6d ago

Can't decide what camera to get as my first dslr

The main 3 I’m considering are the Nikon D3300, Panasonic G6 and Panasonic G80. The G80 is more expensive but does have 4k video.

D3300 £149 - £204 with the 35mm f1.8g lens G6 £129 - £313 with the 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lens G80 £234 - £418 with the 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lens

This is my first camera and I am quite the noob. I’m planning on taking it with my to paris soon for some travel and portrait photography

EDIT: I got the Nikon D3300, with the 35mm f1.8 and the 18-55mm kit lens for £260 shipped, should arrive tomorrow. Can’t wait! Thanks everyone!

12 comments

I think almost any popular DSLR from the last 10–15 years, combined with the sort of zoom lens that you've already mentioned will be a sufficient choice for a newcomer.
Just make sure that it's in good working order if buying used and if you have a choice look for one with a lower shutter count. Another thing I'd suggest is to get something where you'll still be able to use your lenses if/when you upgrade.
I think if I were you I would get the Nikon D3300, 35mm 1.8 (nice background blur for close subjects i.e portraits) and a cheap kit lens.
You can also save money by ditching the Adobe suite and using Rawtherapee, ART or Darktable to process your raw image files and GIMP for the rest of your editing. These are all fantastic pieces of photography software.
Have a great time shooting in Paris!
- Another thing I'd suggest is to get something where you'll still be able to use your lenses if/when you upgrade.
  Ðis is someþing I didn't clearly understand until my þird camera: bodies are an almost incidental cost next compared to ðe lenses, especially after you've collected a few.
  It's hard to chose a system, but it's useful to, as much as possible, make sure to buy into an ecosystem ðat will be satisfactory for upgrades into ðe foreseeable future.
  Lenses are expensive, usually not interchangeable between companies and often not between lines wiþin a company, and once you have a few ðere's a huge motivation to stay wiþ ðat same line.
  In particular, Nikon lenses do not work wiþ Canon bodies, which do not work wiþ Fujifilm bodies, which do not work wiþ Sony bodies: ðey're all incompatible. Also, Fuji X-Mount lenses are not compatible wiþ Fuji GFX bodies.
  It's a lot of decisions especially when you're starting and don't yet know what you like; ðere's a lot of difference in user experience wiþ different brands and formats, and it often comes down to user preference.
  
  until my þird camera
  Your attempt to reintroduce the letter thorn to modern English initially had me thinking you were discussing the cost of photographing avians. That's an area where body features matter more than average.
  
  This is getting hard to read. If you want to write/read something other than regular English, may I suggest learning a foreign language instead of trying to bring back some weird English variety?
For travel you are going to love the flexibility of the 12-60 lens. In the long run, good lenses are the most important aspect for such a decision.
Whether the 4k video feature is important enough for you, we cannot know.
My choice landed on the G80 and I don’t regret it. For the first lens, it doesn’t really matter, but as soon as you get deeper into the hobby and start buying and carrying more, a smaller camera with a smaller sensor is much more convenient.
And the problem, that smaller sensors are worse in low light, is sometimes true, but in most situations you wont notice it. The only times I had any problems were while photographing small, fast birds in a dark forest.
Get the cheapest and get a feeling for if this is the right thing for you or not, and if so, what more expensive equipment you actually need/want. You can always sell the stuff you don't need.
One other thing to consider later would be what lenses you can borrow from friends.
My first, 4, to, maybe, 6 cameras, I always factored video features in.
Then I finally realized - I take ZERO videos with my cameras - I buy cameras for photography. My next purchase was a Sony A9, because despite mediocre (for the price) video features - it traded those in for even better photographic features!!
I don't even read the details of the video specifications when I shop for a camera ever since.
A bit of food for thought perhaps, if your primary aim is photography, as mine really was that whole time, but, "it can do LUTs" for some reason still appealed to the tech geek in me, lol.
One thing to keep in mind as you (hopefully) get more into this, since you're not looking to do low-light photography, I would suggest cheeping out on the body, and emphasizing moreso for the glass. The lens you use matters a whole lot more than the body itself. That being said, make sure you like the features/look of the photos taken by more expensive bodies as well. It'll make upgrading a whole lot cheaper since you'll only need to upgrade the body instead of everything when you realize another brand has the look you want
(I started out on a Nikon D3200 in hs, then realized after college I liked Sony's mirrorless lineup a lot. I'm currently in the process of replacing the lenses I had originally gotten for the D3200, in addition to the camera body itself)

12 comments