Hi there…I recently started a pixelfed.social account and got a little excited about photography…I don’t have alot of money and sometimes I get excited about new hobbies, and then they fade. I am looking for advice on buying a “sorta” decent digital camera, but not something that will break my bank if I ultimately lose interest. I guess, I’m looking for “starter gear” suggestions. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for any advice.
best starter gear is used gear!
I recommend to get an used mirrorless crop sensor camera as those are the cheapest options available. Then start with a lens or two depending which type of photography you’re into and you’re good to go.
Personally I recommendd the Sony a5100 or a6000 as starters as they run great in full auto mode and settings can be adjusted manually all the way until fully manual mode.
Depending on where you live, E mount lenses can be plentiful in the second hand market, thus being cheaper than other options
I second a6000, I started on that and it’s a pretty decent entry level camera. I think Sony replaced it with a6600 now, but they’re priced similarly.
Was gonna suggest the same. Even the early Sony NEX (eg nex5) are still pretty capable cameras to get started with.
In addition, cameras with lens mounts close to the focal plane (sensor), such as E mount, allow you to buy cheap adapters for old manual-focus SLR lenses - so you can use whatever interesting old low-f-stop lenses turn up in your local thrift store etc.
I have a CY adapter for this very reason, last month I picked up a 50mm/1.4f Yashica lens for under €50
Thank you for that detailed reply. I’ll start searching for next pay period.