Value Cameras
The main thing I look for in a camera and lens is their ability to isolate a subject via shallow depth of field (DoF). In these days of high quality smartphone camera it is this that brings a tangible benefit to what will always be a phone camera's limitation (due to its small sensor and lens). Although software is getting better at faking it, I don't think camera phones will be able to provide a good shallow DoF result for quite some time (if ever). Achieving shallow DoF optically is usually associated with large, heavy and expensive equipent, but this article will discuss the reasonable options out there. So, if you've nailed your compositional skills and are still looking to take nicer images than your smartphone, without breaking your back or the bank, this section is for you.
The budgets mentioned on this page will include the camera and lens. I will write the budgets in Euros, I hope mose will understand or be able to convert from (than the one I use). Aplogies if you can't relate to these numbers, but then the prices may not reflect the values in your region anyway.
€200 : APS-C DSLR
By choosing Nikon's first ever small purpose build DSLR this allowed the majority of the budget to go on an 85mm prime lens. If this budget is too high consider a 50mm f/1.8, but an 85mm f/1.8 is my base-line for very nice shallow DoF. This lens works out as a 127mm f/2.7 equivalent (field of view and depth of field) on this APS-C sized CCD sensor. A 21 year old, 6mp sensor is probably not as bad as you were expecting, but if you would like better dynamic range and noise performance you should aim for a low end DSLR from between 2008-2012. With a bit of patience you should be able to get that for not too much more money. Older autofocus 85mm f/1.8 lenses are nothing to be concerned about and will be optically similar.
Nikon D100 - (€2000 in 2002) €25~
Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 AF-D - (2002) €175~
single image | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/320 | iso 400
47 shot bokeh pano | equivalent to a 27mm f/0.56 (FF)
I thought this was surprisingly usable today considering its age and speififcation, but you be the judge. This is a surprisingly nice camera to use today. It feels a bit flimsy compared to the newer D200, but it's still pretty tough, has a comfy grip and nice controls.
Alternatives
Pushing your budget up a little to get a newer camera body will make a big difference here. Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Sony, Sigma and Fujifilm have a lot of capable DSLR models from 2008 to 2012. The newer the model the better the image quality will be (mostly). Also look out for features like a tilting rear screen, which could be great for classic lenses when used with live-view. Canon DSLRs can adapt to more mounts than others (Olympus OM, Nikon F, Pentax PK, M42, T2), although interestingly they cannot adapt to their own old FD mount (the one they used before switching to EF mount).
€200 : APS-C Mirrorless
Like the €100 DSLR, this small n light Sony mirrorless camera also uses an APS-C sized sensor. The 'N' variant improved the original NEX 5's resolution, dynamic range and noise performance while not costing much more today. Being able to afford this much better sensor on the same budget is allowed by adapting older manual focus lenses. Yes, you will lose auto focus, but you will gain a huge amount of freedom...
Sony NEX 5N - (€700 in 2011) €75~
Konica 85mm f/1.8 - (1970) €125~
16mp APS-C | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/125 | iso 3200
36 shot bokeh pano | 30mm f/0.72 full frame equivalent
The camera controls and menus are not as friendly as you'll find on a DSLR, but it has good image quality, a mount with tons of options and a very useful flip screen with touch controls. Using any old manual focus SLR lenses is cheap to adapt and relatively easy to focus. If you want something super small and light while providing Auto Focus the Samyang 75mm f/1.8 is a great option. Although it will cost a little more it also works on the full frame Sony's so offers a nice upgrade path too.
Alternatives
Other good mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras are the Samsung's NX and Canon's EOS M line. None of them are old enough to have terrible image quality. Autofous will likely be poor, but when adapting old manual vintage lenses it'll make no difference. Although classic lenses are quite popular at the moment and some of the prices are quite high there should still be some bargains to be had. The above camera and lens combo cost me only €120 for example, only slightly more than the 10 year older DSLR setup.
€400 : Full Frame DSLR
Nikon's first full frame sensor was first seen in the professional D3, but a year later was also used in the D700. Fifteen years on, we are still seeing 12 megapixel sensors used in new cameras (Sony FX3, ZV-E1, A7SIII).
Nikon D700 - (€2600 in 2008) €250~
Nikon 85mm f/1.8 - (1987) €150~
12mp FF | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/125 | iso 1600
This one had phenominal noise perfomance for the time and it even holds up pretty well today. Paired with the earlier f/1.8 portrait lens can keep this combo down to a very reaonable level. These cameras are a bit on the bulky side compared to mirrorless, but they have great ergonomics, controls and battery life.
Alternatives
The original Canon 5D sensor (2005) is rather noisy by today's standards, but if you get a bargain on the body to afford a better lens it could be a nice option. The 5D mkII can be gotten for similar money to the D700 and also shoots decent video. Another nice benefit of the Canon EF mount is its short flange distance allows for far greater flexibility with adapting vintage lenses. Nikon F, Olympus OM, Pentax PK, T2 and M42 can all work in manual focus with relatively cheap adaptors. The Nikon D600 will cost a little more than the D700, but its 24mp sensor is a lot newer and better so probably represents some of the best value for full frame. Other manufacturer's full frame options are harder find a this price point unfortunately. The Pentax is too new. You might be lucky and find one of the Sony DSLRs (A800, A900), but this is mostly a Canon / Nikon game.
€500 : APS-C Mirrorless
Samsung put the high-end sensor and chip from their flagship camera into a small and light body, but then discontinued the entire NX line of cameras in the same year (2015). Eight years on many people have forgotten that Samsung even made cameras, so these things and their lenses can be picked up for very reasonable prices. This one in particular is so good that it will make you sad that we didn't end up seeing what they could have become.
Samsung NX500 - (€700 in 2015) €150~
Samsung NX 85mm f/1.4 - (2015) €350~
28mp APS-C | 85mm | f/1.4 | 1/160 | iso 1000
45 shot pano | single 30mm f/0.5 full frame equivalent
It may only be a crop sensor and the optics may not stand up to the clarity from a Sigma Art or Sony GM line today, but the images this combo produces are far outclassing most other things you could get for this money. I don't think I am popular enough to send prices of these things soaring, so unless someone famous also mentions them, this dynamic is only likely to continue. The only down side with this combo is that the lens is really quite heavy. It's heavier than the Sigma DG DN 85mm f/1.4 and that is a full frame lens. Of course we will never know if the Samsung has a big enough image circle to work on full frame because Samsung never made a full frame NX camera.
Alternatives
I don't think there are many mirrorless cameras and auto focus lens combos around that will come close to this value, but Canon did just discontinue their entire EOS-M mount line-up so maybe in a few years there will be something interesting there. As for the existing brands like Sony, Nikon, Canon & Fuji - they are mostly too expensive unless you go very far back, but that won't give you the advantage you get with this lens.
NOTES: Isolation
As with all photography; Lenses are everything! and there are three main elements that dictate how much subject isolation you can acheive from them.
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Entrance Pupil; This describes how large your aperture appears when viewed through the front elements of the lens. This is how much light is coming into the camera (how much hits the sensor is the t-stop, rather than f-stop). You can work out this size by dividing the focal length by the f-stop (for example 50mm f/1.2 = 42mm). I will add a chart that includes some common lenses so you can see which are better at a glance.
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Sensor Size; Although not strictly part of the lens, what the light is projected on to will effect the depth of field you can achieve... Using the same lens, larger sensors will mean you get closer to your subject to frame it the same. Equally, smaller sensors require you to be further away. It's this distance element (in relation to the entrance pupil) that controls the depth of field and not the sensor size itself. Since larger than full frame sensor cameras are stuck with lenses that have smaller entrance pupils, they don't provide an advantage here and thus are not recommended. We don't even need to discuss how huge, heavy and expensive they are (which also disqualifies them from this article).
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Distances; As mentioned above; The closer you are to your subject (focus distance) the more you will isolate it from the background. However, this is also relative to the distance your subject is from the background. If your subject is against a wall there will be no isolation effect. So: Get as close to your subject as you can while leaving as much room behind it as possible.
Really long lenses can be much bigger here (300mm f/2.8), but they are massive, heavy and expensive so not for this article...
FL / f-stop / [Entrance Pupil]]
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iPhone 15 Pro
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Phone vs Camera
To demonstrate why a dedicated camera gets nicer subject isolation than a phone let's look at what causes the effect. As mentioned above; It's Primarily driven by the size of the entrance pupil. More light coming into the lens allows it to bend around your subject. Being projected to a larger sensor (larger image circle) allows you to get closer to your subject with the same framing and this amplifies the effect from the entrance pupil. Wider focal lengths help you frame your subject, but they tend to have smaller entrance pupils, so longer focal lengths will be needed. This is where the main tradeoff happens due to usability, size, weight and cost.
As you can see a phone is limited by every element that allows good subject isolation due to its size. The best we can hope for is that one day they might be able to fake it really well. That would take very high resolution sensors that can capture hyper accurate depth information for every single pixel That's a lot to ask, but I guess it could happen. For now we will be stuck with some pretty lackluster fake results like the phone samples you see below...