Best camera for work and play?

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hailinguk

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Hi everyone,

I have always wanted to learn photography and as we are still in lockdown I figured there is no better time to learn.

I'm looking for a camera that will predominantly be used for:

* Recording nail videos
* Photos of my work (nails and semi permanent eyebrows, free mastectomy areola tattooing)
* Photos and videos of my kids
* I'd love to go down the route of children's photoshoots in the future.

I've been looking at the Canon M50 and the Panasonic G7 as I think the flipmout screen would be handy for filming the nail videos. Are these good entry level cameras for what I'm looking for?

Please can you also advise what you would recommend lens wise.

Thank you
 
If you're looking at smaller mirrorless (you don't mention budget, so I'll assume £550ish) then also consider the Olympus e-m10 mkII twin lens kit. That should be very versatile.
 
I can't really help too much but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who can :D but I just wanted to post a quick warning about the Panasonic G7.

I had one and I think it's a really good camera but only suited to someone who really knows what they're doing as when used in combination with some lenses the G7 can induce shutter shock which results in a slight blurring of the picture or even a slight double image. This tends to occur within certain shutter speeds, maybe 1/60 to 1/250, when using the mechanical shutter. There are ways around this problem like using higher shutter speeds, but that can create other problems, or using the electronic shutter but that too can cause issues such as banding under some artificial lighting.

I'd advise you to steer clear of the G7 and other older cameras go for a later camera such as the G8 or GX80 which have a redesigned shutter mechanism that effectively cures the shutter shock issue. Panasonic knew about this issue for years and deserve a good spanking over it.
 
Approaching this from the perspective of best image quality with fewer cost constraints, I'd look at a Sony A7III with kit 28-70 for casual family shots and Sony 85 f1.8 and 35 f1.8 for the work images. That, however, is not cheap, but it is professional kit, and will also give better family pictures through eye tracking.
 
Canon M50 is very popular as a Vloggers camera, due to the screen and the dual-pixel AF which offers good tracking. Perfectly capable of tacking good photos as well.

Its was on offer a couple of weekends ago at well under £500 bundled with 15-45 lens in both Tesco's and Argos, not sure if offer is still on.
 
Thanks so much for your replies. Is a mirrorless the way to go?

I do want to learn photography and I'm considering taking some local courses once this is over.

Is a traditional DSLR better? I'm looking to spend around £500-600.

Thanks so much.
 
If you're not already invested in a system then ml is where things are going.

Worth saying that DSLRs will not take worse pictures now than before, but mirrorless cameras are being developed further. Better focussing, newer lens design, faster frame rates.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Approaching this from the perspective of best image quality with fewer cost constraints, I'd look at a Sony A7III with kit 28-70 for casual family shots and Sony 85 f1.8 and 35 f1.8 for the work images. That, however, is not cheap, but it is professional kit, and will also give better family pictures through eye tracking.
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Don't listen to this. You don't 'need' such expensive equipment.

What you do need, is a camera/lens that can focus closely. The closest focus distance on the 15-45mm lens that comes with the Canon M50 is 25cm. This isn't particularly close, but then it might be ok. You may be able to get an adapter filter that allows closer focus, that screws to the front of the lens, if for instance you wanted to fill the whole frame with just one nail.

Something like this will allow closer focussing, but won't have as good image quality.

https://www.canon.co.uk/cameras/powershot-sx430-is/specifications/

And it will be more limited in other use. The M50 woul dallow you to use a dedicated macro (close up) lens, such as this:

https://www.canon.co.uk/lenses/ef-m-28mm-f-3-5-macro-is-stm-lens/

But obviously this will add to your costs. A set of close up lenses will allow closer focus with a standard zoom lens, and be a lot cheaper, but won't offer such good image quality:

https://www.en.photo4b.pl/p3643,set...nHkAXjUZAnaE1hro4eBaImIhIyB4ldaxoCk68QAvD_BwE

A camera with an APS-C sensor will offer slightly better overall image quality than a similarly priced Micro 4/3rds sensor camera, like the Panasonic and Olympus range. The M50 will be a bit smaller than a DSLR, even the lower priced Canon models. This may be preferable for travelling etc. At this stage, any camera that allows manual exposure will help you learn about photography more than a fully auto camera. Start with something like the M50, and then 'upgrade' when your photography demands it. By then, you will have a much better idea of what best suits your needs.
 
AZ6 said:
Don't listen to this. You don't 'need' such expensive equipment.

What you do need, is a camera/lens that can focus closely. The closest focus distance on the 15-45mm lens that comes with the Canon M50 is 25cm. This isn't particularly close, but then it might be ok. You may be able to get an adapter filter that allows closer focus, that screws to the front of the lens, if for instance you wanted to fill the whole frame with just one nail.

Something like this will allow closer focussing, but won't have as good image quality.

https://www.canon.co.uk/cameras/powershot-sx430-is/specifications/

And it will be more limited in other use. The M50 woul dallow you to use a dedicated macro (close up) lens, such as this:

https://www.canon.co.uk/lenses/ef-m-28mm-f-3-5-macro-is-stm-lens/

But obviously this will add to your costs. A set of close up lenses will allow closer focus with a standard zoom lens, and be a lot cheaper, but won't offer such good image quality:

https://www.en.photo4b.pl/p3643,set...nHkAXjUZAnaE1hro4eBaImIhIyB4ldaxoCk68QAvD_BwE

A camera with an APS-C sensor will offer slightly better overall image quality than a similarly priced Micro 4/3rds sensor camera, like the Panasonic and Olympus range. The M50 will be a bit smaller than a DSLR, even the lower priced Canon models. This may be preferable for travelling etc. At this stage, any camera that allows manual exposure will help you learn about photography more than a fully auto camera. Start with something like the M50, and then 'upgrade' when your photography demands it. By then, you will have a much better idea of what best suits your needs.
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Thank you so much for taking the time for such a detailed response. I'll start with M50 and get those cheaper close up lenses you mrntioned to start with and see how I go.

Thank you

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hailinguk said:
Thank you so much for taking the time for such a detailed response. I'll start with M50 and get those cheaper close up lenses you mrntioned to start with and see how I go.

Thank you

Quote Quote
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You're welcome! That's what this forum is for. (y)
 
Morning,

I've found a deal on a M50 body so I'll need to buy a lens separately...

If I get the 50mm will that be ok for taking general pics of the kids when we are on our walks or is that only good for the close ups?

Thanks
 
hailinguk said:
Morning,

I've found a deal on a M50 body so I'll need to buy a lens separately...

If I get the 50mm will that be ok for taking general pics of the kids when we are on our walks or is that only good for the close ups?

Thanks
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On a Canon crop sensor you need to multiply the focal length by 1.6 to get the real world 'focal length' - the Full Frame equivalent, so 50mm becomes 80mm which is a bit long for general purpose shooting, the M 22mm lens would be a good single focal length general purpose lens as that gives you 35mm FF equivalent focal length, a good flexible focal length.

Its all a bit confusing at first (sorry) but its why the standard M series zoom is 15-45 as that gives FF equivalent of 24-70, and if you went to buy a general purpose zoom for a full framke camera it would typically be 24-70.
 
Mr Perceptive said:
On a Canon crop sensor you need to multiply the focal length by 1.6 to get the real world 'focal length' - the Full Frame equivalent, so 50mm becomes 80mm which is a bit long for general purpose shooting, the M 22mm lens would be a good single focal length general purpose lens as that gives you 35mm FF equivalent focal length, a good flexible focal length.

Its all a bit confusing at first (sorry) but its why the standard M series zoom is 15-45 as that gives FF equivalent of 24-70, and if you went to buy a general purpose zoom for a full framke camera it would typically be 24-70.
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Ah ok, so I'm better off getting the standard kit that comes with the 15-45 lens to start with then buy the 22mm lens for close ups of my work?

Thanks
 
I
hailinguk said:
Ah ok, so I'm better off getting the standard kit that comes with the 15-45 lens to start with then buy the 22mm lens for close ups of my work?

Thanks
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Think that's the best plan. Buy the kit, learn how to use it, get used to the camera. Then you'll have a better idea of the processes and principles involved. Either way, hopefully you'll have fun learning!
 
Buy all means go for and enjoy the M50. My first post was a recommendation for something similar but in a slightly smaller form factor and with a wider range of cost effective lenses available.

Most important is that you find kit that suits you and works for what you need.
 
I suppose it depends where you want to go but I'd have thought the Canon M series was a rather limiting system? I know no one really knows what's going to happen to any camera company or the future of any system with any certainty but I wouldn't be buying into the Canon M series. YMMV.

Personally and despite my warning about shutter shock I'd go Micro Four Thirds. The image quality differences between it and APS-C may be small and there are good lenses available at reasonable prices. Most of my lenses were bought used at good (for buyers :D) prices.
 
hailinguk said:
Ah ok, so I'm better off getting the standard kit that comes with the 15-45 lens to start with then buy the 22mm lens for close ups of my work?

Thanks
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The 22mm lens would be a moderate wideangle - fine as a lens for walking around taking general photos, but not so good for closer shots because it will distort nearby objects and you'll need to get quite close. The kit zoom (15-45) would likely be better, zoomed out to the longer end for closer shots of nails.

There is a proper close-up lens available for the M50 (the 28mm macro) but that's around £279 (from Wex). To be honest, I suspect you'll be better off with a set of close-up filters, and although they may degrade image quality, it might not be enough to be a problem. I'd probably just try with the kit lens first & see how you go.

As I said before, there are a greater range of lenses available for micro four thirds cameras, often at more favourable prices (especially used) and if you particularly want to do close-up work then they may offer more cost effective options. Image quality may be a little lower in difficult circumstances, but if you're not looking to produce professional advertising images then it's unlikely you'll see much difference.
 
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