If someone gave you $1,000 and told you to buy a camera and lens combo, what would you do? Yes, it’s hard to get a good kit for relatively little money. However, there are some hidden gems that are great to kickstart your career and provide an improvement over existing equipment. When I started taking pictures, around 15 years old, I couldn’t really afford a digital camera or anything like that. I had to do with what I had: a film camera and lenses I got from my father. Being quite young, I didn’t start taking pictures from the old days. I started filming and had to learn quickly what to do and how to do it. In the end, I saved up and bought a digital camera: the Canon 1D Mark II. Then I saved even more and sold my 1D Mark II for a higher price than buying it, I bought the 5D Mark II. Combined with a good zoom lens, it’s a great camera with which I’ve shot a lot of work. It was in 2019, after the release CHEAP EOS. A decade after the 5D Mark II was released, it’s still a deliverable camera.
Now, I recommend this combo to every beginner photographer, almost regardless of their genre. All in all, camera technology has improved a lot over the past decade, but honestly, it’s a small improvement every year. In short, there hasn’t been a bad camera since 2010. The lens has also improved a lot; The new glass is sharper, the flange distance is shorter, and the elements are better. Does that make a difference? If you are a pixel peeper then yes. I shot a 24-70 from 2007 on a Canon 5DS body, and no one has complained. So many that no one noticed I switched from 5D Mark IV to 5DS and vice versa.
So let’s see why I think the 5D Mark II and 24-105 f/4 IS are the best camera and lens combo under $1,000
Canon 5D Mark II ($300-400)
Released in 2009, this camera is a true legend. The specs aren’t anything special in 2022, but they were the latest and greatest in 2009 when the camera first debuted. In a nutshell, here is a summary of the specifications of the famous Canon 5D Mark II.
In terms of sensors, you have 21MP to work with. It is very similar to the Canon 1Ds Mark III, a camera made especially for studio work. Personally, unless you’re shooting big campaigns, you don’t need a higher resolution sensor. From personal experience, my clients also didn’t really notice me switching from a 20 to 30 sensor and to a 50 megapixel sensor. ISO increased from 100 to 6,400, expandable to 50-25,600. This is nothing short of impressive, but if you’re always shooting at ISO 6,400, you might want to consider another camera. For simple people who work in the 100-3,200 range, this would be perfect. The camera starts working above 1,000 ISO, so you need to be careful with that. However, the grain is quite pleasant and nothing terrible.
Some notable features include live view, which now seems standard, but to me is a big change coming from 1D Mark II movies and backgrounds. On the bad side, the autofocus is terrible and you can only rely on a single center point. This isn’t too bad if you’re working with a mostly static subject, but as soon as it starts moving quickly you may want to look in the direction of the Canon 1D Mark IV or 1Dx. If you like video, you won’t be too pleased, as the 5D Mark II is primarily a stills camera. I’ve shot very small video projects on the 5D Mark II and it works fine, but there’s no way I’ve included it in anything serious. It makes a lot more sense if you hire Blackmagic for video projects.
24-105 f/4 ($300-400)
You can tell this is not a special lens. It’s a very special lens, I replied. The 24-105 f/4 IS is a low-cost professional option that can suit your needs in most shooting operations. Especially at the beginning of your career, when you’re not sure what focal length you’d like, 24-105 will provide plenty of shots. From mid-telephoto to medium wide-angle, this lens is very “average”. It won’t give you frantic zooming or frantic bokeh, however, it will give you a stable and reliable lens for taking sharp pictures. It’s like a kit lens on steroids. And a very good thing indeed. With image stabilization, it will be perfect for those who want to slow down the shutter speed a bit. Compared to version II, the original version is lighter and smaller. The only improvement that newer, more expensive lenses have is corner brightness, which can be corrected after shooting. Find out which one you will need.
What about the 24-70 f/2.8?
An attentive reader will ask why do I shoot on the heavier 24-70 f/2.8? And the answer is pretty simple, just because it’s a lens I bought and had a hard time using. Also, with 24-105 photography too, I would totally recommend it to anyone who wants a good zoom but doesn’t want to spend a ridiculous amount of money. If you find a good deal and feel that you don’t need anything beyond 70mm, go with the 24-70, but be prepared to lose sharpness at wider apertures, as well as using a larger and heavier piece of glass. Sometimes coming from someone with a hand injury after a shooting, this is a very real concern.
Stop thinking
So there you have it, the Canon 5D Mark II, combined with the 24-105 f/4 or 24-70 f/2.8 is a great starting combination for almost any professional photographer. For less than $1,000 to use, the device can be purchased on the Facebook Marketplace, various groups, and websites. I strongly recommend buying the device in person as purchasing from afar can sometimes lead to disappointment and poor selection.
