Considering Systems

When deciding on a camera (starting from scrath) the thing you should be looking at is not so much the camera itself, rather you should be considering what system you want to get into. After all when switching camera-bodies later the camera will be gone, lenses and other accessories however are likely to stick with you for years to come.

When I recently bought a Zeiss Touit 32mm for my Fuji I actually got a really great deal, I paid roughly half-price on a lens in great condition that was almost new. But while that was a great deal, the thing that struck me was that there was maybe a handful of those lenses for my system out on ebay. Now compare this to something like looking for a 50mm lens for your new Nikon system. Their lens-mount has been around for decades and people have been buying and selling those lenses for just as long and if you don't need autofocus you will have even more options then you've had in the first place.

On the other hand systems like those from Fuji or Sony are the new kids on the block, with Sony being at somewhat of an advantage as far as third-party lenses are concerned since the only third-party company producing autofocus lenses for Fuji right now is Zeiss (Those lenses are great, but it's three vs a large assortment for Sony).

There are of course other factors to consider, like APS-C vs. 35mm fullframe, but the availablility of lenses on the used market and the lens-choices you have in general are important ones in my opinion.