Any tips for a photographer looking to upgrade?

[mikemorrellNL]

Hi, I have a Syrian (ex-refugee) friend who - just as I do - voluntary takes photos for a local not-for-profit organization. 5 years ago, he was on a a very tight budget and someone (not me) recommended that he buy a a very cheap but very old (2005) Olympus E-500 kit. The kit included the body,1  lens and an on-camera flash. Which he bought..

But he and I noticed that the color in his digital photo's is widely "off' Most of his photo's have a strong 'blue tint'  Via internet, I read that this was a common complaint of the Olympus E-500. .Together with him, I recently went through all his camera settings (and also reset these). Nothing helped.

The 2nd option was to upgrade his camera (and probably his lens). I offered him him the (free) use of my older cameras and lenses in the meantime but his choice was to buy a better 2nd hand camera + lens.

He has a budget of about $1000 dollars..

I had promised him to suggest some camera/lens combinations within his budget. AndI will will look around on the Dutch sites. Bit if you have any any suggestions, please let me know.

PS. I've always shot on Canon cameras so body 'upgrades' have always been easy. But perhaps, for my friend, other 'upgrades' would be better.

[AJG]

For $1000 or so your friend should be able to get a decent used APS-C DSLR with a couple of lenses, especially since both Nikon and Canon have written off SLRs in favor of mirrorless cameras with their new lenses.  I have been a satisfied Pentax user for many years, starting with film MX and LX bodies and continuing with Pentax for digital since I already had a large collection of lenses that I could continue to use.  I don't know how common Pentax is in Europe so they may be hard to find along with lenses, but anything from the K-5 and later is certainly good quality and performs fairly well at 1600 or 3200 ISO so maybe your friend can ditch the flash and put that money toward another lens.  I am not a fan of Pentax TTL flash and have found it to be inconsistent with exposures on K 5, K 3 and K 1 bodies with a variety of Pentax and non-Pentax lenses, so I think the problem is with the flash/camera system software itself.  I have generally found the camera metering system to be quite accurate for continuous light, so this was a surprise for me. Another plus for Pentax DLRs over the entry level Nikon and Canon cameras that I have played with is the viewfinder, which is much brighter and more contrasty for easier manual focusing.  Pentax stuck with solid glass pentaprisms while the other brands usually went with pentamirrors which are dimmer and much harder to see through in my experience. The last downside for Pentax, especially older bodies, is autofocusing.  It tends to be slower than other brands.  This hasn't mattered for me since most of my work is in a studio and I am using manual focus 99% of the time, but if your friend is shooting sports then Nikon or Canon will probably be a better bet.

[Rick Helmke]

I don’t know the market where you live but in the last year or so I’ve bought a nice D200 from KEH for $65, a D300 from a local photographer for $175. They have lot of things that fit easily into that budget. A couple of Tamron or other zooms as well, memory cards, the whole bit. You can get a bag full, card readers and a useable computer and still have money left over.

 

Rick H.

[Niels - NHSN]

The camera shop I help out with checking used film cameras, frequently get nice looking Canon 5D and 5D MKII as trade-ins which are subsequently "given away" for around €150 and €250 respectively.

Those are excellent cameras with a long life left as you probably know. I imagine the pricing should be similar in the Netherlands.

Nikons older high end models like D300 or preferably D700 would be my preference because they accommodate all the wonderful AI manual focus lenses, as well as the cheap screwdriver AF and also the newest types - but that is just me because I have a large selection of manual fokus Nikon glass - it is unlikely to apply to your friend.

Both systems have a huge number of third party lens and flash options that sells for close to nothing.

Sorry to hear about the E-500. I owned one for a few years and rather enjoyed the qualities of the Kodak CCD sensor. It didn't go bad on me, but I sold it because the 4/3 system became a dead end when m4/3 was announced.

[paddler4]

I agree. In the US, one can get a good used body for under $200 or $250, depending on how outdated the model is. For example, at KEH, an old and reputable used equipment dealer, you can buy a Canon 50D in excellent condition for $150. That's a very old body, more susceptible to noise in low light conditions than modern bodies, but I had one for years, and I've exhibited prints I made with it. There are lots of choices.

One comment about color: this depends on how accurate one wants. Canon, to continue with that example, has excellent "color science", and the JPEG picture styles are quite good. However, for full control over color, one has to shoot raw, regardless of the body.

[Ken Katz]

A later model Nikon DSLR would be a good place to start, since for a long period of time, they had better sensors than comparable Canon DSLRs.  Just to be a contrarian on this thread, since the buyer has no tie to any legacy equipment, the Sony a6400 and Nikon z50 are both available new with a kit lens for just under $1K, and the Nikon 2 lens kit option is available new for $1.2K.  Modern mirrorless cameras with great sensors, advanced features, good video, and lens mounts which will survive into the future.  If I needed really good AF of things that move, I would likely go with the Sony.

[hjoseph7]

I paid abou $250 for a Nikon D7000 which is a great entry level camera.

[httpwww.photo.netbarry]

He can get a used Nikon D-700. 12MP and still a very good camera. You might look at KEH for used camera's as they are conservative on their ratings.  Also reliable sellers on EBay.  Should be able to get what he needs for your price range.  D300 over the 200 and that will also be a bit less expensive than the D-700

[Sanford]

if you can find a D200/D300 for the prices mentioned above, go for it. The D300 is one of the finest cameras ever made.

[steve_gallimore1]

Alternative suggestion : Olympus EM-1 (mk1 or mk2) and a 12-40mm f2.8 pro, or a couple of decent primes.

[Ricochetrider]

A friend of mine was recently on a "classic" digital camera kick, and bought a handful of cameras and lenses. His text messages to me about it all are too far back in the archives for me to find, But I seem to recall maybe some of the older/original digi cams had Kodak built (CCD?) sensors- and even with comparitively low "pixel count" capabilities, stand strong to this day, some having gained some level of cult status. WIth some research, you or your friend should be able to find plenty totally acceptable options in the sub $1000.00 range.

 

https://www.thephoblographer.com/2020/08/12/7-underappreciated-and-overlooked-digital-cameras-worthy-of-your-time/

https://www.chathurablogger.com/best-vintage-digital-camera/

FUJIFILM S1 Pro

 

This B&H ARTICLE has a lot of stuff that doesnt pertain, but the highlight is the early Kodak attempts at attracting pro level Nikon & Canon users.