A while back, we published a guide to the best cameras for beginners. And recently we updated that guide with the options we know that a brand new photographer will really enjoy. Cameras these days have a very steady influx of updates — and most cameras only have a two-year lifespan if anything. In two years, a brand can launch a bunch of new cameras. So our latest updates to the guide will help you figure out what’s needed and why you should get that new camera.
Why You Should Trust Us
The Phoblographer is the only photography publication that has consistently been doing roundups of the best camera gear for several years now. With nearly 15 years of experience under our belts, we’ve tested pretty much every camera on the market that’s come out in the past decade. We’ve also got the largest database of real-world lens reviews. All of this translates into our product round-up guides.
The products in our roundup guides:
- Have been used by us
- Include original product photography and sample image galleries that have been shot by our staff
- Include quotes from our full reviews
- Include links to our full reviews so you can see the testing we did and read further into what we think of the product
- Include the pros and cons.
If we haven’t tested a product, we don’t include them in our reviews. But most of all, our guides include a clear winner over the others. However, we also give you alternatives. Our guide to the Best Cameras For Beginners has alternatives to what we think is the best.
The Best Cameras For Beginners
For our guide to the best cameras for beginners, we’re choosing the Sony a7c II. It’s small, lightweight, affordable, and offers lots of the features of some of Sony’s higher-end cameras. And we think that so many photographers will love it because it’s a camera that you’d want to bring everywhere with you.
There are a few other incredible options too! The Panasonic Lumix S5 II has to be the best hybrid camera on the market at the moment.
And while we generally don’t recommend APS-C cameras these days, we can’t deny that the two that we’ve chosen are good. The reason why we’re not recommending APS-C cameras is because of the second-hand camera market. Used full-frame cameras can often be had cheaper than new APS-C cameras and usually provide you with better image quality, more features, etc. In our minds, it’s kind of the obvious choice to go full-frame. But the Fujifilm XE4 and Canon EOS R7 do some really special things. There’s Fujifilm’s film simulations if you’re going that route. And for Canon, the EOS R7 has a great feature when photographing birds or sports that ensures that you never miss a moment.
Still though, we wouldn’t discount older Fujifilm Medium Format camera bodies as the Fujifilm GFX 50R is still a camera that I consider buying to this day — and I’m not a beginner. What’s more, the Canon EOS R6 is an incredible camera still for the money.
Head over and check out the roundup! You and the budding photographer in your life are bound to find something great.