo will turn out like, the focusing is quicker, and more accurate. Internally the mirrorless camera loses the mechanism to move the mirror, and the glass prism, making the cameras simpler, lighter, and more reliable (no need for focus calibration), the downside is poor battery life to power the 2 TV screens.
For action, sports, and wildlife photography the DSLR was always the first choice, nowadays mirrorless cameras are more advanced with high shutter speeds, high continuous frame rates, and accurate PDAF subject tracking.
The second choice is between a full frame, or a crop sensor camera.
There is a lot of info, and debate on YouTube regarding sensor size, and I wrote a blog on this a couple of weeks ago.
Once you have made those fundamental choices, you will be able to narrow the choice then to specific manufacturers, and camera models.
I honestly do not think any manufacturer produces a “bad” camera anymore, so in the end the choice of camera body should be decided by features, and budget.
Full frame DSLR listing:
Nikon D850 £2500
Nikon D780 £2100
Nikon D750 £1100
Canon EOS 5D IV £2600
Canon EOS 6D II £1300
Canon EOS 90D £1100
Nikon D7500 £900
Canon EOS 250D £500
Full frame mirrorless models:
Nikon Z6 £1600
Sony A7 III £1700
Canon EOS RP £1400
Canon EOS R £2000
Crop sensor mirrorless models:
Nikon Z50 £850
Fujifilm X-T30 £700
Olympus OM-D E-M5 III £950
Fujifilm X-T3 £900
Sony A6100 £700
Panasonic G9 £1100
Sony A6600 £1400
These are just a few suggestions of camera models, once a short list has been made, I would advise that the next area to research is the lens choice for the short-listed models. The Nikon Z mount, and Canon R mount mirrorless cameras are new additions to the respective manufacturer’s product lines, and therefore have fewer lens options at the present time, whereas both manufacturers have a good selection of lenses for DSLR cameras. For mirrorless cameras Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus, and Panasonic all have an extensive range of lens choice, with renowned third party lens manufacturers since as Sigma, and Tamron producing quality lenses, some lenses will also be available on the second hand market further reducing costs.
As an example, personally I like a standard zoom lens with a constant aperture usually in the full frame range of 24 – 70mm. Tamron produce an excellent 28-75mm f/2.8 for the Sony A7 camera. Fujifilm have a new 16-80 f/4 lens (24-120mm equivalent) Sony produce an excellent 18-105mm f/4 for the A6000 range of APS-C crop sensor cameras, and Olympus have a constant f/2.8 12-40mm (24-80mm equivalent) lens in the “PRO” range of lenses. Nikon have recently announced a 24-70 f/2.8 lens, which has very good reviews, however it’s a pricey £1600, compare that with the Tamron (Sony FE) at £650, the Fuji at £700, the Sony 18-105mm at £420, Olympus 12-40mm at £850, and you begin to see why the choice of lens is so important.
Factor in any other lenses, a good 50mm prime, a telephoto, and perhaps a macro lens to give an idea of the budget required to upgrade.
Read camera, and lens reviews, ideally try the camera out usually in a camera shop, but that is not possible now, so maybe ask someone who owns that specific brand of camera. Look out for deals, many camera manufacturers are struggling financially this year especially. Sony often offer cashback deals; Canon have offered a twin lens starter pack in the past.
Hopefully, this article will provide some help in making difficult choices.
Article, and photo: Derek Smith
So, I would suggest that the first choice that you need to make is DSLR, or a mirrorless camera.
A DSLR as you know has the mirror that swings out of the way to expose the shutter and take the photo. The viewfinder is an optical device essentially looking through a prism and out through the lens, that’s why the viewfinder goes dark as you stop the shutter down, and there’s a preview button to open the aperture so that you see your subject. Focusing, the phase detect array (PADF) sits below the mirror and gives the focus accuracy, occasionally the PDAF array does not align the focus correctly and the camera and lens have to be sent away for recalibration. On the sensor are the contrast detect focus points (CDAF), if you switch to “Live View” the mirror swings out of the way, and the image is now displayed on the rear screen, (as all mirrorless cameras do) and the focusing is by way of CDAF rather than via the more accurate PDAF. This all comes into play when taking a portrait, in a studio, setting up for using flash I’m used to switching to Manual mode, setting the aperture f/2 as an example, and ISO fixed at 100, then increasing the shutter speed until the rear screen goes dark, then adjust the flash until the lighting on the subject is the correct exposure. With a DSLR, you have 2 choices with this situation, either take the shot, and see if the exposure is dark enough, or switch to “Live View”, and use a different focusing system. Wildlife photographers will not be concerned by this as “Live View” is very rarely used, but for macro photography, and portraiture this may be a consideration.
With mirrorless cameras the PDAF, and CDAF sites are on the sensor, in the case of the latest Sony A6xxx APS-C cameras 425 hybrid (combination of CDAF / PDAF) focus points. The viewfinder, and rear screen are essentially TV screens, whichever you look through is exactly what the photo will turn out like, the focusing is quicker, and more accurate. Internally the mirrorless camera loses the mechanism to move the mirror, and the glass prism, making the cameras simpler, lighter, and more reliable (no need for focus calibration), the downside is poor battery life to power the 2 TV screens.
For action, sports, and wildlife photography the DSLR was always the first choice, nowadays mirrorless cameras are more advanced with high shutter speeds, high continuous frame rates, and accurate PDAF subject tracking.
The second choice is between a full frame, or a crop sensor camera.
There is a lot of info, and debate on YouTube regarding sensor size, and I wrote a blog on this a couple of weeks ago.
Once you have made those fundamental choices, you will be able to narrow the choice then to specific manufacturers, and camera models.
I honestly do not think any manufacturer produces a “bad” camera anymore, so in the end the choice of camera body should be decided by features, and budget.
Full frame DSLR listing:
Nikon D850 £2500
Nikon D780 £2100
Nikon D750 £1100
Canon EOS 5D IV £2600
Canon EOS 6D II £1300
Crop sensor DSLR listing:
Nikon D3500 £450Canon EOS 90D £1100
Nikon D7500 £900
Canon EOS 250D £500
Full frame mirrorless models:
Nikon Z6 £1600
Sony A7 III £1700
Canon EOS RP £1400
Canon EOS R £2000
Crop sensor mirrorless models:
Nikon Z50 £850
Fujifilm X-T30 £700
Olympus OM-D E-M5 III £950
Fujifilm X-T3 £900
Sony A6100 £700
Panasonic G9 £1100
Sony A6600 £1400
These are just a few suggestions of camera models, once a short list has been made, I would advise that the next area to research is the lens choice for the short-listed models. The Nikon Z mount, and Canon R mount mirrorless cameras are new additions to the respective manufacturer’s product lines, and therefore have fewer lens options at the present time, whereas both manufacturers have a good selection of lenses for DSLR cameras. For mirrorless cameras Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus, and Panasonic all have an extensive range of lens choice, with renowned third party lens manufacturers since as Sigma, and Tamron producing quality lenses, some lenses will also be available on the second hand market further reducing costs.
As an example, personally I like a standard zoom lens with a constant aperture usually in the full frame range of 24 – 70mm. Tamron produce an excellent 28-75mm f/2.8 for the Sony A7 camera. Fujifilm have a new 16-80 f/4 lens (24-120mm equivalent) Sony produce an excellent 18-105mm f/4 for the A6000 range of APS-C crop sensor cameras, and Olympus have a constant f/2.8 12-40mm (24-80mm equivalent) lens in the “PRO” range of lenses. Nikon have recently announced a 24-70 f/2.8 lens, which has very good reviews, however it’s a pricey £1600, compare that with the Tamron (Sony FE) at £650, the Fuji at £700, the Sony 18-105mm at £420, Olympus 12-40mm at £850, and you begin to see why the choice of lens is so important.
Factor in any other lenses, a good 50mm prime, a telephoto, and perhaps a macro lens to give an idea of the budget required to upgrade.
Consider also a lower specification camera a Sony A6400, in preference to the A6600, a Fujifilm X-T30, as opposed to the Fujifilm X-T3 (although the X-T3 is due to be replaced by the X-T4, and may be available at a discounted price). An Olympus OM-D E-M5 III, as opposed to the Olympus OM-D E-M1 III.
Dual SD card slots? The Sony A7 III, Fujifilm X-T3, Olympus OM-D E-M1 III
Hopefully, this article will provide some help in making difficult choices.
Article, and photo: Derek Smith
Louth Photographic Society
Good Morning All I did go to Chambers wood last week, not too much around but the Marsh Fritillaries are back again in the meadow. We had a good turnout for the meal on Friday, hope you all enjoyed it, thank you to my partner Jane for organising all the food orders. Everything went to plan until the chef dropped the roulade, hopefully your replacement was just as good. This week we have our first round of the LPA Battles against Grimsby and Scunthorpe. The judge for the evening is Diane Seddon. There should be a good turnout for this one with the other two clubs attending. The print competition with the categories of "Trees" and "Open" is to be held on the 24th of June, please email Dave Turner your titles and then bring your prints in on the night. Regards Graham
It’s been a fairly mundane May photography wise for me. I’ve visited Gibraltar Point, Messingham Sand Quarry, and Far Ings nature reserves, and taken some reasonable photos, but nothing really competition quality. The West Lindsey Open Churches Festival has been on for a couple of weekends, and I climbed the bell tower at St Peter, Scotter, had lunch at Kirton in Lindsey, and dropped in on a couple of churches in Caistor. My model photography has taken a back seat, I’ve not had a model shoot all of this month, I’ve had enquiries from a couple of models that I’ve worked with before, but not been able to arrange anything. Instead, I’ve been concentrating on wildlife, landscapes, and insect photography. My OM Systems cameras have been with me every day, the OM-5 is my daily carry, and the OM-1 is my heavy hitter, especially with the OM 100-400mm lens, or the 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens. I’m continuing to take images for the “Water” project, that’s one image of water for each month, providing twelve images to show on “Project Night” in January 2027. The May photo is an indoor creative image taken on a wet day. The trees, and horses were taken at Gibraltar Point, the Heron, and swans were at Messingham Sand Quarry.
Good Morning, All, Last week at the club we held our monthly competition, a PDI competition, with the categories of "Landscapes with Water" and "Open", there was a very good entry with a high standard of photography. Congratulations go to Tony Gaskins for 1 st place in the Landscapes with Water and Paul Twomey for 1 st place in the Open. The results are on our website with the winning images. This week there is no meeting on Wednesday as it's our annual meal on the Friday. For those attending it's at the Royal Oak (Splash) Little Cawthorpe, to meet up around 7pm for meal at around 7.30pm. For those doing the water project, it's getting towards the end of the month if you haven't already taken your photograph. Regards Graham
We held a PDI (Projected Digital Image) competition last night with the categories of "Landscapes with Water" and "Open". Our judge for the evening was the highly experienced Jorj Malinowski, and his skills were very much needed in judging the 33 quality images in the "Landscapes with Water", this almost monochrome blue atmospheric image of an approaching storm on the Isle of Harris was taken by Tony Gaskins, and deservedly was judged to be 1st in the competition. After the much needed break, Jorj judged the 26 images in the "Open" category, Jorj held 7 images back for further consideration, and to award for higher points, following a process of elimination Jorj was left with 3 images, he awarded 20 points to each of the 3 remaining images, that left the cliff hanger moment when he had to decide the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. When you have 3 exceptional images of different subjects how do you chose? After what seemed like minutes it was the Blue Wildebeast Migration by Paul Twomey that took first place. It was an amazing evening with some impressive images, thanks to our judge Jorj, and well done to all the photographers who entered the competition, and Dave Mann for the refreshments.
Good Morning All Last week we had an excellent speaker on the Lincolnshire coast, Steve Dixey. Steve showed us his photographs taken at all times of the day and night, many early morning, Steve also gave tips on safety and helpful information regarding our local coastline. There is a full report on our blog page. This week, Wednesday 20th May, we are holding a PDI competition, I did try and confuse you with the wrong subject, but you were having none of it, so the categories are "Landscapes with Water" and "Open", all entries are in and scoring sheets have been sent out. I considered this photograph I took in the dales, but thought the water was too burnt out. Our next competition to be held on the 24th June, is prints with the categories of "Trees" and "Open", we are out and about prior to this competition so if you can send an email with the titles to Dave Turner as usual, you can bring prints in this week or on the night of the competition itself. Thank you I have all your meal choices for the annual dinner. Regards Graham
Our speaker last night was Steve Dixey who specialises in coastal photography. Steve showed some incredible photos, during his immersive, and engaging talk. Apart from the stunning images, three things stood out for me from his talk; the first is you don’t need the latest camera to take great images, Steve’s older Fuji camera has stood the test of time and produces excellent image quality. There are photographers who chase after the latest camera gear in the hope that it will make them a better photographer, thankfully not in our Society. The second thing that I noticed was the meticulous planning that Steve undertakes before venturing out onto the beach, noting the weather, tide times, sunrise / sunset, and moonrise / moonset. Steve uses maritime maps to determine the best locations along the Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire coast. As with any photography there is an element of luck, but the planning will get you 90% there, one of his coastal photos included a view of a beach lit by the moon, and a passing cloud had lightly obscured the brightness of the moon creating a lovely atmosphere. Thirdly, and perhaps this is the most important is his personal safety. The coast is an extremely dangerous environment, some people wander out onto sandbanks in trainers, and shorts oblivious to the tide circling in behind them especially at Cleethorpes. Steve ensures his safety by selecting correct clothing, wellington boots, or waders, he also has a GPS scanner, and emergency beacon, he is essentially a “lone worker” on an isolated beach in the small hours of the morning, or late at night, so much better to be safe than sorry. Steve produces several publications, and is able to provide guided coastal walks, for more information his email is: hspadventures@protonmail.com, and there’s a website: https://stevedixeyimages.wordpress.com/ Many thanks Steve for an excellent presentation.
Good Morning All Last week we held our AGM and presentation night, it was well attended and the night went very well. Members filled all the posts, and we had all the reports from the various officers, all is well with our club, and we can expect a good year ahead. This week, Wednesday 13th May, Steve Dixey is the speaker coming to our club for the first time, Steve specialises in coastal photography, and it will be an excellent night. Don't forget to send your PDI images for the next competition, with the categories of "Landscapes with Water" and "Open" to Harry by midnight Wednesday. Remember also to send me your menu choices for the annual meal. Regards Graham
Last night we held our AGM, it was a productive meeting, with re-election of officers, and Committe members. Following the AGM, members with the highest points from the monthly competitions were presented with trophies.
Good afternoon, All, Last week we held a charity night in aid of Cancer Research as two of our members had passed away over the last two years from the disease. There is a blog on our website with all that went on but can I say a big thank you to all members for supporting the evening and far exceeding my expectations of how much we would raise. On the evening it stood at £333 then a generous donation from Harvey Pipe took it over £350 mark. Paul Twomey and his wife Cathy kindly donated to Cancer research taking it to just over £400, a great effort for a small club. The money has all been sent and the committee have seen proof that it was received by Cancer research. Thank you to the committee members for all their hard work making the evening a great success. This week, Wednesday 6th May, we will hold our AGM and Trophy presentation night. Don't forget if you are doing the monthly water project, (that's one image each month with the topic of water), it's now another month to take your fifth image. Regards Graham Harrison
At yesterday's meeting the Society held a Charity Night to raise funds for Cancer Research, as we have lost two of our members Paul Gray, and Paul Malley to cancer, members have also had family effected and lost wives to the disease. The evening was a social occasion with a raffle, quiz, auction, print competition, and cake. The raffle had many prizes donated, and raised £113 in ticket sales. Camera bags, signed books and binoculars had been donated for the auction which generated a lot of interest and raised £116. The tea and cake stand generated £48, the quiz raised £28, and the print competion raised £17. In total the Charity Night raised £322, and many thanks go to members for their generous donations to a worthy case. Colorgrafix of Louth donated a trophy cup in memory of Paul Malley, who had worked for Colografix on a part time basis. The cup has been engraved with Paul Malley's name, and is awarded for the "Best PDI of the Year", shown here is Harry Kerman being presented with the cup by Graham Harrison. Harry's "White Cosmos" image was Best PDI of the Year 2026.
