Camera buying guide 2021

[GDRRiley]

On many camera focused sites like B&H or Adoramba you can get items like extra batteries, SD cards or software bundled at the same cost.

This isn't a be all and end all just a place to start for May 2021

I've put 0 weighting between sensor size or lens cost, Micro Four Thirds is a 2x crop, while APS-C/S35 is 1.5-1.6x with Full Frame being 1 and medium format .8x (not covered here)
 

sub 500$ (includes kit lens)

Used Fuji X-T100
Used Canon T5-T7/ T5i-T8i

Used Panasonic

 

500-900$ (includes kit lens)

Fuji     X-T200 great body, great JPEG, good 4k video, good AF
Sony   A6100 meh body, complicated menus, crop in 4k, great AF

USED 5D mark iii weather sealed, good jpeg, meh 1080p good AF.

 

900-1500$ (no lens)

Fuji    X-S10 great body, great JPEG (Film simulations included), great 4k video, in body stabilization, good AF

Fuji     X-T3   great body, great JPEG (Film simulations included), amazing 4k video, weather sealed, good AF

Nikon  Z5      good body, meh 4k with crop, in body stabilization, great AF

Nikon  Z6

Canon RP      good body, meh 4k with crop, great AF

1500-2800$ (no lens)

Canon  R6  great body, great JPEG, good 4k video, in body stabilization, weather sealed, class leading AF

Fuji      X-T4 great body, great JPEG (Film simulations included), amazing 4k video, in body stabilization, weather sealed, good AF (BEST crop body)

Sony    A7R iii great body, complicated menus, higher res sensor, meh 4k video, in body stabilization, weather sealed, great AF

Sony    A7IV Great body, great JPEGs, great 4k video, in body stabilization, weather sealed, great AF. (BEST hybrid body)

 

Cinema/Video focused cameras 1000-3000$

Black magic pocket 6k pro 

Black magic pocket 4k

Zcam E2-F6

GH5S 
Used URSA 4.6k/4.6k G2

 

I assume people will ask i'll list sources but roughly

Potato jet

Kai W

DP review

Peta Pixel
Gerald Undone

a few others.

 

I am by no means an expert and everyone's use case may mean a different model than the listed will make sense. I'll take feedback and update it.

[GDRRiley]

I'm going to make this a lot more detailed in the coming weeks as I become free from school.
feel free to input as I don't know everything 

[RTX 3070 I7 11800h]

1 hour ago, GDRRiley said:

On many camera focused sites like B&H or Adoramba you can get items like extra batteries, SD cards or software bundled at the same cost.

This isn't a be all and end all just a place to start for May 2021

I've put 0 weighting between sensor size or lens cost, Micro Four Thirds is a 2x crop, while APS-C/S35 is 1.5-1.6x with Full Frame being 1 and medium format .8x (not covered here)
 

sub 500$ (includes kit lens)

Used Fuji X-T100
Used Canon T5-T7/ T5i-T8i

Used Panasonic

 

500-900$ (includes kit lens)

Fuji     X-T200 Great body, great JPEG, good 4k video, good AF
Sony   A6100 meh body, mess menus, crop in 4k, great AF

 

900-1500$ (no lens)

Fuji    X-S10 Great body, Great JPEG (Film simulations included), Great 4k video, in body stabilization, good AF

Fuji     X-T3   Great body, Great JPEG (Film simulations included), Amazing 4k video, weather sealed, good AF

Nikon  Z5      Good body, Meh 4k with crop, in body stabilization, great AF

Canon RP      Good body, Meh 4k with crop, great AF

1500-2500$ (no lens)

Canon  R6  Great body, Great JPEG, Great 4k video, in body stabilization, weather sealed, class leading AF

Fuji      X-T4 Great body, Great JPEG (Film simulations included), Great 4k video, in body stabilization, weather sealed, good AF (BEST crop body)

 

 

 

I assume people will ask i'll list sources but roughly

Potato jet

Kai W

DP review
Gerald Undone

a few others.

 

I am by no means an expert and everyone's use case may mean a different model than the listed will make sense. I'll take feedback and update it.

I like this guide

EDIT: I love potato jet

[GDRRiley]

I'm happy with the cameras here, I now need to explain my thoughts better

[RTX 3070 I7 11800h]

5 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

I'm happy with the cameras here, I now need to explain my thoughts better

Mhm

[D13H4RD]

Get some more info from Gordon Laing and Dustin Abbott.

 

They go really in-depth.

[GDRRiley]

1 minute ago, D13H4RD said:

Get some more info from Gordon Laing and Dustin Abbott.

 

They go really in-depth.

I'll add some info in from them and see if it changes any of the recs

[D13H4RD]

You should add the Nikon Z6 in the $900-$1500 bracket. It's crazy how cheap it's become especially used, and it is an exceedingly capable body for the price.

[GDRRiley]

8 minutes ago, D13H4RD said:

You should add the Nikon Z6 in the $900-$1500 bracket. It's crazy how cheap it's become especially used, and it is an exceedingly capable body for the price.

added. I'll make notes for it a little later

[akio123008]

I'm not too sure how it compares to the cameras in your guide, but I recently bought a Canon M50 and it seemed like a pretty good deal for about 550 euros.

[GDRRiley]

56 minutes ago, akio123008 said:

I'm not too sure how it compares to the cameras in your guide, but I recently bought a Canon M50 and it seemed like a pretty good deal for about 550 euros.

I'm not a big fan of the M50, M50mk2 or M6mk2 because of their EF-M mount. you really need to adapt it to EF to get decent lenses and ones that you can upgrade the body and carry forward. the m50mk2 is really everything that should have been added to the mk1 with a firmware update

 

for the 700$ USD you are in X-T200 or A6100 area which are a lot better, let alone something used like an X-T30 or a6400

[AlexBlob]

I think its always worth saying that going used is a great way of getting some really good kit at good prices.

 

Granted not everyone wants to go used but even some 4 year old gear will still do the job for a lot of situations.

[GDRRiley]

26 minutes ago, AlexBlob said:

I think its always worth saying that going used is a great way of getting some really good kit at good prices.

 

Granted not everyone wants to go used but even some 4 year old gear will still do the job for a lot of situations.

yep, my recommendation for anything under 500$ is go used

[D13H4RD]

On 5/26/2021 at 3:17 AM, GDRRiley said:

I'm not a big fan of the M50, M50mk2 or M6mk2 because of their EF-M mount. you really need to adapt it to EF to get decent lenses and ones that you can upgrade the body and carry forward. the m50mk2 is really everything that should have been added to the mk1 with a firmware update

I've lately gained a bit of affection for the EOS M system simply due to their very small overall footprint. They don't have a lot of glass, and frankly, not a lot of ones with excellent optics, but the sheer size of them makes it very appealing as an EDC kind of camera (everyday carry)

 

I personally wouldn't have an M6 Mark II as my main, but as a secondary EDC with the EF-M 22mm? Now that's highly appealing.

[GDRRiley]

On 6/2/2021 at 6:23 AM, D13H4RD said:

I've lately gained a bit of affection for the EOS M system simply due to their very small overall footprint. They don't have a lot of glass, and frankly, not a lot of ones with excellent optics, but the sheer size of them makes it very appealing as an EDC kind of camera (everyday carry)

 

I personally wouldn't have an M6 Mark II as my main, but as a secondary EDC with the EF-M 22mm? Now that's highly appealing.

thats fair but the small size can be found in other bodies too, like a Panasonic for a lot less cost

 

I'd be more likely to run something like a fuji X100 if I'm after that 35mm FF walking around setup, right now I'm carrying a 60D with a 24-105 F4

[Chrisokane]

Fuji X100f is a great walk around small camera, should add the newer X100V to the list.

[LaFemmeEnVert]

On 5/20/2021 at 7:39 AM, GDRRiley said:

1500-2900$ (no lens)

in this price range brand new no lens and for video
Blackmagic Pocket 6K or 6K pro

camera on used market
Sony FS5

Blackmagic Ursa Mini

Canon C300

 

i will use any of these cameras over any of the cameras you listed for video work at this price range

[GDRRiley]

50 minutes ago, LaFemmeEnVert said:

in this price range brand new no lens and for video
Blackmagic Pocket 6K or 6K pro

camera on used market
Sony FS5

Blackmagic Ursa Mini

Canon C300

 

i will use any of these cameras over any of the cameras you listed for video work at this price range

I’ve not put any cinema cameras in this list. 
im happy to add the pocket family and Zcams but none of the used options you listed are that good anymore. 
 

 

1 hour ago, Chrisokane said:

Fuji X100f is a great walk around small camera, should add the newer X100V to the list.

My issues is that it’s a bit too specialized, yes it’s got excellent image quality and a small size but for the price you could go x-t30 with a similar prime and it would only be slightly bigger. 

[LaFemmeEnVert]

13 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

im happy to add the pocket family and Zcams but none of the used options you listed are that good anymore

Obvious you know limited about video work. I didn’t specify which specific serie of the Ursa mini or c300 but they are still good cameras.  Ursa minin4.6K can be found used for about 2300 and shoots braw. c300 for canon color science and FS5 outputs 12-bit raw files.  All of them still amazing cameras for video work

[GDRRiley]

32 minutes ago, LaFemmeEnVert said:

Obvious you know limited about video work. I didn’t specify which specific serie of the Ursa mini or c300 but they are still good cameras.  Ursa minin4.6K can be found used for about 2300 and shoots braw. c300 for canon color science and FS5 outputs 12-bit raw files.  All of them still amazing cameras for video work

The usra 4k is a hard sell now. The 4.6k is a decent unit. 

The c300 mk1 and FS5 both have the limited internal codec options that don’t hold up to the new options. 
c300 does 4k in 420 8bit or 1080p in 422 10 bit. If it was all 422 10 bit I'd say its a decent body now.

I own a FS700R which is the same as a FS5. It’s decent but the recorders needed are at least 1000$+ and more like 1500$ for an Atomos shogun or Odessy  Q7 

Edited June 6, 2021 by GDRRiley

[LaFemmeEnVert]

18 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

The usra 4k is a hard sell now. The 4.6k is a decent unit. 

The c300 mk1 and FS5 both have the limited internal codec options that don’t hold up to the new options. 
c300 does 4k in 420 8bit or 1080p in 422 10 bit. If it was all 422 10 bit I'd say its a decent body now.

I own a FS700R which is the same as a FS5. It’s decent but the recorders needed are at least 1000$+ and more like 1500$ for an Atomos shogun or Odessy  Q7 

majority of options available for the 1500-2900 range are DSLR or Mirrorless cameras which also need external recorders to do the same job and they will also need external audio recorders to record good audio

with Those cine cameras only accessory needed most of the time will be just the external video recorder, besides lenses which all cameras will need they won’t need external audio recorders or adapters since they include good preamps for audio

and they are made for video so no 30minute recording limit if someone wants to record video non stop internal

 

and recent cameras that are better than those cine cameras also cost the same price of those cameras whene they were brand new

[GDRRiley]

39 minutes ago, LaFemmeEnVert said:

majority of options available for the 1500-2900 range are DSLR or Mirrorless cameras which also need external recorders to do the same job and they will also need external audio recorders to record good audio

with Those cine cameras only accessory needed most of the time will be just the external video recorder, besides lenses which all cameras will need they won’t need external audio recorders or adapters since they include good preamps for audio

and they are made for video so no 30minute recording limit if someone wants to record video non stop internal

 

and recent cameras that are better than those cine cameras also cost the same price of those cameras whene they were brand new

You’ve got the pockets and then Zcam E2-S6, E2-M4 or E2 which all have good internal options. 
the nice thing about the mirrorless in this range are they can use the Atomos ninja V which is 600$ not 1500$
 

most non canon bodies have removed the 30 min limit and any external recorder will remove it. I’d say most cinema cameras have meh pre amps. Better than say a Zoom H4/H4n but certainly not upto a Sound devices unit. 
 

are you ignoring the exact cameras you wanted me to add in the pocket family? 

[LaFemmeEnVert]

2 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

You’ve got the pockets and then Zcam E2-S6, E2-M4 or E2 which all have good internal options. 
the nice thing about the mirrorless in this range are they can use the Atomos ninja V which is 600$ not 1500$
 

most non canon bodies have removed the 30 min limit and any external recorder will remove it. I’d say most cinema cameras have meh pre amps. Better than say a Zoom H4/H4n but certainly not upto a Sound devices unit. 
 

are you ignoring the exact cameras you wanted me to add in the pocket family? 

BM pocket 6K, the only extra accessory I will use at the bare minimum witt this camera will be my sound devices mix pre for audio

 

ursa mini and c300 mk 1 should go to the below 1500 price range category

 

ursa mini 4.6k, I can film with this without needed an external video or audio recording

 

sony FS5, no need to carry my mixpre, only take my shogun for raw video

 

canon c300 mk ii, same as the FS5, no need for mixpre, just a shogun for raw video

 

dslrs and Mirrorless cameras you listed in the same 1500-2900 price range, I will take both external video recorder and audio recorder.  I will not consider them without these accessories

 

if I need much better audio, I will bring a sound person with my sound devices 633 or Scorpio or their big sound cart

 

 

for video work, these cameras I list are capable and require less accessories to use and get files that can be pushed to the extreme in post and they do amazing work

 

event the Sony a7siii I may or may not get, will require both external video and audio recording devices for me to consider it as a tool for work.  If I wanted a smaller camera kit than using my F5 or Venice or the arri and red systems we have at our studio 

 

we even still use a canon 5d mk ii in our productions because it still provides a great image in the right conditions but obviously no longer as a primary camera in any project.  Though I may be giving  the 5dii to my niece since she wants to do photography we will add a few more cameras to our inventory

 

For the zcam, I don’t know them.  our supplier doesn’t sell them so the only thing I know about this camera is what is written on paper.  Our supplier sells a system called kinefinity but we haven’t tested them yet.  We only trust cameras we have tested and only carried by our supplier so if there is a problem, they will fix, replace, substitute, quickly

[RTX 3070 I7 11800h]

3 hours ago, LaFemmeEnVert said:

BM pocket 6K, the only extra accessory I will use at the bare minimum witt this camera will be my sound devices mix pre for audio

 

ursa mini and c300 mk 1 should go to the below 1500 price range category

 

ursa mini 4.6k, I can film with this without needed an external video or audio recording

 

sony FS5, no need to carry my mixpre, only take my shogun for raw video

 

canon c300 mk ii, same as the FS5, no need for mixpre, just a shogun for raw video

 

dslrs and Mirrorless cameras you listed in the same 1500-2900 price range, I will take both external video recorder and audio recorder.  I will not consider them without these accessories

 

if I need much better audio, I will bring a sound person with my sound devices 633 or Scorpio or their big sound cart

 

 

for video work, these cameras I list are capable and require less accessories to use and get files that can be pushed to the extreme in post and they do amazing work

 

event the Sony a7siii I may or may not get, will require both external video and audio recording devices for me to consider it as a tool for work.  If I wanted a smaller camera kit than using my F5 or Venice or the arri and red systems we have at our studio 

 

we even still use a canon 5d mk ii in our productions because it still provides a great image in the right conditions but obviously no longer as a primary camera in any project.  Though I may be giving  the 5dii to my niece since she wants to do photography we will add a few more cameras to our inventory

 

For the zcam, I don’t know them.  our supplier doesn’t sell them so the only thing I know about this camera is what is written on paper.  Our supplier sells a system called kinefinity but we haven’t tested them yet.  We only trust cameras we have tested and only carried by our supplier so if there is a problem, they will fix, replace, substitute, quickly

He wouldn't exclude cinema cameras without a reason.

[LaFemmeEnVert]

 looking at zcam the cameras are interesting but the lack of support for editing the native files in most common editors is going to be a major issue, even with zraw plugin in premiere use proxy instead of natively working with the file.  Need to find sample files to test if it’s a big problem