Camera Suggestions SLR/compact

[ukgimp]

Hello

I think I need to update my photo skills.

I would once have thought SLR was the only way. But I like the convenience of size.

I want to be able to get good internal (real estate) and be able to do good product type photos.

10-18mm lenses will thus work or is it related to sensor size.

Soooo complicated. :-)

[ergophobe]

10-18mm lenses will thus work or is it related to sensor size.

It's completely related to sensor size and focal length. So if you have a consumer-level SLR, a 10mm lens is like having (depending on your brand), a 16mm lens on a full-frame SLR. The focal lengths are the same, but the sensor is smaller.

At the far end of things, an 8x10 camera with a 300mm lens is roughly equivalent to a 35mm camera with a 45mm lens, but that is highly dependent on bellows length because, again, it is both sensor size and focal length.

But really, none of that makes much difference. Unless you are going to get seriously into art photography, you don't care about any of that.

I don't know if there's a simple measure of field of view (in degrees) like there is for binoculars. There should be, but I've not seen it in camera specs.

A few things to consider...

Two pro-photographer friends both gave me the same advice - if you can't choose between two options, choose the smaller, lighter option, because you'll be more likely to carry it and therefore more likely to get photos. For people who want to get nice photos with a smaller kit, they are fans of the mirrorless systems.

From what you say, I am going to assume you want interchangeable lenses and good indoor quality.

Interchangeable lenses gives you a lot of flexibility and generally, the quality of built-in lenses is not good except in a handful of very expensive cameras (Leicas, for example). They also give you the ability to start cheap and bump up as you need.

Indoor quality is all about how much light you can get from the object to the sensor. That has to do with two factors
- lens "speed"
- sensor size

The other factor is noise. It used to be that if you made the sensor more sensitive, you got tons of noise. This is simple physics, BUT smarter and smarter algorithms are able to distinguish between noise and signal better. So 50 years ago, you counted on way too much noise for professional photos if you were shooting at ISO 400 (the higher the number, the more sensitive the film/sensor). Even 15 years ago, ISO 800 was really grainy. Now it's common to push that number well into the four-digit range without excessive noise.

So all else being equal, a newer camera will tend to have less noise, because the firmware is better.

Lens speed

Lens speed is basically the F-stop. Some lenses will have a lowest F-stop of, say, 1.8, while many zoom lenses will only go down to 3.5. That's a difference of "two stops" which means, 2^2 = 4 times as much light.

Sensor size

A full-frame sensor is 36x24. Meanwhile, a consumer level Canon camera will have an APS-C sensor, which is roughly 22.2x14.8 (brands differ at this level). That might not seem like much, but it's the difference between 864 mm^2 and 329mm^2.

So in other words, a pro-level Canon with a nice L-series lens at F1.8 will have roughly 10x as much light hitting the sensor as a consumer-level Canon with a cheap zoom lens.

An iPhone 5 sensor is a meager 4.5mmx3.4mm

http://photoseek.com/2013/compare-digital-camera-sensor-sizes-full-frame-35mm-aps-c-micro-four-thirds-1-inch-type/
https://newatlas.com/camera-sensor-size-guide/26684/

The takeaway there is that if you want good interior images without having a professional lighting kit, a bigger sensor and a faster lens will help you.

For product images, ideally you'll get a lightbox and be able to adjust the lighting as needed.

The downside of a fast lens

There is a downside to a fast lens. As the F-stop gets lower, the depth of field gets narrower. So I have an F1.8 5mm lens and it's great for flower photography in a dark forest, but you can't get the whole flower in focus. At low F-stops, you have a very narrow focal range. That is why you'll get better product photos with a slower lens and a lightbox.

That's probably all just really more confusing. So what's the TL;DR?

My feeling is this, assuming you are not as budget-constrained as littleman's daughter...

For just general photography and the ability to get nice shots in many circumstances in a compact format, look for a mirrorless. Even the Micro 4/3 are nice, but if indoor quality is important, look for a larger sensor.

For a budget option, get a consumer level SLR and put the money you save into a lightbox to get the product images you need.

If you want to go whole hog and go for the highest quality, highest price, highest weight, biggest size, biggest hassle and get really into it, get a full-frame pro SLR

[Brad]

I have no idea what their current lineup is like but the Fujifilm cameras are worth at least looking at.

[jetboy]

You've asked at a time when both Nikon and Canon have just released entirely new full frame mirrorless platforms. If you were looking to commit to a brand, you couldn't have worse timing.

Personally, I don't think the type of photography you're asking about is particularly challenging *for a camera body* and pretty much any SLR or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera will cut it. If it were me I'd want a wide angle zoom (as you've suggested) for the real estate work. I don't know much about product photography, but my impression is that great work is as much about your shooting environment (tripod, lighting etc.) and post-processing as it is your choice of body/lens. Take a look at https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-photograph-a-bottle-of-beer/ which illustrates this very well.

[ergophobe]

You've asked at a time when both Nikon and Canon have just released entirely new full frame mirrorless platforms. If you were looking to commit to a brand, you couldn't have worse timing.

Yeah, I refrained from mentioning the Nikon D850 - currently on Amazon for $3200 for body only. But to me the chief advantage is portability. If it's just for real estate and product photos, I would not pay the mirrorless premium.

>> real estate

If not for that, I would just say to get a crop sensor camera. As jetoby says, anything will work for product photos and as I mentioned, I think you're better off spending more money on lights, softboxes and so forth than on a fancy camera body.

The thing about real estate is that the crop sensor can kill you in small rooms. So Theresa has a 12mm lens that is reasonably rectilinear (i.e. not a lot of distortion around the edges). For the WMW vets... it's actually a loaner from skibum, who left it here for her to use last time he passed through. Anyway, the problem is that when you put it on the crop sensor, it's effectively almost a 20mm lens equivalent. That makes it hard to get the viewing angle you want in bathrooms, entryways and so forth.

If not for the real estate aspect, I would think a cheap consumer level SLR would be more than enough. For the real-estate, though, I'd look for a decent, used, prosumer full-frame. Unless you have $3200 for the Nikon D850 ;-)

[ukgimp]

Awesome responses thanks.

I have been away so not had chance to say thanks sooner.

It's helped me a lot.

[Rupert]

Whats your budget?