LocalNavy433 Photography

Hello and how the hell are you? If this is your first time here thanks for stopping by.  This blog is going to talk about how to get a really good professional photography kit for under $1,500 dollars.  This is going to give you a focal range from 17mm to 300mm which is good enough to get images that are phenomenal.  The image quality is top notch and you will keep being surprised with the finished product every time.  The gear is older but it is so worth it when you are shooting more than just landscape photos.  

To start this off we are going to go with the body that you are going to need and that is going to be the Canon 5D Mark iii (5D3).  This body is one that is older like 2012 type old and it still gets the job done in today’s world.  The fact that you can buy this for around $500 bucks used and it still looks good and works just like it did over ten years ago.  The FPS on the body is slow by today’s standards but for the times that you need to shoot sports it will get the job done.  The dynamic range on this old bastard is not the best and you have to bracket your images in order to put you on the same level as the newer bodies. 

When you have a body that good you have to also get lenses that will help make great images as well. This means that you have a choice to you want to stay on budget or do you want to go over that budget.  I wanted to stay under a certain mark.  I didn’t want to pay more than $350 bucks per lens.  This means that you also have to go with older lenses and stay within the f4 range for them. This will still give you the pro level lenses but they will be the slower ones.  This also means that you can buy all the lenses that you need for around $1100 dollars.  This in an of itself means that you will be able to afford the body that you want.  

The first lens that you are going to need is a ultra wide angle that will give you the drama in those shots.  The 16-35 f4 is the best of the best for sharpness that you could buy for a Canon EF mount.  Now with that being said a good copy of that lens will set you back around $800 to $900 dollars.  This means that you have to got the older route putting the Canon 17-40 f4 L the lens that you are going to buy.  Yes the corner sharpness is crap but for the amount of money that you will spend on that it’s going to be worth it.  The actual cost of this lens in good condition is going to be around $300.  

This is going to give you the IQ that you are wanting and with the 5D3 and the 17-40 we are now sitting at $800 bucks.  The next lens that we are going to need for this kit is going to be a mid range lens.  Now we all know that I love a certain lens for the versatility of it.  The range that you get with this lens is one that will stand the test of time in my book.  This lens is also pooped upon by most the photographic community for two reasons one it is not the sharpest lens in the bag and it is a kit lens.  Yes we are talking about the Canon 24-105 f4 L at $350 dollars.  This lens is going to give you the ability to shoot wide to short telephoto.  The range is the main reason that I love it so much.  Now if you are not a snob about how sharp an image has to be in the corners then this lens will be perfect for you.  By adding the $800 bucks to the $350 we are now sitting at $1150 dollars.  

Staying with the f4 theme most would think that I am going to say go out and get the Canon 70-200 f4 right.  No that is not the case I have been looking for a lens that still gives me that 300mm range that I love to shoot. I was just looking for a lens that would give me the 100-300 range and I was stuck with the thought that I was going to get a f4.5-6.3 variable aperture lens.  I totally lucked out when I was searching for a replacement lens for the 70-300.  I ran across the Sigma 100-300 f4 yes you read that right it is a f4 throughout the full zoom range.  I was so stoked being able to find that it completed my lens collection and it came in at the cost of $350 dollars. 

Now we have a full range of lenses that stay at f4 throughout the zoom range from 17-300.  This kit runs you around $1500 dollars which is the whole reason for this blog.  You see I am not the type of person that can afford to spend $1500 dollars for a body only or for one lens.  Yes I know that the cost of admission is huge for the pro level of gear but is it really.  This blog just proved that you can do photography at a pro level with a small budget.  I hate the photography industry and the idea that you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to get good images.  It is like I have said in the past the gear only matters to the person buying it.  Enjoy from St Johns AZ y’all