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The 10 Most Popular Traditional Digital Cameras According to Flickr

Brett Day
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09/22/2020
6 Mins read
Kevin-Lee The Phoblographer Nikon D750 Product Images (2 of 14)

When it comes to traditional digital cameras out in the real world, the DSLR is still king, according to Flickr.

Flickr has seen a little bit of a resurgence of late. The once struggling photo-sharing platform has turned into a buzzing community again. After a quick look at my own Flickr account, I decided to dive deep into the website’s metrics to see what the most popular traditional digital cameras are, according to Flickr’s data. It’s no surprise that DSLRs are still king; after all, there are so many of them out there. Still, Mirrorless cameras aren’t far behind. After the break, we’ll show you the ten most used traditional digital cameras based on figures from Flickr.

Cameras with IBIS
Captured with the Olympus E-M1 II.

What do we mean by traditional digital cameras? We mean Interchangeable lens (ILC) cameras. So, how did we end up with our list of most popular traditional digital cameras? Simple, we took a look at the analytics page on Flickr. We have put into order the cameras that have produced the most uploads to the platform after removing smartphones. Yes, the iPhone 7, iPhone XR, and iPhone X dominate the top spots. Mixed in with the traditional digital cameras, you’ll also find the Samsung Galaxy 7, 8, and s6 (in that order). Google’s Pixel 2, 3, and 3a also make appearances. Once you remove them, the top ten traditional digital cameras listed below are the most popular.

Captured with the Pentax K1 II.

As mentioned above, it’s no surprise that DSLR reigns supreme. The DSLRs listed below have been on the market far longer. This means more uploads from those cameras are present on the platform. When you take that into consideration, it’s quite telling just how popular Mirrorless cameras are when you see just how many have made this list of the most used traditional digital cameras.

Canon 5D Mk IV

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great image quality
  • Ergonomically, it reminds us more of the old 5D Mk II. We like that
  • Fantastic autofocus
  • Touchscreen, finally
  • The quiet shutter is nice
  • Weather sealing

Cons

  • Price point (at time of launch)

Buy now: $2,499

Nikon D750

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Deep grip
  • Intuitive and well laid out control scheme
  • Renders amazing detail and color
  • Clean files at ISO 6400
  • Usable images up to ISO 10000
  • Built-in Wi-Fi transmission
  • Tilting screen

Cons

  • Plastic front plate

Buy now: $1,496.95

Nikon D850

Innovative cameras - Nikon D850

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Fantastic image quality
  • Built like a tank
  • Buttons that light up
  • The touch screen makes the menu navigation so much better
  • Great color depth and versatility
  • Wifi and Bluetooth
  • Putting the ISO button on the right side of the camera by the grip is the better long term strategy
  • Weather sealing
  • Lots of video options
  • Dual card slots
  • The best viewfinder of any DSLR we’ve used

Cons

  • Slower autofocus than the Nikon D810 in some situations
  • We wish the white balance levels were a bit more adjustable
  • Sort of shocked the dual card slots aren’t both SD

Buy now: $2,996.95

Captured with the Sony A7 III

Pro Tip: DSLR or Mirrorless. Look, it really doesn’t matter what kind of camera you use. Both types of cameras are great. The most important element of any camera is the person who holds it. What is essential, however, is cleaning your camera. If you want your camera to last for many years, you must take care of it. A simple camera cleaning kit is all you need. This one has everything you need, and it’s under $15.

Sony a7 III

Traditional Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • The best battery life of any Sony or mirrorless camera we’ve ever tested
  • A fair amount of resolution and versatility in the RAW files that can be realized with Capture One
  • Nice feel to it
  • Consistency with all the other cameras in terms of the menu system
  • Autofocus can acquire a target in near darkness
  • Essentially feels like a scaled-down Sony a9 and Sony a7r III

Cons

  • Mount and certain lenses may allow for dust to get in onto the sensor. It isn’t as tight as the a7r III’s

Buy now: $1,998

Sony A6000

Traditional Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Excellent autofocus that is very intelligent
  • Great image quality
  • Very useable high ISO output at 6400
  • Great feeling in the hand
  • Excellent EVF

Cons

  • Really wish that there was a thumb stick for quick AF point selection

Buy now: $448

Fujifilm X-T3

Traditional Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Brand new 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 Sensor
  • Brand new X-Processor 4 Image Processor
  • Excellent weather sealing
  • Very solid build quality
  • Excellent image quality
  • In body RAW processing with built-in film simulation profiles
  • Versatile RAW files
  • Amazing video capabilities
  • Dual SD card slots (if your workflow requires it)

Cons

  • Battery life can use some improvement
  • Lacks in-body image stabilization
  • Low light performance is improved over the previous generation X-T2, but hit rates during high-speed low light situations still leave much to be desired

Buy now: $999

Olympus OMD E-M1 Mk II

Traditional Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Good image quality though you start to see shadow noise at ISO 6400
  • They’ve finally fixed that stupid problem where ISO 6400 was marked as an extension
  • Weather sealing that is bananas good
  • We handheld the camera and got a blur-free image at 15 seconds
  • Comfortable to hold

Cons

  • Menus got deeper
  • Price point is hard to justify (at the time of launch)
  • Autofocus can sometimes miss moving subjects in low light
  • Despite having some of the best ergonomics we’ve ever felt on any camera to date, they desperately need a dedicated ISO control dial

Buy now: $1,399

lightroom presets
Captured with the Fujifilm X-T3

Pro Tip: The camera marketplace is an absolute minefield these days. You have DSLRs, Mirrorless cameras, hybrid cameras, fixed-lens cameras, and the list goes on. So, how do you decide which camera is right for you? Fortunately, we have a cheat sheet for you. This cheat sheet will help you determine what type of camera will be best for you. Take a look at the cheat sheet here before you splash your hard-earned cash.

Panasonic GX8

Traditional Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • The best color that Panasonic has ever delivered out of the camera
  • Incredible build quality
  • Very nice EVF
  • Nice shutter sound
  • Fast-focusing capabilities even in the lowest of lighting situations
  • Lots of buttons and dials
  • Dials feel very, very nice
  • In-camera stabilization is quite nice

Cons

  • The layout and placement of dials and buttons are a bit awkward
  • Highlight retention could be better
  • Pretty expensive (at the time of launch)

Buy now: $1,199.99

Leica M10

Traditional Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Very good high ISO output
  • Lots of information recovered from the shadows and fairly cleanly too
  • Feels incredible in the hand
  • New ISO dial
  • WiFi integration
  • Weather sealing
  • Smallest digital M mount camera to date
  • Fewer buttons which actually is nice
  • Absolutely fantastic battery life even in NYC’s cold

Cons

  • Kind of pricey for a Leica
  • Color depth isn’t as deep as we’d like it to be
  • The ISO dial is a nice addition, but it could have implemented it in a better way
  • Rangefinder seems a bit dark. We’ve seen brighter viewfinders in other Leicas

Buy now: $7,184.95

Pentax K1 II

Traditional Digital Cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Enough weather sealing to last a lifetime
  • Rock solid build quality
  • Easy to read LCD Screen
  • In Body Image Stabilization / Pixel Shift
  • Gorgeous 100% coverage viewfinder
  • Excellent image quality
  • Dual SD Card slots
  • Great battery life
  • That little light above the lens mount

Cons

  • Only 33 focus points
  • The Autofocus system won’t win any races
  • Extremely heavy
  • No touchscreen

Buy now: $1,796.95