re: Photography cameras

For my mirrorless, I have a Canon R50 with a Sigma 17-40/f1.8, Canon 28mm/f2.8 pancake, and Canon 55-250mm for special zoom cases. The R50 is a aps-c crop sensor, and I agree with getting a full-frame if you're doing landscape work. If wildlife, go aps-c to get that little bit of extra reach. I do mostly urban shooting, and the crop sensor is fine for that, plus the R50 with the 28mm lens (45mm full-frame equiv.) is super compact with pretty amazing quality for the price point. I like shooting everyday stuff and documenting life. At lunch, I'll go walk around downtown and shoot.

For 35mm film, I have a 1972 Canon FTb and 1985 Canon T70. I use them way more than my mirrorless, especially the FTb. I really enjoy the film process. My FTb is completely manual besides an optional light meter. I develop and scan my own stuff.

Think about what ecosystem you want to go with as far as lenses. IMO, most of the bodies do the same job despite the brand, but lenses are where you want to, uh, focus. I'm locked into the Canon ecosystem. They seem to be the most restrictive when it comes to 3rd party options. I sometimes wish Id have gone with some other brand, but it is what it is at this point and I move forward with what I have and enjoy what I have.

I do a few photo/video jobs a year. Between camera, lenses, lighting, audio, cables, storage, and other misc gear, I'm roughly $18k in the hole ($5200 of this figure is 3 lenses, Sony GM II glass aint cheap)

It's fun and I like doing it, but would never want to do it for a living

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Does anyone on here do photography for a living or hobby? I’ve always been interested getting into it as a hobby and maybe a side hustle. The area I am real interested in is landscape/scenic photography. I already take a ton of pictures using my iPhone but there is only so much you can do with a phone. I want to get me a camera but don’t know what would be a good beginner camera. Right now, my budget is $1000. Any recommendations on cameras?

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I'm what you call a "prosumer" having digital cameras for over 25 years now due to having 4 kids ages 23-17. I've taken over 200k pics of them little goobers over the years.

My current camera is this right here. I have a zoom lens for it that works perfectly for anything from dance recitals to track meets(used it yesterday up at Silliman).

It's whats called a Mirrorless DSLR. Smaller than full frame "pro" cameras but far better than a point-and-shoot Digital camera.

Sony A 6000

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Photography cameras

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Aren’t pretty much all cameras photography cameras?

I have replaced my Nikon 750 with a mirrorless. I'm shooting a Nikon z 6ii and a Z8. I have a lot of gear with my 750 and lens that would probably work well for you if you are in South Louisiana. I'll make you a really good deal. I have a lot of good glass to go with the body.

I would recommend getting an old medium format film camera and a spot meter. Learn how to take exposures, develop your own film and scan them into you PC. The resolution you can get on medium format film is just as good as a digital for a fraction of the cost. Granted developing and scanning can get pricey but still cheaper than new digital. I recently purchased a Mamiya RB67 and C220 TLR and have produced some amazing photos. If you go digital I would rent a couple different camera to see what you like best.

TLDR: Research your color palette preferences (Sony, Fuji, Nikon, Canon), think about what lens you want to shoot with, literally any camera body will do fine after the first two considerations.


IMO the camera body is less important than you think for landscape - which makes it easier (a tripod and tigger are helpful). You're often working with daylight and static or slower-moving objects, so pretty much any modern sensor and shutter can handle the job.

Other considerations (view some you tube videos to find your vibe):
(a) Color. Ever manufacturer's sensor and processor deals with color differently. Look at videos or galleries from Sonys, Canons, Nikons, and Fujis. There are things I like about each, but I'll leave preference to you.

(b) Look at lenses you might want to buy. Once you buy your first camera and lens, you're pretty much locked into that lens system if you don't want to shell out money again.

IMO the first lens you buy will make a much bigger impact on the tech-side quality of the images than the camera. So if you find the lens you think will suite your style, that might dictate the camera model.

(c) Other lens considerations:
You don't needed the fastest glass (1.4/1.8), which are more expensive, because most landscapes are shot at F/8+, and lenses are near their sweat spot there (a more expensive lens won't help there, which is great for the pocketbook). A sharp F4 lens should be plenty for what you're doing. Edit: A lot of the above posters are using zoom lenses that start at 5.6 and created great shots (not super expensive gear, but good photographers :) ).

Research the focal length (field of view / angle of perspective) you might prefer. Do you like really wide landscapes, or more zoomed in shots on certain features and details? IMO longer/telephoto lenses to compress landscape and pick out specific details are a little easier. But if you like really wide stuff, look into the distortion qualities of the lens--some ultra wide stuff gets really distorted (even if newer cameras have built in algos to correct for it).

I do wildlife and nature photography.

For landscape/scenic I’d start with something like the Nikon Z7 ii or the Z6 iii.
They are probably a little out your price range but may be able to find one close to it on MPB.com . A good lens to pair them with would be the 24-70mm 2.8 (you could probably go with a wider angle but that lens gives you a little zoom if needed. )

Nikon does offer 0 interest financing for 12-24 months if that helps your budget.

Canon and Sony also have some good optios, I’m just not too familiar with them.

For wildlife I use the Z8
Landscapes I use the Z7 ii

I’ll try and post some images later (phone won’t let me)

Website

Nikon. Canst go wrong. Canon not so much.
Pentax is pretty good

We have a vacation planned over the summer that I wanted to have more than just cell phone pics from, so I recently took the plunge again after not having a “real” camera for over 15 years.

Went with an APS-C (Sony A6700) got it used for $1000 and came with 2 kit lens. I liked some of the features the 6700 had over the older models, but you can find older models less than $500 on marketplace.
Of course, with the trip planned and lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery to be seen, I decided the kit lenses weren’t gonna work, so I’ve picked up a 11mm wide angle for landscapes, an 18-50mm zoom for everyday shots and a 70-350mm… along with a a nice travel bag, lightweight travel tripod, filters, batteries, memory cards… it never stops at JUST the camera! Just keep that in mind in regards to budgeting

When comparing it to full frames, keep in mind the full frame lenses are almost across the board heavier and larger than the APSC lenses… not to mention much more expensive. If the hobby turns into something more or if you feel the APSC limits you, then by all means go full frame!