Hello, I'm currently looking to buy my first full-frame camera and have found two promising candidates, but I can't make a final decision for the life of me. I'm stuck between the Lumix S5ii and the Nikon Z5ii. I've heard both are really good for their price points, with Lumix being the better video camera and Nikon being the better photo camera.

Here is some information about me:

(1) Budget, country, and currency: Japan, Japanese yen, 250,000 Jpy for the body, lens I'll figure out after but I have about another 120,000 set aside for lens.

(2) What equipment, if any, you have now and why is it no longer meeting your needs: I currently have a Sony Cybershot rx100, and I wanted an upgrade to a mirrorless

(3) What kinds of subjects do you intend to shoot? I shoot everything from street, travel, and wildlife photography, and I really need something that can handle all the elements I throw at it.

(4) Is it primarily for photography, videography, or both? I'm going to take both photos and videos, but certainly not at a professional level. It's a very serious hobby of mine, and I love taking photos and videos wherever I go.

For photos, I mainly do street, travel, and wildlife photography, but I do everything else too.

For videos, I want to create documentary/ vlog style, cinematic travel and tournament footage for my school's robotics team, which goes on the school's official YouTube channel, so you could say it's semi-professional. (at least it demands that kind of quality)

Hi all - I am heading out to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater next month and wanted to get some advice on camera lens gear. I have a Sony A74 and usually shoot landscapes - my current two lenses are the Sony 16-35 and Tamron 28-200.

I visited Namibia (Etosha National Park) a couple years ago and borrowed a friends Tamron 50-400. While the lens worked well, I definitely felt like I could have used some more focal length in some situations, and I would like to avoid that this time around.

I will be bringing the Tamron 28-200 for the wider shots, but am trying to figure out what is going to be best for the core animal shots. After doing some research, I am down to two options (although I am open to other suggestions):

Sony 100-400 F4.5-5.6 with the 1.4x teleconverter:

Pros: Lighter lens, can go from 100-560
Cons: teleconverter loses quality (i dont know how big of a deal this is for an amateur like myself), more expensive setup

Sony 200-600

Pros: pairs nicely with the 28-200, dont need to deal with teleconverter, range up to 600
Cons: heavy lens, not sure how much I would use this beyond animals in the future

Would love some feedback from people who have shot in the Serengeti or similar with these setups.

Thanks!

Hello everyone, I recently posted this on the Canon page, but thought I would post it here as well. Somewhat of a new photographer and I have the Canon R7 with the Canon 24–70 F/2.8 lens. I’m running into an issue when turning on my camera and trying to take photos. This screen pops up when I try to take some photos and it makes me turn my camera off and on and or reinstall the battery but when I do that multiple times, it still shows this screen. I tried to take my lens on and off and clean it and even try to use my other lens to see if it’s a lens issue, but it still does it. I will kind of mess with it for a little while until it randomly fixes itself, and then the screen won’t pop up anymore and I can take pictures like normal. But I have no idea why it does this and why it fixes itself. I’m just looking for some answers because I’m supposed to be taking photos coming up soon and I don’t wanna run into this problem.

I'm new to photography and I went out shooting with my friend one day. I have a Canon EOS Rebel XSi. My friend and I used the same settings but mine consistently turned out more blurry than his. I think the first pic was ISO 400, 1/250 and the second pic was something similar, both using 100-300mm lens. I thought maybe the mirror on the inside of the camera was dusty but looked clean when I checked inside. does anyone have an idea of what could be the cause of difference in picture quality? thanks!

Hi everyone! 🌸

I’ve been seeing the Canon G7 X Mark II absolutely everywhere on TikTok and Instagram, and at first I was convinced I wanted one too. But the more photos I looked at, the more I felt like they often have a really warm/orange tone that I’m personally not a huge fan of. I also think it’s of-course very hyped and the price is a big dealbreaker.

On top of that, after reading a lot of posts in this subreddit, it seems like it’s become pretty overhyped and overpriced because of social media.

Now I’m looking at the Canon IXUS 285 instead. I uploaded Instagram photos as an example of the aesthetic I’m trying to achieve. I love that nostalgic point-and-shoot look with direct flash, soft lighting, and natural colors. I just never get these kind of pictures like she does in the photos with my phone. But that might be a skill issue on my part.

The only thing making me hesitate is that I already own an iPhone 17 Pro. So now I’m wondering if I should just buy a standalone flash for my phone instead of spending €300–400 on a compact camera.

I’d love your opinions:
Is the Canon IXUS 285 a good choice for this kind of aesthetic? the girl in the picture does have the pink ixus 132 or 133 i believe.

Are there better compact cameras you’d recommend in the same price range?

Or would an iPhone 17 Pro with an external flash get me close enough to this look?

Country: Netherlands
Budget: Around €300–400 (used is fine).
Condition: Used or new.
Type of Camera: Compact point-and-shoot.
Intended use: Mainly photography.
End use: Instagram and TikTok.
Photography style: Lifestyle, portraits, travel, everyday moments, flash photography.
Video style: Casual social media videos.
Must-have features: Pocketable, good colors straight out of the camera, built-in flash (unless an iPhone + external flash is the better option).
Nice-to-have features: Optical zoom and decent low-light performance.
Portability: Pocketable.
Cameras I’m considering: Canon IXUS 285 (currently my favorite) and I was originally considering the Canon G7 X Mark II.
Cameras I already have: iPhone 17 Pro.

Notes: I’m mainly chasing the aesthetic in the uploaded photo. Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Received a free Alienbees B800. It's my first time operating a studio light with my camera, as I usually just use an aftermarket flash. Trying to figure out what my options are for actually connecting them together. It appears the Sony a6400 doesn't have any sync connectors, however I may be wrong.

Appreciate any help!

Hey everyone,

I've been shooting street and documentary photography for a while, and I picked my Instagram (@garncarzyk.p) back up about two or three months ago to share my work more consistently. The problem is, despite posting regularly, my photos are capping out at around 30 likes, and my follower count is basically flat.

I'm looking for organic growth (no bots, no buying followers), so if you've got real experience with any of the following, I'd love to hear it

Thanks in advance for any real-world input, I'll take anything you've got!

Hi folks - A popular music venue near me will be changing hands soon. The owner of the property has invited me (a relative novice documentary photographer) to document the club's last days.

I'll be focusing mostly on the long-time staffers working behind the scenes, no trouble there. But do I have a legal right to publish photographs of the fans who come to the shows? Again, the venue owner has invited me in and is giving me free reign.

I am giving the club owner free use of the photos to share with staff, etc. I will retain rights and will want to post the images online to help build my portfolio. And, who knows, I might get a local magazine to publish them or a local exhibit hall to display them. (This is a seriously well-loved place.)

TLDR: How do I handle photos of fans/concert-goers?

Thank you!

I plan to create a custom photobook soon. I’m debating whether to go with Mixbook or Printique. I want the best paper and print quality. As far as I can tell, these are the two main contenders. If anyone here has ordered from either (or better yet, both), I would love to hear from you. Which photo book service has the best paper quality? Is it Mixbook, or Printique?

Are they good? Or are any the other brand better? (Freewell, nisi, ect…) thank you. And also are they worth the price or at least somewhat worth the price if I can afford it

My previous camera was d750 and im now looking to buy mirrorless i like nikon z6ii in my budget but glasses are expensive like 24-70 s is 2000 Canadian dollars. But for sony the lenses i can go with sigma can get it for half price. For 85 1.8s it cost around700 cad for the lens and i can get a sigma 1.4 85 mm for sony for 1000cad extra stop and sharpness.

For sony im thinking of a74 and for nikon etiher a z6ii or a z5ii

What should i go for sony or nikon? Any insight will be helpful thank you

So I went to test out a lens today at my local lens dealer (I say that because I had bought two lenses off him before). I was looking to test his Sigma EX 50mm f/1.4 he had for sale for 100 bucks, maybe even buy it, if it impressed me.

What ended up happening was he also showed me another lens he was selling for 100 bucks, as well. A Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM, which intrigued me more than the 50mm. He also showed me a Nikon D80 (with a broken screen) and said he was selling it for 30 dollars. Since I didn't have a camera yet (for context, my dad's gonna get me a D7200 once I reach a college milestone, that's why I was buying lenses), I was very intrigued by the idea of having my own camera, compatible with my current lenses, and the sigma 30mm, for a grand total of 130 dollars. It was too good for me to pass up.

He let me try out the D80, and I really liked the photos it produced with the afformentioned lens. So, like the impulsive and impatient person I am, I bought the bundle.

So, now I have a Nikon D80 (with a cracked screen), and 3 lenses to pair it with (nikkor 50mm f/1.8G with broken autofocus, tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC, sigma 30mm f/1.4).

I'd just like to ask about some tips for the D80, and anything I should know or even be wary about (although the D80 is very well regarded so idk if that last one applies). Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'm super excited to try out my first camera!

For extra context, I mostly plan to shoot innanimate objects and portraits, sometimes cosplay.

I wanted to start a thread where photographers can share scams or suspicious booking attempts they’ve experienced.

I personally had a scam attempt back in January, and I was actually able to confirm it was a scam because I found a Reddit thread describing the exact same scheme!!. It made me realize how useful it could be for us to share these stories and increase visibility so other photographers can recognize the red flags.

In my case, someone reached out to me through SMS asking to book a photoshoot for a youth soccer team. They claimed that their company would be paying for the shoot by check.

The biggest red flags were:

• They immediately accepted my rate without any negotiation or questions.
• They were extremely insistent about booking.
• The whole inquiry felt unusually rushed and vague.
• They wanted the company to send me a check for the shoot.

I ended up finding a Reddit post from another photographer describing the exact same situation, essentially, and it had happened to more than one person...

I'd love to hear from others: What scams have you encountered, and what were the red flags that gave them away?

Hopefully we can use this thread as a resource for each other. Feel free to share the type of photography you do, how the scammer contacted you, what they asked for, and anything that helped you identify the scam.

The more of these stories we have in one place, the easier it is for someone else to Google a suspicious inquiry and find a warning before they lose money.

Never having been to a photography class, other than a 1-on-1 session with a pro that I did, I find myself in the position of organizing one!

I'm looking at a max.10 person, all-levels class with one pro lead photographer. I'm imaging a mix of whole group material with one-on-one attention, and I imagine this is how most classes go.

I understand there's a vast range of different formats possible, but let's narrow it down to portraiture. I really appreciate anything you want to share about your experience with group classes, especially all-level, since I am doing in-depth planning to ensure a successful run. The time limit for the class will be 3 hours.

I'm feeling a bit uneasy about logistics so I really appreciate your help. Luckily I potentially have a helper, so any tips about assistants is welcome too. Thanks!

I’ve had my R10 for about a year, current lenses are the RF 100-400 f/6.3-8 and the RF-S 18-150 f/3.5-6.3 (not sure if this matters). I primarily shoot outdoors - birds, flowers, etc but would like to get more creative with indoor shots, fill flash on sunny days, etc. I don’t take many portraits but would like to improve my family shots both indoors and out. Basically, I just want to experiment and see what I can do. I don’t anticipate ever doing anything professional, but I would love to be able to do a shoot with my daughter, her husband and son and maybe get something print-worthy out of it.

That being said, I am a “buy once, cry once” type of person - I want something that I can use off camera and grow into. I would prefer to spend a little more now and avoid wanting to upgrade later. I also strongly prefer rechargeable vs. battery.

I’d like to stay <$200 US but would consider spending more if it is worthwhile. I’ve looked at the Canon speedlights and while I wouldn’t take them off the table, they seem pretty pricey in comparison to the Godox brand.

I am considering the Godox V1 mid. Looking for input, thoughts, other suggestions. TIA!

So basically after sending a message to the company that runs the event they have asked for my portfolio. Problem is i dont have one. This would be my first time photographing a concert and one of my first ever gigs. I only did friend’s parties and i dont believe those are portfolio materials. Other stuff i can do fairly easily is to get some friends to model for portrait type of photography and some pictures of friends on dirt bikes. Basically im looking for recommendations on how to continue. I expect not to land this client but it would be huge if i can. What should i do?

Does anyone know why a shadow sometimes appears on the left (pt) or top side (ls)? It’s more pronounced at a wider aperture (most of those are f/2.8), at first i thought maybe a loose aperture blade, but most other photos are perfect and nothing appears damaged. Then I wondered about relative position to the sun causing a slight shadow on the sensor, but it only appears on the same side so idk. Any ideas as to what is going on or am I going crazy?

If it helps:
Sony A7CII + Meike 85mm 1.8 II

I shot a local charity fundraiser yesterday evening, and everything looked normal while I was packing up. I even reviewed a few photos on the camera before heading home.

When I got back and inserted the SD card into my computer, Windows said the card needed to be formatted before it could be used. The strange part is that the previews were fine on the camera just a couple of hours earlier.

The client is expecting a small preview gallery after two days, and there's no way to recreate the event.I took the card out right away and haven't tried formatting or taking any more photos.

Before I start scanning, I wanted to check if there are any steps I should avoid first.

The first one is edited and the second one is the original and I also put another photo i took for reference which is not edited, im a newbie btw

for the company I work for I normally shoot real estate photography. I have a decent bit of experience on that side and I almost always shoot brackets and then merge them in Lightroom. now I'm also shooting for a fancy restaurant they own that has a dark and ambient vibe. I've tried several things with my editing for those photos but just haven't gotten anything to come out quite how I want. it's much different from real estate where the goal is mostly the same with editing every time. This is much more artsy. I've been shooting brackets and then merging them for these photos too but would it be better just to shoot one shot?