Recommendations for my first Interchangeable lens camera

[renosgurl85]

I am wanting to buy my first ILC but I have no idea where to start. I have several point and shoot cameras (Fuji Z, Nikon S3300 and S3000 I believe, Sony DSC H1 and Sony DSC H9) but I would like more control over my pictures. I will be essentially saving up money this year for a camera and possibly extra lenses. I would like to use some of the glass I already have for my Minolta XD-11 if I can, I have a minolta rokkor x 50mm, Soligar wide auto 28mm and a Soligar zoom+marco 80-200mm. 

My plan was to make my own dark room but that hasn't worked out as of yet and so I have tons of undeveloped film sitting around so I'm not getting better at any of this when I can't see my pictures.

I don't mind older gear, I will say I have lost a lot of my photography chops over the years, I used to know all the ins and outs but I will need to refresh myself on everything. I want to really immerse myself in whatever camera I choose and just have fun doing it. 

As far as what I want this camera for, mostly pictures of my pets, general wildlife, going to the beach, and taking on walks, I do want something that will have some good low light pictures and I don't mind having video capabilities. I have toyed with the idea of trying to sell prints and I don't know what is best for that. 

As far as a budget I would say I am willing to go up to around $1000 but for a hobby camera I would prefer less. I know this is a Canon forum but I am willing to consider any camera brand anyone can offer me and after looking at a lot of posts on here everyone seems pretty helpful. 

Cheers for any help I can get!

Here's a few pictures taken with my Sony DSC-H9 (it has a censor issue you really notice that red line in low light pictures)

Smiley boy

C'mon son!

Chewing grass

Silly boy

Shawn Spencer

[justadude]

There is a lot of good advice above from Trevor.  I just want to add one comment about lenses.

Do get a new lens with whatever camera you decide to buy, (and the R50 is a great camera choice for your budget).  However a lot of those old film lenses can still be used with the proper adaptor.  Of course first you need Canon's EF to RF adapter... then from there you can get third party adaptors to fit on top of Canon's adaptor.  I have one for Pentax K-Mount lenses, and one for old M42 screw type lenses (and there are many more types out there).  Most of these are fairly inexpensive ($10-25 range).  Your old film lenses will be manual at this point (set the aperture on the lens itself, and manual focus).  While some old lenses will only be mediocre, some will be fantastic - even for making large prints.  I have a lot of old film lenses from the 60's and 70's that I love using on my mirrorless camera.

So yes, you do want a new lens that is automatic and easy to use, but don't let your old lenses collect dust.  Use them! 

[ebiggs1]

"My plan was to make my own dark room but that hasn't worked out as of yet and so I have tons of undeveloped film sitting around ..."

Been there done that. Here is what you do and I would do it before you buy a new camera. Send all that exposed film to one of the of the web-based services. Have them develop it an put them on a DVD or thumb drive when they return it to you.

" I have several point and shoot cameras ..."

First off there is nothing wrong with P&S cameras. Some of them ae quite good. You may find buying a new R50 or new whatever does nothing better than the cameras you already have. Its easy for guys to recommend new gear before all the facts are known.  It is akin to jumping into the water before you know how deep it is.

So, first off Kido get your film developed and able to be displayed on your computer. Get a photo editing program. Go over all you work first than make an informed decision.  Photoshop Elements would be my first choice for you.

Just because the camera is cheap enough to fit your budget does not mean it is the camera for you.

[renosgurl85]

I use regular Photoshop although it is more for art I haven't really done any photo editing more photo manipulation and such (I make Christmas cards every year.) 

An ILC is something I've wanted for years but I do agree with getting all that film developed especially for my minolta and having used all my lenses and not knowing really what I'm doing. I watched videos, I did take a photography class in high school but that was so long ago and I haven't been able to really practice anything. 

I often read about shooting in RAW what is the biggest difference for RAW and JPEG? What are the advanges of RAW files?

[Tronhard]

I think we are looking at two issues here:
1. Definitely agree with Ernie that getting your film processed is a valid project
2. If, as you say, you want to take images of your dog, which you have a clear connection with, and want those memories of it as a puppy for the future, then getting a camera suitable for that is something to proceed with as well.  Given you specified an interchangeable lens camera, and I did investigate the point and shoot but honestly didn't like what is currently available for your purposes, then the camera solution I have offered is the best I can find and should last you a good while.

As to file formats: I suggest reading this article: Raw vs JPEG: Which Image Format is Better and Why (photographylife.com).   I began shooting in JPG and later switched to both JPG and RAW, because I can do much more post-production correction with the RAW format.   I choose to shoot in both (card space is very cheap), but one could just shoot in RAW.  That said, I think  you might get value from both formats - the JPG being readily available for sharing, and the RAW for future development when your photo processing skills improve - you will then be able to take some of those puppy photos and make them even better.

[renosgurl85]

My biggest issues with my p&s cameras currently is even tweaking the settings I'm not getting very good motion shots, I think my Sony cameras are getting me the best but they can produce somewhat soft pictures and not great in low light but they're from something like 2005 and 2007. My phone is a galaxy s8 sometimes captures motion fine and other times it's just blur it has a pro setting that I've tried to work with but it doesn't seem to help. I like the crisp results of the r50 I like the color profile and the low light pictures I've seen actually look pretty good and I think it would be fine for my purposes. I bought my minolta Xd-11 a few years ago, my dad took all our pictures with this camera and had amazing results. It is a camera I still want to continue to use but since film processing has gotten a bit pricey it will probably be something I just take out and take random pictures. 

[rs-eos]

Recommend that you start working with Shutter Priority (Tv).  That should be a feature on your point-and-shoot cameras.  Here, you'll set the shutter speed that you want in order to show motion or to freeze motion.  The camera will then pick the aperture and ISO as appropriate.

Note though that depending upon the lens and your current lighting conditions, it may be that ISO will be raised very high leading to large amounts of noise.

An advantage with an interchangable lens camera is that you can choose to use different lenses; each which will excel at particular tasks/conditions.

[Tronhard]

Without doubt film processing is an expense that is not an issue with digital.

I did quite a bit of research to look for the right kit at the right price for you, and am confident that this should work well for you if you put in the time to get to know the controls and have lots of practise with it.   Photography is a journey with many rises and falls - the climbs to learn new gear, genres and techniques, but the road flattens when you get up your skill level.  This camera will start doing most things for you, if you want, but you can gradually take more and more control as you learn and gain confidence.

Certainly, the two projects I mentioned are not mutually exclusive but the issue of capturing your dog as a puppy (which you say is important) has a time priority to it.  Apart from finance, there is no reason why you could not do some processing and printing while capturing your precious moments with your dog using a digital camera.  The good news is that the R50 will behave as a Point and Shoot if you want it to while you learn the more advanced features that will give you more control over you images - so you get the best of both worlds.

[justadude]

"My plan was to make my own dark room but that hasn't worked out as of yet and so I have tons of undeveloped film sitting around so I'm not getting better at any of this when I can't see my pictures."  "It is a camera I still want to continue to use but since film processing has gotten a bit pricey it will probably be something I just take out and take random pictures." 


Film processing has gotten ridiculously pricy the past few years.  Fewer labs, and film rising in popularity again has driven prices up.  Camera store I go to charges $40 for a roll of 36, which is crazy.  So if I have 10 rolls, that's $400.

Have you looked into how inexpensive it is simply to develop your own negatives, then make your own digital scans? You did mention that at one time you wanted to do a darkroom, but if you are fine with scans instead of prints, here is where it gets good...

* I bought a develop tank for $35 that will do 2 rolls of 35mm at a time, or 1 roll of 120.  

* I needed three one liter bottles for chemicals - so I bought three bottles of drinking water and used those when they were empty ($2 each, where the brown bottles you get at the camera shop are $13 each... just have to store them in a dark place).  

* Bought a 1 liter beaker with measuring marks for under $10.  

* Needed a bottle opener for the canisters (already had one, like most people do) pair of scissors (had one) and a plastic funnel ($3).  

* Bag of clips to hold the film while it dries ($6 at the hardware store)

* Digital thermometer (prices vary a lot, but I found a nice one for under $10)

* Chemicals for B&W are around $40... about the same price for color chemicals.  That's enough chemicals to do about 20 rolls of color, and honestly, about 100 rolls of B&W (the chemicals only stay good for 12-18 months).

So far that's $70 for reusable equipment... and another $40 for chemicals.  That's a little less than the cost of getting 3 rolls developed.

I set up a temporary dark room in my basement simply by covering the windows in brown paper with masking tape (such as grocery bag paper, two layers thick).  They are only covered while I am working on film... and I reuse them each time.  You can do this in a larger closet, or anywhere you can block the light.  You only need it dark while you open the film canister, spool it into the develop tank, screw on the lid... then you can do all of the chemicals in the light.  It sounds intimidating, but it is very simple to do.  So simple, most people wonder why they haven't been doing it before.

Many people have scanners.  If you don't, you can buy one pretty cheap.  OR you can easily set up a cardboard frame to hold the negatives, and take photos of them with your (new) digital camera.  I do this with 120mm negatives since my scanner is only for 35mm.  Sure, you have a high res photo of a negative, but it's one click in Photoshop to reverse that into a nice digital file.

If you are interested in doing this, let me know.  I can give you more info, and some links.

[renosgurl85]

Yes something I know my sony cameras do have modes for ISO, aperture modes and shutter priority mode but yes I do run into once I change certain things I run into noise. Especially this time of year when it's gray outside and dark inside but turning on the lights makes everything yellow and weird looking in pictures. 

Here's a few more examples of pictures I've taken with some of my other P&S cameras and outdoors they do pretty good. When things aren't moving they do really well and the Nikon does pretty good videos. Sony DSC-H1

Sony DSC-H1

Sony DSC-H1

Fuji Z

Fuji Z

Nikon S3100

Nikon S3100

[normadel]

You aren't going to use your Minolta manual-focus lenses on any digital body. They would not even work on Minolta autofocus cameras.

What's keeping you from getting all your exposed film developed? You aren't clear about wanting to stick with film shooting or or going digital. 

You don't need a darkroom for digital photography. You don't even need a darkroom to do film photography. Have negatives or slides scanned into digital files you can edit on computers and print on inkjet and laser printers. I'm in a film photography club where few have or darkrooms. We just like using film. 

Sort out what kind of photography you want to do before getting all kinds of suggestions about new digital interchangeable-lens cameras.