BEST CAMERA UNDER $1,000

[sashbar]

Can I please just get answers on the camera and deal with what ill be shooting on my own. That wasn't part of my question. I only mentioned it because i want a camera that shoots people and portrait style photos rather than nature and landscape since that really isn't what I am interested in.

You were asked because the real answer depends on your style of photography, not on what is "the best" under $1,000. Portraiture can also be different. If you want to shoot your family and friends, that is one thing. If you aspire to make any money from portraiture in the furute, that is a different ball game. If you are interested in street portraiture, this is, again, a completely different proposition. In these three cases I would have chosen three different cameras.

 

[y_pugach]

I am looking for a good camera right now to take photos of people in general. During engagement parties, bridal showers, kids birthday parties, engagement shoots, "practice" at weddings, senior pictures, best friend pictures, newborn pictures, christmas photos... Etc. A camera focusing on those areas.
So something good in indoor & outdoor lighting. Im not asking about the best camera out there. Just one under $1,000. For now. As I gain more experience.

 

[ruifo]

the Nikon D5200, and lenses like the 18-55mm, the 50mm 1.8g and the 35mm 1.8g

 

[y_pugach]

Thank you! Someone mentioned the Nikon d5200 earlier so I've been meaning to take a look at some prices for it online. Thank you for the lens recommendations as well.

 

[leonardoDing]

Nikon D7000 will be a good chioce. BTW. Ruifo's lens choices are great.

 

[sashbar]

I am looking for a good camera right now to take photos of people in general. During engagement parties, bridal showers, kids birthday parties, engagement shoots, "practice" at weddings, senior pictures, best friend pictures, newborn pictures, christmas photos... Etc. A camera focusing on those areas.
So something good in indoor & outdoor lighting. Im not asking about the best camera out there. Just one under $1,000. For now. As I gain more experience.

I would look at two cameras that both are excellent choices for you. A used Canon 5D series and a new FIJU X E2. Both are used by pro photogs for portraiture, albeit in different situations. FUJI is well known for great skintones and the kit lense is great for group portraiture. It will give you a better IQ compared to D7000 or almost any cropped DSLR. It is compact and very well made and really is a top quality, advanced camera. it is not ideal for fast moving objects and situation where you need to be really quick, like weddings. Here 5d is more capable. But it is big and heavy, and FF lenses are costly. The IQ though is not much better than X E2. In many situations it is about the same. Both cameras are really more fun than a cropped DSLR. Just my 2 p.

 

[pgriz]

When you buy cameras, you get into the "system". So once you buy Canon or Nikon or Sony, you tend to stay with that selection because of the lens and accessory selections you've already made. If you are truly new to photography, it may be better to go with a camera like the Fuji mirrorless, which allows you to get pretty advanced capabilities without committing yourself to the full system that higher-level DSLR's will effectively make you do. It also will keep the GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) to a manageable level until you have enough knowledge and experience to know what you need. The other benefit of a mirrorless system is that they usually are much more compact and easy to carry around, so the chance that you'll have your camera with you is better. So my recommendation is to buy enough camera to give you the learning experience, then you'll be in better shape to know which direction to go.

 

[sashbar]

When you buy cameras, you get into the "system". So once you buy Canon or Nikon or Sony, you tend to stay with that selection because of the lens and accessory selections you've already made. If you are truly new to photography, it may be better to go with a camera like the Fuji mirrorless, which allows you to get pretty advanced capabilities without committing yourself to the full system that higher-level DSLR's will effectively make you do. It also will keep the GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) to a manageable level until you have enough knowledge and experience to know what you need. The other benefit of a mirrorless system is that they usually are much more compact and easy to carry around, so the chance that you'll have your camera with you is better. So my recommendation is to buy enough camera to give you the learning experience, then you'll be in better shape to know which direction to go.

You are pretty much committing yourself to Fuji system if you buy a FUJI X body with interchangeable lenses. Same as with DSLRs.

 

[IByte]

Hi first I would like to say that I am new to this forum so i'm not too sure if this is a question that is asked a lot on here or not... but I am looking to purchase a new camera within the next month. I'm looking to spend no more than $1,000 on it and have tried doing research online and there are just soooo many different cameras out there that I feel a bit overwhelmed.
Most of my work will be done taking pictures of people/families... whether it be senior pictures, Christmas pictures, newborn pictures, wedding, engagement shoots & so on and so forth.
If possible can you please leave an unedited picture you took with that camera just so I can also compare the quality and please give me as much info as you can as to why you think this is the best camera. Ill take any information your willing to give because I want to feel confident when I purchase the camera.

B&H has a d7000 for 699...or 996 w/18-105. Great camera decent kit lens.... boom

 

[Tailgunner]

I am looking for a good camera right now to take photos of people in general. During engagement parties, bridal showers, kids birthday parties, engagement shoots, "practice" at weddings, senior pictures, best friend pictures, newborn pictures, christmas photos... Etc. A camera focusing on those areas.
So something good in indoor & outdoor lighting. Im not asking about the best camera out there. Just one under $1,000. For now. As I gain more experience.

I'm sticking with my D7000, SB700, & 50mm 1.8D suggestion. The 50mm 1.8D comes out to around 75mm on a crop camera and makes for an almost ideal Portrait lens. It's super quick and works great in low lighting as well. The better crop camera would be the D7100 but that puts you over budget by about $300 and why I suggest the D7000. Anyhow, you should be able to pick all that up around $1,000 +/- misc cost like memory cards and straps etc.

The D5200 is a nice but I like the D7000 more due to better battery life and built in AF motor. The built in AF motor allows you better lens selection in the future such as older professional glass. The D7000 is also one FPS faster, a high Max shutter speed of 1/8000s, and is weather sealed.

 

[Smokeyr67]

I'd suggest buying a cheap Canon or Nikon kit, with 2 lenses, a speedlight and a notebook. Go crazy taking photo's but don't make the mistake I did in that I had a lot of bad photo's and the odd exceptional one, but I couldn;t remember how I took the good one.

Slow down, and write down the exposure details of each photo (or series of photos) otherwise your be floundering for years

 

[ShootRaw]

Do you want just the body, or lenses also?

Cos the D7100 comes in at just under 950 new.

In the grey market..Not USA with warranty..$1200

 

[Solarflare]

The only photographic system that is open right now is Micro Four Thirds (MFT). Still only two companies produce cameras for it - Olympus and Panasonic. Still, thats one more company than for any other system, and a couple more companies produce lenses for MFT, and maybe sooner or later more companies might join this jolly market.