Camera Recommendations

[thepiecesfit]

Thank you so much for the advice! I know nothing about cameras, so this has really helped me alot in knowing what to look for. You mentioned something about my phone images being oversharpened, I did sharpen the photo I posted in this thread during editing. Did I oversharpen it? Thanks!

Yeah, the image looks oversharpened. Phone cameras make up for the lack of good lenses by sharpening the image a lot, which can look unnatural when compared to an image from a camera and good lens.

and also, an update on my last post where I recommended you some cameras, I think I've changed my mind as to what the best used camera + lens options are under $400. I think your best bet is to try and get an older professional camera instead of a newer entry level one, something like a Nikon D300 and a 70-300 A G lens, or a used Canon 7D mark ii and 55-250. Aviation shooting is almost the easiest environment possible for a camera, if you're planespotting and not much else, a D300/7D will be easier to use in that particular use case than a newer camera like an SL2/SL3. That being said, these newer cameras are more versatile in other use cases and have better video capabilities so that's something to think about too.

[mahagonny]

I don't want to seem repetitive to you, but there are photographers who publish photos taken with every possible tool here. From smartphones to compacts, to bridges to the very expensive sony or panasonic kits.
The camera isn't your first thought. Your first thought is: what or where should I photograph.
Tell us this and the advice will be more targeted.

[MBreaux59]

Here are my recommendations.

Judging by the phone photo, you are equipment limited, as you’re pushing the phone too much, and have the technique nailed down. You will definitely have to learn some editing, as it’s different, and the camera won’t do as much for you, but that isn’t that big of a deal.
I would not recommend a new cheap camera, even though they are affordable and more powerful than what many of us started with, you’re better served by a used camera from the early 2010s or so.
However, $150 is way too limited of a budget.
EOS 60D, 7D, or Nikon D300s/D7000. Those will be 150-200 used (KEH, B&H, Adorama are good places to buy stateside), plus a 55-250 or 70-300 (DO NOT GO FOR THE CANON 75-300, the price is tempting but it’s a very hit and miss lens when it comes to quality). You’re looking at close to $400 for the kit.

Now, if the $150 (ish) is your absolute max, by all means get something to stay within budget. A 55-250 IS and a Rebel XT/XTi or 20D will keep you in the 150-160 range. Is it ideal? Nope. Will you get good results in sunny days? Absolutely. It would be bad advice to tell you to wait until you can afford something better. Many of us would have sold a kidney at 15 for a 20D. My XT (which was still called Digital Rebel XT, the non-digital Rebel was still being sold at the time!) introduced 3 other friends to photography, at that point it was a 6-7 year old camera.

When I said $150, I didn't really realize how much a decent camera costs lol! Now that I know, I'm going to wait a little while until I can afford something more expensive. Thank you so much for the advice. And for saying that I have the technique nailed down. That really means a lot to me

[Felipe Garcia]

Here are my recommendations.

Judging by the phone photo, you are equipment limited, as you’re pushing the phone too much, and have the technique nailed down. You will definitely have to learn some editing, as it’s different, and the camera won’t do as much for you, but that isn’t that big of a deal.
I would not recommend a new cheap camera, even though they are affordable and more powerful than what many of us started with, you’re better served by a used camera from the early 2010s or so.
However, $150 is way too limited of a budget.
EOS 60D, 7D, or Nikon D300s/D7000. Those will be 150-200 used (KEH, B&H, Adorama are good places to buy stateside), plus a 55-250 or 70-300 (DO NOT GO FOR THE CANON 75-300, the price is tempting but it’s a very hit and miss lens when it comes to quality). You’re looking at close to $400 for the kit.

Now, if the $150 (ish) is your absolute max, by all means get something to stay within budget. A 55-250 IS and a Rebel XT/XTi or 20D will keep you in the 150-160 range. Is it ideal? Nope. Will you get good results in sunny days? Absolutely. It would be bad advice to tell you to wait until you can afford something better. Many of us would have sold a kidney at 15 for a 20D. My XT (which was still called Digital Rebel XT, the non-digital Rebel was still being sold at the time!) introduced 3 other friends to photography, at that point it was a 6-7 year old camera.

[seahawk]

Not a a Nikon D200, you only would have a chance at ISO100 to make it into jp today, D300/D300s / D7000 would be my choice for Nikon.

[MBreaux59]

Here's my take on all of this:

I don't think it's worth it spending $150-300 on a crappy DSLR, then realising that it isn't anywhere near versatile enough for your use case, then not using it at all. Your phone camera is fine but the problem is that you get a massive loss in image quality because of the cheap lens and tiny sensor, and it then tries to sharpen the image to make up for the optical deficits and tends to overdo it, resulting in a less than ideal picture for jetphotos.

The thing about cheap camera kits like the 4000D/T100 + 18-55 is that:
a) the camera itself has horrible autofocus, which implies that:
b) you can have all the image quality (determined by the lens you use) in the world, but it won't matter if your images are out of focus

You probably could get away with using that 4000D/T100 + 18-55 for planespotting, provided that you are very, very close to the airport's taxiways (Mumbai Airport is a good example of this) and are willing to learn how to focus manually. But from what I can make out, you need a focal length of more than 55mm. Canon makes a very cheap 55-250mm lens which is quite good, other manufacturers (canon included) make things like 70-300mm lenses which have more focal length but in practice tend to be quite bad optically.

Personally, for someone on a shoestring budget, I'd recommend them to get a used Rebel SL2/EOS 200D (same camera, different names) and two lenses: the 18-55 kit lens and an EF-S 55-250mm. The rebel SL2 has a massively improved autofocus (dual pixel autofocus, I wouldn't get a canon camera that doesn't have it) over that of the 4000D/2000D, and chances are that you'll find it being sold as a kit with an 18-55 lens, so all you need to do is buy a 55-250mm lens separately.

(I personally have an EOS 2000D/Rebel T7, and a sigma 150-600mm lens, and wouldn't recommend it to beginner planespotters)

options for camera + lens include:

-EOS 200D/250D/SL2/SL3 + 18-55mm kit lens + EF-S 55-250mm (the best option)
-Nikon D200, 70-300 AF G (equally good, just slightly older, good for planespotting but ok to bad for everything else)
-Nikon D300 with a used 70-300 (the step up from the D200)
-EOS 2000D/4000D/T7/T1000 + 18-55mm + 55-250mm (wouldn't recommend)

Feel free to reply and ask any questions. Good luck.

Thank you so much for the advice! I know nothing about cameras, so this has really helped me alot in knowing what to look for. You mentioned something about my phone images being oversharpened, I did sharpen the photo I posted in this thread during editing. Did I oversharpen it? Thanks!

[thepiecesfit]

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a great day! I'm pretty new to planespotting, and have been using my phone to take photos of the planes. Now that I know how much I enjoy aviation photography, I think I'm ready to purchase a real camera. Can anyone recommend a decent camera for a beginner, preferably something around $150 or less? I've never used a real camera before, so I'm looking for something that'll be easy for me to learn how to use. Thanks!

Here's my take on all of this:

I don't think it's worth it spending $150-300 on a crappy DSLR, then realising that it isn't anywhere near versatile enough for your use case, then not using it at all. Your phone camera is fine but the problem is that you get a massive loss in image quality because of the cheap lens and tiny sensor, and it then tries to sharpen the image to make up for the optical deficits and tends to overdo it, resulting in a less than ideal picture for jetphotos.

The thing about cheap camera kits like the 4000D/T100 + 18-55 is that:
a) the camera itself has horrible autofocus, which implies that:
b) you can have all the image quality (determined by the lens you use) in the world, but it won't matter if your images are out of focus

You probably could get away with using that 4000D/T100 + 18-55 for planespotting, provided that you are very, very close to the airport's taxiways (Mumbai Airport is a good example of this) and are willing to learn how to focus manually. But from what I can make out, you need a focal length of more than 55mm. Canon makes a very cheap 55-250mm lens which is quite good, other manufacturers (canon included) make things like 70-300mm lenses which have more focal length but in practice tend to be quite bad optically.

Personally, for someone on a shoestring budget, I'd recommend them to get a used Rebel SL2/EOS 200D (same camera, different names) and two lenses: the 18-55 kit lens and an EF-S 55-250mm. The rebel SL2 has a massively improved autofocus (dual pixel autofocus, I wouldn't get a canon camera that doesn't have it) over that of the 4000D/2000D, and chances are that you'll find it being sold as a kit with an 18-55 lens, so all you need to do is buy a 55-250mm lens separately.

(I personally have an EOS 2000D/Rebel T7, and a sigma 150-600mm lens, and wouldn't recommend it to beginner planespotters)

options for camera + lens include:

-EOS 200D/250D/SL2/SL3 + 18-55mm kit lens + EF-S 55-250mm (the best option)
-Nikon D200, 70-300 AF G (equally good, just slightly older, good for planespotting but ok to bad for everything else)
-Nikon D300 with a used 70-300 (the step up from the D200)
-EOS 2000D/4000D/T7/T1000 + 18-55mm + 55-250mm (wouldn't recommend)

Feel free to reply and ask any questions. Good luck.

[mahagonny]

it also depends on what software you use for editing.
In general, however, exposure should be corrected by checking the brightness histogram. Then you apply a contrast across the curves. Continuing we move on to the application of an unsharp mask to refine the edges and then continue with the correction of the distortion caused by the focal length of the lens.
It may be necessary to further correct the tonal values.
Once all this is done, you need to crop the photo centering it to the size you want and save it in a format that suits you.
at least that's my "basic" workflow.
To upload photos here, I suggest you read the guidelines carefully.

[MBreaux59]

No you don't need a camera for starters. Especially if you're using a "phone" which is x times the 150$ you wish to spend on a camera.

And not to forget that digital photography is also a lot about editing. Besides the white band around the aircraft, a lot can be improved

If you don't mind, what do you think I could do better as far as editing? I've watched a few tutorials but I feel like I'm still not getting it quite right. If you wouldn't mind giving me some tips I'd really appreciate it. I very much want to improve.

[bleuair]

No you don't need a camera for starters. Especially if you're using a "phone" which is x times the 150$ you wish to spend on a camera.

And not to forget that digital photography is also a lot about editing. Besides the white band around the aircraft, a lot can be improved

[MBreaux59]

In reality, even a smartphone could be enough for spotting. It depends on what you want to photograph.
I advise you to look at a guide on the net to get an idea according to your needs.
Here for exemple: https://youtu.be/bmMt7ymy9_I and this: https://www.wikihow.com/Be-an-Aircraft-Spotter

I agree, I don't NEED a camera, the photos I take with my phone are more than good enough for me. However, it's my goal to one day have my photos on Jetphotos. I love my photos, but they aren't quite good enough to be uploaded to the site. Here's an example of a photo I took yesterday.

[seahawk]

A used Nikon D300 with a used 70-300 lens like a Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro. In Germany this can be found for about 170 Euros at resale shops with a 12 months warranty.

[mahagonny]

Excuse me. I add that, of course, it would be advisable for you to have at least an initial knowledge of general photography. Also for this I suggest you consult some guides on the net. There are really a lot of them.

[mahagonny]

I don't know much about cameras, but I googled "reflex camera" and this is one that popped up, do you know if this one is any good? Thanks for the advice btw

In reality, even a smartphone could be enough for spotting. It depends on what you want to photograph.
I advise you to look at a guide on the net to get an idea according to your needs.
Here for exemple: https://youtu.be/bmMt7ymy9_I and this: https://www.wikihow.com/Be-an-Aircraft-Spotter

[MBreaux59]

Personally, I plunged in with a Canon 2000D and the usual two lenses that come with it. However, the actual lens you choose will be of more significance in the long run. I've been fairly happy shooting on my 2000D with a Sigma 150-600mm. But again, another vote for the save your $150 and put it towards a decent camera and lens up front. But once you get a body, look to upgrade your lens as the next step

Thanks