The summer is here! That means longer days for you to go shoot out and about. If you’re treking into the mountains to experience the night sky, you’ll want something much better than your phone. So we’re rounding up the best cameras for summer 2022 and all the cool things you’ll do. We’ve tested every camera on the market right now, and we’re ensuring that you have the right one for your trips.
How We Chose the Best Cameras for Summer
Here’s some insight into how we selected the best cameras for summer 2022 that we think you’ll love:
- Our staff doesn’t recommend anything that we haven’t tried ourselves. To that end, all the photos in this roundup were shot by our staff. There are links to our full reviews as well.
- The best cameras for summer 2022 are all weather resistant to a point. The OM System OM1 and Leica Q2 are IP rated and incredibly durable.
- We’re focusing on lightweight cameras with weather resistance, which is what we didn’t include anything in this list from Canon. But the time you attach weather resistant lenses from Canon, the package becomes really heavy.
- The autofocus on all of these cameras is more than good enough to get the shots that you need.
- All of these cameras charge via USB-C. That means that you can charge it easily when you’re on the go.
- Trust us, when we say that we’ve reviewed tons of cameras. You can search our reviews index if you’d like. But we’ve thought carefully about this list for the best cameras for summer 2022. These are truly the best ones you can get right now.
Sony a7 IV: The Perfect Balance
Pros
- Face detection and tracking
- Animal face detection and tracking
- Bird face and eye detection
- Metering
- Updated OLED screen and menu
- Comfortable grip
- Suitable for a variety of applications
- Weather-sealed and sensor dust issue is improved
- Fast autofocus
- Impressive Dynamic Range
- Sharp â almost too sharp for some womensâ portraits
- In-camera skin softening to combat incredibly sharp skin pores
Cons
- High ISO performance could be better
- Color noise in out-of-focus areas at lower ISOs
- Shutter freezes and the camera becomes unresponsive at times when shooting bracketed
- High burst mode currently only works if shooting compressed RAW
What Do We Think?
In our review, we state:
“The long-anticipated Sony a7 IV is finally here and aims to bridge the gap for still photographers and videographers. Itâs received a bit of a facelift with a beautiful, new OLED screen and a more comfortable grip. The updated face and animal detection with tracking is impressive and fun. It now comes with in-camera skin smoothing to significantly reduce post-processing time. Plus, its price is pretty great for an all-in-one option.”
OM System OM1: For the Great Outdoors
Pros
- This new menu system is amazing
- So much autofocus versatility with scene selection!
- So small and well built!
- A great amount of buttons, but it probably couldâve done with even more
- Thereâs finally an rating system thatâs easy to access!
- Weather sealing is some of the best on the market.
- An incredibly lightweight camera with OMâs lenses
- When the autofocus sensitivity is increased, this camera is a beast at photographing and locking onto birds. But itâs still not on par with Sony and Canon.
- Autofocus is better for moving vehicles than flying birds simply because birds are a smaller part of the frame typically.
- Dramatically improved high ISO output
- Autofocus tracked a cat walking towards me pretty well. It works but itâs buggy at times just like Sony, Canon, and Nikon.
- The cameras computational photography capabilities are so incredibly fun.
- The cleanest high ISO print weâve ever gotten from a Micro Four Thirds camera at ISO 6400.
- Face detection is better than Nikon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic. Itâs not quite on par with Canon, Sony, and Leica.
- Low light AF sensitivity works well, but thatâs because it negates the exposure preview setting after a while.
- THEY FINALLY FIXED FOCUS PEAKING ZOMGWTFBBQ!!!!
- Capture One support is absolutely incredible.
Cons
- Olympus went and made an awesome menu system but didnât make it touch compatible.
- Separates bird and animal detection
- Bird detection is very difficult to use when a teleconverter is attached.
- Animal and bird detection is a bit better than with Nikon and Panasonic, but still behind both Canon and Sony.
- No sensor protection when the camera is turned off. Come on, folks! How do you make a camera with an insane IP durability rating and not protect the sensor?
- C-AF with Tracking isnât the best. Tracking moving birds is tough and almost impossible.
- Image stabilization at very slow shutter speeds doesnât seem as great as previous Olympus cameras, but is still very good.
What Do We Think?
In our review, we state:
“The OM System OM1 brings a ton of features that no other camera system has. It delivers it all in a small package while also offering a ton of lenses. Itâs not perfect, but most of the problems can be fixed with firmware updates that hopefully come.”
Fujifilm X100V: Street Photography is Key
Pros
- Feels good in the hand
- Focuses quickly but the all wide tracking needs a revamp
- Beautiful overall
- I like this new ISO dial
- So simple to use
- Image quality is nice so far
- Built in ND filter option
- With the right tweaks the autofocus can be very good for street. I recommend tweaking the tracking sensitivity and using a specific spot set to the largest area and in the center. Then AF-C Mode.
- Iâm finding autofocus with the OVF to be faster than with the EVF
- Touchscreen focusing is wonderful in protests
- At $1,349, itâs very worth it
Cons
- Battery life drains too fast
- Could use a leatherette grip and not this plastic fantastic stuff
- Exposure compensation dial needs a lock button
- Touchscreen menu is needed
- Maybe even a few more Fn buttons
- Viewfinder diopter adjustment doesnât lock
- When you set the camera to viewfinder only for shooting and LCD for playback, the menu system works only in the viewfinder.
- There are situations where Image Stabilization would really benefit this camera due to the quick âhit and runâ style of shooting
- LCD needs to adapt to lighting automatically
- Autofocus suffers in very low lighting and in zone setting. You need to use the focus point setting otherwise. This is where Canon and Sony are ahead still.
What Do We Think?
In our review, we state:
“The Fujifilm X100v is the closest thing that we have to a perfect point and shoot on the market. Itâs got great autofocus capabilities, wonderful image quality, weather sealing, a revamped lens, and a simple interface. What more could you need?”
Leica Q2: Leica Quality Meets Modern Tech
Pros
- Good image quality, though arguably better offerings from competitors
- Weather sealed
- Feels nice in the hands
- Beautiful
- The lens is exceptional
Cons
- This is questionable, but the Leica Q2 could have really used a joystick. Not everyone wants to manually focus the lens instead.
- High ISO output is a bit under par
- The LCD screen is pretty low resolution
- Autofocus in very low light isnât great
- Could have used a few more function buttons
What Do We Think?
In our review, we state:
“The Leica Q2 is a pretty good camera; but I couldnât recommend it for all types of professional work. In some ways, I think that the lens is holding it back. Optically speaking I think it needs an upgrade though it can deliver beautiful image quality. The near 50MP sensor is quite a lot to handle and it shows. Then there is fantastic weather sealing. But overall, the autofocus falls short at times and the RAW file versatility isnât all there. In fact, Iâd argue that the Leica M10 has a more versatile sensor.”
The Phoblographerâs various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldnât get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldnât get photography advice from someone who doesnât touch the product. We only recommend gear weâve fully reviewed. If youâre wondering why your favorite product didnât make the cut, thereâs a chance itâs on another list. If we havenât reviewed it, we wonât 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.
