New camera suggestions

[akerosid]

I've been using a Nikon D5300 for the past several years and while it's given me some wonderful shots, it's now past its design shutter actuations and I think it's time to think about something new. There are also a few other issues possibly related to age. As a first port of call, I wanted to get some ideas.

1. One thing that annoys me about Nikon is the D-lighting and whatever about newer versions, it certainly reduces the number of settings you can have. I always use "A" (or aperture priority) .It seems tow work fine with that. Nikons have become more expensive of late and the combination of a new Nikon and an18-300mm lens is pretty costly.

2, On the Canon front, I would be looking at a D90, or something else around the €1500 mark. Tamron has a new 18-400mm lens, which looks good and has a Canon (or Nikon) fitting. Anyone have experience of using this. Ideally, I'd like a single lens to cover all/most options. Not having to change lenses too open helps to reduce dust issues.

3, Autofocus and multiple autofocus points. A lot of the new cameras have several different points and settings and while I hope these have improved, the different autofocus points on my D5300 were a bit slow to react to moving aircraft and I just gave up using them. Do newer cameras have better autofocus points and - in relation to Nikon, can these be used without have D-lighting on?

4. Mirrorless cameras. I may be wrong but I get the impression that these gather dust pretty quickly - moreso than "ordinary" SLR cameras? Is this correct? Anyone have positive experiences of using mirrorless cameras for aviation photography?

For those who have cameras that they are particularly happy with, what are those and what makes them so good? Recommendations welcome!

[Ottawa.Plane.Spotter]

Highly recommend the Canon EOS series, my 70D has lasted roughly 7 years

[B7772ADL]

I've seen some great results from the Canon mirrorless R range. I'll be getting one next time I change my camera body. I wont be getting another DSLR unless I'm constrained on budget.

[Guest]

I am also using a Canon 70D and happy with it. But as importnat or even more important is the lens that you choose. I have always used a quite simple Canon 75-300mm EF5.6 III and the results were okay, but often had rejections due to sharpness. I have just invested in a second hand Canon EF 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 L IS USM from Japan, and the difference in quality is day and night! I wished I had done that earlier.

[DavidWWilson]

I've been using a Nikon D5300 for the past several years and while it's given me some wonderful shots, it's now past its design shutter actuations and I think it's time to think about something new. There are also a few other issues possibly related to age. As a first port of call, I wanted to get some ideas.

4. Mirrorless cameras. I may be wrong but I get the impression that these gather dust pretty quickly - moreso than "ordinary" SLR cameras? Is this correct? Anyone have positive experiences of using mirrorless cameras for aviation photography?

I seemed to have serious dust problems when I started using my Nikon Z6ll and paid to have the sensor cleaned both in Vauxhall (Fixation), London and Shinjuku (Nikon), Tokyo. After discussing this with my host in Tokyo who works for Canon, I tried blowing fairly gently with a rubber jet blower across the sensor and found this is quite effective. I believe that the Z8 has a sensor shield. Whilst there have been some problems with early supplies of the Z8, it features aircraft tracking and I believe this has migrated to the Z9 recently.

I'm very impressed with the amount of light that is getting onto the Z6ll sensor and this has caused me to adjust my exposure settings. Meanwhile I'm hanging onto my D500 and 500mm lens (giving 750mm) which is great for airshows where I want more reach.

If you do move from Nikon to Canon, bear in mind that you need to re-learn the ergonomics as many things will be the opposite from what you are used to.

[DadatLBA]

I recently changed from DSLR to mirrorless. I looked at Canon, Fuji and Nikon After handling most of my short listed camera I decided that muscle memory was a very important factor and stayed with my existing brand (Canon). Buttons were in the wrong places on Fuji and Nikon and the focus / zoom worked backwards.

Now a Happy owner of a R6II, no dust problems at all, but the R6II is fitted with a sensor shield.

I would not go back to a DSLR, but one word of warning for those who wear glasses all the time. If you shoot with glasses on, the electronic viewfinder can be difficult to see in very bright light. The solution is to wear a wide brimmed hat!