Photography Confusion! Please help!

[Kelli4Cy]

Okay, I am in need of a new camera!

I've been wanting to venture into the DSLR arena for awhile - have only had point-and-shoot up to this point. So I do want to learn. But I'm not sure where to start.

Our first family trip to WDW is next month, so I'd like to purchase soon so I can take it with us. And other than that, my main use will be for shots of my kids. They play sports - football, baseball, wrestling, swimming, and lots of dance recitals!

I was looked at Nikon d5300, but then also have considered the Sony RX100 III, and now after reading this board, the Sony A6000.

How should I decide which to buy? And what will fit best with the primary uses I mentioned above? And beyond the body what lenses should I add on - again, for the uses I mentioned above?

 

[littlekidagain]

Go to a camera shop and hold & fell the cameras. It may sound funny but you want the camera to be conformable in you hands. Since your leaving soon I would use youtube to learn as much as you can. Buying a lens is even harder. What do you want to shoot. Landscapes, people, macro ect It would come down to your shooting style.

 

[boBQuincy]

Football and baseball usually require a long lens, something on the order of 70-200 or more. Swimming is similar but the light is often lower and requires a long lens *with* a wide aperture. Dance recitals mostly require the wide aperture if you can get close.

Sony's RX100 is a great camera but does not have a long lens, the others have that flexibility although the price of a long lens with wide aperture is often much more than the camera itself. They also tend to be large and heavy.

Either of the cameras with interchangeable lenses you noted will work, as well as many other cameras of a similar type (dSLR or mirrorless). Others that come to mind are Canon T5i (T6 was just announced so there may be some good deals soon) and Panasonic or Olympus mirrorless. As someone posted, it is good to hold the cameras to see how they fit your hands although it can be difficult to find any other than the most popular ones in many stores.

 

[havoc315]

Okay, I am in need of a new camera!

I've been wanting to venture into the DSLR arena for awhile - have only had point-and-shoot up to this point. So I do want to learn. But I'm not sure where to start.

Our first family trip to WDW is next month, so I'd like to purchase soon so I can take it with us. And other than that, my main use will be for shots of my kids. They play sports - football, baseball, wrestling, swimming, and lots of dance recitals!

I was looked at Nikon d5300, but then also have considered the Sony RX100 III, and now after reading this board, the Sony A6000.

How should I decide which to buy? And what will fit best with the primary uses I mentioned above? And beyond the body what lenses should I add on - again, for the uses I mentioned above?

Here is an unhelpful answer:
They are all good.

You need to decide on style of device and then actual device:

The Nikon d5300 is a traditional Aps-c dslr. A fairly large body, lots of manual controls for someone who wants them, and an amazing lens lineup. (If you want to spend thousands building a big lens selection). And other traditional dslrs bring similar advantages.

The a6000 is "mirrorless." It is more compact. It has a large bright electronic viewfinder instead of a small dark tunnel optical viewfinder (though some prefer the smaller optical vf). Some find the body too compact. The lens selection is perfectly adequate for most users, but not nearly as large as traditional Canon/Nikon dslrs. The image quality is the exact same as a traditional DSLR.

Finally -- the rx100 and other advanced compacts. They are really compact. Never need to worry about changing lenses. Image quality far superior to average p&s cameras. But a step behind the a6000/d5300, etc. And limited focal range makes it less than ideal for sports.

 

[AMCB1022]

I currently have the Nikon d3200, which I love. This is my first DSLR and it's a great camera to learn with! I highly recommend browsing disneytouristblog.com and reading his reviews on dslr's and lenses. He has some recommendations on books that will help you better understand photography as well. Get ready for an obsessive hobby, and an expensive one at that! But so worth it!

 

[Kelli4Cy]

Okay - my goal for this weekend is find time to get to a store and figure out which one feels the best in my hands.

And based on havoc's advice, while the rx100 would be easy (and probably more within my current comfort zone), if it's not optimal for sports, then it's probably not worth it for me to buy that one. Which is good to hear, honestly. I hadn't even considered it, before starting to read the Photography board here. And when I did read about it, I figured it'd be an easy "out" for me to just buy another p&s. Even though I really have wanted to venture into life beyond p&s for a while now.

I will also check out disneytouristblog.com to see what other recommendations and info I can find. Thank you!

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions!

 

[TheBigE]

The advice about is really sound and well founded. Having just started (7 months ago), I went blind reading reviews and trying to understand which camera to buy. In the end, it really came down to fit and function. I picked up several different models and settled on the D5300 and have been very happy and it is a very capable camera. In the end, it came down solely to how it felt in my hands.

After spending some time learning it, you may find some other functions that would be nice to have but at this point you have no idea the direction you will go in photography and all the entry models will be very well suited to most of you needs. Buy it and spend as much times behind the lens and afterwards really critiquing your work...enjoy.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Something that has been left out of the equation up to now, is your budget. Switching to an interchangeable lens system is not a cheap endeavor, especially when shooting sports. Unless you have a high budget, you will have to have reasonable expectations. Consumer lenses (those with variable aperture), while they produce nice images in good conditions (lighting, etc.), sports are usually shot in lowlight, gyms, swimming areas, etc. These are traditionally conditions that require what is referred to as fast glass or large aperture lenses. And they can be somewhat expensive. Example: I just returned from shooting snocross snowmobile racing and am looking at (if purchased new) about $7,500 worth of equipment sitting on my office floor.

Another thing to remember/research is that you are buying into a system that you may have to live with for a long time. Make sure your photographic goals match that of the manufacturer you choose. An example: I started shooting Pentax in 1979 and when the digital age struck, Pentax was somewhat late to the table. However, since I already owned Pentax glass, I continued with the Pentax brand. Because I shoot sports, that decision has hindered me for some time because Pentax did not produce the traditional sports lenses and preferred quality prime lenses. At the time I couldn't afford to switch my system. After going through several buyouts, the new parent company, Ricoh, is starting to push the brand forward. Just remember you are buying a system and not just a camera.