I heard from a former DC colleague, Vince Mannino, who asked me if I could help him put together a package of equipment for his youngest daughter, a college student, who wants to be a photojournalist.

I asked him — what was his budget? He told me $10K. Here’s what I would recommend for the student photographer.

Firstly, $10K can buy you a lot or it can buy you a little…it just depends on what your preferences are and what you feel that you simply must have.

And, since Sony offers great options in both Full Frame sensors and APS-C sensor sizes, there are myriads of options. These are but three possible combinations — there could be many many more, but this will get the gears spinning.

Kit A: Full frame or bust, G Master lenses — don’t spare the horses!

1 - Sony a7III $1998

1 - 16-35mm f2.8 GMaster $2198

1 - 70-200 f2.8 GM $2598

1- 55 1.8 $948

Total: $9740

Kit B: Blended FF and APS and keeping prices down by using f4 zooms instead of f2.8 zooms.

1 - Sony a7III $1998

1 - Sony a6400 $898

1- 16-35 f4 $1248

1 - 55 1.8 $948

1 - 70-200 f4 $1398

1 - 85mm f1.8 $573

Total: $7063

**Kit C: Keeping it WAAAAY under $10K* All APS-C bodies, E mount lenses will leave you about $5k to use toward a semester abroad where you could shoot a portfolio-worthy story.**

1 Sony a6400 $898

1 - 10-18 f4 $798

1 - 35 1.8 OSS $423

1 - 55 1.8 $948

1 - 85 1.8 $573

Total: $4538

add the 70-200 f4 $1398

Total: $5936

You could save even more by buying an a7RII or an a7II but I would not recommend it. With Sony, the bodies, from generation to generation, are such a significant improvement (especially for things like action and sports things that photojournalists often cover) that I would advise to get the most current body.

The *only* downside that I can see with the a6400 is that it does not have built in 5 axis IBIS like the a7RIII or the a7III. The a6500 does have built in 5 axis IBIS, BUT the new AF with the a6400 gives it the nod.

There’s always a bit of a trade off but I always opt to stay current with bodies whenever possible. The other downside to using the a6400 camera is that it uses the smaller and less powerful W battery instead of the newer Z style Sony battery in the a7III.

Also, the a6400 only has a single SD slot while the a7III has the dual card slots.

The G Master f2.8 lenses are amazing though the G series, f4 lenses are no slouches. AND, camera ISOs are not what they once were. Shooting at 12800 is very doable with the Sony sensors (though I have not tried the a6400 at this ISO).

What are your thoughts on these kits? Do you have a suggestion for my friend Vince? If so, please leave them in the comments below!

What Sony Camera Kit can I create for $10K???