fbpx
Features

Want to Upgrade? These Are the 4 Best Cameras to Upgrade To

Chris Gampat
No Comments
11/04/2021
4 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Canon EOS RP first impressions 63

For more stories like this, please subscribe to The Phoblographer.

The past few years have shown us several innovations in the camera world. Some of the biggest ones were the face and eye detection features. That went even further with the addition of artificial intelligence. But perhaps best of all is that full-frame cameras got smaller and better. So, if you’re a passionate photographer looking to possibly upgrade beyond your phone, consider these cameras. Best of all, we’ve reviewed all of these and more. Here are the best cameras to upgrade to

The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear that we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Pro Tips on Upgrading a Camera

camera deals

Here are some pro tips on upgrading your camera:

  • Lots of folks haven’t upgraded their cameras in years. Some of the stand out features are boosts to image stabilization, high ISO output, major autofocus enhancements, and more.
  • We’re recommending all entry level full-frame options of the best cameras in this list. That’s not to say that APS-C isn’t there. But if you’re going to choose anything, the obvious choice is Fujifilm.
  • Weather resistance is incredibly important. All the best cameras have some degree of it.
  • Mirrorless cameras through and through are miles ahead of DSLRs these days. That goes even for the most affordable mirrorless cameras. It’s night and day, truly.
  • The joke among photographers is that P-mode is for professional. But it’s actually a form of automatic mode. Basically, you can tell the camera to go brighter or darker as you need.

Canon EOS RP

Canon cameras - Eos RP

In our review, we state:

If you’re stepping up to the Canon EOS RP, then it should be simple enough. In one instance, I handed it to a friend who took a ton of selfies with it while shooting in auto mode. During my quiet judgement of him, I was able to see just how simple it was for him to just take photos. I used to encounter folks like this when I was at B&H Photo. They’re the type who back then just wanted the blurry background. These days, they just want the cameras to do everything for them. As sad as human existence has become with us becoming the machines we use, this is all possible with the Canon EOS RP. Though at the same time, the camera can be used relatively easily by someone with more experience.

Buy Now

Sony a7 III

In our review, we state:

I genuinely think the Sony A7 III is a fantastic camera. Sony describes it as their “basic” option. For that, I understand the mentality. But for the professional photographer, I think the Sony A7 III has no real place in your bag. Instead, go for the Sony a7r III or the Sony a9. The Sony A7 III has great image quality, autofocus, decent build quality (with reservations), and is reliable. It’s not at all a bad camera. But I feel like it’s time for the Sony A7 series to evolve. I think a 36MP sensor would have made more sense in the same way that I believe that the Sony a7s III should be 16MP. This is a camera for the entry level photographer that wants a full frame option. You’d use it for leisure and maybe a bit of semi-professional work. But for specialized work, I think you should look at the other options out there.

Buy Now

Panasonic S5

In our review, we state:

“…their camera is very simple to use. The Panasonic S5 has everything a photographer would want, like a joystick, all the necessary buttons, etc. The only problem I had was sending a bunch of files to my phone through the Panasonic app. Again though, there isn’t much to complain about otherwise. That’s important for anyone considering the system. If you’re stepping up from Micro Four Thirds, then you’re really getting a treat with an even better camera and the same interface you’ve worked with for a long time.”

Buy Now

Nikon Z5

In our review, we state:

If you’ve used Nikon cameras for a while, all this is going to be familiar to you. But the menu interface is still as straightforward as ever. Nikon makes most things involving muscle memory and button-dial combinations easy on this camera too. The Nikon Z5 isn’t targeted at the highest end of photographers. But you surely do need the experience to make the most of this camera. However, it’s also one you can grow with since there’s an Auto function.

Buy Now

camera canon Canon EOS RP nikon Nikon Z5 panasonic panasonic s5 review sony Sony a7 III upgrade upgrade a camera
Shares
Written by

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
You might also like
Screen Shot 2017-08-28 at 12.07.13 PM
Features

Opinion: Please Stop Wearing a Photo Vest if You Don’t Need to Be Wearing a Photo Vest

4 Mins read
07/09/2018

When I got into this industry years ago, one thing really confused me almost as much as how much certain older photographers tend to treat the younger generation of us: photo vests. I’m completely positive that you’ve all seen them: a photographer of a certain distinguishment (or trying to show off without having said distinguishment) wearing their vests that look a lot like safari vests. You know, almost as if they’re going to go out on an African safari at all times without being anywhere near something like a safari. Walking down the streets doing street photography? You’ll see a photo vest. In the studio? Photo vest! Hiking? Yup, A Photo vest!

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Canon RF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM review product images Canon EOS R
Features

Did Canon Miss the Memo That Says Mirrorless Lenses Are Meant to Be Smaller?

3 Mins read
12/26/2018

When Canon introduced their new Mirrorless cameras earlier on this year (The EOS R) one of the stand out features was that the lens mount was so huge. While other manufacturers like Sony have made all things Mirrorless smaller, the late comer to the Mirrorless party seems to have decided that bigger is better. In a recently released interview, Canon engineers seem to be having a sly dig at Sony by saying that lenses with smaller mounts are far less capable than those with larger mounts. Read on after the break to find out more about what the Canon engineers are wafting on about.