LocalNavy433 Photography

Hello and how the hell are you?  If this is your first time here thanks for stopping by.  Back in June I wrote a few blogs talking about what is the best pro level gear for Landscape Photography, and the best pro level setup for under 1500 dollars.  In this blog we are going to talk about the best pro level full frame setup that you can get for under 1000 dollars.  This sounds to good to be true well buckle up and enjoy y’all.  

In order to get the setup for under 1000 dollars you have to shop around to find the best deals but they can be found.  You also have to have an idea of what type of lenses you are going to need.  This all starts with knowing what you shoot and keeping it within the budget that you set for this.  I am going to start with the body and work on the rest of this from there.  When looking for a full frame body that is going to fit this bill you have to shop used there is no other way around it.  You want a body that can handle the low light for shooting during sunset and sunrise this is a must.  The trick to this is to look for a camera that is going to have OK dynamic range and I say ok because the age of this camera is not going to have the best dynamic range at all.  

Now that can be over come with bracketing all your shots.  This will give you the flexibility that you are wanting.  The next this is you are going to need a body that has all the features that you are looking for.  This means it needs to have a great live view that will show you the exposure exactly what it will look like once you enter in all the settings.  The next thing that you need is a camera that will allow you to print large enough to cover a 20×30 print.  The last thing that you need to look for is a body that is going to give you great and I mean great batter life. 

Now that we have covered what you need in a camera it is time to tell you what camera that I found that ticks all the boxes and still doesn’t break the bank.  As of the time of the writing this blog you can find the Canon 5D Mark ii for 250 dollars and it ticks all the boxes that we talked about.  Yes the dynamic range sucks but if you practice enough with bracketing you can get some killer images with this body and you will not be out a crap ton of money.  I try to do photography on the pro level without breaking the bank thus the Canon 5D2 that I am shooting with right now.  

The next factor is going to be pro level lenses and they are easy enough to find on the used market that is for sure.  For the lenses you are going to have to look at the older versions due to keeping the price down.  To start with you are going to need a great ultra wide angle lens that is not going to break the bank.  So we need to look at the Canon 17-40 f4 L lens. This one is sharp enough to get the job done so don’t expect it to be RF range sharp but it will get the shot that is for sure.  The price for that lens is around 200 dollars.  Now the kit is coming together and we are sitting at 450 dollars which means we are half way there right.  

The next lens that you are going to need is a good walk around lens.  One that is going to give you a huge range from wide angle to short telephoto.  This is where the 24-105 f4 L lens comes into play.  This lens offers you so much with its stabilization to the point that you will get the shot hand held.  The bonus to shooting with this lens is sometimes that is the only lens that you need to get most shots.  The telephoto aspect allows you to get images that are zoomed in to the point that you will not need more reach.  This is the one lens that I cannot live without.  The price for the version one is around 300 dollars which makes it easy enough to get if something happens to it.  

Now you only need one more lens to cover the long end of the shooting that you want to do with your camera.  The lens has to overlap a little in focal length but it is sharp if you step it down to f7.1 which is the sharpest fstop that I have found for this lens.  The long end allows you to reach out and grab shots that the 24-105 falls short on and allows you to pick out images from the landscape that you could not reach with the 24-105.  The Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM is one of the cheapest telephoto lenses that you can buy today. I love the range that it gives me to the point that there is times that it is the only lens I shoot with all the time when I am wanting to get those super zoomed in shots.  The cost of this beast is only 200 dollars which takes the total cost of the kit to 950 dollars and you have a trinity of lenses that will cover you from 17-300mm.  

To me this is the best full frame professional setup that you could get for the budget minded people out there.  I try to live within my means and that means that you if one of the items listed above breaks it can be replaced on the cheap.  Photography is an expensive hobby and if you are willing to use older gear you can get a pro level kit for less than 1000 dollars. If you want a comparison on what more modern full frame body you can get for around 1000 dollars.  You have to look at the Canon RP brand new it is exactly 1000 dollars if you can find it on sale.  At the end of the day if you just want to shoot and you are not worried about the fact that it is used gear you will be just fine with this setup.  I for one love this setup to the point that I shoot with it on the daily and would not want to shoot with any other full frame setup.  I hope that you enjoyed this article and remember enjoy from St Johns AZ y’all .

All images shot with a Canon 5D2