What’s the best camera for your boudoir photography business? The answer is — the one you can afford. Whether you’re just getting started in photography or you’re a seasoned pro, the best camera for your business is still — the one you can afford.
After you’ve decided how much you’re willing to spend, you’ll soon discover you’ll have to make some choices with regard to getting one with a full-size sensor or crop sensor, and DSLR or mirrorless. These decisions will greatly impact the type of lenses you get as well.
So, let’s now explore this topic in depth and really explain all these differences so you can make an informed decision.
Full Size Sensor vs. Crop Sensor
The sensor is a small piece of hardware inside your camera that light hits and converts what you see in your viewfinder into an image. Before digital cameras it was film that was used to achieve that same result.
Sensors come in mainly two sizes referred to as full-size (also know as full-frame) and crop (also referred to as APS-C), and the camera you buy will have one or the other.
(Smartphones have much smaller sensors but we’re not going to concern ourselves with those. I’m assuming that shooting boudoir with your smartphone is probably not the direction you’re headed in.)
Full-size sensors are capable of capturing more light because the surface area of the sensor is bigger which results in better resolution and image quality over cropped-size sensors which are smaller.
Sensor Size vs. Megapixels
With regard to overall quality, sensor size is more a factor than megapixels. For example:
A 12 megapixel camera with a full-size sensor will deliver better images than a 16 megapixel camera with a cropped sensor. When I say “better”, I’m talking about resolution with regard to more detail and less noise.
Now, don’t get me wrong, images from cameras with crop-size sensors are very good… they’re just better with full-size sensors.
A camera such as Canon’s 7D Mark II has a crop sensor and is a great camera that will produce very good images. However, Canon’s 5D Mark IV, which has a full-size sensor, will produces images that are even better.
Likewise, not to leave Nikon out of the game, their D500 has a crop sensor compared to the D850 that has a full-size sensor.
The Bigger the Sensor the Better the Image But…
If you’re someone whose images will be enlarged onto a billboard, or enlarged into extremely large prints, then you’ll probably want to go with a camera that has a full size sensor (full frame).
Because your images will be blown up so large you’ll want the added resolution and less noise that a full frame camera will provide.
However, if you’re really not enlarging your images that much, let’s say 20×30 or even a bit larger with prints, is buying a full frame camera really worth it?
If a full frame camera delivers 100% but your crop sensor can deliver at 96% or 97% in comparison, and that’s if you stand right up to the image and really scrutinize it (also called pixel peeping), is it worth it to you to spend that extra $1000 to $2500 for the full frame camera?
That’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself but weigh what your needs will be compared to the price you’re willing to pay. To put it another way, there’s no sense in buying a car that can go 200mph when you have no need to drive 200mph.
My Thoughts On Going With a Full Size Sensor vs. a Crop Sensor
Cropped sensor cameras cost less than cameras with full-size sensors (in general), so that’s a factor. Unless, however, you decide to buy a used full-size sensor camera. By the way, if you are interested in buying a used camera, you’ll want to check out my article, “What Should You Look For When Buying a Used DSLR Camera?”.
Should You Buy the Absolute Best Camera You Can Afford?
Should you buy the absolute best camera you can afford? After all, there are still lenses to purchase.
Testing the Waters
If you’re just getting started in photography and you’re not sure if you’re really going to stick with it, kind of testing the waters, then you might want to think twice about spending all your available funds on buying the best camera you can afford.
Getting a good refurbished camera body from KEH or UsedPhotoPro may be a better route. Then, if after some time you feel photography is something you really want to stick with, then this will probably be just the first of many cameras you end up buying.
This will also leave you with a bit more money to purchase better lenses, which is where you’ll really see a significant difference with your images.
(You may want to check out my article, “Best Camera Value for Boudoir and Where To Buy It In 2019/2020”)
Passionate From the Start
If you’re already quite passionate about photography and know that you’ll be sticking with it for a couple of years, then you should probably buy the best camera that will suit your needs, whether you’re just starting out or an experienced shooter.
If your budget can afford it, you’ll want to look at…
If you don’t want to spend that much…
Buy a really top notch crop-sensor camera. With the advancement in technology nowadays, there are some really great crop-sensor cameras out there. Here are a few you should check out.
Important Point On Lenses
Okay, this is important — can you tell by the heading?
If you buy a camera with a cropped sensor, you have two choices with lenses:
- You can buy lenses that work with just those cropped sensor cameras
Or…
2) You can buy lenses that work for both cropped and full-size sensor cameras
Lenses that work for both, if you end up upgrading your camera from a cropped sensor to a full-size one, you can still use with both, saving you money.
If you buy lenses that work with just cropped sensor cameras, if you upgrade to a full-size sensor camera, then those lenses won’t work with that camera. You’ll have to buy all new lenses.
🙁
Yes, very sad.
Now, when you have a cropped-sensor camera, lenses that work with both crop-sensor and full-size sensor cameras will not work the same way with both cameras. The field of view will be different. (For a full explanation on field of view be sure to read my article entitled, “What’s the Best Lens for Boudoir Shoot in Small Spaces?”
DSLR vs. Mirrorless
Size Difference
DSLRs have a mirror that reflects the image coming through your lens up to the viewfinder that your eye looks through. When you click the button to take a picture, that mirror flips up allowing light to hit the sensor and capture the image.
Mirrorless cameras do not have that mirror to bounce the image up to the viewfinder, instead, they use the image that the sensor is capturing directly through the lens and displays that onto the screen on the back of your camera in “live view” mode or into the viewfinder. It’s a digital interpretation of what your lens is capturing.
The absence of a mirror (and prism) allows mirrorless camera bodies to be smaller and lighter since there’s no need to house a mirror and prism.
If you have small hands, this may be to your liking. If you have large hands, perhaps not so much. The size gap between the two types, however, has been narrowing in recent years. Recent sizes in mirrorless camera bodies are getting bigger so they’re easier to handle and to create a better balance between the lens and the camera body.
Optical View Finder vs. Digital View Finder
As mentioned above, mirrorless cameras have an electronic viewfinder (EVF), meaning the image you see on the back of your camera is a digital representation of what your lens is capturing, along with your ISO and aperture settings.
If you change these settings, that digital image will change as well, giving you a more accurate representation of what your final image will look like.
With DSLRs, when you change your ISO, you’re still seeing the same image reflected back to you through the optical viewfinder (OVF). It’s only after you take the picture and look at the image that you can see the effect of your changed setting.
So, mirrorless cameras give you a more accurate view of what your final image will look like before you take the shot.
Another slight drawback to EVFs on mirrorless cameras is that there could be a slight lag to the image on your LCD screen if you move the camera quickly. So, with photographing sports, for example, where you have to make swift movements to follow the action, you may experience image lag. (This, however, is getting better and better with each new mirrorless model that comes out… and may even be a non-factor by the time you read this article.)
Battery Life
Battery life on mirrorless cameras is less than on traditional DSLRs for two reasons.
1.) Since a mirrorless camera uses an EVF (electronic viewfinder) it takes juice to provide that constant image on screen of what the camera is seeing 100% of the time. With a DSLR, your battery juice is primarily only engaged when the mirror pops up to capture the image onto the sensor.
2.) Since the camera bodies are smaller on mirrorless cameras, their batteries are smaller. Now you can still get 300 to 400 shots off with one charge, but compared to a DSLR that can take double that amount and sometimes even more, that’s a significant difference if you take a lot of shots during a shoot.
With that being said, the battery life for mirrorless cameras is getting better and it won’t be long before it’s not even an issue any more.
Choice of Lenses
Since mirrorless cameras have only been around for about eleven years, the choice of lenses made specifically for these cameras is less than for what’s available for DSLRs. That gap, however, is narrowing every year as more and more manufacture’s like Sony, Fuji, and Panasonic continue to support their mirrorless models.
There are lens adapters that allow a mirrorless owner to use Nikon, Canon, Sigma lenses, and more so that opens up the field quite a bit for lens choice.
Lenses for DSLRs are vast and varied with Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and others so acquiring new and used lenses is much easier and available than those with mirrorless bodies.
Video
Mirrorless has the edge on video offering 4k on most models whereas with DSLRs, 4k is only available with their top tier full-frame cameras like Nikon’s D850 and Canon’s 5D Mark IV. So, if video quality is important to you then you’re better off going with mirrorless.
So, Which Camera Should I Get?
If I was on a tight budget and wanted to get into boudoir photography quickly, I’d go with a lower end DSLR (either new or used) because you’re going to get a lot of value for your money. You’ll also have plenty of lenses to support your choice both new and used.
Or…
A used mirrorless camera that’s been replaced by a newer model or two.
Getting great shots has more to do with how you use light than the number of megapixels and size of your sensor. Granted, they’re both important but there’s no need to buy a Ferrari when you’re first learning how to drive.
If you’re just starting out and have more money to spend and feel you’ll be sticking with photography for some time, I’d seriously consider jumping right into the mirrorless world. The technology is getting better every year and it’s not hard to see the gap closing rapidly between DSLRs and mirrorless, with mirrorless surpassing DSLRs completely in the very near future.
If that’s the case then take a look at the these mirrorless cameras:
Sony A7iii (new) full size sensor
Sony A7iii (used) full size sensor
Fuji XT3 crop sensor
Fuji XT4 crop sensor
Fuji XH-1 crop sensor
But don’t just take my opinion. Do your research and read up on both making sure you’re reading articles not more than a year old because things are changing rapidly in the mirrorless world.
If you enjoyed this article please forward it to someone it may also benefit.
Thanks for your time!
Charles Mitri
Founder / Lounge Boudoir