Airliners.net

Hi all,

I know this has probably been talked about to death on here but what would your suggestions be for a starter mid-priced camera and lens for aviation?

I know there are posts about this already but I wanted some more up to date advice.

Cheers

James

Firstly, you need to decide whether you want to go mirrorless or DSLR.

Mirrorless has the advantage of being much more compact, however quality lenses are now almost the same size as some of their DSLR equivalents. You can, however, pick up some tiny, super-sharp primes for very cheap. The disadvantage is in the focusing system, which at the moment isn't quite as good as that of a DSLR (although many mirrorless cameras feature more AF points). Mirrorless cameras also have an electronic viewfinder (EVF) - they're a lot better than they used to be but they obviously don't see what the lens sees and they do lag slightly. The budget models often don't even have a viewfinder!

There are two types of mirrorless cameras: APS-C (same sensor size as many DSLRs) and micro four-thirds (pioneered by Panasonic/Olympus). The micro four-thirds system has more lens choice (although the selection for Sony's E-mount series is growing all the time) and lenses tend to be cheaper, however the sensor is quite a bit smaller. In real-world terms you're unlikely to see much difference but it is there.

Of course the 'big two' in the DSLR world are Nikon and Canon, and both have impressive lens collections, including many budget models from the likes of Sigma and Tamron.

Finally, whether you do video or not could make a huge difference to which way to choose to go. Mirrorless cameras lead the way in 4k video, while most of Canon's DSLRs don't yet feature it. Canon does, however, feature dual-pixel technology, which gives them the lead when it comes to 1080p HD; if they incorporate this technology into their anticipated future 4k cameras, the market could flip on its head!

Karl

I think the worst thing with some of the more compact cameras is the awful control systems on them. Things you often want to adjust quickly are buried away in menu systems, it's unfuriating. I won't name the guilty camera in that respect, but it was one of the big two, I was hanging out the side of a car trying to do photos at 50km/h...

As tempting as it is to go mirrorless, I'm still very partial to DSLRs, simply because the controls are much easier to play around with - but thats my personal preference.

I'd suggest going to a store and play around with different cameras, find out which one fits best in your hand and which one you like the functionality and controls with. After all, if a camera fits great in your hand and you're happy how the controls work, there's a much better chance you'll use it rather than it just sitting around.

I shoot with a Nikon D7100 and if you were looking at Nikons, I'd recommend finding a D7100, D7200 or D7500. They're a bit bigger than the the entry level D3xxx or D5xxx and have a broader spectrum of easy to use manual controls then the smaller ones. While the smaller ones are cheaper, the D3xxx and D5xxx series doesn't have a built in auto focus system so you're restricted to the AF-S, AF-I and AF-P lenses. Their autofocus point's aren't as good as the D7xxx series either.

Don't get me wrong, the D3xxx series is a great camera (my first Nikon was a D3300 and it took fantastic pictures) and many people will tell you to buy a cheap entry level camera and invest in glass, and while there is a lot of truth to that, I personally found that the restricted functions of the D3300 was frustrating so I upgraded to the D7100 and love it to death - so honestly, I'd go out and try an entry level camera and mid level camera to see what suits you better personally.

As for lenses for aviation, I don't really shoot much aviation so I can't share my opinion on that, but I love travelling around to old pawn shops or antique shops for really cheap lenses and playing around with those. The shot below, I used a Tamron 35-135mm f3.5 manual focus lens I found for $20, while its not a.net quality I think it does a fantastic job ...

https://imgur.com/a/sAyahzb

Yes, I'd agree that mirrorless cameras have more frustrating controls/menus, but that is mostly in the budget range, to be fair. And even then, it shouldn't really be a deal-breaker, unless you frequently need to change settings with the press of just one button.

I use both DSLRs and mirrorless and, if I'm honest, they compliment each other perfectly. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd definitely go with a DSLR, but that is just one person's opinion. Many now exclusively use mirrorless (including some professionals) and swear by it.

I think many of the challenges of mirrorless cameras are only because so many are going to them having used a DSLR in the past - I moved up to my a6000 from a point and shoot and am not bothered by many of the things mentioned above. That's not to say they're not legitimate concerns, or that DSLRs aren't better in many ways, but one's perspective definitely depends on what kind of equipment you've used in the past.

Kaphias wrote:

I think many of the challenges of mirrorless cameras are only because so many are going to them having used a DSLR in the past - I moved up to my a6000 from a point and shoot and am not bothered by many of the things mentioned above. That's not to say they're not legitimate concerns, or that DSLRs aren't better in many ways, but one's perspective definitely depends on what kind of equipment you've used in the past.

This is true - and there is always a learning curve as well.

I think the most important thing about buying a camera is to actually go out to a camera store and try different cameras out - see what fits you personally. Online reviews and specs are great, but it's how it feels in your hands that is the most important IMHO.

Hi James,

I am a Nikon user and can advise only on Nikon DSLR.

As a starter mid-priced I would suggest you to get Nikon D3300 with 18-105mm lens for wide shots and Sigma 100-400mm Contemporary lens.[150-600mm on Nikon D3300]

You do not need all that extra buttons for aviation photography. Basically you'll be playing with exposure compensation and ISO settings. We all mostly shoot at f8.

Nikon D3300 is a great DSLR with smart and fast processor Expeed 4 and great sensor which gives very clean and detailed images.

Cameras go, lenses stay. You may mount you Sigma to higher grade crop Nikon DSLR as D500 or even full frame as Nikon D610, D750, D800, D810 etc.

Good luck and share your photos with us!

JakTrax wrote:

Firstly, you need to decide whether you want to go mirrorless or DSLR.
There are two types of mirrorless cameras: APS-C (same sensor size as many DSLRs) and micro four-thirds (pioneered by Panasonic/Olympus).
Karl

Sony also makes full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Sony do indeed make mirrorless FF, but I omitted them because they're not exactly ideal starter cameras. Depending on where in the world you are, Canon have some incredible deals on their entry-level camera/lens bundles at the moment. Canon's menu system is more user-friendly (particularly for beginners) and their lens selection and quality is second-to-none. Nikon are great, too - their lenses don't quite match Canon's but their bodies tend to offer slightly better noise performance and superior dynamic range (although in the real world you're unlikely to notice the difference too much).

yerbol wrote:

Hi James,

I am a Nikon user and can advise only on Nikon DSLR.

As a starter mid-priced I would suggest you to get Nikon D3300 with 18-105mm lens for wide shots and Sigma 100-400mm Contemporary lens.[150-600mm on Nikon D3300]

You do not need all that extra buttons for aviation photography. Basically you'll be playing with exposure compensation and ISO settings. We all mostly shoot at f8.

Nikon D3300 is a great DSLR with smart and fast processor Expeed 4 and great sensor which gives very clean and detailed images.

Cameras go, lenses stay. You may mount you Sigma to higher grade crop Nikon DSLR as D500 or even full frame as Nikon D610, D750, D800, D810 etc.

Good luck and share your photos with us!

D3300 user here. I really like it as it was very affordable, is very easy to use, and gets good images.

Although I will also recommend the 70-300mm Nikkor AF lens as it's what I use 95% of the time and gives me very sharp quality. It's manual-only and does not have an autofocus feature, which may be a turn-off if you like to shoot with autofocus activated. But you shoot in manual, then that's a moot point.