Camera Buying Guide 2020
I had a Facebook friend post recently that she was looking to buy a camera and looking for suggestions. Since I’m a geek for all things photography, I volunteered to give a few suggestions, but of course I can’t just give one or two, I had to write out a pretty long document with different tiers of suggestions. So, I thought it would be good to share with y’all incase some of you, or your friends, would be interested in my advice.
Camera Buying Guide 2020
Budget $600
Looking to Shoot: Landscapes, Portraits, and Snapshots
Intentions: The goal of this guide is a jumping off point to begin your own research. Please don’t just read my few sentence summaries on these cameras and then go out and buy them. I intend you to read this list and use it to begin your own discover of what camera you think would be best for you. Watch YouTube reviews, check out great sites like dpreview, fstoppers, petapixel, and the phoblographer for other reviews and comparisons.
The Basics: First of all, you can’t really buy a bad camera these days. Any camera by any brand made within the last 5 years is going to be a solid choice. Yes, some have different features than others, but they’re all going to be able to take great pictures, especially if you’re mostly just planning on putting photos up on social media. As a general rule, I try to buy used as much as possible and get a camera that’s a generation or two behind the latest and greatest. You can find a killer deal on a great camera, and you can spend more money on lenses. Lenses and experience will do more to up your photos than any camera.
DSLR or Mirrorless? To put it quite simply, the days of DSLR’s are nearing the end, they’re based on decades old technology. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t buy a great DSLR these days, especially at a great price. The benefits of mirrorless have grown over the past 5 years, instead of using mirrors to look through the lens of the camera, a mirrorless camera allows you to see directly what’s on the sensor of the camera. There are a lot of benefits of mirrorless cameras, mainly that you can see your exposure (whether or not the photo will be too dark or too bright) before you take the picture, which you can’t do with a DSLR. There’s also benefits when it comes to having better autofocus. As a rule, for anyone looking to get into photography today, I would suggest a mirrorless camera over a DSLR, but it all comes down to preference and budget, so my feelings won’t be hurt if you get a DSLR.
Three Tiers: I like to suggest three different tiers of options of cameras and lenses, you’ve got the Bronze, Silver, and Gold. All within a few hundred dollars above or below a $600 budget.
Bronze:
Panasonic LUMIX DC-ZS70:
Positives: Small, compact, and powerful “point and shoot” camera that’s easily pocketable, creates great images for a low price-point.
Negatives: Fixed lens, so no chance of upgrading and changing lenses. No Electronic Viewfinder (EVF).
Fuji X-T100:
Positives: Great intro camera that accepts all of the awesome Fuji lenses. Can get used for a great price today. Small and light with a “selfie” screen.
Negatives: Slow and lacks a lot of advanced features, not as sharp as other Fuji Cameras because of a less quality sensor.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II:
Positives: Small and light Micro four-thirds (M4/3) camera that has access to hundreds of awesome lenses.
Negatives: A little outdated and slower compared to some other cameras on this list.
Silver:
Fuji X-T20:
Positives: Probably the best deal on this list, small, compact, and relatively powerful camera with access to Fuji lenses for a fraction of the price of their top-tier cameras.
Negatives: A little outdated, doesn’t have as good of Auto Focus as more updated cameras.
Canon Rebel SL2:
Positives: The only DSLR on the list, but it has a lot of mirrorless options, and has more features than the updated SL3. Small and compact, meant to be easily carried in a smaller bag or purse.
Negatives: DSLR, so you can’t see exposure when you look in the viewfinder. Its small size might be hard for people with bigger hands.
Panasonic G7:
Positives: Although this is an older camera for today, it has a ton of features that are still great in 2020: 4K Video, Flippy Screen, Higher frame rate, and access to great M4/3 lenses.
Negatives: Since it’s a little outdated, it might be harder to find, and it lacks some more advanced features that have been developed recently.
Gold:
Canon M50:
Positives: Until recently, one of the best Canon mirrorless cameras available. Great colors, small and compact with good video and photo capabilities.
Negatives: Smaller and less quality lens lineup than a lot of the other cameras on this list. Probably a little overpriced but can be bought for a good price used.
Sony A6000:
Positives: A great deal and is practically identical to the more advanced A6400 and A6500 that cost a lot more. Great resolution and autofocus for the price. Access to great Sony lenses.
Negatives: Sony menus are notoriously frustrating and hard to learn, the “rangefinder” style is hard for a lot of people.
Platinum/Bonus:
Nikon Z50:
By far the newest and most expensive camera on this lens, but it would be a great introduction to the Nikon system and would be situated as an advanced amateur camera that would give you a lot of room to grow in your photography for years to come.
I’m sure I missed a few, let me know what you think? Is there something you disagree with on this list? Let me know in the comments below.