Camera Gear That Makes Sense

(Image created using AI). 

Buy used. 

But don't take my word for it.

This is what we see on B&H's (a company mostly known for selling camera equipment) website-

Okay, what in the world?!?!?

WHY is camera gear so expensive? 

It can be expensive, depending on the camera brand, model, the condition, what it's capable of, etc.

But it doesn't have to be! I'll give you a quick run down of different camera types, what you do and don't need and what to get. 

TL;DR-Buy used gear!

Camera Classifications

Cameras nowadays are split into two categories: DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and Mirrorless.

DSLRs use a mirror, mirrorless cameras don't.

DSLRs are generally heavier than mirrorless.

That's about all you need to know.

Sensor size:

The sensor is what captures the light. It will be an APS-C (Advanced Photo System-Classic), full frame (commonly called "35mm"), Micro four-thirds (Micro 4/3) or Medium format camera. 

- There's one more called "global shutter" camera systems, but for what you're going to be doing, you can worry about that if/when you decide to become a professional. 99.99% do not use global shutter cameras, but they're starting to be used by the utmost sports photographers today. 

APS-C sensors are smaller and full frame sensors are larger. 

Generally, APS-C cameras will cost less, whereas full frame sensors in cameras will cost more. The lenses for full frame sensor camera bodies will almost always cost more. 

Newer APS-C cameras will sometimes cost more than older full frame sensor cameras and older full frame cameras will sometimes cost more than new APS-C frame sensor cameras. 

There are also Micro 4/3 cameras (smaller than APS-C). They're certainly viable, but it's not something I'd recommend as I have no experience using one. They won't be from one of the big three brands (Canon, Nikon and Sony). They're not bad, by any means, though! I've heard of many photographers sing their praise.

Do not even worry about medium format cameras (film is a bit different but I still wouldn't recommend going that route). The cheapest thing I could find on a reputable used camera website was $2,000, and there was only one of them. 

That's it. 

Lenses (A crash course) 

Boy oh BOY are we going down a rabbit hole, now! Lenses are what's generally going to make one image stand out from another. Each have their certain use case. Simply put:

Lenses come in all shapes and sizes that will have to fit respective to the camera's sensor size. 

One exception that I know is Canon's RF mount. You can mount any lens on any Canon RF camera APC-C or full frame (with the Canon RF mount), as lenses made for APS-C sensor lenses and full frame sensor lenses will fit. You can do the same with the full frame and APS-C frame bodies for the EF mount, provided you have an adapter. However, if you put an APS-C lens on a full frame body, depending on the millimeter of what you're shooting at, you'll see black edges around the frame as a circle.

Newer full frame cameras can mitigate this with their APS-C mode and cropping the image. This *does* "throw away" some megapixels.

Not all lenses from the same brand will work on all cameras. A lens made for mirrorless cameras and a lens made for DSLR cameras will not work together, unless you get an adapter of sorts.  

The smallest number (sometimes the only number) by a lens will determine the "zoom". 

The higher the number, the more zoomed in you are. The lower the number, the less zoomed in you are.

 

In the image above, 18-150 means that this is a ZOOM LENS (also called a telephoto lens). Lenses measure the starting distance from the camera sensor. 18mm means that there's 18mm between the sensor and the lens, which will be a very wide shot. 

150: There's 150 millimeters between the sensor and the lens, which will be a much more zoomed in shot. 

Just so you can get the frame of reference: 

The .5 or .6 on your camera is the equivalent of a full frame sensor size of 5 and 6 millimeters respectively. The "1", "2", "3", "10" (so on and so forth) represent 10, 20, 30 and 100 millimeters. 

The lenses with only one number are called PRIME LENSES. These lenses will allow for more light to enter the lens. Some lenses (like the Sigma lenses mentioned below) can allow for a zoom lens to allow more light in. For most people starting out, that doesn't make too much of a difference.

On different camera bodies, these millimeters don't change. However, what will change is how "zoomed in" or "zoomed out" your photos will look. Going back to cameras, APS-C lenses are sometimes called "crop frame bodies", which is an awful name. Nothing is being "cropped". What is important is to understand the "crop (eww) factor".

Most APS-C camera bodies have a "crop factor" of 1.5 (Canon APS-C is a factor of 1.6). (based off of the full frame sensor size). Ex. At 18mm on an APS-C, I'm getting the equivalent shot of 27 millimeters (18 x 1.5). That's still very wide! All the way zoomed in with the above lens would be 240 millimeters (150 x 1.6). 

To understand this further, check out this video: "Crop Lenses on Crop Bodies: How it works vs Full Frame (APS-C & M43). 

Recommendations: 

APS-C (Including Canon)

Buy an older APS-C DSLR camera if you're just starting out, such as the 

- Nikon D3200 ($175-220) 

- Nikon D3300 ($104-$248); both are similar cameras. 

Lenses: 

- Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM for Nikon ($88-$211)

- Nikon AF-S DX 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR ($124-$165).

That sigma lens should work well; it has more of a special use case. I'm not suggestion buying both, just that these are good beginner options. 

- Canon Rebel T6  ($41-$200)

- Canon Rebel T7 ($318-$350)

These cameras are great options! There should be lenses that come with the camera body. (Slightly more expensive, generally). The $41 means the camera is in bad shape or it's extremely worn down. I wouldn't recommend the cheapest option if it implies poor quality.

Lenses:

Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM for Canon ($288-341)-Stronger recommendation, unless you think you'd like reach. 

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM ($159-164)

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM ($220-$263) 

The difference between the two is that there's a motor in the lens; the USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) focuses faster than the STM (Stepping Motor). 

Full Frame

- Sony a7ii ($632-$690)

- Sony a7 ($501)

The difference between the two in terms of how many shots the camera can take per second isn't much; as a matter of fact, that's pretty much the only thing that separates the two cameras besides the Sony a7ii's ability to take video.

This is being made with a photography first mindset, though.

Lens: 

Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS ($159-$174) That'll be plenty! (The "most" expensive of these three).

This will allow you to use Sony's current mounts for their mirrorless cameras.

Do NOT listen to YouTubers that tell you to get a lens that can help you shoot in "low light", that gives a "professional shallow depth of field", that the kit lens "isn't to the same level of sharpness as another $2,000 lens that they like or that a camera "can't shoot more than [x] amount of frames per second".

The sigma lens I mentioned can shoot in situations where less light is present, but it's kept under a certain price threshold. 

That is their bias for their field of expertise, which you, dear reader, are not in yet. Do not pay attention to them. You can go there later if you'd like, but do not be influenced by these "influencers".

Don't worry about tripods yet. You don't need them (yet). 

Memory Cards

Buy AngelBird. I recommend B&H.

Avoid SanDisk. They're doing better as a company, but Angelina's cards are faster and more durable than SanDisk. They're leading the industry. As a beginner, this will be plenty. Buy two if you want. 

ALSO! Buy a second battery if you're noticing you're shooting a lot and run out of a charge. You can buy a spare immediately, but it's not a necessity, depending on how many shots you take.

All of the prices were used with: https://www.keh.com/ 

They're professionals. You could also use https://www.mpb.com/en-us (they can ship to other countries besides the US).