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"What's the best digital camera?"
It's the most common question I'm asked in our photography courses, so I've put my recommendations here. This list is based on how well I see cameras perform in the hands of everyday users on our photography courses. Think of these cameras as “safe bets” that also give plenty of room to grow.
Just because a camera isn't here doesn't mean it isn't good; it might just mean that I haven't seen it yet to review it. I'll update this page regularly as I see new cameras... over 40 new models have been released in just the first two weeks of 2010. See the health warning at the end of this page for more information about how I put this list together, and the biases in it.
Before buying a camera, I'd strongly recommend that you try out a few models in the shop. Here's an article on what to look out for when you're shopping for a new camera.
I've split the recommendations into the following groups based on size and price. For the same price, physically bigger cameras are generally better. Smaller cameras lose out either in features, picture quality or price, but they're so much more convenient.
- Cheapest camera
- Small, stylish compact cameras
- Up to $350
Over $350- Bigger compact cameras
- Over $300
- Bigger cameras with changeable lenses (SLRs)
- Up to $1,000
- Over $1,000
Current recommendations (last updated 9th February 2010)
Canon A1000is - $170. An older model that has crept down in price to steal our recommendation for the cheapest camera that's versatile enough to use every day. It has a respectable 4x zoom lens and can shoot fairly quickly - 1.3 pictures per second. Used carefully, the quality of the pictures is fine for A4-sized or bigger enlargements. But it's slow to focus, and really slow for the flash to recharge, so it's not much fun at parties. There are more flexible cameras out there for a bit more money, but little matches it at the price. You don't need to spend a fortune on the camera to get good results: here's a gallery of photos that I've taken on my Canon A460 since I bought it in January 2008 for less than $100 (sorry - that camera isn't available any more).
Small, stylish compact cameras
Fits in your pocket, and you can carry it anywhere. The disadvantage is normally a limited zoom range.
Small, stylish compact up to $350
Samsung wb500 $350. Although it only just scrapes into the category of "small" and "stylish", this camera sits head-and-shoulders above others at the price because it has a fantastic range to its zoom lens, it's easy to use and learn, and gives reliable results. Like all small cameras, it's not brilliant indoors without the flash, but it's competent. A bargain.
The popular Canon digital Ixus range gives reliable results, and the cheaper ones are good value, but most only have a 3-times zoom, which just doesn't magnify enough to get great people shots, and doesn't go wide enough to get arty landscapes. The people on our courses who use them really like them... but by the end of the workshop, they're often looking jealously at the users who have cameras with bigger zooms, once they see all the effects that you can create with a zoom. The Ixus cameras are great for parties, as their small flashes recharge fairly quickly, but I'd suggest only getting one if you're sure you don't want to do people shots with a blurred background, or arty landscapes. The cameras in Olympus' competing FE range look lovely but share the same limitations and most add some extra limitations of their own: no quick shooting, and no screw for a tripod, so night shots and action shots become much harder.
Small, stylish compact over $350
Panasonic DMC-TZ6 $430. There are lots of good cameras in this category, but I've seen beginners get wonderful photos with this little camera. It has a great wide-angle lens for landscapes (25mm equivalent), and zooms in far enough for good portraits too. It has effective optical image stabilisation to reduce the chance of blurry pictures, it's small and looks great. It's not so strong indoors without the flash – the pictures start to look mottled and fuzzy, but it's no worse than the competition. It does eat through its (rechargeable) battery very quickly, so get a spare if travelling. The newer TZ8 has just been anounced, finally adding full manual controls... if this isn't important to you, you might find bargain TZ6's in the shops. The $500 Canon SX200IS is a good alternative that has all the manual controls if you're looking to take photography further. Its replacement (the SX210is) has also just been announced, so again you can look for bargains as shops sell-off the older model
Bigger compact cameras up to $350
This category used to be full of bargains - good cameras with good lenses and features that didn't carry the premium price that you'd pay to get the same thing in a smaller camera. But the price of those smaller cameras has dropped in the last year, making the larger cameras seem less of the bargain they were.
Our recommendation is the Fujifilm FinePix S1500fd. $290. It has a good zoom and a clear layout to the controls, making it easy for beginners to learn. I've seen beginners get great photos of people with this camera, but it's not so strong for arty landscapes, as the wide end of the zoom doesn't go very wide. This new model finally has image-stabilisation, reducing the chances of wobble in low-light.
Bigger compact cameras over $350
Canon SX20IS, $540. This is an outstanding family camera, with enough capability to satisfy an enthusiast. It has two shutter buttons: one for photos and one for video, so it virtually replaces a camcorder too. It has a huge zoom range with an optical stabiliser and good image quality. The controls might look daunting, but it gives good results on "auto everything" and it's easy to learn a bit more to get great pictures with it - everyone I've taught who has one loves it. I've seen many people loyally buy their way through Canon's S-series and SX- series cameras, of which this is the latest. They are the first digital cameras that I've known people talk about with genuine affection - like an Englishman talking about his first Morris Minor.
The competing cameras from Panasonic (FZ35), and Olympus (SP590) also have enormous zoom ranges and I've seen users get excellent results with all of them - every bit as good as the Canon above. But I've also seen too many people get confused by the controls when trying to go beyond "auto everything". The Olympus has useful controls hidden among some bizarre ones, and an instruction manual that is vague at best. The Panasonic is clearer, but has no fewer than 36 modes, including 9 different automatic portrait modes. Frankly, this is silly - it's easier to learn to use a camera manually than to try to remember the differences between all these settings.
Bigger cameras with changeable lenses (SLRs)
If you can spend $600 or more on a camera and don't mind the size, think about getting a cheap digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera instead of a compact camera.
What's an SLR? This page explains the differences between SLR cameras and the rest. In brief, SLRs cost more, are bigger, heavier, make a noisy 'clunk', can get dust on all your pictures, and (on all but the latest models) don't shoot video and you have to look through the viewfinder to frame up a picture. BUT they focus and shoot much faster, take clearer pictures, give much better quality photos in poor light (you can often get sharp, good-quality photos indoors without flash), let you put the background totally out-of-focus if you want to, and you can change their flash and lenses for different effects. All of the digital SLRs below are better than the one used to take 90% of the photos on this web site.
I'd suggest getting the cheapest camera body you can get away with, and the best (yup, read “most expensive”) lenses you can. This combination will give you more versatility, and the best long-term investment. Your camera is going to be comprehensively superseded by a new model in 18 months, but your lenses won't be. You might already have some lenses from a film SLR camera that you can use. This page explains which lenses might work with a modern digital SLR.
Many people ask which brand is the best. There is very little difference between them - try them and see which one fits your hand the best. Or see which brand your friends have and get that brand so that you can swap lenses between you.
Bigger cameras with changeable lenses (under $1,000)
Second-hand Canon EOS 20D or 30D, or Nikon D70 - around $450 - $650 with a basic 18-55 lens on Ebay. Fantastic cameras that give great quality at a bargain price. You won't be getting the gorgeous big screen that comes on the back of the latest cameras, but the picture quality is still great. When buying second-hand, ask the seller how many photos it's taken - it's like the mileage of a car, and these cameras are rated for 50,000+ photos. Check that the sensor is clean, as it's about $100 to clean the sensor, and budget for a new battery as the existing one will be tired by now. Don't get earlier-model cameras than these, as they won't take modern memory cards.
Nikon D60 - $650 with a basic 18-55 lens. Even this cheap SLR knocks the spots off all the compacts above for image quality, especially for photos indoors without flash. It's small and light for an SLR.
When you get it, you'll need to change some of the basic settings to unleash it's full potential: see page 118 in the manual to set “Full” menus, and then see page 110 to set custom function 10 to “On”. As a shameless plug, our workshops include full instructions to make the most of every camera, without having to refer to the manual. Bargain hard, as shops are selling these out for the new Nikon D3000, which I'm not so keen on. If you can spend more, get the D5000 instead, or:
Canon EOS 1000D - $800 with an image-stabilised 18-55 lens. If you're prepared to learn a little more about light and the camera, the 1000D will give you great results. It's fast to focus and shoot, and gives beautiful smooth, clear pictures. Finally, Canon have given this camera a proper "Auto ISO" setting (ISO is the digital equivalent of film 'speeds' - remember film comes in 100, 200, 400 etc? Same thing. The higher numbers are for shooting in dimmer light without needing flash). It's the entry-point to Canon's dazzling array of lenses.
Pentax K-m - $700 with basic 18-50 lens. A great camera at a great price. The K-m is the old model and Pentax currently have very attractive prices to make way for the newer Pentax Kx. They're small, light, and give great results. They do have an Achille's heel: if you change the brightness of photos, the Auto ISO gets turned off, so you need to learn a bit about light to use it effectively.
Olympus e450 - $710 with a basic 14-42 lens. As small as it gets for an SLR camera, and still packed with goodies and SLR-quality. Try it in the shop before buying - to me, it doesn't feel as "refined" as the cameras above, but the results are great.
Bigger cameras with changeable lenses (over $1,000)
The SLRs above all give outstanding results, and few people will need more. But are you curious to know what can you get if you do spend more?
The cameras below offer faster shooting, faster autofocus, and better build quality. They're more weatherproof – but few of their lenses are so you still need to be careful. To a lesser extent, they will offer better image quality when shooting in the darkest conditions. If you are beginning in photography, I'd suggest getting one of the SLRs above, and spend the extra money on lenses, rather on one of the cameras below. I've seen lots of these cameras on our courses, and tested them with a view to buying them myself.
Canon EOS 50D, $1,500 without lens. An unprecedented amount of camera for the price. It gives excellent quality indoors without flash, takes 6 pictures per second, and focuses quickly. The screen on the back is a joy to look at. Unless you're sure you can afford it, don't even try it in the shop. You won't be able to resist it.
Nikon D300s, $2,300 without lens. You almost certainly don't need to spend this much on a camera unless you're selling pictures. It's delicious in ways that experienced users will love. It focuses even faster than the Canon 50D, gives excellent quality, and feels rugged and precise. It just gets out of your way to let you take pictures, which is the single most important thing for photographing people.
Huge, state-of-the-art cameras – over $3,000
I've put this here purely so that you know what the state-of-the-art is. Anyone buying one of these will be doing some serious research into their business plan first.
Nikon D3s, $6,000 without lens or flash. I still haven't been able to get the grin off my face since buying the predecessor D3. It laughs at me every time I use it. It gives unprecedented picture quality in one hundredth of the light needed by the compact cameras above. This means that I can shoot in the murkiest venues without flash and still get shots that clients love. Nine pictures every second. The D3 and the Canon 1D III were the two cameras that shot China's Olympics. Weaknesses? It weighs 3kg with a professional lens, and the most sensitive autofocus sensors are clustered in the middle of the picture – just where I don't want them. The biggest downside is its size: it's so big that it cuts you off from the people you're photographing, making it harder to get genuine expressions, especially when shooting children. So I sometimes get better photos with much smaller, cheaper cameras. The smaller, but almost identical Nikon D700 ($3,600) is a better buy for 99% of uses.
For the ultimate in picture quality from cameras of this size, Canon's 1Ds III ($10,000) and Nikon's D3X ($13,000) are as big as they come. Canon's 5D II ($4,000) gives comparable quality and also shoots high-quality video.
Canon and Nikon rule the roost for these professional workhorses - not because they're better than other brands, but because you can rent, service and repair their cameras and accessories almost anywhere, and because they have a staggering range of accessories and lenses. Sony have recently jumped into the big league with their A900 ($4,500) - it'll be interesting to see how it sells.
If you need even more quality (for billboards or demanding commercial assignments), you're looking at a “medium format” camera or even a “large format camera” – about $5,000 for film or $40,000 for digital. Happy shopping!
Health warning - how we put this list together
I only recommend cameras that I've actually used or taught beginners how to use. Just because a camera isn't here, doesn't mean it isn't good... it might just mean that I haven't seen it yet to review it. I'll update this page regularly as I see how people go with new cameras. Note that the photos on this page are not all to the same scale.
Megapixels don't feature on this page, because all new cameras have enough megapixels for 99% of people. See this article to find out why megapixels really don't matter anymore.
The prices are in Austrlian dollars and come from web searches for cameras that have full Australian warranties, from retailers that have actual stores. You can get them cheaper if you're prepared to forego the manufacturers' warranties and service support by buying "grey imports". Many stores in Brisbane have slightly higher prices, which is justified if you're going to spend time trying the cameras, which I would recommend, and many offer good pre- and post-sale support. Some shops may match others' advertised prices too.
Our biases are:
1. Failsafe cameras, rather than whiz-bang with the latest things
2. Versatile cameras, rather than cameras specialised at just one thing
3. Proven cameras. I may not have seen the latest ones yet.
4. Easy-to-learn cameras that perform well for beginners as well as enthusiasts.
5. Common cameras – Canon sell more cameras than anyone else, and so I see more Canons than anything else. There are more Canon cameras mentioned because I can be more confident of these recommendations.For the record, my current cameras include Nikon and Canon digital SLR cameras, Canon and Panasonic compact digital cameras, and a range of film cameras including Hasselblad.
So far, the 13 major camera companies have created about 1,600 digital camera models between them, with over 40 brand-new ones announced in the first 2 weeks of 2010. Web sites such as dpreview.com keep up with the deluge, and have an encyclopaedic database featuring almost every camera, with recommendations from experienced reviewers. If you understand the camera jargon (or want to learn it), those web sites have heaps of information.
Images and trademarks on this page are property of their respective owners. Take Better Photos Pty Ltd is not associated with any company mentioned on this page.
Comments? Suggestions? Have we made a mistake? We'd love to hear from you. Write to us at courses@takebetterphotos.com.au
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