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Help a teem with limited budget to choose a good camera
  • Hello everyone.

    Thank you for a great site.

    I'm a teenager from the UK that wants to learn photography as a hobby. After I realised my mobile phone photo shots were rubbish, I've been slowly saving to buy a camera. But with so much choice out there, I don't know which one to go for. My dad used to have a 2009 Panasonic FZ38 which I know is now a bit on the old side, but it did have good quality photos.

    Forgive me as I'm on a very tight budget. I want a camera within £200 (approx $250) range for a second-hand one. I'm not too fussed if it's slightly outdated or doesn't have stuff like wifi etc.

    The main features I'm looking for are:

    • As good quality photos as possible
    • Can do good Bokeh effects and aperture is as low as possible
    • Can do 1080p movies at least at 30fps

    Bonus Features (if possible)

    • Hackable to allow for improvements
    • Wireless
    • Can exchange lens
    • Not too bulky
    • If it can be modern with good features then that would be great

    So what can you guys recommend?

  • 46 Replies sorted by
  • I don't know if ur aware, but it's illegal in uk for kids under 16 to work....however, voluntary or odd-jobs are fine.

    Formally it can be such, in reality if you want to collect money it is not issue.

    Anyway guys, I hope u can forgive me as I've gone with my heart and just chosen the camera that I like....it's a Fuji X-M1

    Well, nothing surprising. Deep inside you always have small something that want to make "own choice" and "choose by heart" :-)

    People here offered you advice about cameras who have good video first and are very affordable.

  • Vitaliy, with all due respect, the camera I'll be purchasing will be from savings that I've built whilst doing the odd jobs....I don't know if ur aware, but it's illegal in uk for kids under 16 to work....however, voluntary or odd-jobs are fine.

    Anyway guys, I hope u can forgive me as I've gone with my heart and just chosen the camera that I like....it's a Fuji X-M1

  • Other options include talking to your friends to see if anybody has a camera you can borrow to try out and possibly share with friends. Also if you're able to find something reasonably priced at Best Buy they have a liberal return policy which extends through January 15th for purchases made through the holidays I believe. So if you find something reasonably priced you'll have ample time to try it out and make sure the image quality and everything works as you hoped it would.

  • @camerahacks

    You don't need to ask anyone or sit on forums, you go and find work, any work, dirty or such, if you really into it.

  • Matt_gh2.....I wish that was possible, but I won't ask my dad as he's already struggling with making ends meet and I don't want to stress him out further with more demands. I'd rather not bother buying anything at all if I can't afford a decent one.

  • Check G7 here for $500 with 14-42 lens. Great camera for your needs. Get this, maybe someone will cover half for you as an early Christmas gift (yo Dad, help the lad out with a great starter camera!).

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1148283-REG/panasonic_dmc_g7ks_lumix_dmc_g7_mirrorless_micro.html/?c3ch=CSE&c3nid=98

  • Thanks DrDave. I was hoping to purchase it on ebay, but it seems that price is going higher and higher all the time, lol

    I've also seen the Sony A58 which has very similar features to the G6, except its a DSLR.

  • The G6 is OK, but if you can get it with its original kit lens, the 14-42 II Lens (there are several of these, this is the small "mark II" version, that's a very good lens for a kit lens with IS built into the lens.
    The G6 can take most old lenses with a cheap $14 adapter from eBay. However, unlike Olympus, your old MF lenses will not be stabilized, which is why at the low price range you should consider the Olympus bodies, especially for photos.

  • Thanks adam. What about the lenses though?

  • I would advise G6 over GH2, having owned both

  • I can pick up a G6 at a reasonable price. Question is, can it fit many of the old manual lenses and is it expensive to buy lenses for it compared to other brands?

  • @brudney I'm not selling my three G7s, but neither do I ever take my GH2 out of the bag unless I need more than 12 cameras.
    Almost as good as a GH4? Absolutely better at some things, but overall not as good as a GH4. Better for hyperfocal shots in good light. Better than the GH2.
    As for serious, all I do every day is crank out videos, and, yes, the Note 4 is slightly better than the GH2, on balance. You can't put the Olly 75 on it for shallow DOF, but it out resolves the GH2 no problem.
    Some of us in 1080p world think you need 4K because it gives you way better 1080p, some people don't think so. I see a big difference; you may see it different.

    @camerahacks if you are not going to do video and just want to learn the basics of photography, as well as take portraits of family and friends, sad to say Olympus or Fuji are both better stills cams. I picked up several Olly m4/3 cams cheap on eBay used for my students and they are a super value. They have built in IS, which the older Panasonics do not. There's a huge array of things you can add on to the m4/3 system which is why a lot of us use it, but you have lots of choices. I just use the Panasonics because I do 90 percent video.
    Whatever you get, if you are using it to learn photography, make sure it has full manual controls and can do raw stills.

  • I'd go for Panasonic G6 over a GH2, is basically the same price secondhand. But you get 60fps 1080 slow motion and focus peaking and WiFi. Only significant thing you lose vs GH2 is live HDMI out.

  • I got my sony a5100 for 273 pounds last year. If you are not in a hurry, Amazon had it at that price several times during the black friday offer period. If you do not mind buying second hand, which I am guessing you don't, I would check ebay. I am sure some people will be selling theirs for less than that.

  • I totally understand where vitaley is coming from. My dad's fz38 also is a pain to deal with for videos due to the mts format.

    Other than the Samsung NX range, what other recommendations can you give?

  • @brudney

    Nothing wrong, except that it is not handly and can sometimes cause weird behavior of some software.

  • What's the sudden deal with mts? We've used it for years and now it's a no no?

  • So Vitaliy - If we should avoid GH1 and GH2, then what are your list of recommendations?

  • @yskunto

    My even more humble opinion is to stay away from GH1 and GH2, due to their AVCHD containers and all weird stuff. Much simpler is to have stable progressive MP4 files and over good things like remote control.

  • I never be a professional just a hobbies photo/video. But it seems logical for me, if someone in tight super budget would learn if videography is their passion then start with as low as GH1 with kit lens or one single 24/28mm manual lens. When they assure on videography then they could directly jump to the latest gear and skip all the intermediate like G7 etc. That is my humble opinion.

  • So, plan is as follows

    1. Get some work around your place, may be sit with some baby, may be do something for neighbor
    2. Get best camera that you can, here already many had been mentioned
  • Thank you for your replies everyone. DrDave, I'm only a fourteen year old and it's difficult for me to save that sort of money.

    I want to mainly use the camera for taking portraits of family and friends, but at the same time learn a little bit about photography as a hobby. I've used my friend's note4 and even I know for sure that the photos are no where near as good as a proper camera such as a Panasonic GH.

    Also my budget is £200, not $200.

  • A cellphone like the Note 4 will take better video than the older GH cams

    if it shoots better video than properly hacked GH2, than it definitely shoots better video than GH3 and is almost as good as GH4 and G7. why buy a camera at all if a smartphone is just as good.

    If you are serious, you will have to ditch the GH2 or GH1 pretty soon, so ditch it now.

    I guess you're not being serious here. Unless he needs 4k or 1080p60, GH2 is still a kick ass camera (except for lowlight, but every single m43 cam sucks in that department).

    It almost feels like you're trying sell your old G7 ;)

  • First of all, with all due respect, I'm not sure what you are asking. Surely you can read through the pages on this site and see what you want.
    However, let's assume for the moment that this is a serious question. The short answer is you will need at G7 at a minimum. Forget about the GH2, the GH1, etc. You would be seriously wasting your time. A cellphone like the Note 4 will take better video than the older GH cams. They were good in their day, but if you are serious about video, you need 4K. If you are really serious, put together $550 for a G7 with the IS kit lens and buy a few manual-focus lenses for peanuts. The Samsung NX is another option. Basically, what I'm saying is $200 won't do it, but $550 will buy you absolutely incredible video quality. If you are serious, you will have to ditch the GH2 or GH1 pretty soon, so ditch it now.
    If you really can only scrape together $200, figure out a away to get a bit more money. When I was starting out (OK, this was 50 years ago) I saved one peanut at a time for six months to get a stake. That's a skill in this business, maybe the most important skill.

  • For video get a GH2 - the image still holds up, get some old Canon FD glass with a cheap adapter, if you look on eBay - Canon 24mm f2.8/ 50mm f1.4/85mm f1.8 and don't waste money on a rig - get one of these - Velbon Ultra 353 Mini Q Tripod it can be folded out almost like a rig so you have 3 points of contact for steady shots. And when you make some money from shooting buy some nicer glass like Voigtlander primes and the Olympus 12-40 2.8 and 40-150 2.8 I think maybe you need £250 - 300 for a basic set up like this