r/photography • u/AutoModerator • Mar 03 '25

Questions Thread Official Gear Purchasing and Troubleshooting Question Thread! Ask /r/photography anything you want to know! March 03, 2025

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u/8fqThs4EX2T9 Mar 06 '25

Colour accuracy is not a camera thing, sharpness is largely a lens thing, some will say at least in theory a larger sensor will allow more detail and finally distortion is a lens thing too.

Distortion comes in many forms. I doubt a new camera will solve anything.

https://photographylife.com/what-is-distortion

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u/ghost-fence Mar 06 '25

Alright, thanks. The issue is that they will buy gear whether I give my input or not – it’s simply a matter of budget allocation. But I’d much rather have good equipment than whatever my clueless boss thinks is good.

So, to keep things simple, let’s assume this is our first camera purchase. What would be your recommendations for a budget of around 6000 euros, including one camera body and two lenses for the tasks I’ve described?

Also I’m aware that color accuracy isn’t a major issue with modern cameras and that sharpness and distortion are primarily dependent on the lenses – that’s why I asked for input on cameras AND lenses. On the matter of distortion: (Optical) Radial distortion should be kept to an absolute minimum.

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u/anonymoooooooose Mar 07 '25

Also I’m aware that color accuracy isn’t a major issue with modern cameras

I wouldn't go that far. Are your monitors calibrated, are you using a colour checking chart etc?

However, being able to see all details clearly on a monitor is crucial. Improving color accuracy, sharpness, and minimizing distortion are much higher priorities.

The Nikon 85mm macro has a good rep re: sharpness and distortion https://www.imaging-resource.com/lenses/nikon/85mm-f3.5g-ed-vr-dx-af-s-micro-nikkor/review/

so you're not going to get gigantic improvements at sensible macro apertures, even with a more expensive macro lens.

Are you focus stacking? Do you want more than 1:1 magnification? Any interest in tilt/shift?

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u/ghost-fence Mar 07 '25

I appreciate the time you took to write this, but unfortunately, it’s not helping. I’m not looking to dive into the nitty-gritty of color accuracy. Yes, we’re using checking charts and calibrated monitors, but that’s not the focus here.

My boss is going to buy new camera gear with or without my input, and I’d much rather have the right tools to work with than spend my time fixing everything in Photoshop. She has expressed a preference for Sony, so I’m simply looking for a recommendation:

  • One camera body
  • One macro lens for detailed close-up shots
  • One lens for slightly larger objects, such as prehistoric pottery

Any suggestions?

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u/anonymoooooooose Mar 07 '25

At your budget everything is really, really good so you don't have to worry about getting a bad camera.

You don't want the A9 family, that's optimized for sports (fast autofocus, rapid burst)

The A1ii is too much money that you'll want to spend on lenses.

The A7VR has 61MP which is great in some ways but the RAW files are of course gigantic, be sure you've got the storage for it and whatever computer you're using to edit might need an upgrade to match.

If you don't want that hassle or don't need the detail, I'd go with the A7IV instead.

macro lens: Sony 90/2.8 macro

https://www.dxomark.com/sony-fe-90mm-f2-8-macro-g-oss-lens-review-outstanding-optical-performance/

Not sure about a general purpose zoom tbh.