Best Camera for Beginners – Part two

Which camera should I buy?

Hopefully you have read part one of this ‘best cameras for beginners’ three part series. If you haven’t, and are starting on your photography journey, it’s definitely worth heading over there first. In part one I explain the different camera options available in ’what type of camera is best?’.

In part two, I’m providing some recommendations on camera models.

What should I consider?

Budget Vs longer term Investment

If you are serious about getting into photography, as you progress through your journey then the ability to change lens will become more important and is probably why you’ll be choosing a DSLR or Mirrorless.
As you grow as a photographer, you WILL want new lenses and also expect the camera to do more. Therefore, it is worth considering investing for the longer term. Buying a cheaper model may mean that you grow out of the camera quickly and end up having to buy a new one in a year or so.

Investing in education…

I speak to lots of beginners who get their first ‘big’ camera, stick it on auto and expect the camera to take amazing pictures… Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work like that and most get fed up and leave the camera to gather dust on the shelf.

I can almost guarantee that you will NOT read the complicated manual and you’ll quickly get frustrated with your results if you don’t have a basic understanding of what all the buttons do!

Whether you are starting out or taking the next step in your photography journey, I’d highly recommend getting yourself booked onto some sort of beginner’s photography course or workshop. Next year I’m running some photography workshops and you can sign up here, but it absolutely doesn’t have to be with me!

DSLR

There are two big players in the DSLR market, Nikon and Canon. Both have their pros and cons but I’m a Nikon shooter so I’ll be suggesting Nikon options.

1. Nikon D3500D3600 - Best Beginners Cameras

  • Easy to use
  • Includes a guide mode which takes you through all the key features.
  • No touchscreen control
  • Video 1080p
  • Bluetooth but no Wi-Fi
  • Superb battery life
  • Excellent image quality with 24.2 Mega Pixel sensor

User level: Great entry level camera

Nikonw D5600_ Best Beginners cameras

2. Nikon D5600

  • Excellent image quality with 24.2 Mega Pixel sensor
  • Advanced autofocus system
  • Larger fully articulating LCD touchscreen
  • Slow Live View focusing
  • Share images directly to the web 
or use your mobile as a remote handy 
for landscape/low light
    HD video

User level: Great entry level camera but more 
room to grow in the future.

Mirrorless

1. Fujifilm X-T100

X-T100 - Best Cameras for Beginners

  • Sensor size: APS-C
  • Resolution: 24.2MP
  • Electronic viewfinder
  • Built-in viewfinder
  • 3 inch 3-way tilting touchscreen
  • 4K video

User level: Entry level Camera

Sony A6000Sony A6000 - Best Cameras for Beginners

  • 24.3 million pixel APS-C CMOS sensor.
  • An incredible autofocus system
  • The sensor also has 179 autofocus points, of which all 179 are used for phase detection, but 25 are also contrast detection points for the camera’s hybrid autofocusing system.

User: For the more confident entry level with room to grow.