Really need help, buying a new camera

DatBlackBanana · Mar 4, 2016

Hello!

I am getting more into photography, and I am thinking about buying a new camera. I sold my old camera and lenses, and I am completly ok with trying a new system. My budget is around 1200 euros.

I'll be mostly doing landscapes, some plane spotting, Wildlife and a little bit of all the other genres. I also want to do video, not too much, but lets say about 70% photos and 30% video.

I've been looking around and the Panasonic g7seems like a good camera, but it's micro 4/3 so it won't have good iso performance, and the overall samples of the camera don't really look appealing to me, but on the other side it has 4k, and it's really cheap, which allows me to buy a few lenses with it and a shotgun microphone. Unfortunately the camera doesn't have a headphone jack.

Canon 70d - A good allround camera, with some very good video AF, but the sensor seems to even lack behind the G7, except for the low light performance. Other than that, it seems like a great camera, but also no headphone input.

D7200 - From what I've read, best in class crop sensor camera for photography (not for action though, 7d mk2) Good dynamic range, better low light performance than the other two cameras, and it's weather sealed. Video AF isn't that great, but it does have a flat profile, which is better for color grading/correction. Was thinking of buying a Tamron 70-300mm USD for it (Later), for better range. This camera does have a headphone jack!

Sony a6300 - It's out of my budget, because the european prices are stupid compared to the american prices, it's 1400 euros with the standard kitlens, which is a pretty bad lens from what I've read. 4k video seems to be very good, as well as the autofocus. Sensor seems to be almost the same as the a6000, so I expect it to be on par with the D7200. But sony lenses also seem very expesive compared to other cameras, and at the telephoto end, there appears to be a lack of lenses.

I've been mostly looking into the d7200. I was almost going to buy it a few days ago, but then I changed my mind, because the video AF looks horrible on the d7200, compared to the other cameras. I will be shooting short films and cinematics, while I read most professionals use manual focus for video, (good) autofocus during videos is also quite welcome, I think. On my previous camera I used manual focus for video, and it worked pretty great, but it had focus peaking, so that helps a lot while shooting video. On the Photography end of the d7200, I have nothing to complain about.

Originally I was really set to get the d7200, but then I kind of got off the idea, and now I'm really scared to buy a new camera, because I am afraid I will regret it... And it's a real bad feeling. Believe me I've been looking non-stop for weeks for a new camera, and I hope that you guys can help me out make a final decision. I know the perfect camera for my needs doesn't exist at this price point, but I just want to buy the camera that I will be the most satisfied and happy with.

Any questions for me? Ask them! I will be happy to answer them!

All advise is welcome, other recommendations as well!

goodguy · Mar 4, 2016

You have done your homework, you have the info.
Nikon AF is excellent for photography but less for video.
Canon 70D is excellent for video (it doesn't have 4K though) but the sensor isn't the most brilliant with Dynamic range and low light (its not that bad either).
MFT cameras suffer as you said in low light but are excellent for video.
I would maybe add the Nikon D5500 that has a tilting/swiveling and touch screen and might be an even better camera for video then the D7200 but its AF for video will be similar to the D7200

Don't know man, I am stuck too with giving you best advice.
Maybe save more money and then get the a6300

DatBlackBanana · Mar 4, 2016

goodguy said:
You have done your homework, you have the info.
Nikon AF is excellent for photography but less for video.
Canon 70D is excellent for video (it doesn't have 4K though) but the sensor isn't the most brilliant with Dynamic range and low light (its not that bad either).
MFT cameras suffer as you said in low light but are excellent for video.
I would maybe add the Nikon D5500 that has a tilting/swiveling and touch screen and might be an even better camera for video then the D7200 but its AF for video will be similar to the D7200

Don't know man, I am stuck too with giving you best advice.
Maybe save more money and then get the a6300

I have surely done my homework, But it's still hard to make the decision... I could save money for the a6300, but their lenses are limited and expensive, but they do make great bodies! I kind of got caught up in the whole buying a new camera thing. When I have free time I'm constantly looking up reviews and samples on the internet... But I know they are not going to help me decide. So that's why I am here, asking for your opinions...

Thank you for your comment.

table1349 · Mar 4, 2016

Stop. Take a breath. Now, you need to realize you are not buying a camera. You think so now, but you are not. You are buying a system. Frankly, camera bodies come and go. Every body you mentioned can do the job. What system fills your needs best, both in quantity of lenses, quality, and cost? Good glass taken care of will outlast a lifetime of bodies.

Dao · Mar 4, 2016

I seldom use my camera to take video, but from what I read and learn from my friend (he is a Wedding Videographer), AF for video is not really a big issue. My friend use mainly Canon DSLR cameras for his business. I did not ask him why he choose Canon, could be Canon did a better job (video) in the beginning with their DSLR esp. the 5DMKII.

His rig usually have the follow focus with gear ring. So he is not using AF for video at all. Sometimes, I know he preset the focus and have the subject walk in to the plane. Or, he just turn the knob to adjust the focus. Of course, there are time that the DoF is so deep that he does not need to adjust it.

goodguy · Mar 4, 2016

I really wish I could help more and I agree with "gryphonslair99" you are buying into a system, lenses, flashes, flash triggers and more.
As a Nikon user my instinct is to recommend Nikon but I do admit as I said before the AF for video isnt as good as the Canon 70D.
For regular photography I think Nikon would be the way to go.
Both the Canon 70D and the new 80D lack 4K, why I have no idea but thats a whole different discussion, still the AF for video on these cameras is superb.

The best camera if money wasnt an issue would probably be Canon 5D IV which should come out soon, it will have same AF as the 70D/80D, it will be an expensive camera but it will let you have access to Canons vast lens selection and flash system and it should (if rumors are correct) to do 4K.

robbins.photo · Mar 4, 2016

The Nikon 7200 will have the advantage in taking still photos, and will still do a respectable job of shooting video. The Canon 70d will have the advantage in shooting video, but will still do a respectable job of shooting still photos.

So really it sort of depends on which you consider higher priority I suppose.

jaomul · Mar 4, 2016

You know, if it wasn't for video I'd say the d7200 is excellent, but the image quality you lose in the 70d isn't as much in real photos as the graphs indicate.

Why not buy a 500 dollar camcorder, and a 700 dollar camera, do you need both to be in one?

DatBlackBanana · Mar 4, 2016

gryphonslair99 said:
Stop. Take a breath. Now, you need to realize you are not buying a camera. You think so now, but you are not. You are buying a system. Frankly, camera bodies come and go. Every body you mentioned can do the job. What system fills your needs best, both in quantity of lenses, quality, and cost? Good glass taken care of will outlast a lifetime of bodies.

I know I will be investing in a system, rather than a camera, hence why I don't like Sony, because of the lack of lenses. From all that I've mentioned, Nikon and canon (obviously) have the biggest glass system. If I would be only looking for a camera for photography, I would go with Nikon just because of the wide DR and big quantity of lenses, no problem. But for me there's more to than just photography. In video good af / video functions is needed for nice looking videos.

*edit* And also, not to forget: flashes. There are much more available on DSLR systems right now.

I appreciate your help!

table1349 · Mar 4, 2016

From the sound of your posts your going to have some regrets no matter what you choose. There is no perfect camera. Pick the system that meets your needs the best, buy it and move foward

DatBlackBanana · Mar 4, 2016

Dao said:
I seldom use my camera to take video, but from what I read and learn from my friend (he is a Wedding Videographer), AF for video is not really a big issue. My friend use mainly Canon DSLR cameras for his business. I did not ask him why he choose Canon, could be Canon did a better job (video) in the beginning with their DSLR esp. the 5DMKII.

His rig usually have the follow focus with gear ring. So he is not using AF for video at all. Sometimes, I know he preset the focus and have the subject walk in to the plane. Or, he just turn the knob to adjust the focus. Of course, there are time that the DoF is so deep that he does not need to adjust it.

Aside from autofocus, the d7200 seems to be just as good for video as other Canon dslrs. It has a flat color profile and 60fps 1080, although it's in 1.3x crop mode. I had an NX300 before, which I also used for shooting video, and I only shot manual focus video with it, which worked (most of the time, not always though) great. But the NX300 had focus peaking, which helped me get the focus right. The D7200, as far as I know doesn't have focus peaking. I've never tried manual focussing without focus peaking. Do you have any tips for me so I can assure my focus is right?

I will look into that gear ring, thanks!

DatBlackBanana · Mar 4, 2016

jaomul said:
You know, if it wasn't for video I'd say the d7200 is excellent, but the image quality you lose in the 70d isn't as much in real photos as the graphs indicate.

Why not buy a 500 dollar camcorder, and a 700 dollar camera, do you need both to be in one?

I know, the d7200 is a great camera for photography! And yes, they could be seperated, which two would you suggest? Maybe I should just buy the D7200 now, and maybe later this year a g7 when it's on discount? Or just go with the d7200 and a dedicated videocamera? People say that cheap videocameras are dying, because the quality of something like the g7 is close or even better than most videocameras in the same price range...

Thank you for your help!

cherylynne1 · Mar 4, 2016

One thing about the a6300...one of the big things they're advertising is that with an adapter, it can use all of the A-mount lenses with autofocus as fast as the native lenses. There's a video from Jason Lanier showing this, but no studio tests yet. There are some telephoto options in the A-mount line. Lenses will still be expensive and there aren't as many choices for flash, but it might be worth waiting for tests if you really love the other capabilities.

jaomul · Mar 4, 2016

To be honest, I know little to nothing about using an interchangeable lens camera for video.

A lot of people say that as good as these cameras are for video that a dedicated camcorder is better, but lots like bigger sensor cams for getting shallow depth of field on video.

I use a Nikon d7200. The picture quality is rather good.
I also use an Olympus m43rds camera, the picture quality from that is also rather good, albeit the Nikon has the edge.

If you look at a good modern Panasonic that does video well (a m43rds camera), it will also be capable of amazing photography. Don't get to bogged down in the numbers game.

goodguy · Mar 4, 2016

DatBlackBanana said:
Or just go with the d7200 and a dedicated videocamera? People say that cheap videocameras are dying, because the quality of something like the g7 is close or even better than most videocameras in the same price range...

Thank you for your help!

As was said here no matter what you go for you will not get exactly all you want in one package, I think going for D7200 and then later the G7.
This will really cover all you needs and you will not feel like you are loosing on any front.
This might be your best option.