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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 150 new models have been released in 2008 so far. 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.
- Ultra-cheap (under $100)
- Small, stylish compact cameras
- Under $300
Over $300- Bigger compact cameras
- Over $300
- Bigger cameras with changeable lenses (SLRs)
- Under $1,000
- Over $1,000
Current recommendations (last updated 5th November 2008)
Canon Powershot A460 / A470 – $88. I love this little gem, and carry it anywhere without a second thought. Used carefully, the quality of the A460's pictures is fine for A4-sized enlargements, and it can shoot fairly quickly – 1.5 pictures per second. But it's slow to focus, and really, really slow for the flash to recharge. Take one flash photo and it can be 14 seconds before it's ready to take the next, so it's not much fun at parties. It can give excellent results: here's a gallery of photos that I've taken on my Canon A460 since I bought it in January 2008. There are more flexible cameras out there for a bit more money, but nothing matches it at the price.
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 under $300
I haven't seen a stand-out winner yet in this category, and it's mainly the zoom that lets them down.
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 good 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 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 $300
Panasonic DMC-TZ3 and TZ11, $300 and $450 respectively. There are lots of good cameras in this category, but I've seen beginners get wonderful photos with these little cameras. They have a useful wide-angle lens for landscapes (28mm equivalent), and zoom in far enough for good portraits too. All the Panasonics that I've seen are great at automatically giving just the right amount of flash for people shots both indoors and outdoors. They have effective optical image stabilisation to reduce the number of blurry pictures, they're small and look great. They're not so strong indoors without the flash – the pictures start to look mottled and fuzzy (see here for samples from the TZ3 - the TZ11 is better), but they're no worse than the competition. The older TZ3 is only available online now, as the newer TZ11 and TZ15 have replaced it in Brisbane shops. Of these, the TZ11 is excellent, but the TZ3 is the outstanding bargain at this price.
Bigger compact cameras under $300
Canon Powershot A720IS / A2000IS. $280. We see lots of Canon A series cameras on our workshops, and they give good results in anyone's hands. These have a bigger 6x zoom and optical image stabilisation thrown in, making a good balance of features. The flash is a bit slow to recharge, slowing you down for party photos, but a good solid overall performance. The A2000 is the latest version.
Fujifilm FinePix S5800. $200. Has a good 10x 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. If it had optical image stabilisation it would be a clear winner. The S5800 is now only available to Brisbane online, as it's being replaced by the newer S1000fd ($300). The new model is good, but I've only seen one so far and it was slow to operate - I want to see more of them before I know if it earns a recommendation.
Bigger compact cameras over $300
Canon S5IS and SX10IS, $450 and $550 respectively. The outgoing S5IS 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's easy to learn to get great pictures with it - everyone I know who has one loves it.
It's being replaced by the new and equally good SX10IS ($550), which is also a better travel camera as it zooms out wider so you can get arty landscapes. Watch out for good deals on the S5IS as shops clear their shelves.
The competing cameras from Fuji (s8000 and newer s8100), Panasonic (DMC-FZ18 and newer FZ28), and Olympus (SP560 and newer SP570) also sport proper wide-angle lenses for arty landscapes. I've yet to meet the newer models of these cameras, but I've seen users get excellent results with all of the older models. But I've also seen many people get confused by the controls on the Olympus and Panasonic. 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.
Bigger cameras with changeable lenses (under $1,000)
Nikon D40 - $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. As an older model, so you can find them cheap at the moment, especially with the newer Nikon D60 in Brisbane camera stores now.
When you get it, you'll need to change some of the basic settings to unleash it's full potential: see page 80 in the manual to set “Full” menus, and then see page 76 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.
Canon EOS 450D - $1000 with a basic 18-55 lens. If you're prepared to learn a little more about light and the camera, the 450D will give you better results. It's fast to focus and shoot, and gives beautiful smooth, clear pictures. Finally, Canon have given this camera an "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 dimmer light). But it's still not as flexible as the Auto ISO on the cheaper Nikon, making the Nikon a better replacement for a "point and shoot" camera. This quibble aside, the 450D is a fantastic camera, and gives you access to Canon's dazzling array of lenses. Also consider the cheaper 1000D which is almost as good - if you're on a budget, it might be the one to get.
Pentax K100D/K200D - $500/$700 with basic 18-50 lens. Great cameras at great prices. The K100D is the old model and Pentax currently have very attractive prices to make way for the newer Pentax K-m. They're small, light, and give great results. They have a similar Achille's heel to the Canons, but with a twist: if you change the brightness of photos, the Auto ISO gets turned off.
Olympus and Sony SLRs are reportedly great too, but I won't comment yet as I've only seen a handful of them in our photography courses. They all have new models arriving in Brisbane now, making older models much cheaper at the moment.
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 40D, $1,200 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. I came very close to buying one. Unless you're sure you can afford it, don't even try it in the shop. You won't be able to resist it. I've not yet used the new 50D ($1,700), but its upgrades include a better screen, an improved automatic ability to become more sensitive in low light (finally!), and Canon are claiming better picture quality in low light. I'll reserve judgment on the last point until I see it myself - not eveyone agrees with it.
Nikon D300, $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 40D, 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 D3, $5,900 without lens or flash. I haven't been able to get the grin off my face since buying this camera. 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. This 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 new Nikon D700 ($3,600) is a better buy for 99% of uses.
Canon make the really big guns: the 1Ds III ($10,000) is as big as they come. I've yet to try some of the interesting newcomers: Canon's 5D II ($4,300) which also shoots high-quality video, and Sony have just jumped into the big league with their A900 ($4,500).
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 may be 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 specialised at just one thing
3. Proven cameras. I haven't 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 digital SLR cameras, a Canon compact digital camera, a Panasonic compact digital camera, and a Hasselblad film camera.
So far, the 13 major camera companies have created about 1,400 digital camera models between them, with 150 brand-new ones so far in 2008. 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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