Sony FX30 vs Sony ZV-E10

“Could you share some more info on what he is wanting to shoot, is it his first time operating a camera ? Is he studying film ? Is he starting a business? If he is just starting out, just get him a zve10 sigma prime (30mm 1.4) and a gimbal. If he is purely shooting video. The FX30 is a great camera. (But higher price bracket).”

“What is your budget? Here is a rundown on the different lines of Sony mirrorless cameras. A9 series - Sports optimized models with very fast shooting speeds and 25MP (ish) sensors. Not for you. A1 series - Flagship models. Very good fast sensors at 50MP. Expensive. Not for you. A7S series - Video optimized and low light 12MP sensors. Not for you. A7R, A7CR series - Much higher resolution sensors (61MP in the latest versions). Not great at fast moving things cause you can get bending in the image as it takes a while to read the huge sensor. Maybe for you, but probably not a great idea. A7CR is compact but very similar to A7Rv. A7C, A7Cii - Compact full frame sensor series. The A7Cii has better autofocus than any of the current A7 series. A7 series - Consumer level full frame sensor. These cameras are great but don't have all the bells and whistles that the other series have. Everyone is waiting for the A7v to come out as the current A7iv doesn't have the latest autofocus. Image stabilization shows up in the A7ii. a6x00 series - Compact camera with APSC sensor size. The smaller sensor means your lens focal length gets a 1.5x multiplier (50mm looks like a 75). a6500 and newer have image stabilization. I'm personally not a fan of APSC cameras but they do have their advantages. Especially if weight is a priority. The smaller sensor means that longer lenses are also much smaller. But APSC lenses tend to be less expensive consumer lenses and lower quality. So smaller sensor with budget lenses usually means less satisfying images. But many people love them so don't rule them out. ZV-E10 series - Vlogging optimized APSC camera. Not for photography. Not for you. If you like the compact vintage look you should consider the A7C. A used one is going to be not much more than a similar APSC model. A7 series is probably where you want to be. Buy the one you can afford. You don't need the best autofocus or video so really any of them will be good as used. But try to go with at least A7ii or newer for the image stabilization. Just make sure you check the shutter count of the camera you are looking at. The mechanical shutter will eventually fail, it can be repaired. Getting one with a lower shutter count will let it last a while and then you can resell it for probably close to what you paid for it. The A7ii is designed to survive 200,000 shutter actuations. If you're lucky you can find one used for a lot of video or not used much and it will be low. There are lots of videos on YouTube that show how to check shutter count (basically upload a pic from the camera to a website that tells you. It's in the Exif data.)”