[AnandB]

Originally Posted by jaaz

How about Sony FE 70–200 mm F2.8 GM OSS II Lens. Has anyone used it. Where can we find good renting options in Bangalore for the above Lens? Price is north of $3,000/-.

Wide angle lens can be too intrusive for instantaneous or spontaneous family/wedding photos.

You can get a Sigma 28-70mm F/2.8 DG DN Contemporay for medium zoom and Tamron 70-300mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD for super zoom. I use both and are great tbh. Ofcourse low light will not be good for Tamron but its nice for daytime shooting and incredibly lightweight.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by jaaz

How about Sony FE 70–200 mm F2.8 GM OSS II Lens. Has anyone used it. Where can we find good renting options in Bangalore for the above Lens? Price is north of $3,000/-.

Originally Posted by AnandB

You can get a Sigma 28-70mm F/2.8 DG DN Contemporay for medium zoom and Tamron 70-300mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD for super zoom.

You can get Tamron 70-180/2.8 at less than 1/3 the cost. I think it is much lighter too.

I have the 2.8 Tamrons: 17-70 (apsc model) and 70-180 (full frame) which I use on my Sony aps-c. I think they do a FF wide zoom. If I wanted a single lens for a wedding, I think I'd take the wide zoom.

[Amil]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

I came across an amazing deal on this 24-240 super zoom on Amazon.

Despite the deal, I'm not convinced whether spending half a lac on a lens for a camera I hardly use is a wise idea.

Even if you don't like it much, you will still be able to sell it around 50k easily.. Use it for couple of months and then sell it off.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

It probably isn't a good idea, but hey, you got a great bargain. The downside of that do-everything superzoom would be the size and weight, whereas a do-many-things standard zoom would be more likely to be taken out. An 17-70/2.8 is now my always-on-the-camera lens.

Bad idea it indeed was. It's not that huge, but is very heavy (780g, says the specs). I have to hold it by the lens and not the camera body. It's definitely not an everyday lens.

Originally Posted by Amil

Even if you don't like it much, you will still be able to sell it around 50k easily.. Use it for couple of months and then sell it off.

Yes, am gonna keep it for a couple of months and then take a call. I haven't tried clicking a lot of pics with it. Will take it out for a shooting session during the weekend and see if I like it any better.

[Amil]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Will take it out for a shooting session during the weekend and see if I like it any better.

Good luck mate, although you probably wont.. Usually these all in one kinda lenses don't produce tasteful images. Which camera body do you currently have?

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by Amil

Good luck mate, although you probably wont.. Usually these all in one kinda lenses don't produce tasteful images. Which camera body do you currently have?

The vanilla A7. It does not gave IBS, and that is why I went for this lens which has OSS, as I don't have a steady hand.

[AG-D]

Background
My earliest memory of handling a camera goes back to my kid days, clicking the shutter release of my father’s Kiev 4 film camera. It is full manual camera with rangefinder focus. He used to set up the focus, aperture and shutter speed while explaining how it works and let me click. That camera is still functional but not operational due to unavailability of film roll.



At some point in time, we moved on to digital point and shoot cameras due to its convenience and the Canon PowerShot SX240 HS was my first camera that I bought with my salary when it came out. I still use it but mobile phone camera has majorly taken over. Both of us miss the good old days though we didn’t want to invest in an EVIL camera system since what we have is sufficient to capture the memories.

When we were purchasing our car, I opted to downgrade to a non-sunroof version and casually mentioned that with the money here saved let’s get a camera. I didn’t miss the glint in my fathers’ eye before he quickly dismissed it as another waste pit I would be jumping into. Now that the initial stress from the big ticket purchase has eased, I am seriously considering getting a mirrorless camera.

Use cases / requirement
The camera would be accompanying us on our social meets. We, the father son duo will also plan photo walks like we used to do earlier and hopefully my kid will also join in few quick ones if he gets the interest. We will also take it on our holidays, and it would be more of landscapes and less of wildlife.

My wife is a singer and performs on YouTube/Facebook live as well as on stage. We will use the camera for video and will need clean HDMI output. 4K is only needed for recording of stage events with no need of post processing. Rare use of 60p if she want to do any slow motion in her videos.

We plan to purchase lenses for the most common focal lengths and rent for the rest of the use cases. So will prefer brands which can easily rented in Bangalore and Kolkata. Also for the standard zooms I am preferring to have constant f-stop across the focal range. I believe f4 would be comfortable and anything lower will impact the overall budget and would be heavier impacting travel comfort. But open to inputs and experiences. Prefer Nikon as few in our close family already have Nikon (though DSLR) lenses which I can adapt.

Plan
I am aiming for a budget of 2.2 L however 2.5L would be kind of a mental hard stop. Following are the options that I have in my mind. Have already checked out the Z6ii and felt nice ergonomically.

• Nikon
  • Z6ii kitted with 24 – 70 mm f4/S lens
  • 50mm f1.8/S
  • FTZ adapter (optional)
• Sony
  • A7M3 body
  • Sony Zeiss 24 – 70 mm f4 lens
  • Sony FE 50mm f1.8

Feature wise Nikon felt the best fit for my use and budget but open to suggestions. Any combination from Canon that you can suggest. I can wait for few months before I jump in.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Any reason not to consider Canon? I see people using Canons for videos. second, do look at how these perform in audio capture. Since you mention stage performances, you'll appreciate good multi channel audio capture capabilities without all the noilse.

[AG-D]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Any reason not to consider Canon? .. you'll appreciate good multi channel audio capture capabilities without all the noise.

Thanks for the suggestions. I presume you are suggesting Canon cinema systems. How much I yearn for it, unfortunately those systems are way beyond my capabilities (read budget, mastery and utility). However do correct me if am misinformed and there are systems within my budget or forward-looking considerations. I did consider the Canon EOS R6 however the native standard zoom (RF24-105mm f/4L IS USM) is severely impacting the overall budget. Sony A7M4 felt a better alternative than the Canon EOS R6. For capturing stage performance I am planning to use the Rode Video Mic Go.

[deetee]

Originally Posted by AG-D

Background

• Nikon
  • Z6ii kitted with 24 – 70 mm f4/S lens
  • 50mm f1.8/S
  • FTZ adapter (optional)
• Sony
  • A7M3 body
  • Sony Zeiss 24 – 70 mm f4 lens
  • Sony FE 50mm f1.8

I have used sony a7 series extensively but I don't have any hands-on experience with Nikon Z. From what I experienced, Sony 24-70mm f4 and 50mm 1.8 are lenses not worth 'paying' for. It's ok, if you got them free in a bundle and you couldn't exchange or cash them in any other way. Their performance is just average (in some copies, poor as well) compared to better options in the lineup. My suggestion would be to buy the body only and pair it with a tamron 2.8 zoom if you are on budget.

[AG-D]

Originally Posted by deetee

My suggestion would be to buy the body only and pair it with a tamron 2.8 zoom if you are on budget.

That was a good piece of advice. I spoke to a few friends and most leaned towards the Sony A7 for its autofocus and third-party lens support and the Tamron 2.8. Ultimately blew up my budget and got the A7M4 and Tamron 28-75 2.8 G2. Till now the experience is quite remarkable.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by AG-D

Thanks for the suggestions. I presume you are suggesting Canon cinema systems. How much I yearn for it, unfortunately those systems are way beyond my capabilities (read budget, mastery and utility).

At a function i attended just before the pandemic, I noticed that the crew of 4 photographers were using Canon DSLRs for videography and Nikon for stills. They told that canon is better at videos. Those were normal full frame dslrs. But I forget the exact model.

[Artyom]

Guys I am looking for a shoulder bag which I can use to carry my Sony A6660 camera with 18-135 Lens and Sigma 30mm Lens while traveling on foot.I am not planning to buy any more lenses so a bag which can accommodate the camera and 2 lenses and the charger will suffice.Any recommendations would be appreciated.Also in Bangalore where can i get these bags locally?

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by Artyom

Guys I am looking for a shoulder bag which I can use to carry my Sony A6660 camera with 18-135 Lens and Sigma 30mm

I use an Amazon basics sling bag. It has a single strap and you put it across your back and bag lies diagonally.

It is VFM, but a proper 2 strap backpack would be more comfortable. The size specifications on the listings mention the number of cameras and lenses. Make your choice.

[rjainv]

Originally Posted by Artyom

Guys I am looking for a shoulder bag which I can use to carry my Sony A6660 camera with 18-135 Lens and Sigma 30mm Lens while traveling on foot.I am not planning to buy any more lenses so a bag which can accommodate the camera and 2 lenses and the charger will suffice.Any recommendations would be appreciated.Also in Bangalore where can i get these bags locally?

I have same camera kit + same additional prime lens ( and one godox flash).

I use lowepro messenger bag, and love it.
Lowepro Event Messenger 100 Shoulder Bag (Black) https://amzn.eu/d/5dA3A6w