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 Last week at the club I gave you a PDI (Projected Digital Image) presentation showing photographs I had taken on my travels last year, following up with some past and present photographs of Binbrook. I hope you all enjoyed the evening and maybe saw parts of England you hadn't seen before. This week, Wednesday 4th March, our member Steve Chapman will be showing us photographs he has taken. This is Steve's first time showing the club his work so will be a very good night. Harry is now accepting your PDI's for the next competition, with the categories of "Architectural Detail" and "Open". The closing date is Friday 6th March. Regards Graham
The N&EMPF Exhibition will be on display in Cleethorpes from 3rd March.
It was "President's Night" with Graham Harrison showing some of his images from short breaks, and holidays around the UK. Graham rented a holiday cottage in Newbiggin, Northumberland, and showed many of his photos from that area, including a visit to Lindisfarne, where the castle on the rocky outcrop made for an impressive photo. In Suffolk, Graham visited Pakefield, and photographed the colourful beach huts at the top of the shingle beach, he also showed several photos from the Lake District. One of my favourite photos from last night was St. Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay, with the groins in juxtaposition. Thank you Graham for a very interesting evening.
Good Morning All Last week at the club Harry and Chris gave us an insight into how our exhibition preparation is going, we have a lot of historical photos to go on show and there may be room for some more up to date ones but Harry and Chris will see how much room we have left when they start putting it all together at the museum. I also took the time to find out what you wanted in the new program, filling in the competition subjects and outings. This week, Wednesday 25th February, it is the Presidents night, so that's my night and I will be showing you what I got up to in 2025. The rainbow at Brough castle gives you idea of one area I visited. Harry is now accepting entries for the next PDI competition, with the categories of "Architectural Detail" and "Open". The new program is nearly done and to give you a chance to get ready for the first two competitions in May and June the subjects are May, PDI comp - Landscapes with water and Open and June, Print competition, Trees and Open. Regards Graham
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held our Print Of The Year (POTY) competition, it's one of our highlights of the year and judged by Grahame Dunkin, it proved to be an excellent night with some very good prints on show. The results are on our website under competitions but the highlights were Dave Turner being placed first in the Pictorial, landscape and best Mono print in show; Robin Begley, First in the Record section, Keith Rossington first place in Portrait, Harry Kerman first in the photo/journalism (including Street) and myself taking first place in the Nature as well as overall Print of the Year. My photograph of a Hairy Shield bug was taken at Chambers wood on a camera club outing. This week, Wednesday 19th February, we are sorting out Prints for our 70th anniversary exhibition at Louth Museum. Please bring along any local prints you may have and maybe a few further afield for selection. Please also bring along any prints you may have that you think will be ok for the LPA Foster challenge and LPA Battles. They need to be mounted on a 500mm x 400mm mount and a maximum print size of A3. Don't forget to take a photograph of water if you are doing this years project, no real excuses at the moment. Regards Graham
Our highlight competition, Print Of The Year (POTY) competition was held last night, with our judge Grahame Dunkin giving his experienced critique on the excellent images submitted. Congratulations to Dave Turner for his Monochrome image of the year: West Pier Watchtower - Whitby, and Graham Harrison for his Colour image: Hairy Shield Bug.
Good Morning All Last week we went to have a look at the Lancaster sculpture at Norton Disney, it is open for visitors at certain times and although work is still ongoing the main Lancaster is finished and a car park in place. The sculpture is full size weighing 100 tons and honours WW2 RAF crews. Last week at the club Derek Smith ran an editing night, members were asked to bring their laptops in and Derek gave us all an SD card with some images to edit and information regarding the free editing software. A different and interesting night and hopefully we all learnt something and anyone new to photography would have learnt quite a lot. Thank you Derek for running the evening. This week, Wednesday 11th February, we have one of the clubs yearly highlights, the Print Of The Year (POTY) competition to be judged by Grahame Dunkin, all the entries are now in and you should have checked the scoresheets to make sure yours are included. Dave Turner is also asking for prints to enter into the Foster Challenge and LPA Print Battles. He will ask to use prints that are in the print of the year but if you have any prints that you think would be good to enter in the two competitions please bring them and hand them into Dave Turner. The following week we are having an evening collecting everything in for our exhibition at the Louth museum, if you can sort out any prints especially local prints that could go into our exhibition please bring them in on the 18th February. Regards Graham
Last Sunday I was in Stockton on Tees working with Izzy, a favourite model of mine she enjoys cosplay, that’s dressing up as a character from Marvel, Hasbro, or film titles. This photo is of Fey, a woodland sprite, pictured against a woodland backdrop that I bought for the photoshoot. I stayed overnight at a Premier Inn, and in the morning drove to Staithes, as I had always wanted to visit this fishing village, Staithes in the February rain wasn’t much fun, and the tide was out, but I did manage to take a few photos, and I captured one for the “Water” project so I was pleased with that. I was quite surprised how vibrant the colours were in the drizzle, and misty light. Driving back over the North Yorkshire Moors in rain, and fog, didn’t allow for much photography either. Yesterday, walking along the harbour front in Bridlington the high tide, and strong winds had thrown lots of debris onto the promenade, seaweed, nets, tree branches, and cuttlefish kept council workmen busy clearing up the mess. With the right clothing, and a weatherproof camera photography can still be enjoyed even in poor conditions.
A photo editing workshop was held last night, with members bringing in their laptops, and post processing sample images. Members were able to practice processing bracketed, and focus stacked images. Simple editing tasks of cloning unwanted items from images, cropping, and resizing of images were shown. The excellent FastStone photo viewer, and editor was able to accomplish most tasks apart from developing of RAW images, this free software is a “must have” for those with Windows computers. The Affinity photo editor has now been acquired by Canva, and the changes applied by Canva have made the software very confusing to use, and on my 14” Lenovo Thinkpad, it was very difficult to view the master layer to apply adjustments. PhotoScape X is a simplistic photo editor, for all that the software was easy to use, and the RAW processing was seamless. It was an interesting evening, and hopefully members will have attained some new skills in post processing, some of the images edited are shown here.
Good morning All I did manage to get to visit Gibraltar Point last week, very few birds to photograph at this time of year but I took a few and a Grey Squirrel. Last week member Dave Mann showed us photographs from his visit to Beamish, it's a great day out and Dave went round most of it and showed us some photographs from the new 1950's town as well as the farm, pit village, town and trains. Thank you Dave, and Harry for helping out with refreshments. This week, Wednesday 4th February, Derek is running an editing night, he has sent us all information on what we could download, if you have a laptop remember to bring it along. Print of the year is fast approaching, if you are entering make sure you send Dave Turner a list of your entries with which subject they are in and bring your prints along this week. Regards Graham
