Starting Fresh

I haven’t picked up a DSLR in 2 or 3 years, after lugging a bunch of gear around Europe for a month and barely taking a photo I realized I was a little over photography. With another little one on the way I’m thinking about dipping my toes back in the water.

I sold off all my Canon gear (1DX with a bunch of L lenses) but kept all my filters, lighting, tripods, bags etc.

I’ll mostly be taking pics of the family and friends and will do a little bit of travel stuff on holidays, with my oldest turning 4 this month and starting school next year there might be some kids sports stuff on the horizon.

What’s the latest and greatest in the world of DSLR’s? If you could start again what would system would you invest in? I’m thinking of grabbing another Canon body with a couple of good zooms and a prime or two but would love to hear some opinions to do a little research on before splurging.

If I had to start all over again, I'd buy Canon again. Been shooting Canon digital for about 9 years, and no big complaints.

How demanding will you be?? I'm assuming your use to top level IQ and performance.

Well let me tell you about the Sony A73. Last night I picked up this sony body and even with Canon adapted lenses I am incredibly impressed with it. Movie wise my sigma Mc-11 adapter and canon glass doesn't really seem to work for video. However for static to slow moving I'm getting very good results with adapted glass. Putting native sony glass I'll have to say there will be no problems for your needs.

I'll stress I am not justifying the purchase of the sony. Comparing the A7iii to my 5dmk4 I'll have to say I'm extremely shocked in how I'm getting virtually better/on par performance from a cheaper sony body.

If you used a 1dx you'll need to look into a 5dm3 bare minimum in a smaller mirrored body to be almost as good as the 1dx you are use to. If you want to go Canon crop sensor the 80D and aging 7dmk2 will be a very responsive Canon body but you'll take a hit on image quality.

I absolutely love my fuji system but the AF response and the processor in the camera body still feels slower than a mirrored canon body. The IQ will impress you with literally full frame image quality and great dynamic range. I still feel the fuji sensor to produce better IQ than Canon crop. LR is "OK" for processing the fuji RAW. I still prefer a micro adjusted mirrored 5dmk3 for iq and response but this is just me. AF is getting better with fuji but your preference and tolerance will be the deciding factor. For events photography I still prefer and rely on Canon full frame.

I love my 5dmk4 but after I tested a Sony A7iii at a sony demo before it hit the market......oh myyyyyyyy what a camera body.

I'd urge you to test the Sony A7iii before you drop $$$ on a 5dmk4.

Please excuse my iphone 8+ photo!

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

If I were starting over, the Nikon D850 would be my top choice. It has to be the finest body both in features and IQ out there. The Sony Ar7III would be my second choice though the lenses are still a bit costly and the Canon 5DIV choice #3.

If I was starting over now I wouldn't even look at a DSLR. My Fuji's are excellent and the Sony's kick some butt as well. Flapping mirrors are OTW out like the dodo.

gjl711 wrote in post #18606393
If I were starting over, the Nikon D850 would be my top choice. It has to be the finest body both in features and IQ out there. The Sony Ar7III would be my second choice though the lenses are still a bit costly and the Canon 5DIV choice #3.

I agree the D850 is a great example of hardcore mirrored goodness.

The thing I'm now seeing is that non professional application from demanding hobbyist the mirrored bodies seems to be big enough to leaving them at home.

I would say the 5dmk4 would be a better choice over the Nikon D850..why???? dual pixel AF for video family documentation. The OP's eldest is turning 4. I'm a father of 3 girls and I know the importance of video documentation be it small clips or lengthy video. Live view implementation of the Canon touch screen and DPAF is still superior over Nikon even including the D850 IMO.

Sony AF eye focus for landing shots has impressed me so much that I kinda wish the Nikon and Canon mirrored has such a feature that is that good in performance.

I've only had the A7iii for about 24hrs and it's definitely a serious contender for family/hard core hobbyists to pros. 24MP uncompressed still produces relatively big 14 bit files IIRC. A7Riii is another sony body I'd like to buy on my shortlist but I'm not sure how I'll deal with my hardrive capacity. My 4 bay 6TB nas is already full

It'd be cool for the OP to test all 3 and hear what they say about form factor and functionality. The Sony A7iii with 25 f/2 batis and Sony 85 f/1.8 is a very small form factor setup. Even the Sony 16-35 f/4 is a reasonable size. G master f/2.8 glass is $$$ but all depends on the OP's budget.

All I know is I use my 5dmk4 as a benchmark to my A7iii and Fuji. I'm totally shocked in how much I like the performance speed of the Sony. Fuji may be another alternative for the op for the huge selection of glass. Now that I have an A7iii I feel a 2 small prime set and adapted Canon 16-35 f/2.8 mk2 is more versatile than my fuji kit.

The OP must test, test and test. He will never know till he tries...............

I have seen many threads "my kid is four now, it is sport at school, I need latest and greatest"....
At the final decision (checkout) it is so personal...
And it is not about gear anymore, but how you are dedicated into photography.

I have family, friends and our youngest one is in KG school. By now all of it is taken by mobile phones. Anyone with it is taking photos and videos. No special guy with DSLR is needed. Instantly taken and instantly shared.
Super image quality is up to you. Do you really need it with DSLR, lights hasle? It is not just about size, but more about past century AF, IMO.
Few days ago I watched Nikon Coolpix A (old P&S advanced camera) AF tracking performance. It just so up to date. DSLR AF isn't. MFT's seems to be is. It is tiny and ISO is good enough now. And some entry Fuji X 500$ camera/lens kit has TTL build-in flash... so great...

Thanks for your replies. I’m leaning towards a Canon 5d4, im familiar with Canon and all my lighting will sync. Going to look at Nikon D850 and the Sony A7iii too.

El Pedro wrote in post #18606304
I haven’t picked up a DSLR in 2 or 3 years, after lugging a bunch of gear around Europe for a month and barely taking a photo I realized I was a little over photography. With another little one on the way I’m thinking about dipping my toes back in the water.

I sold off all my Canon gear (1DX with a bunch of L lenses) but kept all my filters, lighting, tripods, bags etc.

I’ll mostly be taking pics of the family and friends and will do a little bit of travel stuff on holidays, with my oldest turning 4 this month and starting school next year there might be some kids sports stuff on the horizon.

What’s the latest and greatest in the world of DSLR’s? If you could start again what would system would you invest in? I’m thinking of grabbing another Canon body with a couple of good zooms and a prime or two but would love to hear some opinions to do a little research on before splurging.

Look for a small, light, mirrorless body and small lenses. Something quiet, inconspicuous, light weight and fun. You'll use it all the time.

I still shoot a 1D and L telephotos for birds and outdoor stuff.

But my every day is a Fuji system. The Fuji X100S goes with us everywhere. And the Fuji X-T1 with a couple of short fast primes are for the rest. Shooting is such a pleasure with quiet operation (my kids don't hear clack clack clack as I'm shooting, so they don't notice I took a shot, and I keep the candid moment), small and light weight (unlike my previous 5D and big L primes; I honestly do not miss my 5D & 135L combination at this point) so I don't lug stuff around and I don't need huge bags and stuff, it slips into a coat pocket, yet it's still a real camera and outputs great raw files (and has really great JPG output if wanted).

Try a few of the new mirrorless options out there. Sony. Fuji. Keep it simple. You may like the quiet, small (and keep the glass small!) kits for when you're with your family and don't want to be the "camera guy" with a big loud heavy thing clacking in their faces or from 20+ feet away not involved with them.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/ZYvf​QL

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/HuQ8​oe

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/23CC​Zxb

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/235k​XRZ

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/23mc​HQg

El Pedro wrote in post #18606566
Thanks for your replies. I’m leaning towards a Canon 5d4, im familiar with Canon and all my lighting will sync. Going to look at Nikon D850 and the Sony A7iii too.

What kind of lighting do you have???

Also do you shoot paid events?

I still gravitate to my Canon bodies as the mirrored system does not really hunt in low light. Also the mirrored bodies utilize the red focus assist from the external flash so BAM you take the shot and no hesitation in AF. Mirrorless doesn't utilize this light to help focus assist.

I know a 5dmk4 owner also owning A9 still understands that the Canon does not hiccup in low light shooting. But the benefits of the overall performance of the Sony system still can outweigh a heavier canon 5dmk4.

I can now shoot my new A7iii with a decent amount of confidence with a brief time customizing and setting up my favourites tab. I've been a Canon user for a very long time. Any human can adapt to different menu systems It's really not that hard with the changes sony has done to the menu's.

I also shoot fuji. At this moment in time I feel it's imperative to go to the X-H1 to get the maximum performance out of that system. Fuji will be introducing a fresh new firmware to a lot of their bodies to improve the AF system and add features. Fuji is really good to support older bodies but i think it's intended to retain fuji user's happiness. Kaizen firmware is coming up soon so the X-t2, Xpro2 and many other bodies will benefit (undetermined by real life users but that's what the rumour is saying).

In my particular case the Fuji AF is great for majority of my secondary system needs. Travel and enjoyment the Fuji is fantastic. Paid events my Canon system comes out with utmost confidence and AF does NOT ever fail me. I cannot say the same for Fuji. However as you can see since I've deemed my Fuji as a secondary system this system is great for my intended purposes. Some can use the fuji system professionally so everyone is different.

Fuji colour science is well cooked and beautiful with little manipulation in post. Massaging a Fuji raw file gets great richness and colours. There is no doubt Fuji R&D puts great effort in getting the most out of SOOC straight out of camera files vs Canon, Nikon and Sony. It's very obvious fuji outputs eyecandy even in RAW form. This isn't regurgitating internet talk either as I shoot 3 systems now.

By all means poke around at a camera store and test all kinds of systems. Nikon D850 is truly a better camera than my 5dmk4 IMO but the Canon eco system of lenses keeps me happy with Canon's colour science and familiarity. If your willing to go nikon it's simply not as good in video than the 5dmk4 dual pixel AF in video.

What focal lengths do you need?? what zooms? primes???

kf095 wrote in post #18606480
I have family, friends and our youngest one is in KG school. By now all of it is taken by mobile phones. Anyone with it is taking photos and videos. No special guy with DSLR is needed. Instantly taken and instantly shared.
Super image quality is up to you. Do you really need it with DSLR, lights hasle? It is not just about size, but more about past century AF, IMO.
Few days ago I watched Nikon Coolpix A (old P&S advanced camera) AF tracking performance. It just so up to date. DSLR AF isn't. MFT's seems to be is. It is tiny and ISO is good enough now. And some entry Fuji X 500$ camera/lens kit has TTL build-in flash... so great...

Nothing other than a dSLR/mirrorless with long lens (or a bridge camera with superzoom), can reduce the distance from camera to subject running in field sports (the smartphone is so useless for that)!

These shots of XT-1 systems makes me long for the compactness of my Olympus OM system in digital...not sure that I would be content (yet) given the enumerated shortcomings of the Fuji. Maybe one day...

I came, like many, from 35mm digital with the best lenses to shooting with a small mirrorless system. I don’t miss the Canon at all. I have two kids that are busy doing all the things active kids do and have no problems getting them in focus, even when they are running about, with my Fuji setup. Plus the camera and lenses are smaller and lighter so it’s much easier to have room for more when we are out. Today I was shooting a wakeboarder and every shot was in focus. Every one.

There are a lot of advantages in having a mirrorless camera these days the lack of bulk is only one