[SOLVED] Best 4k Camera for Photo and Video

[auzzle]

I am a hobbyist photographer. I like to go on vacations and comeback with photos and videos to make a little after movie of the trip. Currently I have a Nikon D3400 which takes good pictures in daylight in my opinion. However over shooting for a few years now I realized that my favorite shots are often night time cityscapes. What would be some good recommendations for a camera that can shoot photo and video in both at least 4K at a price of less than $1,000 that have good low light performance?

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Do you have a bunch of nikon lenses already? or just the kit lens?

 

[auzzle]

Do you have a bunch of nikon lenses already? or just the kit lens?

I have the 2 kit lenses70mm-300mm and 18mm-55mm

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Both the kit lenses are quite slow, if you are shooting nightscapes, you really need a fast lens.
Think f1.8 or lower. Which lens do you use the most and at what focal length?
At $1000, you could get a full frame body, but no lens. And the lens is the most important part. At present, another aps-c camera will do little as the d3400 sensor performs similarly to all other aps-c sensors, other then 4k video.

 

[kanewolf]

I am a hobbyist photographer. I like to go on vacations and comeback with photos and videos to make a little after movie of the trip. Currently I have a Nikon D3400 which takes good pictures in daylight in my opinion. However over shooting for a few years now I realized that my favorite shots are often night time cityscapes. What would be some good recommendations for a camera that can shoot photo and video in both at least 4K at a price of less than $1,000 that have good low light performance?

Have you taken any classes on HOW to shoot night landscapes? You may find that learning some techniques will help more than hardware. Do you have good tripods/monopods -- yes plural. Physical support is the most important part of night shooting.
Next might be a FAST lens. A 50mm f1.4 or f1.2 is usually a good place to start.
Kit lenses are slow lenses. Why because they are less expensive. Look at the cost for a 70-300 f2.8 $5K+ !!!! OUCH. Glass is expensive. unfortunately.
You may have to scale back. A 70-200 f2.8 non-Nikon brand. A Tamron 70-200 f2.8 is about $750. Not cheap but much better than the above.

 

[USAFRet]

As a camera body, the D3400 is fine.
It needs 2 things for your proposed use:

1. A better (faster) lens
2. User skills

On my Fuji X-T1, going from the default kit lens to a 50mm f1.2 prime was a HUGE difference.

 

[auzzle]

Have you taken any classes on HOW to shoot night landscapes? You may find that learning some techniques will help more than hardware. Do you have good tripods/monopods -- yes plural. Physical support is the most important part of night shooting.
Next might be a FAST lens. A 50mm f1.4 or f1.2 is usually a good place to start.
Kit lenses are slow lenses. Why because they are less expensive. Look at the cost for a 70-300 f2.8 $5K+ !!!! OUCH. Glass is expensive. unfortunately.
You may have to scale back. A 70-200 f2.8 non-Nikon brand. A Tamron 70-200 f2.8 is about $750. Not cheap but much better than the above.

I have not taken any classes. My tripod seems to work fine. I can do Astrophotography with little star trails at the right shutter speed. It seems like everyone on this thread says I need a faster lens while recommending low f stops. I didn’t realize f stops measured speed of the lense I thought it was all about how much light was let in. I was looking and I came across this https://www.amazon.com/0-394-0-787-...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl Nikon Lens. Would you recommend it? It is only F1.8 is it a big enough difference to spend an extra 400+ for an f1.2? Below are some of my better photos I have taken at night.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9AQqzMNpQDLumQPy7

New item by Matthew Hammerstone

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

If you are simply trying for static nightscapes, you could look into a vintage manual lens. You'll get more coma and other aberrations then a modern lens, but its often cheap to find a nikkor 50mm f1.4 non-ai lens on ebay for ~$65, higher for a good condition model.

Unfortunately, the flange distance of the nikon f mount is very long, so you can't adapt many lenses to system and will have to use native glass.

Btw, to avoid star trails, there's a simple formula for the max shutter speed. For aps-c it's 400/focal length. So say you have the 55mm kit lens, 400/55mm=7.2 so a 7 second max shutter speed before trails appear.

 

[kanewolf]

I am recently using Canon 5D Mark IV specially for my food blogging page . Anyone can suggest me some good 4k camera for more beautiful food photos.

You are already using one of the best cameras available. You need studio lighting rather than a different camera.

 

[USAFRet]

I am recently using Canon 5D Mark IV specially for my food blogging page . Anyone can suggest me some good 4k camera for more beautiful food photos.

Different/better technique and lighting, not a new camera.

 

[Igor Poboril]

You can try Nikon D500 for best 4k regulation.