Are you making the leap into self-employment and turning your hobby into your profession? We've ranked the best cameras for professional photography for each brand to help you choose the best tool for the jbo
Choosing the best cameras for professional photography depends a large part on what you shoot. When you’re working at the professional level, you’ll be looking at the flagship cameras in a manufacturer’s range, and these cameras are typically each developed to excel at a particular genre. For instance, the Canon EOS R3 is built for speed and appeals to wildlife and sport photographers, while a camera like the Nikon Z7 II and its large resolution sensor appeals to landscape photographers. And, of course, Sony’s Alpha 7 range has something for everyone. Check out our guide to find out which Sony A7 camera is best for your needs.
It’s really an exciting time for professional photographers. The rise of smartphone cameras has gradually chipped away at sales of even the best beginner cameras, and manufacturers are focusing their attention and investment at the professional end. Most significant camera announcements we see these days are at the professional level, and this is where we see the real innovation coming into play – Eye AF, 8K video, for example.
For this list of the best professional cameras, we’ve concentrated on stills photography and hybrid shooting. That said, we’ve also included a couple options for for videographers who might shoot video primarily but also shoot stills. For more like these, check out our guides to the best mirrorless cameras for video and the best 4K cameras for video.
Do professional photographers use mirrorless cameras?
One thing that is clear in compiling this list is the new dominance of mirrorless. As brands like Canon and Nikon invest in mirrorless systems, we’ve seen professional photographers migrate from their trusty DSLRs to new smaller, lighter mirrorless options that offer comparable, if not better, specifications.
All of the options we recommend as the best cameras for professional photography are mirrorless cameras. However, you could make a very strong case for adding the Nikon D850 and Canon EOS-1D X, two very powerful DSLRs. If you prefer the optical viewfinder and longer battery life of a DSLR, we’ve accounted for these in our guide to the Best professional DSLRs.
Is mirrorless cheaper than a DSLR?
At the moment, no. Mirrorless cameras – particularly at the professional end of the market – are every bit as expensive as their DSLR counterparts are and were. But global chip and supply shortages are contributing to driving prices up. What’s more, mirrorless is still relatively new and the volume isn’t there for most manufacturers. We can probably expect prices to come down in the future. But the best professional cameras will always cost a premium, as will the best mirrorless cameras.
How we graded the best cameras for professional photography
Rather than listing by genre, we’ve chosen our picks for the best professional camera by manufacturer. The reason for this being that you’ve likely already invested in a system when you’re at the point of taking the leap into self-employment and upgrading to a professional model. We assume you’ll want to keep using your existing lenses.
For a deeper dive into the many different camera types and features available, check out our range of camera buying guides.
