What camera is best for creating awesome photos and videos?

[BreeGranger]

Hello everyone, I'm in the market for a new camera. My budget is around $500 and I am looking for something that will take good pictures (after some practice) and good video.

I have a vanilla blog I want to take awesome pictures for but I also want to get a camera that will be able to take some good videos to sell on my camming site and C4S. I film with a green screen so it needs to be able to handle the colors well so I can add in a background during my post production.

I would like it to be semi light as I want to bring it traveling with me, but that's not a huge must have. I'm interested in learning more about photography and videography as a hobby so it doesn't need to be ready to use right out of the box, but I would prefer something that I can follow tutorials online and things of that nature so I can actually figure things out.

Right now the two I have come up with is the Canon Rebel T6 (there is a $450 set with this camera at Costco I'm looking at) and the Sony a5100 mirrorless camera (because its light but still has good quality). I would prefer to stay away from point and shoot cameras as they are so tiny and easily lost.

Anyone with more photography/videography experience have any advice for me? Thanks!

 

[Snowie1969]

For that money you can buy an entry level DSLR camera like a Nikon D3400 or a Canon EOS1300D. You can also get a decent hybrid camera for that like a Sony A6000 or a Canon EOS M100 or a Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G7. I also always recommend to have a look at a local pawn shop what they may have. In any case, if you stick to Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic or Fujifilm, you can't go wrong

 

[Dan N]

Canon for best performance, but I'd suggest you to get familiar with camera kits (canon objectives / lens) because its not enough to have the best camera but using the wrong lens.
To be frank, with latest technology at your fingertips, some iPhone devices can compete with a camera regarding photo quality.
Good luck

 

[DickMagnificent]

I agree with both posts above me! That said though, both the cameras you're looking at, the T6 and a5100, are on the low end of entry level cameras. And while the bundles probably do come with the extra zoom lens, they aren't worth it at that price.

I'm a huge Sony fan boy so I have to personally recommend the a6000. You can grab a used body and kit lens, with a little effort, on Ebay for around $350 and it will give you quite a few more features/upgrades for the money. My first camera was a Canon T3i back when it was new, then upgraded to the a6000 and still use it as a backup to my a7iii. Then that also being said, Sony's lenses are more expensive than Canon's equivalent.

If you decide to go the Canon route though, jump back a generation and grab the t5i. Roughly the same price as the a6000 on ebay with the kit lens. I think the only thing you lose to the t6 is the built in wifi, but gain auto-focus while in video mode and slight upgrades everywhere else.

It's been a hot minute since I've done extensive research on any of these cameras, but hopefully it helps you make a informed choice

tldr; a6000>T5i>t6>a5100 and throw the extra money toward an extra lens like a flat 50mm

 

[BreeGranger]

I agree with both posts above me! That said though, both the cameras you're looking at, the T6 and a5100, are on the low end of entry level cameras. And while the bundles probably do come with the extra zoom lens, they aren't worth it at that price.

I'm a huge Sony fan boy so I have to personally recommend the a6000. You can grab a used body and kit lens, with a little effort, on Ebay for around $350 and it will give you quite a few more features/upgrades for the money. My first camera was a Canon T3i back when it was new, then upgraded to the a6000 and still use it as a backup to my a7iii. Then that also being said, Sony's lenses are more expensive than Canon's equivalent.

If you decide to go the Canon route though, jump back a generation and grab the t5i. Roughly the same price as the a6000 on ebay with the kit lens. I think the only thing you lose to the t6 is the built in wifi, but gain auto-focus while in video mode and slight upgrades everywhere else.

It's been a hot minute since I've done extensive research on any of these cameras, but hopefully it helps you make a informed choice

tldr; a6000>T5i>t6>a5100 and throw the extra money toward an extra lens like a flat 50mm

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear from someone. Thank you so much! I think I will get the a6000 used on Ebay as the price is about the same as new a5100. I think this will be the best bet for what I am looking to do.