Second Hand Camera Bargains
Derek Smith • 9 September 2020
With a Budget of £500
Second-hand Camera Bargains
No, this isn’t an article on Sony cameras specifically, but more an article on the piece that Amateur Photographer ran on the 22nd August about buying a second-hand camera for £500 which I found to be very interesting.
Firstly a couple of thoughts on this from my own experience, look at the new camera market in the first instance, many camera manufacturers continue to sell an older version of the latest updated camera, so you may well find a mark II version at a cheaper price than a mark III flagship model, and lots of camera manufacturers run discounted promotions, cashback, £200 pounds off, or free accessories. Also, bundling, where a camera manufacturer offers a two lens and camera body bundle, this can really get you quickly started into photography.
The second point is when buying an interchangeable lens camera is that you will be buying into a camera system, there’s no point in paying £300 for a camera body, then finding that the lenses are twice that price.
Right, so in the order that AP published:
Canon EOS 70D – An APS-C DSLR, 20.2MP sensor, Dual Pixel CMOS AF, with phase detect AF in Live View, single SD card slot, the body is dust, and moisture resistant - £370
The lens choice, and prices impressed me with the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM - £209
Fujifilm X-T2 – An APS-C mirrorless 24.3MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor, hybrid AF, dual SD card slots, very good ergonomics and analogue setting dials - £459
A good range of lenses are available, but the Fuji lenses do tend to be a little pricier, the Fujifilm XF 18-55 F2.8-4R LM OIS, standard zoom range - £249
Nikon D7200 – An APS-C DSLR, 24.2MP CMOS sensor, dual card slots, long battery life, and Wi-Fi connectivity, large buffer for continuous shooting, autofocus is 51-point phase detect. - £479
Second-hand DX-format lenses are plentiful, and inexpensive, a Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8 G - £109. Nikon AF-S 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR - £129
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II – A Micro Four Thirds mirrorless 16MP CMOS sensor, autofocus is 81-point contrast detect, single card SD slot, weather sealed, and 5 axis IBIS. - £319
An interesting choice this one, in choosing the mid-range camera, personally if I could do without the weather sealing, I would choose the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, second-hand price £199, or new, Olympus were recently offering this camera at only £499, with the 14-42mm kit lens. If I could push the budget the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, fully weather sealed, with dual card slots, and the 20.4MP Live MOS phase detect sensor, autofocus is 121-point phase detect. - £679
Lenses are plentiful for the long-established Micro Four Thirds system, prices seem to polarise a little, dubbed the “plastic fantastic” Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4-5.6 R can be obtained new online for £99. For a dedicated prime portrait lens the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 is amazing value at £139. However, if the PRO line-up of lenses takes your fancy, full weather sealing, and metal construction, look to pay £500 - £1000.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80 – Another Micro Four Thirds mirrorless system camera, styled as a DSLR, with 16MP CMOS sensor, weather sealed, IBIS working in conjunction with certain Panasonic stabilised lenses Dual IS, 4K video, autofocus is 49-point contrast detect (Depth from Defocus) - £369
If you would prefer a smaller range finder style of camera, then consider the Panasonic DC GX7 16MP sensor, 3 axis IBIS – under £200, or the GX8 / GX9 with the 20.3MP sensor, and improved IBIS. – up to £400
Lens choices, simply spoilt for choice, Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH “pancake” lens - £159. Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm F4-5.6 II OIS (that’s a full frame reach of 200-600mm weighing 520g) dust, and splashproof with Dual IS stabilisation - £359
Sony Alpha 7 – This was the very first full frame mirrorless camera launched in 2013, 24MP CMOS sensor, autofocus 117-point hybrid, and 25-point contrast detect focus points. - £409
Another interesting choice from AP, this camera is for someone who has to have a full frame camera on a budget, and can live with the cameras many quirks, for the rest of us don’t even think about it, save your money and go for the Sony Alpha 7II, much more polished, with full 5 axis IBIS - £754. Personally, at this price point, I wouldn’t even consider a full frame camera, the hobbyist photographer would be better served by buying a crop sensor mirrorless camera such as the Fujifilm X-T2, or one of the Sony A6000 series APS-C cameras.
So, how about a brand new Sony A6000? Widely available at only £499, with the 16-50mm kit lens. This APS-C camera has a 24MP CMOS sensor, autofocus is 179-point hybrid AF, the camera body is un-stabilised, but Sony lenses for APS-C cameras have built-in Optical Steady Shot (OSS) stabilisation, this option is an excellent beginner camera, with several advanced features, and great image quality.
Sony lenses can be quite expensive to buy, third party lens manufacturers such as Tamron, Sigma, and Samyang produce excellent optics for the Sony system with realistic pricing. A word about the Sony system, both full frame, and APS-C lenses use the same Sony E-mount. Lenses designed for the full frame cameras are designated as FE lenses and can be used on the APS-C cameras without any issues. As an example I used the Samyang AF 24mm F2.8 FE lens on my Sony A7II, and it was an excellent lens providing a 24mm field of view on the full frame camera, and the lens worked extremely well on the Sony APS-C A6300, with the only change being the field of view with a crop factor of 1.5x the 24mm lens becomes a 36mm equivalent lens. Working the other way around the Sony 35mm F1.8 OSS lens performs very well as a 50mm equivalent lens on the A6000 APS-C series cameras, but with the lens mounted on the A7 full frame camera the lens will only illuminate the smaller APS-C part of the full frame sensor, the camera defaults to “crop sensor” mode, and the benefit of the full frame sensor is lost.
Lots of choice then for not very much money, relatively.
Camera choices from Amateur Photographer magazine, with my own thoughts, and observations, photo of the Sony A6000, A6300 APS-C cameras, and lenses.
Derek Smith
No, this isn’t an article on Sony cameras specifically, but more an article on the piece that Amateur Photographer ran on the 22nd August about buying a second-hand camera for £500 which I found to be very interesting.
Firstly a couple of thoughts on this from my own experience, look at the new camera market in the first instance, many camera manufacturers continue to sell an older version of the latest updated camera, so you may well find a mark II version at a cheaper price than a mark III flagship model, and lots of camera manufacturers run discounted promotions, cashback, £200 pounds off, or free accessories. Also, bundling, where a camera manufacturer offers a two lens and camera body bundle, this can really get you quickly started into photography.
The second point is when buying an interchangeable lens camera is that you will be buying into a camera system, there’s no point in paying £300 for a camera body, then finding that the lenses are twice that price.
Right, so in the order that AP published:
Canon EOS 70D – An APS-C DSLR, 20.2MP sensor, Dual Pixel CMOS AF, with phase detect AF in Live View, single SD card slot, the body is dust, and moisture resistant - £370
The lens choice, and prices impressed me with the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM - £209
Fujifilm X-T2 – An APS-C mirrorless 24.3MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor, hybrid AF, dual SD card slots, very good ergonomics and analogue setting dials - £459
A good range of lenses are available, but the Fuji lenses do tend to be a little pricier, the Fujifilm XF 18-55 F2.8-4R LM OIS, standard zoom range - £249
Nikon D7200 – An APS-C DSLR, 24.2MP CMOS sensor, dual card slots, long battery life, and Wi-Fi connectivity, large buffer for continuous shooting, autofocus is 51-point phase detect. - £479
Second-hand DX-format lenses are plentiful, and inexpensive, a Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8 G - £109. Nikon AF-S 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR - £129
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II – A Micro Four Thirds mirrorless 16MP CMOS sensor, autofocus is 81-point contrast detect, single card SD slot, weather sealed, and 5 axis IBIS. - £319
An interesting choice this one, in choosing the mid-range camera, personally if I could do without the weather sealing, I would choose the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II, second-hand price £199, or new, Olympus were recently offering this camera at only £499, with the 14-42mm kit lens. If I could push the budget the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, fully weather sealed, with dual card slots, and the 20.4MP Live MOS phase detect sensor, autofocus is 121-point phase detect. - £679
Lenses are plentiful for the long-established Micro Four Thirds system, prices seem to polarise a little, dubbed the “plastic fantastic” Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F4-5.6 R can be obtained new online for £99. For a dedicated prime portrait lens the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8 is amazing value at £139. However, if the PRO line-up of lenses takes your fancy, full weather sealing, and metal construction, look to pay £500 - £1000.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G80 – Another Micro Four Thirds mirrorless system camera, styled as a DSLR, with 16MP CMOS sensor, weather sealed, IBIS working in conjunction with certain Panasonic stabilised lenses Dual IS, 4K video, autofocus is 49-point contrast detect (Depth from Defocus) - £369
If you would prefer a smaller range finder style of camera, then consider the Panasonic DC GX7 16MP sensor, 3 axis IBIS – under £200, or the GX8 / GX9 with the 20.3MP sensor, and improved IBIS. – up to £400
Lens choices, simply spoilt for choice, Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH “pancake” lens - £159. Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm F4-5.6 II OIS (that’s a full frame reach of 200-600mm weighing 520g) dust, and splashproof with Dual IS stabilisation - £359
Sony Alpha 7 – This was the very first full frame mirrorless camera launched in 2013, 24MP CMOS sensor, autofocus 117-point hybrid, and 25-point contrast detect focus points. - £409
Another interesting choice from AP, this camera is for someone who has to have a full frame camera on a budget, and can live with the cameras many quirks, for the rest of us don’t even think about it, save your money and go for the Sony Alpha 7II, much more polished, with full 5 axis IBIS - £754. Personally, at this price point, I wouldn’t even consider a full frame camera, the hobbyist photographer would be better served by buying a crop sensor mirrorless camera such as the Fujifilm X-T2, or one of the Sony A6000 series APS-C cameras.
So, how about a brand new Sony A6000? Widely available at only £499, with the 16-50mm kit lens. This APS-C camera has a 24MP CMOS sensor, autofocus is 179-point hybrid AF, the camera body is un-stabilised, but Sony lenses for APS-C cameras have built-in Optical Steady Shot (OSS) stabilisation, this option is an excellent beginner camera, with several advanced features, and great image quality.
Sony lenses can be quite expensive to buy, third party lens manufacturers such as Tamron, Sigma, and Samyang produce excellent optics for the Sony system with realistic pricing. A word about the Sony system, both full frame, and APS-C lenses use the same Sony E-mount. Lenses designed for the full frame cameras are designated as FE lenses and can be used on the APS-C cameras without any issues. As an example I used the Samyang AF 24mm F2.8 FE lens on my Sony A7II, and it was an excellent lens providing a 24mm field of view on the full frame camera, and the lens worked extremely well on the Sony APS-C A6300, with the only change being the field of view with a crop factor of 1.5x the 24mm lens becomes a 36mm equivalent lens. Working the other way around the Sony 35mm F1.8 OSS lens performs very well as a 50mm equivalent lens on the A6000 APS-C series cameras, but with the lens mounted on the A7 full frame camera the lens will only illuminate the smaller APS-C part of the full frame sensor, the camera defaults to “crop sensor” mode, and the benefit of the full frame sensor is lost.
Lots of choice then for not very much money, relatively.
Camera choices from Amateur Photographer magazine, with my own thoughts, and observations, photo of the Sony A6000, A6300 APS-C cameras, and lenses.
Derek Smith
Louth Photographic Society
A print competition was held last night with the categories of; "Monochrome" and "Open". Diane Seddon from Cleethorpes Camera Club was the judge for the evening, Diane is very skilled, and thorough in her judging, providing useful insight, and critique of the prints. Many of her comments centered around the best cropping of an image to optimise the subject within the frame, and giving the subject "room to breathe" in the framing. Congratulations to David Whitehouse placed first in the "Monochrome" category, with his superb rendering of a face sculpture, and Dave Turner placed first in the "Open" category with his stunning print of the sunrise over Whitby Harbour. Thanks to Diane Seddon for a great evening, and as she remarked at the end of the competition all the prints were of an extremely high standard. The Competition Page has been updated with the highest placed images, but currently the score sheets for the competition are unavailable.
Good Morning All Last week Dave Bennett came to the club again, it has been a while since we have seen his photography but well worth the wait. Dave's photographs were excellent and his story telling along with AV's made it a very good night. This week, Wednesday 15th October, we are holding a print competition, with the categories of "Mono" and "Open", our judge for the evening will be Diane Seddon AFIAP CPAGB BPE3* she is well qualified to judge our prints. The following week we are going to try a retro night again, with Transparencies taken prior to the year 2000, please let me know if you want to take part and have a time slot allotted, time will depend on the numbers wanting to take part. Regards Graham
Last night Dave Bennett came to the club to show us AV's and narrate other sets of photographs on a theme. Dave started with photos along the Humber and then carried on the evening with AV's on nature, flowers and transport as well as talks and photographs showing us Grimsby docks including detailed photographs of fish smoking and engineering. Dave's photography is of a very high standard with strong colours, lot's of use of depth of field and they tell a story. A great night, thank you Dave.
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held a local PDI competition with a category of "5 Minutes From Your Home", we had some very good entries in each category with myself, and Dave Turner judging on the night. All the results are on our website, but well done to Derek for his mobile phone picture of a remembrance seat in Horncastle and Harry for his hellebores in the "Open" category. This week, Wednesday 8th October, Dave Bennett is coming to the club to show us what he has been taking lately, Dave does quite a bit of AV so as usual it will be a very good night. A reminder, send your print titles for the next print competition to Dave Turner by midnight Wednesday and bring your prints in this Wednesday night as well please. If you have any more N&EMPF Exhibition PDI entries send them to me by midnight tomorrow (Monday) please. Regards Graham
Our PDI "Local" competition was held last night, with the categories of "5 Minutes From Your Home", and "Open". Dave Turner, one of our members began the evening with judging the "Open" category, always a difficult category in my opinion because of the variety of subjects entered into the competition. Dave had previewed the images on his home computer, and had notes on each of the images, he provided excellent feedback on each image. After the break, Graham Harrison began judging the "5 Minutes From Your Home" category, this was a very unusual subject category which stretched the creative ingenuity of members, and it was particularly interesting to see what members had submitted. Graham judged the entries very fairly, and provided very good critique of the images. The standard of images submitted was high, which makes judging a competition such as this difficult, and as always is subjective, but a big thank you to both judges, it was an interesting evening. The first placed images, from each category are shown on this post, "At the Going Down of the Sun" by Derek Smith, "5 minutes from your home", and "Hellebores" by Harry Kerman in the "Open" category. The website Competition Page has been updated with the top three placed images, and the scoresheets.
Good Morning All Last week at the club member Tony Gaskins gave us an excellent presentation of his recent trip to Kenya on safari. Tony showed us the animals and birds he had encountered on his trip. It was an evening of excellent wildlife photography as well as a very informative talk, thank you Tony. There is also a report on our website blog. This week, Wednesday 1st October, we are holding a local PDI competition, with the subject categories of "5 Minutes From Your Home" and "Open", Dave Turner has kindly offered to judge the Open with myself the subject, and you have until midnight tonight to enter. Dave Turner is also asking members to send him the titles of their prints for the next print competition, the categories for this are "Mono" and "Open". Regards Graham
Our member, Tony Gaskins presented us with an illustrated talk on his visit to the Kenya game reserves last night. Tony's talk was perfectly timed, and his description of the trip held our attention throughout the evening, the images he captured were indeed stunning. The variety of wildlife he captured with his camera were amazing, all of the photos of birds were incredible, and the fact that they didn't fly off like they do here in the UK. On Lake Naivasha Tony captured a sequence of a fish eagle swooping down to catch a fish, just look at the way those deadly talons are outstretched to capture the fish. The lodge Tony stayed in at Tsavo West was beside a watering hole, look at this capture of a Kirk's Dik Dik, taken from the balcony of the lodge. Images of Hippopotamus, Lions, Impala, Ostrich, Giraffe and Zebra kept us enthralled through the evening. Thank you and well done Tony for an interesting evening.
Good Evening All A little late as just got back late this afternoon from the golfing trip, I didn't take my camera other than phone as I wouldn't have really had time but there was some interesting wildlife about including Swallowtail butterflies which was a first for me. Last week you had the monthly PDI competition, Long Exposures and Open, Derek has done a blog on our website and the competition page has all the results. Some excellent photography on show judging by the top places. This week, Wednesday 24th September, we have member Tony Gaskins entertaining us with one of his talks, Tony is well travelled so as usual it will be an excellent evening of photography. Regards Graham
Last week we held our first PDI competition after the summer break, and what a superb evening it was. There were some excellent images submitted into the competition, and over half of the submitted entries were "held back" for awarding higher points, Tony Houlden was the judge for the evening. This week, Wednesday 24th September, Tony Gaskin will be giving an illustrated talk on his recent visit to the Maasai Mara game reserve in Kenya, it will be an interesting evening, with some stunning photography. Harry will be taking entries for our next PDI competition, with the categories of "Local 5 minutes From Your House", (in this case the "Local" applies to your house, not the 25 miles from Louth) and "Open". Harry is also taking entries for the LPA Competition, he's looking for 6 entries in this competition, from each member. I've been out, and about as usual, this photo is of an abandoned garage forecourt on the road to Spilsby.
This was our first competition after the summer break. The categories for the competition were "Long Exposure", and "Open" and our judge for the evening was Tony Houlden. We began the evening with the "Long Exposure" category, something of a surprise in this section were the amount of night time images, more typically were the images of flowing water, either of the sea or in rivers, Tony judged these images skillfully, and with his usual sense of humour. Dave Turner was placed first with his excellent "Saltburn by the Sea Morning", Keith Rossington took second place with his beautiful night time image of the river at York "From the Bridge", Harry Kerman showed the "River Dee, Cairngorms, Scotland" the flowing peat laden waters stilled in this carefully composed image. After the break, Tony began the judging of the "Open" category, I always think this is the more difficult category to judge because of the variety of images presented, Tony judged these thoughtfully, providing excellent critique. Dave Turner took first place with his monochrome view of "Scarborough Bay", I was pleased to take second place with "Sunset Jetty" taken on my holiday in Corfu, and third place with my monochrome "Haworth Main Street". It was an excellent evening, with some amazing images, Tony's critique was very helpful, highlighting unwanted distracting items in an image, haloing from excessive sharpening, and cropping errors. Thanks to Tony for judging, and Dave Mann for the refreshments.
