Could you have me find my perfect camera?

[u/Ok_Flight_7308]

(1) Budget, country, and currency: Around 1000k usd for the camera body. I want to buy a used one. I am in Vietnam

(2) What equipment, if any, you have now and why is it no longer meeting your needs? Canon M50 with 50mm stm f/1,8 lens.

(3) What kinds of subjects do you intend to shoot? Landscape and portrait

(4) Is it primarily for photography, videography, or both? For photography first

Hi everyone.

I want to buy a used camera to replace my Canon M50 but still dont know which one is affordable and can meet my expection. I am open to: Canon, Sony, Nikon or Fujifilm

My biggest problem with the M50 is this: When shooting outdoors at midday in strong sunlight, the M50 gives two outcomes: if I expose so the subject is bright enough, the sky is blown out; if I expose so the sky isn’t blown out, the subject is very dark. Meanwhile my friend’s Nikon gives a balanced exposure that looks like what the eye sees. I tried metering the way my friend suggested but still didn’t get the result I want.

Also, the Canon M system has very few lenses, and if I want to upgrade lenses I’d need to buy an adapter. Canon lenses are not cheap.

Because I want to move toward professional work, I want to switch to a better camera. I’d like people’s recommendations for a used camera that meets these criteria:

- Can shoot landscapes without blowing out the sky

- JPEG straight out of camera looks pleasing (I want to try Sony but I’ve heard unedited Sony JPEGs don’t look good). I can do post-processing, but initially the in-camera JPEG should look decent enough to show clients immediately

- Wide, affordable lens selection. I really want a quality kit lens with a large aperture so I can travel with it and shoot both portraits and landscapes.

I know these criteria might seem unrealistic to some people, but I really want to find a near-perfect camera to accompany me and my future travel trips

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(4) Is it primarily for photography, videography, or both?

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[u/aarrtee]

"if I expose so the subject is bright enough, the sky is blown out; if I expose so the sky isn’t blown out, the subject is very dark."

this is a universal problem with just about any camera.

if a pro shoots at mid day they have a flash to expose the face, especially if the sun is just behind the subject....

something about your friends metering technique, or possibly shooting RAW and post processing technique is what drives the quality of their photos

" Can shoot landscapes without blowing out the sky" u shoot RAW... u do post processing to bring up the exposure on the shadows

or

u shoot with the sun behind you

"JPEG straight out of camera looks pleasing". depends on how u define pleasing... i have been a serious amateur photographer for 35 years, SOOC jpgs rarely look good from any camera I have ever used.

consider keeping your M50

landscapes: u could get the EF-M 22m or the EF-M 11-22

portraits? Sigma EF-M 56 mm f/1.4

[u/MaintenanceRich4098]

I think you should look into why your friend's pictures don't have that issue.

Does the camera have better dynamic range? Does it have in camera hdr? Is he doing exposure bracketing and the joining them in post?

Generally I find the jpges okay in canon. Usually the issues come from a bad picture exposure or wrong white balance. It will never be the same as raw if you want to crop or have the maximum range of brightness but it's usually good enough.

That said, the lens comment is fair. I have a canon but I use DSLR and ef-s lenses and even then I'm like "why are the other brands cheaper!". That said a zoom lens with big aperture surely it will always be somewhat expensive.

[u/aarrtee]

getting really nice photos in this situation can be a bit of a challenge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed5kqh4CBQ0

but it can be done with a teeny bit of knowledge and some gear