Replying to Good camera options to buy? mid budget dream setup?

Hey guys, so turns out I'm going to have a good 5-6 months off this summer to go full swing into photography and making videos. I like to mess around with my go pro and do sequence shots and videos and such but other then that I'm a beginner / intermediate I guess. I've got a great computer set up and a touch pad for editing and such so I'm pretty stoked to learn.

Im just wondering what your mid budget dream setup would be for video / photography, can you mix the 2 together good? I do about 50/50 of them. Maybe more photography some days such as 70/30. Video is mainly for skiing and photography for things like Surfing, taking shots from the beach of someone surfing, rock climbing, things like that.

Anyways here goes!

1) What is your budget? I can get more money in the future to invest but I would start a initial budget of around maybe $3000 to get full swing into it and have a lot of fun. Maybe a bit more if it was a vast upgrade of some sort.

2) What experience do you already have with cameras? Mainly just go pro, but have 6 months off this summer to go full board into it and learn as much as I can!

2) What gear, if any, do you currently have? I would get a glide cam, and a tripod for sure.

4) What are you planning to shoot and how do you want to use your camera? mainly sporty type stuff / maybe some hiking pictures and such. Out doorsy stuff basicly.

5) Do you want a camera that you can hand to your friends, that could or could not have film experience, and let them shoot you? or will you be doing all the filming? Unless I get a gf that likes to film and do photography then I doubt I would ever let any of my friends touch my camera.

6) When filming skiing, how do you tend to shoot? (follow cams, leave it on record on a tripod and hike, film from a tripod, etc) All of the above. But mainly will be tripod and hiking. So to get myself would need some kind of a burst mode that I can activate while skiing towards a feature or something?? is this possible??

7) What computer do you currently have/use to edit (if not currently editing, what would you most likely use)? If you can provide specifics, such as hard drive space, RAM, processor size, that would be great. Um its a year old MacBook pro i7 and such. I think its still their top model unless they brought something else out I'm not sure?

7) What program do you currently edit on? How familiar are you with it (1- just learning; 10- I can make tutorials and know the keyboard layout) I do my sequence pics on photoshop. CC and lightroom I guess. For video editing I have been just using the go pro editor, Id love if someone had suggestions of a better editor to get into this summer and really learn.

---------------------------Optional Section, for those seeking a more intensive upgrade/purchase------------------------
1) Do you think you might consider using a DSLR? I would definitely consider. As i would consider anything :D

2) Do you have any knowledge about the HDSLRS? no :(

3) Do you know the limitations to using HDSLRS? no :(

4) Are you willing to take the time to learn about a DSLR, and how to shoot with manual lenses? Yup! absolutely!

5) Again, do you want a camera that you can hand to your friends, that could or could not have film experience, and let them shoot you? or will you be doing all the filming? Sadly as I don't have any friends that ski I'll 90% of the time have to film myself. Is this possible?



Thanks a ton for all the help guys, and any suggestions I'll definitely be taking a look at and hollering back some questions at you guys! Im not rushing into this, just want to do a lot of camera studying and figure out my options over the next 2 months before I have all the time off.

Thanks again!!!