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 we held a local PDI competition, Wildflowers and Open, there were some very good entries and especially well done to Keith Rossington who was placed first in both categories. The results are on our website. Thank you to Dave Turner who judged the Open, the first time he had judged live, and he did an excellent job with plenty of helpful comments and some good advice as regards processing our images. That was the last meeting at Church House until September as we now begin our summer break. There is however an LPA Battle, third round at Cleethorpes camera club next Tuesday, It is at 7.30 in their clubroom which is between 49 and 51 Reynolds Street DN35 7TU. Parking is best by the tennis courts. Regards Graham
Last night we held our last competition before our summer break. The PDI (Projected Digital Image) competition had the categories of "Local Wildflowers", and "Open". As this was a members competition, Dave Turner judged the "Open" category, this was his first time judging a competition, he had previewed the images, and made notes, and he gave some excellent critique, which will help members when submitting images in future competitions. After the break, Graham Harrison judged the "Local Wildflowers", a couple of the submitted entries were excellent, but unfortunately did not meet the category criteria so lost some points, flowers always make a good subject for a competition, and Graham had quite a task in judging the images. It was a superb evening with some amazing images, Keith Rossington took first place in both categories, the images he submitted show how much time, and effort he takes with his photography, well done Keith.
Good Morning All Last Sunday I went to the Armed forces day at Cleethorpes, there were not so many people about as I think most wanted to see the Red Arrows on Saturday. There was an excellent display from a group of first world war re-enactors who were mounted and in the uniform of the Lancers as well as a limited air display the highlight been the Spitfire. Last week was also the run for life in Louth, Sam from Colorgrafix did the run in memory of Paul Malley and raising money for cancer research. Sam asked the club for sponsorship so we sent her a donation from us all. Last Friday 21 members and partners enjoyed a meal at the Royal Oak, Cawthorpe, it was good to be able to socialise with each other with a few drinks and a very good meal. I hope everyone had a great night. This week, Wednesday 9th July, we are holding a PDI (Projected Digital Image) competition, with the categories of "Local Flowers in Their Environment (25 miles limit)" and "Open". I am going to judge the Flowers with Dave Turner judging the Open. Regards Graham
Most people are aware of “writers block”, where a writer sits staring at a blank page, and can’t think of a story to write, well photographers suffer from a similar affliction, with a camera sitting on a shelf, and we can’t think of anything to photograph. I believe that change in one way or another can invigorate our photographic creativity, one of our members renowned for his seascapes, has begun taking photos of birdlife, creating some stunning images. My favourite photographic genre has been in fashion and portraiture for the past 6 years, but I’ve lost the “joy” in the genre, so now I want to take more landscape, and macro photography, varying my style. I have just changed my camera system, and now I’m excited to try out the new lenses and watching endless YouTube videos to learn about the new camera system, as well as getting out, and trying the new techniques, these are some of the images from my new camera system. Another method of invigorating your photography is to start a project, think of a subject, and build a portfolio of images, watching how your photography improves as you take each image over time. Joining a camera club is another way to invigorate our photography. Many of our members have stated that their photography has improved since joining, being inspired by the talks, workshops, and regular competitions. The competitions are important both from a learning perspective, but also from the challenges in the subject matter. Recently I was dashing around trying to photograph “Wildflowers in the Environment” for our next competition, a lot of the roadside verges had been mowed reducing the wildflowers locally. Next, I tried some churchyards, there was some “Ladies Bedstraw” flowers in Scrivelsby churchyard, but it didn’t make for a convincing photo, I found some wildflowers along a footpath that did work. I did find another convincing photo in a local church yard, but still I had only two out of three photographs, and the deadline for competition entry submission was fast approaching. Driving out of Horncastle I spotted an ideal wildflower candidate, so quickly turning the car around, parking on the verge, and laying flat on the ground I was able to take one of the best images of the three, and with a lens that I wouldn’t normally associate with this style of photography. In conclusion, dust off that camera, take some photographs, and rediscover the simple joy of photography.
We had a really good turn out for the visit to Rimac last night and the weather was fantastic for taking wildlife photographs. There was plenty to photograph from moths and butterflies to many different birds, there were also plenty of wildflowers as well. I think we all took plenty of photographs so the competitions should have plenty of entries this year. We spent just over two hours photographing and walking round then some of us visited the Prussian Queen in Saltfleetby, where we were made to feel welcome and quenched our thirsts.
Paul Malley, a gentle, genial, giant of a man sadly passed away recently after a long illness. Paul had been a longtime member of the Louth Photographic Society, and had served in several roles, Treasurer at one time, and latterly as a stalwart active member on the Committee. Always ready with helpful knowledge, and advice, Paul was calm in a crisis, and insightful, able to understand both sides of a discussion, and suggest a compromise. An outstanding photographer, dedicated to his craft, he produced some excellent images, some of which are shared here. Rest in peace my friend, you will be much missed by Pam, family, friends, and members of the Louth Photographic Society.
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held our monthly print competition, there was a good entry of just over 40 prints and of a very good standard. Tony Gaskins won the subject, Britain's Coastline with an excellent photograph of Whitby and Dave Tuner was 1st in the Open with an excellent misty morning photograph at Buttermere. Thank you to all that entered, and all the results are on our website. This week, Wednesday 25th June, we are going to Rimac near Saltfleet, I have heard there is quite a bit of wildlife there at the moment, let's hope we are lucky. If we meet in the car park at 6.30pm and set of as a group though we usually get stretched out as we go. I have attached a map, but if you are on a corner and there is a track going towards the sea at the area shown on the map you should be ok. Regards Graham
Our print competition with the categories of “Britain's Coastline”, and “Open” was held last night. Gail Wrigg, the LPA President, was the judge for the evening, and there were some stunning prints submitted into the competition to review. The images were judged fairly, majoring on the technical imperfections of the images, depth of focus, composition, elements within an image that could have been removed, and improved cropping of an image. Gail always connects with the audience with her critique of the submitted competition entries. It's surprising how the print medium looks, and feels so different from an image viewed on a screen, just very alive, and tactile. The competition results have been updated on the Competition page of our website.
Good Morning All, I visited Welton-Le-Wold nature reserve the other evening, a bit like a small Red Hill, there were a lot more wildflowers there than Red Hill but again not many insects, it may be better in the daytime? It is only about two miles from Louth as well. Last week was the LPA battle at Scunthorpe, only Dave Turner went taking our prints with him, not a good result for Louth, 1st Grimsby 258, 2nd Scunthorpe 245 and 3rd Louth 236, quite a difference from the first round but that's LPA battles. The next round is at Cleethorpes, it would be good if a few more members could attend. It will soon be our annual dinner at the Splash, any more deposits this week please and menu choices by midnight Wednesday please, otherwise you may go hungry. This week, Wednesday 18th June, we hold our monthly print competition, with the categories of “Britain's Coastline” and “Open” there has been a good entry so should be a good night. Regards Graham
Good Morning All Last week we visited Red Hill nature reserve, a very good turnout, but the wildlife didn't seem to know we were going, it's quite worrying though the lack of any butterflies or any other insects of any sorts. Hopefully we all got some photographs before we visited the Three horseshoes at Goulceby. I did photograph an unusual caterpillar but couldn't manage to identify it? This week we are away in the LPA Battles at Scunthorpe, for anyone planning to attend it is at the Pavilion, Bramley Crescent, Bottesford DN16 35N this Wednesday 11th at 7.30pm. I don't think I will make it due to work but hopefully some members will attend. There will be no meeting at Louth this week as members will be a way at Scunthorpe. The following week, Wednesday 18th June, we are holding the monthly print competition, if you can email your titles to Dave Turner by midnight Wednesday 11th if you have not already and bring your prints in on the night by 7 pm as no one is there to collect them this week. There are still a few deposits for the meal to come in yet, but in two week's time will be ok. If you can send your menu choices to me if you are attending by midnight 0n the 18th June please, as they need typing out and sending to the Splash two weeks in advance. Well, I think that's all, Regards Graham
