Choosing a camera can feel like taking a step into the unknown for many people. We've all got so used to having good lenses on our smartphones that much of the jargon surrounding cameras that were once in general parlance has been forgotten.
If you need a bit of direction when it comes to an understanding your ISOs, apertures, white balances, and megapixels, we've compiled this thorough guide to point you in the right direction.
We'll cover the main camera brands, what to look for, the types of cameras available to you (and their pros and cons), and how to get the best out of any setup you go for.
We'll also discuss the benefits of upgrading your kit and moving away from your phone camera, including what kinds of cameras and lenses to look at for different photography styles.
Digital SLR cameras (DSLRs)
Single lens reflex cameras, or SLR cameras, have been around since the early days of photography. These have an interchangeable lens, with the viewfinder showing a corrected image (through a series of mirrors) through that lens. They became popular on the world stage when Japanese manufacturers such as Pentax found a way of mass-producing them cheaply, and that's happened again in more recent times with digital technology. Due to their versatility, durability, and flexibility, they're still the most popular type of camera out there for both amateurs and professionals.
Compact cameras
Years ago, we heard a lot about the demise of compact cameras due to smartphones. Still, in recent years, the technology that can be packed into such small boxes has increased to such an extent that buying a compact camera now has many merits:
- The lens quality is usually vastly superior.
- The sensor quality is better as it has been developed specifically for small cameras.
- The optical zoom quality is much higher (later on).
Finally, due to the relative portability of compact cameras, twinned with their ability to make high-quality 4K video recordings, many are popular with content creators, blog owners, and vloggers.
(Panasonic)
Taking the crown in our review of the best compact cameras, our tester said: "The size means it's ideal for when you're traveling and is spectacularly good for everything from wildlife to sports photography."
They added that "it's a perfect size to slip into a pocket or bag, and fits the hand well. Because the sensor is large, the picture quality is extremely strong… This camera stands out for excellent battery life and real ease of use." They also found it had an extra friendly technique that combines shots into a single image.
(Fujifilm)
The price-per-print may be pretty high, but these cameras have become fashionable again as camera makers and developers go after the style created and epitomized so famously by Polaroid in the 1970s. Fujifilm offers a great range with its Instax series, and options are also available from Polaroid, Leica, and Lomo.
(Argos)
These cameras are small, rugged, hardwearing, and able to record stunning detail in a small package. The obvious option here is GoPro, and it recently released the Hero9 Black (Argos, £429.99), which records in 5K and has excellent stabilization. There are others on the market, but generally, they are built along similar lines with a hardwearing, shock-resistant shell and advanced video recording inside. One word of caution – they do tend to be more focused on video than stills, so if you're looking for the latter, it might be worth purchasing a durable case for a high-quality DSLR instead.
As the name suggests, these cameras have no physical mirrors, which offers them some significant advantages over heavier, more cumbersome, traditional DSLR cameras. Firstly, it means they're lighter and therefore favored by travel and lifestyle photographers. Secondly, the extra space means manufacturers can make more prominent sensors, increasing image quality, depth, and dynamic range (the difference between the lights and darks in a photo). Over time, as technology improves and prices go down, many professional photographers are moving away from DSLR cameras and into the mirrorless market.
How to start out choosing lenses
If you've bought a DSLR camera, it's likely to have shipped with a "kit" lens, which is the name for cheap lenses made and shipped as bundles with the camera bodies themselves. So put this aside – your best bet is to buy a 1.8 or 1.4 50mm prime lens. This lens is fixed in its focal range at 50mm, which on a full-frame camera such as a Canon 5D (Canon, £2799.99), is the lens that's broadly equivalent to the human field of vision. Not having the luxury of a zoom also improves your photography, allowing you to interact with your subject fully and discover attractive crops and angles through the viewfinder rather than in the editing software.
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