In this video the creator outlines a cost‑effective, semi‑professional photography (and light‑video) kit for beginners or aspiring small‑business owners targeting a 2025 launch. The core recommendation is a Sony a6300 APS‑C mirrorless body paired with a Tamron 17‑70mm f/2.8 lens, together costing roughly $1,150 USD before tax, leaving room for essential accessories within a $1,300 budget. The presenter explains why an APS‑C sensor is a sensible compromise on a budget—cheaper bodies and lenses, acceptable image quality in good light, and a wide third‑party lens ecosystem—while acknowledging drawbacks such as limited low‑light performance, overheating in 4K video, and the need for extra batteries. Detailed specs of the a6300 (24.2 MP, ISO up to 512,000, no touchscreen, limited audio monitoring) and the Tamron lens (35 mm‑equivalent 25.5‑105 mm range, fast f/2.8 aperture, strong autofocus) are discussed. The video also touches on alternative lenses for specific niches (e.g., real‑estate wide‑angle) and the broader business angle, positioning the kit as a reliable B‑camera for events and a viable entry point that can become profitable after a few shoots. The creator ends with a call to subscribe and an invitation to join an insider group for further business and gear advice.
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Hey, you've probably clicked on this video because you are interested in getting into this whole photography thing, maybe even some video work as well on the side, or even if you're wanting to start your own business with it. This is a perfect setup going into 2025 if you're wanting to get into it, and you're not going to have to spend multiple thousands of dollars. First thing that we have to consider whenever looking at cameras is you have to get your mindset in a good spot with the pricing. Okay, so cameras in general, especially for photography, especially for videography even more, you're gonna have to be willing to spend at least a small amount of money. Okay, so whenever I'm talking about budget, when, when I'm talking about a cheap setup, and this includes the lens and the body because most of the time you have to buy it separate I'm going to be talking about it in reference to $1,300 US dollars. That's the budget that I set for our— myself and this video, because I think once you hit that mark, you'll be able to have a semi-professional body, semi-professional lens at the minimum. Because if you're wanting to get into this and make money with it, then you're gonna want to get at least the minimum things that you need. And so this is the exact setup that I have in my hands. It's a Sony A6300, which we'll talk about more of the details here in a second, and a Tamron 17-70 APS-C size lens. So the body, whenever you take the lens off, it is a smaller sensor Okay, so it's not going to be your full frame. You're not going to get as good shots in the dark, but we're talking about budget here. And if you can control the environment, control the lighting in your environment, and you'll be just fine. Whenever there's great light with these cameras, they perform honestly very surprisingly well. We do shoot on cinema-grade cameras here. My main photo camera is a Sony A7 III, and a lot of the pictures that I've taken on this thing, I'll use it as a B camera for events and stuff. I, I can't even really tell the difference most of the time because the lens is so good. And these Tamron glass, like, these Tamron lenses are literally insane. So this, the 17-70 reach on this Tamron lens, it actually converts to whatever 1.5 times that number is. And so 17 times 1.5, let's see what that is, times 1.5, it's actually going to be 25.5. And it goes all the way up to 1.5, let's see, 105. So it's really 25.5 to 105 reach that you're going to be getting with this setup because the APS-C size sensors, the smaller ones they have to crop in compared to the full-frame sensors like the Sony A7 III. Now, the benefits of the smaller sensor, you get a lot cheaper lens options, you get a lot cheaper body options, and most of the time, 98% of the time, you're gonna get just as good performance. And so actually what we're doing here at Howdy Media, we're actually transitioning to where we have majority APS-C size sensors, and we film some of our biggest corporate jobs on these cameras, which is mind-blowing to me. But the whole reason I like the Sony a6300— it's been my B-cam for a while, um, it's great if you're going to be doing a lot of photography and dabbling into video. If you're going to be going more in the video direction, I'm going to make another video talking about which video camera specifically that you need to get if you're going to be doing video only. This video is for photography, and most of the time photographers are like, man, I have this good camera, I might be interested in the video stuff. It's a great way to test out to see if you like video in the first place, and it's not going to cost you an arm and a leg, and it's just enough money to where you can make it back after a few shoots after you learn how to use this thing and utilize it to the best of its ability. So let's get into the pricing of the actual equipment here. So the Sony a6300, I found it on mpb.com, and I'll put a link in the description here. This is where I buy all my used camera gear. You're going to get the best bang for your buck on this website. I'm not sponsored or anything, I just use the heck out of it. So on this website, it's priced at $499, and that is just the camera body itself. Okay, so I've done photography with this as well as like film some weddings. Um, because we're in Texas, it doesn't work as good in the summer because it does have some overheating issues whenever recording in 4K. But if you're doing photography, you can shoot on this thing all day. You're just gonna have to make sure to pack quite a bit of batteries because that is one of the downfalls, unfortunately. But it's $499 for just the body itself. You can turn it on and just use the buttons. It's— there's no touchscreen. Um, I believe there's a microphone input. There's no way to monitor audio for video, so you kind of have to guess on some of it and do a lot of testing up front. But for photography, man, this thing is a champ. If you're looking to get into like portraits especially, It's fantastic. It shoots RAW photos. Let me check what size sensor it has real quick. It goes all the way up to 512,000 ISO. It's a 24.2-megapixel size sensor, so it's a pretty, pretty decent size sensor for the photos that you're going to be getting. I, I think it might be a little bit more than my A7 III has, which is a full-frame beast of a camera. It goes all the way up to 512,000 ISO. I would never recommend going that high, especially with this body. Some of the newer cameras you can get away with it, but try not to go very high on the ISO. There is a lot of noise that will be introduced if you go too high, which is another reason you're going to have to spend a good chunk definitely more than the body on the lens that you get to put onto this. This is also a good camera because in the future, whenever you're ready to go and invest in more lenses, you're gonna have a lot of options with Sony because Sigma makes lenses that are affordable and amazing, like anywhere from $200 to $1,000. Like, they're all incredible. We shoot lots of professional work on those. Sigma, you got Tamron, you got, uh, I think it's Ronin, Rokinon, one of those other Japanese companies, uh, Sirui, and then the Sony lenses as well if you want to buy Sony. That's one downfall of the Canons. If you shoot on Canon, you can only shoot Canon lenses. They make it really hard for you to use third-party lenses. So APS-C size sensor is the way to go on a budget. It's going to cost less. You have to compromise a little bit more with the sensor, but you can help make up with it a little bit from the lens because it honestly is more important about which lens you have. Which takes me to the lens pairing that I've put on this camera body, and this is going to be your Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 aperture lens made out of Japan. It's the Di III-A VC RXD. If you're looking on the website. But on the website that I was talking about earlier, the MPB, it's listed at $654. So I bought this thing new for like $800. It's at $654 on MPB, so definitely make sure to go check out that website. This lens has been incredible with the 25.5 to— I think it was 105 reach after the conversion. You can basically get anything, anything, like any event, any portraits. Like, you can do zoom photos, you can do all kinds of stuff. It's great for photo and it's great for video. The autofocus is absolutely pure, um, and paired with the Sony's autofocus stuff, like, you can't go wrong with this setup. So, uh, the $499 plus $654 leaves you at $1,153 before tax. Uh, it's probably going to be a little bit over that $1,300 mark. If you're wanting to spend $1,300 before taxes, that leaves you room for maybe tripod or a camera bag of some sort to carry this stuff around. You definitely want to make sure it gets protected whenever you're traveling. Uh, we've had multiple lenses break and one of them was actually this week. It was our real estate lens. Um, if you're wanting to get into real estate, you're probably not going to want to get this lens. Sigma makes a great one, it's 10-18mm, that you'll be able to do real estate with an APS-C size sensor, even with the crop, and it's plenty wide. Um, it's like, I believe, $600 or $700, but that's for a different video for another time. This is the ultimate budget setup if I were you starting in 2025. Going into photography, starting your own business, get the Sony a6300 with the Tamron 17-70 lens, and you're going to be able to do incredible photo work as well as some incredible video work, as long as it's not too hot or for too long of a period of time that you're filming. So if you like this video, if you found it helpful, I'm just here to help you. Um, make sure to subscribe if you're a fellow photographer, creative, videographer, whatever. And you're also trying to run a business, we have an insider's group. We're posting about this stuff, learning about this kind of thing all the time. So make sure to click the link in the description and we— make sure to hit the link in the description and we will see you guys in the next video.
