What is the best Camera around $1000 for my needs?

Buttons252 said:

I feel like a broken record, but there is no camera under $1000 better then a Sony A7R2.

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That's extremely debatable. Sure, the IQ on it is to die for, and still close to the top of 35mm options. But that camera is absurdly slow, the slowest I've used this side of an ancient digital compact. You can't really review RAW files, so you need to shoot RAW+JPEG, which makes it even slower. Getting in and out of image review takes over a second. Woe betide you if you happen to try to turn it on right after it was turned off - it can take upwards of 4 seconds to come back to life again. Oh, and it's pretty much a paperweight after shooting bursts, until the buffer clears.

If you can treat it as a medium format digital back, then yeah, it's great. It performs way better than any of those, and produces stunning files with the right lenses. But if you need a modicum of speed and performance, then no. It's inadequate.

Buttons252 said:

Got mine from a retailer for $950 with like 300 clicks on it. amazing lens line up, very compact and light. absolute flagship IQ, Autofocus has been great for me -- it can struggle at sunset if shooting at F8 with slow shutter speeds though.

Yes its older then 2019, but it absolutely crushes anything else in this price point. Nikon Z5 is under $1000 too on their refurb sale, i think $899?

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Which is, incidentally, a much more solid all-rounder. Its sensor is still very good, its AF can easily match the A7RII's, and it's much more responsive. It lasts much longer on a battery, has dual card slots, a better EVF and rear display, and is built like a tank. For someone who doesn't need the ultimate IQ or Sony-exclusive lenses, I'd advice them go with the Z5 any day.

Buttons252 said:

I also like the X-S10 if you do a lot of video -- would consider a used X-H1 as well for $750ish built a lot nicer then X-S10.

edit: it is missing built in pop up flash, but you are doing yourself a major disservice by not using a proper flash with swivel.

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I completely agree. Built-in flashes are barely usable as fill light in bright days, and nothing else.

Buttons252 said:

Bouncing flash off a ceiling or wall looks soooo much better. My biggest regret with my photography is that i didnt use proper flash for the first ten years. I see now you want to do some video work where the X-S10 / X-T3 would be a good deal better then A7R2 -- however you said the majority of your use is photography so my opinion stands. 4k video on my A7R2 looks great, but have to shoot in manual focus to avoid hunting. I think anything less then a Sony A7iii / A7iv / Canon R6 probably has to use manual focus honestly.

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Not really. Even the A6500 is quite decent; the newer A6-series cameras are excellent at tracking, as is the Canon M6II. So should the R10 be, too. The Z30/Zfc also perform solidly in video.

I've had two A7R2s now and they arent not slow at all for me. There are faster cameras sure, but id rather compromise on speed than image quality. A7R2 takes images that can be cropped, sold, and marketed a lot easier then a aps-c imho. I sell pictures at race tracks, car shows, family and pet portraits. I don't shoot in bursts and 40-80mb files are a pain but i love the freedom to crop and compose in PP as necessary. I pretend as if i am shooting film while i work.

Again, i am not using my A7R2 for a living either, if i was shooting high dollar weddings or what not id just get a Z6 / A7iii / A7 iV / Canon R6. I am mostly capturing static landscapes, cars, people, or pets mostly holding still. The only issues ive had is at sunset, shooting underexposed to capture highlights it was struggling to lock focus.

Battery life is dreadful but there is cheap 3rd party vertical grips. The biggest reason i want to upgrade is for ergonomics. Would love a dedicated joystick for AF, but $2200-2400 is a lot of money to get a slightly bigger grip and better buttons.

Buttons252 said:

I feel like a broken record, but there is no camera under $1000 better then a Sony A7R2. Got mine from a retailer for $950 with like 300 clicks on it. amazing lens line up, very compact and light. absolute flagship IQ, Autofocus has been great for me -- it can struggle at sunset if shooting at F8 with slow shutter speeds though.

Yes its older then 2019, but it absolutely crushes anything else in this price point. Nikon Z5 is under $1000 too on their refurb sale, i think $899? I also like the X-S10 if you do a lot of video -- would consider a used X-H1 as well for $750ish built a lot nicer then X-S10.

edit: it is missing built in pop up flash, but you are doing yourself a major disservice by not using a proper flash with swivel. Bouncing flash off a ceiling or wall looks soooo much better. My biggest regret with my photography is that i didnt use proper flash for the first ten years. I see now you want to do some video work where the X-S10 / X-T3 would be a good deal better then A7R2 -- however you said the majority of your use is photography so my opinion stands. 4k video on my A7R2 looks great, but have to shoot in manual focus to avoid hunting. I think anything less then a Sony A7iii / A7iv / Canon R6 probably has to use manual focus honestly.

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I think the OP meant < $1000 TOTAL, (w/ LENSES) ???

Can that compete w/ $800 for camera w/ 25 to 400mm-EFL @ f/2.8-4 ??? (FZ1000-II)

Op is about to buy a Fuji X-s10 which are $999+ for body only. Me having come from a Fuji X-H1 to the Sony A7R2, i cant imagine going to an even smaller sensor like the FZ-1000ii.

Its great for people that do not want to deal with the hassle of swapping lenses, but once you experience full frame sensor with 135mm F1.8 -- i am not going to back to a smaller sensor, and i loved my fujis.

My Fuji X-h1 was an excellent camera but indoor images without proper flash looked dreadful over 1600iso to me. My A7R2 can shoot pretty clean images at 6400iso.

A picture my 11 year old took of her new cat, 6400iso, hand held, no noise reduction. Imported to lightroom added some contrast, adjusted white balance, maybe fixed exposure



FZ-1000 ii vs A7R2.

Buttons252 said:

Op is about to buy a Fuji X-s10 which are $999+ for body only. Me having come from a Fuji X-H1 to the Sony A7R2, i cant imagine going to an even smaller sensor like the FZ-1000ii.

Its great for people that do not want to deal with the hassle of swapping lenses, but once you experience full frame sensor with 135mm F1.8 -- i am not going to back to a smaller sensor, and i loved my fujis.

My Fuji X-h1 was an excellent camera but indoor images without proper flash looked dreadful over 1600iso to me. My A7R2 can shoot pretty clean images at 6400iso.

A picture my 11 year old took of her new cat, 6400iso, hand held, no noise reduction. Imported to lightroom added some contrast, adjusted white balance, maybe fixed exposure

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A beautiful image, but I suggest the blur is Post-Processing and not "natural" bokeh ???

And for resolution, you are comparing a 20mpx to 40mpx, much-much more expensive camera. (and the writing is 2X enlarged on the 40mpx sample)

So not a fair fight, (but I do not deny the FF should indeed be sharper).

Full frame sensors have very shallow depth of field its not post processing. Its a fair fight in the sense that you can get an A7R2 or a FZ1000ii within the ops budget. Also the studio test is a controlled environment. The text is bigger because its 20mp vs 42mp.

You can use a $20-30 minolta 50mm F1.7 or 70-210mm F4 lens on this camera to keep costs down. I still use my minolta 70-210mm F4 on occasion for family portraits.

I havent used a FZ-1000ii but ive owned A LOT of cameras. Everytime i try a smaller sensor camera i end up missing the full frame look and capabilities. If the op was more focused on video i would certainly recommend something else. Its a real pain keeping subjects in focus with extremely narrow depth of field, used X-T3 or X-S10 would probably be my recommendation.

Lenses are a huge part of the system -- in this regard an FZ1000 ii is a bargain but it also limits your creative control.

Buttons252 said:

Full frame sensors have very shallow depth of field its not post processing. Its a fair fight in the sense that you can get an A7R2 or a FZ1000ii within the ops budget. Also the studio test is a controlled environment. The text is bigger because its 20mp vs 42mp.

You can use a $20-30 minolta 50mm F1.7 or 70-210mm F4 lens on this camera to keep costs down. I still use my minolta 70-210mm F4 on occasion for family portraits.

I havent used a FZ-1000ii but ive owned A LOT of cameras. Everytime i try a smaller sensor camera i end up missing the full frame look and capabilities. If the op was more focused on video i would certainly recommend something else. Its a real pain keeping subjects in focus with extremely narrow depth of field, used X-T3 or X-S10 would probably be my recommendation.

Lenses are a huge part of the system -- in this regard an FZ1000 ii is a bargain but it also limits your creative control.

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But there are different types of "creative-control".

I fully utilize the FA-LCD, fast full-range zoom, built-in flash w/ leaf-shutter, HDR, remote-control, panoramic, etc.

And shallow-DOF can be selectively/controllably created so I prefer an inherently deeper DOF.

16GB, But i don't even have a 4k display in my entire house

Thank you kind sir for letting me know that i can edit on with vega 7 grpahics in 4k, then 1080p will be smooth

I had been looking for a guy like you this whole time! I knew this but I didn't see a single fujifilm X-S10 dude in my discussions

As for going FF, I am not sure at the moment as i have not researched about FF as for the price, but if you ask, for my age 16 aps-c is gonna stay for a long time it seems cause i may not able to spend a lot of money on a FF camera body alone and lenses but if i want to, you think A6400 will be good right? I am a lefty as you know to me ibis seemed important and with better handling and at the disadvantage of worse battery, auto focus, and a bit less lens choice, but I want my upgrade to be big and this why i was thinking of these, i am serious but i don't think as a full time cause i am still kid and not thought about it that way, i will probably choose after going to the store and shooting a few shots there of both and then choosing it seems

Yes i am still thankful that i started with what i did, i can say i have used a first gen, digital slr and with the experence i had with it, I choosing my req. 120fps is needed for the stuff i want to do, with a big jump, i will think of it a bit more but i am not buying a new camera after this till my bachlors will end of 4 years and i am still in school now 16, so yeah i will buy 3 or 4 lenses in the one i choose till the body remains

Sir Tom, you have helped me, more in the way of saving me for using 1080p

I think fuji refurb site has X-T30s with lens for $599. While id rather have an X-S10 for its IBIS and grip --- an X-T30 with money left over for a viltrox 33mm F1.4 would be pretty nice too.

Yes cause at this time, i am using a photo only camera so i want to get into video and make a short film with editing in some parts, i have the idea and i just need time to exicute it, it will work also as learning types of video, slow mo, fast paced, dramatic, and learn video editing, i am still a 16 year old kid so i will use this camera for 5-6 years probably, to upgrade to a ff if i think about it at the time, I might use it as a side job as i learn about the camera and take some photography and videography classes but yes when i will use, will use video a lot whenever i have a idea for a video, but as moving around my streets and just where i live photography is gonna be main till then only if i go to travel i will use video for something but i will do both probably 35/65% ratio

I will be going with a kit lens till i graduate then buy a few as i am still young but i need a hybrid camera so i can higher for x-s10 as i will be using whichever camera x s10 or a6400 for as they say ff compatable lenses (i need to look into it) but i was choosing for ibis, good grip, 240fps slow mo (ik the crop and more light needed) so coming from a camera year older than me d70s, using it for 2 years at this point i do feel the pain to have to put the shutter speed at 5sec at night with iso 1000 noisy as hell so lower the iso more slower shutter speed so i have to always use a tripod for everything, i take many pics of myself with a timer too so staying still for 5sec is a pain, with everything i am suffering i just need one camera for all and one kit lens at the moment as




That is me

This is one of my best taken pics

I am in india, and as per used cameras here is just not good i think and the websites are just broken also i want a brand new camera experence, my dad's was brand new feeling to me as it was not used too much cause he never had the time to learn it, I liked photography as capturing moments of time, and wanted the path my dad would have gone and there is no pressure more like i like it too much and saying to him.

Fujis are fantastic at video and they are better then micro 4/3 at photography. Ive switched from Sony to Fuji a few times -- Fujis are more fun to use, better to hold in the hand. A6300/A6500 might be a great camera but id rather have the Fuji X-s10 personally. I had a Fuji X-h1 and loved it, the 23mm F1.4, 90mm F2, 56mm F1.2 are amazing lenses -- on the budget end there is some new viltrox stuff that is worth their price and some ultra portable 23mm F2 / 35mm F2 as well.

The sony is a good option if you ever want to grow into full frame photography. Buy a tamron 17-28mm F2.8 or a 28-75mm F2.8 G2 and your set either way. I love the depth of field control of full frame for photography, but im not sure i would want to deal with it in video. I havent had a new enough camera to trust autofocus in video -- and manual focus is a real pain to me.

Ah, in the US we have facebook market place, ebay, amazon, and all the large online retailers have a used department. Sony A7R2 pop up for $850-1100 and its just fantastic value. Over there, i have no idea about the deals or prices available.

Oh I will see but I think I will be choosing x s10 probably as i feel them in my hand and test them both myself

Yeah that is the main pain here used market is bad and I might get new from US if my dad's friends were to come and they bring it with them