The Buyers guide to...Best camera under £500 / $500: what to look for and what to buy

While much of spec on the D3500 is held over from the D3400, there are a few key differences. For starters, the D3500’s APS-C format 24.2Mp sensor is new (although it has the same effective pixel count as the previous chip). In addition, it’s a little lighter than the D3400 and its battery lasts for a few more shots. Nikon has also tweaked its design a bit in comparison with the D3400.

Although the D3500 doesn’t feel quite as tough as cameras further up Nikon’s DSLR line, it feels reasonably good for an entry-level model. The grip is particularly impressive as it’s nice and deep. Nikon has make the body thin so that the deep grip doesn’t increase the overall size.

While it would be nice to have a vari-angle touchscreen, that would push up the price of the D3500. It’s designed to be an entry-level, affordable option.

However, Nikon hasn’t skimped on the sensor and it delivers high-quality results with a good level of detail. The camera is also tuned to help beginners get decent images in a wide range of situations.

The D3500 is a modern classic as far as entry-level cameras go, and anyone looking for a solid camera to learn and grow with… look no further.

Read our Nikon D3500 Review

Panasonic introduced the GX9 a few years ago to sit in the middle of its range as a “premium street photography camera”. With its small body size and flat rangefinder type design, it’s also ideally suited as a travel camera – especially if you already own another Micro Four Thirds camera.

It houses a 20.3 megapixel Four Thirds sensor, without an anti-aliasing filter for increased detail resolution. It has a host of other appealing specifications, including a high-resolution tilting viewfinder, a tilting touch-sensitive LCD screen, 4K Photo and Video modes, and compatibility with the huge range of Micro Four Thirds lenses.

The look of the camera is also very stylish, without attracting too much attention when using it out and about, which is ideal. There’s a good mixture of buttons and dials on the camera, while the tilting screen is very handy for composing from awkward angles.

Importantly, overall image quality is very good, particularly in good or bright light. Colours are nicely reproduced, being natural while also vibrant, and focusing is generally quick and accurate.

The GX9, body only, just falls within our target price range here and is a camera you’ll quickly fall in love with. This is probably my favourite option on our list of the best cameras under £500 / $500.

Read our Panasonic Lumix GX9 Review

The GoPro Hero9 Black makes the most substantial update to the Hero Black line that we’ve seen since the Hero5 Black was introduced in September 2016.

Along with a significant increase in size, the Hero9 Black adds 5K video and 20Mp stills capability plus 30% longer battery life and even better stabilisation than its predecessor. As much as we love the technical improvements, the downside to the beefed-up body of the GoPro Hero9 Black is that it’s not compatible with the MediaMod module that was introduced with the Hero8 Black.

However, the Hero9 Black is the best action cam that GoPro has produced to date and its Hypersmooth 3.0 stabilisation, complete with in-camera horizon levelling is fantastic.

While the 5K-shooting capability is enticing, the fact that it’s limited to 30fps is a bit – well, limiting – but the quality of the footage that the Hero9 generates at other settings is a step-up from the Hero8.

Further good news with the GoPro Hero9 Black is that the removable lens makes a return. That means if it takes a dive and gets scratched, you can change it. GoPro has also promised a Max Lens mode to enables a 155° field of view, but we’ve yet to see that in the flesh.

The front screen is also now coloured and can show a preview of what the camera is seeing. That’s perfect for filming yourself in action.

We like the GoPro Hero9 Black so much here at Jabber HQ that we’ve all bought one. Yep, we paid our hard-earned cash and got one each. How much more of an endorsement do you want?

Read our GoPro Hero9 Black Review

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III is a small mirrorless camera with the Micro Four Thirds lens mount and a 16.1Mp Four Thirds type (17.3 x 13mm) CMOS sensor. It has a mini-DSLR shape and an electronic viewfinder built-in along with a 3-inch 1,037,000-dot, tilting touch-screen.

It’s small size and advanced shooting options make it an appealing option for travelling experienced photographers while its beginner-friendly modes make it suitable for novice photographers.

It’s a neat, compact camera that provides plenty of features including a built-in viewfinder, a tilting touchscreen, Image Stabilisation and a collection of creative options including Live Time and Live Composite mode.

As its a mirrorless system camera the E-M10 III’s viewfinder and screen allow you see the image as it will be captured with the camera settings applied, which is helpful for anyone learning about photography as well as experienced shooters.

With 16.1 million effective pixels on its sensor the E-M10 III doesn’t break any barriers for resolution or image size but it produces attractive jpegs that will please most photographers in many situations.

The Canon EOS 250D, known as the EOS Rebel SL3 and the EOS Kiss X10, is designed for beginner photographers, however, it has a bit more to offer than the Canon EOS 2000D (EOS Rebel T7) and EOS 4000D.

It’s also the smallest DSLR with a moveable screen and has an APS-C format 24.1Mp Dual Pixel CMOS sensor, 4K video technology and a vari-angle touch-screen.

It’s also a capable little camera that can get subjects sharp quickly and captures attractive images with a good level of detail. In fact, it’s one of the best entry-level DSLRs around.

Read our Canon EOS Rebel SL3 / EOS 250D Review

The PEN E-PL9 is the entry-level model in Olympus’s range, and though it shares the same 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor with the PEN E-PL8, it does offer some nice upgrades over its predecessor.

To start, there’s now 4K video recording at 30, 25 and 24p, and Full HD video can be recorded at 60p.

To go along with that 4K video recording is a vlogger-friendly 3-inch, 1,040k-dot touchscreen that articulates 80 degrees up or 180 degrees down on its bracket for shooting selfies and vlogs. The E-PL9’s 4K at 30fps, in particular, is quite impressive for a camera of this size and price.

There’s also a new High Speed Video mode for capturing slow-motion movies, a Clips video mode for capturing 4sec movies and you can also add the camera’s Art Filters and a wide range of other effects to your videos.

You’ll also find the addition of Bluetooth connectivity (a first for Olympus cameras), new art filters, more AF points and Oympus’s new TruePic VIII image processor, inherited from the company’s flagship E-M1 Mark II.

If you want a camera that allows you to record spontaneous movies for sharing, much like you would with your smartphone but with better quality and more control, the PEN E-PL9 shines.