Looking to get into photography

Cannon Rebel. Great starter camera. Bought it for the wife with the same idea in mind as you and it worked out great.

Been a while since I was into this hobby, my SIL is into it big. From what I understand, the rebel cannot accept the larger pro grade cannon lenses without an adapter. And even then, the camera cant perform up to the lenses. Kinda like putting a Swaro or Khales on a Savage. However, to get your feet wet in the hobby, there are plenty of good lenses the rebel will accept, but the camera body isn't even close to pro grade. I have a Nikon 5200 and really love it. It's kind of the sweet spot at higher amateur without jumping off the deep end. It accepts a larger range of lenses in the Nikon family than the rebel will in the canon family. I've made home movies in HD with it and plugged it right into the TV

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From what I understand, the rebel cannot accept the larger pro grade cannon lenses without an adapter.

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No. A Rebel can use both EF-S (crop factor lenses) and EF lenses (full frame lenses including the L "professional grade" lenses)

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And even then, the camera cant perform up to the lenses

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True you won't be using all of the glass you paid for putting a full frame lense on a crop camera but you can still get great results

OP, if you have any interest in Canon then check out the 80D. It's in your price range. LINK

You may want to look into mirroless cameras as well. I'm sure others will be along shortly with Sony recommendations.

LINK

Fuji xt-30 with 18-55

Camera is stellar (not their premium product but is still incredible) and the 18-55 is the best and sharpest kit lens you can get. Color reproduction is top notch

Fuji doesn't make a bad lens.

I've got a Fuji XH-1, it's incredible.

I rarely use the wifi or touch screen functions on m camera. Fuji has the old school dials in addition to the high tech stuff, love em.

Mirrorless is awesome. What you see in the EVF is exactly what your picture will look like

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Research has me leaning to the Nikon d5500 or Nikon d6500 cameras. Both having the same shell, sensors, etc. but 6500 is amped up with touch screen, more focus points, wi-fi and such. Are these worth the try? What others am I missing and should I jump into something better?

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I never use the wi-fi feature in my cameras card readers are much faster.

D5500 was the first in that price range to have excellent low light capability. It's a smaller form factor got one for the wife (no pics) and she loves it, matched with Tamron 16-300mm lenses which is sharper and smaller than the equivalent Nikon super zoom version. For the money it's an amazing combo that can shoot indoors w/o a flash no problem i.e. kids birthday parties.

Canon makes excellent stuff too but I'm not very familiar with them. Some like their color rendition over Nikon, to my eye it's a draw. Canon's user interface is superior to Nikon's for the casual shooter.

I've been buying lightly used gear from Adorma and B&H Photo the last five years, no issues and saves a ton over new. For cameras there is software on the web that will give you the number of shutter actuations, most I've seen are between 200-500 on 100,000 to 150k rated shutters. Buy one and if it's too high for your liking send it back.

Here's a "lightly" used D5500 at B&H for $350 (lol).
D5500

Tamron's 16-300mm new is < $500 haven't looked for used ones but they're out there. Don't get their cheaper 18-270mm it's a dog. Along with a Nikon 35mm f/1.8 ~ $200 you'd be set for a long time.
Tamron 16-300mm

If I was just starting out might go mirrorless especially for video, either Fuji or Olympus are good choices. Good glass though is as expensive as APS-C (DX) format. Over the long haul, buy the best lenses you can afford and they'll stay with you a long time.

I wouldn't start out with expensive stuff, a D5500 with super zoom and 35mm fast prime lenses is a nice way to get going buying good used gear, and can be done for less than a thousand bucks.

The Tokina 11-20 f/2.8 is an excellent landscape lens for a crop sensor. Also an excellent lens for a lot of other uses.

I used to be pretty heavy in to the photography game, but haven't done much with in in a while.

Here's a sampling...
















I could post more, but you get the idea. I'll say this. Take EVERYONE'S gear recommendation with a 5 lb bag of rock salt. In this day and age, the gear is no longer the weak link in the chain. All of those photos were taken with a camera that's pushing 10 years old now, and all could/have been printed poster size and larger. Even entry level gear today is likely equal to/superior to what I used in resolution, dynamic range and noise/low light performance. The weak link for most people is technique.

If you really want to have photos that "pop" then you need a firm understanding of the basics of photography. First and foremost, the basic elements of composition. Quite often I see good photographs that could be great if not for simple "mistakes". Things like out of focus images due to missed focus points or lack of understanding of how aperture relates to depth of field. Or (woefully) over/underexposed photos with blown highlights or lack of shadow detail. Things like unlevel horizon lines or distracting elements in the composition like intruding elements in the frame or "mergers". These are the things that cannot be fixed with post processing.

One thing to always thing about. A good photograph should tell a story, or evoke emotion. Understand what your subject is with every photography. With every photography you take (or choose to process) ask yourself, why would someone else want to look at it (or buy it).

As far as gear goes, I will say this; buy the best lenses you can afford. As I mentioned before, since camera bodies are run by microprocessors, they are subject to Moore's law. However, lenses are not. The physics for good optics are the same now as they were 100 years ago. Yes, the manufactures are always improving focus motors and "micro-coatings" but the basic technology is the same.

Good luck.

I would recommend the Sony a6100 or better mirrorless camera


Lens:

Sony E PZ 18105mm f40

Sony 50mm f18