my trusty old DSLR literally died on me yesterday right before my sisters wedding next weekend and I am freaking out because I need a replacement asap. Im in the US and my hard budget is around 800 bucks max for body and a kit lens. Ive been staring at the Sony a6100 and the Fujifilm XT30 II for like six hours straight now. The Sony autofocus seems insane for moving people which is great for weddings obviously but man that Fuji color science looks so good straight out of camera and id save a bit of editing time. Im leaning toward the Sony just cause I can find it bundled easier right now but seriously is there any crazy sale happening this week I missed or should I just pull the trigger on one of these before prices jump even higher...
That wedding timing really is the worst possible luck. Honestly, before you panic buy either of those, what lens were you using on your old DSLR? If it was a Canon or Nikon, grabbing an adapter might save you a ton of cash so you can just buy a body instead of a full kit. Prices on the Sony a6100 24.2MP Mirrorless Camera have been kinda weird lately and unfortunately a lot of the best bundles are out of stock. If you need something right now this week, check local pawn shops or FB marketplace for a used Fujifilm X-T30 II 26.1MP Mirrorless Camera since retail stock is always hit or miss. You might actually walk away with extra cash for a decent prime lens instead of a sluggish kit zoom.
To add to the point above: honestly skip the a6100 right now cause prices on those have been creeping up and you wont get the best value. I had issues with one last year and the build quality feels super plasticky anyway. Check out these instead:
- Canon EOS R50 RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM for around 680 bucks, autofocus is actually nuts for fast moving subjects and menus are dead simple
- Panasonic Lumix G85 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 ASPH if you wanna save serious cash since it drops way under your budget at like 600 flat with dual IS Grab something local on FB marketplace if you cant wait for shipping tbh.
man that wedding timing is actual nightmare fuel, feel for you so hard right now. my old gear completely gave out on me right before a family trip a couple years ago and i rushed into a panicked buy that ended up being a total headache. i would suggest taking a quick breather before dropping the cash, because shipping delays right now can totally ruin your weekend plans. make sure to check local camera shops instead of just online stores so you actually have it in your hands before the big day. heres a few things i learned the hard way:
- battery life on smaller bodies is way worse than old dslrs, so definitely grab a cheap spare third-party battery right away
- testing the menu system beforehand saves you from crying in the bathroom at the reception trying to figure out settings
- always double check return policies in case the kit lens has a bad autofocus motor out of the box i ended up keeping the one I got eventually once I got used to it, but that first day of shooting under pressure was so stressful. good luck with the wedding panic!