The Buyers guide to...Best cameras in 2023

The Canon EOS 250D is called the Canon EOS Rebel SL3 and the EOS Kiss X10 in some territories and it’s built with beginner photographers in mind. It’s also the smallest DSLR with a moveable screen available and as it has a Dual Pixel CMOS sensor, its focusing system is snappy whether you compose images in the viewfinder or on the vari-angle screen.

With just 9 points available when you’re using the optical viewfinder, it’s often easier to use the screen to compose images as you can tap on the subject to get it in sharp focus.

The 250D makes a significant step up from the Canon EOS 4000D, and it’s a more versatile camera to use.

Canon has given the Rebel SL3 / 250D a choice of two interfaces that you can selected via the menu. The Guided interface which is great for beginners and the Standard interface which is better for more experienced photographer. They give the same type of information, but the Guided interface looks friendlier and is easier to understand.

There’s a 24.1Mp APS-C format sensor inside the Canon EOS Rebel SL3 / 250D and it delivers great results with a good level of detail. The camera also handles exposure and white balance well in the default settings so you can concentrate on getting the composition right.

Read our Canon EOS Rebel SL3 / EOS 250D Review

The Fujifilm X-T200 sits between the entry-level Fujifilm X-A7 and the more enthusiast-orientated Fujifilm X-T30 in the company’s range of APS-C format interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras. It shares some similarities with the X-A7 but it adds an electronic viewfinder which makes a useful alternative to the vari-angle touchscreen for composing images.

As it’s aimed at beginners, the Fuji X-T200 is easy to use, but it can still produce impressive images and video.

Inside the Fujifilm X-T200 there’s a regular 24.2Mp APS-C format sensor with a Bayer coloured filter array rather than the 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor that’s found in more advanced X-series cameras such as the Fujifilm X-T4. In fact, it’s the same 24.2Mp CMOS sensor as is in the Fujifilm X-A7.

While the X-T200’s sensor has the same resolution as the X-T100’s chip, it has copper wiring to boost performance and the newer processing engine supports quicker readout speeds, better autofocus performance and reduced rolling shutter effect in video mode.

The X-T200 can also record 4K video at 29.97P/25P/24P/23.98P, that’s a big improvement on the 15P possible with the X-T100.

You can find the Fujifilm X-T200 at Amazon UK and Amazon USA.

Read our Fujifilm X-T200 Review

While the Nikon D3500 is now listed as discontinued, no successor has been announced and it can still be found on sale.

Inside the D3500’s monocoque body is an APS-C (DX) format sensor with 24.2 million effective pixels. This is paired with an Expeed 4 processing engine and its a combination that’s capable of delivering excellent-quality images.

With just 11 individually selectable points, the D3500 AF system’s specification may seem unimpressive next that of the average mirrorless camera, but it’s fast and capable of getting moving subjects sharp.

As it’s a DSLR, the D3500 has an optical viewfinder so you see a natural view of the scene with no interpretation by the camera. There’s also a fixed 3-inch screen with 921,000 dots on the back of the camera which can be used to compose images in Live View mode (as well as review them), but the Live View autofocus system is quite sluggish.

One of the main selling points of the Nikon 3500 for beginners is its excellent Guide Mode that teaches the user about photography and the camera controls using non-techy language.

Read our Nikon D3500 Review

Panasonic designed the Lumix G100 as an entry-level vlogging camera but it also makes a good camera for beginner photographers and anyone looking to take a step up from their phone or a compact camera for shooting video.

The G100 has a 20.3Mp Four Thirds type CMOS sensor and the Micro Four Thirds lens mount. In addition to the vari-angle screen that allows vloggers to see themselves in front of the camera, the G100 has an electronic viewfinder built-in, which is good news for photography.

In addition to a 3.5mm port to connect an external mic, the G100 has a spatial audio recording system called OZO Audio by Nokia. This uses three internal microphones and can work in tandem with the face detection focusing to track the person talking and optimise the audio for them. It works very well provided that there’s no wind.

There are also some features for experienced videographers including V-Log L for creating low contrast, low saturation footage that’s suited to post-capture grading.

Control-wise the Panasonic G100 is fairly straightforward. There’s not an overwhelming array of buttons and dials, but you can access the key features quickly and there are twin dials for exposure control.

While the autofocus system isn’t quite as fast or decisive as the phase detection AF or hybrid systems in most other mirrorless cameras, and the eye AF isn’t 100% reliable, the G100 usually gets the subject sharp.

You can find the best deals on the Panasonic G100 at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Panasonic Lumix G100 Review

Aimed at beginner photographers, the Sony A6100 offers plenty of room to grow. Its impressive feature set nearly matches the fellow APS-C format Sony A6600.

Like its sibling, it boasts internal 4K movie recording in Super 35mm format with full pixel readout without pixel binning, to capture approximately 2.4x the amount of information required for 4K movies. Budding videographers will also appreciate the integrated microphone input and built-in interval shooting.

Again, like the A6600, the A6100 incorporates a 24.2MP Exmor CMOS image sensor, the latest BIONZ X image processor and a front-end LSI. AF acquisition is lightning fast at 0.02secs via its 425 phase-detection AF points covering approximately 84% of the image area and 425 contrast-detection AF points.

Sony’s Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF modes are also on-board, delivering faster and more accurate AF performance when photographing humans and animals.

The Fujifilm X-S10 is the first in a new line of X-series cameras from Fujifilm. It’s aimed at experienced DSLR users who are looking to switch to a mirrorless camera but who don’t fancy the traditional exposure controls of models like the Fujifilm X-T4 and X-T3.

Consequently, the X-S10 has an exposure mode dial on its top-plate and although it’s compatible with Fujifilm lenses with an aperture ring, it has dual control dials to adjust exposure via the camera.

Inside the X-S10 there’s the same 26.1Mp APS-C format X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor as X-Processor 4 as is in the Fujifilm X-T4, which means it can capture the same quality images. It also means that the X-S10 has 425 individually selectable AF points available for use with its hybrid autofocus system – and it’s a snappy performer.

The X-S10 has in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) on board and it can deliver up to 6EV shutter speed compensation.

Naturally, Fujifilm’s Film Simulations modes are available for use, in fact, there are 18 on the X-S10, so you should always find an image style to suit your mood and the subject.

Further good news about the X-S10 is that its touchscreen is mounted on a vari-angle hinge, which makes it ideal for vlogging and shooting selfies. It can also shoot good-quality uncropped DCI 4K video (4096 x 2160) at 29.97/25/24/23.98fps. Internal recording maxes out at 8-bit 4:2:,0 but if there’s an external storage unit connected via HDMI it’s possible to record in 4:2:2 10-bit. A 3.5mm microphone port is built in and a USB-C adapter is included in the box to connect headphones.

You can find the Fujifilm X-S10 on Amazon UK and Amazon USA

Read our Fujifilm X-S10 Review

Combined with the compact Nikkor Z 24-50MM F/4-6.3 kit lens, the Nikon Z5 makes a very attractive camera for everyday photography and travel as, despite it’s full-frame sensor, it’s smaller than some APS-C format DSLRs.

While the maximum continuous shooting rate of 4.5fps doesn’t really impress in 2021, the Z5 still has a good 273-point phase detection AF system with Eye-detection AF for humans and pets. There’s also an excellent 5-axis image stabilisation system built-in and, of course, the Nikon Z mount which means that the Z5 is compatiblae with Nikon’s growing range of Z optics as well as F-mount lenses via the Nikon FTZ adaptor.

Despite being Nikon’s ‘entry-level’ full-frame mirrorless camera, the Z5 has dual SD card slots that are UHS-II compatible and there’s a tilting touchscreen on the back that makes using the camera intuitive.

Read our Nikon Z5 Review

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III sits below the OM-D E-M1 Mark III in Olympus’s interchangeable lens camera lineup. It has a smaller body, which makes it a great choice for travel. It also produces nice images and the stabilisation system is incredible, enabling you to hand-hold the camera and get sharp images with exposures measured in whole seconds. In addition, it does a good job with video; although if you’re really serious about shooting moving images you might want to look at the Panasonic Lumix G90 which has a true Log mode.

Olympus has given the E-M5 Mark III the same 20.4Mp Live MOS sensor as the OM-D E-M1 Mark II. The processor is also listed as the same TruePic VIII engine, but Olympus tells us it’s been updated for a bit more oomph.

Like the OM-D E-M1 II, the OM-D E-M5 III has a 121-point (all cross-type) phase-detection autofocus (AF) system. There are also clever shooting options such as Live Composite, Live Time, Live Bulb, Focus Bracketing, Focus Stacking and a 50Mp High Res Shot mode.

As with its predecessor, the OM-D E-M5 II, the High-Res Shot mode is a tripod-only option. When this mode is activated, the E-M5 III shifts the imaging sensor by 0.5-pixel movements between 8 shots. These are then merged into one image that’s equivalent to 50Mp.

Olympus has upgraded the video capability of the OM-D E-M5 Mark III in comparison with the Mark II model. The new camera is capable of shooting C4K 24p video at up to 237Mbps or 4K 30p, 25p, 24p video at 30p 102Mbps.

What’s more, Full-HD video can be shot at up to 120p for slow-motion playback.

Read our buyer’s guide to the best Olympus cameras

Read our Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III Review

While it has the same 24.5Mp backside-illuminated full-frame sensor as the original Nikon Z6, the Nikon Z6 II has two Expeed 6 processing engines instead of one. Nikon also added an SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot alongside the XQD/CFexpress card slot of the original camera to address one of the concerns that many photographers raised about the original camera.

Thanks to the extra processing power, the Z6 II has a maximum continuous shooting rate of 14fps, 2 fps higher than the Z6, with full autofocus and metering capability. That rate can be maintained for 200 Jpegs or 124 uncompressed 12-Bit raw files.

Like the Z6, the Z6 II has a native sensitivity range as the Z6, ISO 100-51,200 (expandable to ISO 64-204,800) and a 273-point hybrid focusing system that covers 90% of the sensor.

However, the tracking and low-light AF performance of the Z6 II has been improved and the newer camera can focus at -6EV with an f/2 or faster lens.

In addition, the Z6 II’s human and animal eye AF operates in video mode as well as in stills mode.

You can find the Nikon Z6 II on eBay, John Lewis & Partners, Wex Photographic and Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Nikon Z6 II Review

Some of the new features in the E-M1 III come as a result of the uprated processing engine. Live ND mode, for example, uses similar technology to Live Composite mode, but it enables you to preview the impact of a long exposure.

That demands a lot of processing power, but it’s a useful feature for landscape and creative photography. It also means that you don’t need to carry any ND filters with you as the exposure can be extended by up to 32x using the camera’s inbuilt system.

Olympus has given the OM-D E-M1 III’s sensor a new coating, which was introduced with the E-M1X. This reduces the likelihood of dust sticking, making the advanced SSWF (Super Sonic Wave Filter) technology, which vibrates the filter over the image sensor filter 30,000 times per second, even better at keeping the sensor clean.

In some respects the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III might look like a fairly modest upgrade from the OM-D E-M1 Mark II. However, it feels more refined and has some great features that make shooting in tricky conditions a little easier.

It also enables photographers to travel lighter, not just by being relatively small and light itself, but by allowing tripods and ND filters to be left behind in many situations.

Olympus also offers an extensive array of superb lenses and the 2x focal length magnification factor is especially useful for sport and wildlife photographers. While existing OM-D E-M1 Mark II may not want to upgrade, the OM-D E-M1 Mark III makes a very attractive option for enthusiast photographers looking to switch to a mirrorless camera.

• Read our Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III review

Read our Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III Review

The Sony A7 III is the ‘all-rounder’ in the third generation of Sony A7-series of full-frame cameras. It’s aimed at enthusiast photographers but it has features that will also keep many professional photographers happy. It also has a good collection of video specifications (including S-Log3 gamma and clean HDMI output), which means it can be used for professional shoots as well as for fun.

While the A7 III doesn’t have exactly the same autofocus system as the Sony A9, that requires the same sensor, it has the same number of autofocus points: 69 phase-detection points and 425 contrast AF points.

These points cover 93% of the imaging area. This makes it easier than with the A7 II to track moving subjects. In addition, the system is sensitive down to -3EV, which means it should be effective in low light.

There’s also Sony’s Eye AF mode that helps you target the most important part of a portrait subject.

In addition to its excellent autofocus performance, the Sony A7 III is capable of capturing a wide range of tones and images have plenty of detail while noise is controlled well throughout the native sensitivity (ISO) range.

Find the latest deals on the Sony A7 III at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Sony A7 III Review

Canon’s EOS 5D range of DSLRs has been popular with advanced enthusiasts and professionals looking for something which can cope well with a range of different subjects. The most recent in the line, the Mark IV, has a collection of useful features that make it well suited to demanding photographers.

While the 5D Mark III offered 22.3 million effective pixels, the Mark IV has 30.4 million, marking a significant jump up in resolution.

However, the inclusion of Digic 6+ processing technology enabled Canon to push the Mark IV’s native sensitivity range up from ISO 100-25,600 to ISO 100-32,000, with expansion settings taking this to ISO 50-102,400 – the same as the 5D Mark III. In video mode sensitivity can be set in the range ISO 100-102,400.

Interestingly, the Canon EOS 5D IV has dual processors, as the Digic 6+ unit is accompanied by a Digic 6 processor. The Digic 6 processor takes care of the exposure metering while the Digic 6+ engine takes care of image capture and processing.

It enables a maximum continuous shooting rate of 7fps (frames per second) with continuous autofocus and metering for up to 21 raw files or an unlimited number of jpegs. In live view mode the camera can shoot at up to 4.3fps.

Canon hasn’t given the 5D Mark IV more autofocus points than the 5D Mark III, but the 61 points are spread further up and down the frame. Also as before, there are 41 cross-type points; however, 21 of them are cross-type down to f/8 (rather than f/4).

There are also 5 dual cross-type points that are sensitive down to f/8 (with the 5D Mark III these are dual cross-type at f/2.8). The system also operates down to -3EV, 1EV darker conditions than the 5D Mark III’s system. This all adds up to make the Canon 5D Mark IV’s autofocus system more sensitive and better able to detect a subject.

Videographers have long enjoyed using the 5D range, and to that end, the Mark IV is capable of recording 4K video and has a range of useful video functions.

Find the latest deals on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Canon 5D Mark III review

Although its position was technically usurped by the Canon EOS R3, the Canon EOS R5 is Canon’s flagship mirrorless camera and it was the most exciting camera announced in 2020.

Its 8K video capability stole most of the headlines when it was revealed, but the Canon R5 is at heart a 45Mp stills camera with an incredible autofocus system. This Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system has 5,940 selectable AF points and superb eye detection AF for humans, animals and birds that works in both video and stills mode.

Like the Canon EOS R6 announced at the same time, the EOS R5 has 5-axis in-body image stabilisation. In the R5 it enables shutter speed compensation of up to 8EV.

Canon pitches the R5 at around the same level as the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, which means it’s designed for use by experienced enthusiast and professional photographers. It combines a healthy collection of button and dial controls with an excellent touch-control interface on the 3.15-inch 2.1-million dot vari-angle screen.

While 8K video is of limited appeal, the R5 is capable of producing superb results with the 4K HQ (High Quality) mode especially impressing. The still image quality is also excellent all the way up to around ISO 25,600.

Find the latest deals on the Canon EOS R5 at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Canon EOS R5 Review

While the 45.7Mp Nikon Z7 II has a lot in common with the excellent Nikon Z7 and uses much of the same technology (including the same sensor), the mark II camera has a second memory card slot which means it addresses the main concern that photographers had about the original camera. One slot accepts XQD or CFexpress cards while the other is for SD-type cards and is UHS-II compliant

Nikon also doubled the Z7 II’s processing power in comparison with the Z7 II by giving it two Expeed 6 processing engines. This enabled a boost in the continuous shooting rate from 9fps to 10fps and enables 4K shooting at 60P.

That extra processing power also enables Eye-detection AF for humans and animals in video mode as well as stills, and enhances the low-light capability of the autofocus system.

The Nikon Z7 II has the same build and handling as the Z7, Z6 and Z6 II, and it’s the best interface available in a Nikon camera to date.

You can find the latest deals on the Nikon Z7 II at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Nikon Z7 II Review

The Sony A7R Mark IV’s 61-million-pixel 35mm sensor is a world first, which the company says delivers ‘medium format quality’.

The sensor is back-side illuminated, and it provides 15 stops of dynamic range. As well as 61-megapixel images, the Sony A7R Mark IV can also produce images with 26 million pixels in APS-C crop mode.

What’s more, its revampled Pixel Shift Multi-Shooting mode can produce images at 240-megapixel resolution. It does this by capturing 960 megapixels worth of data from 16 images, which it then composites together using Sony’s Imaging Edge software.

The A7R Mark IV boasts 567 phase-detection AF points in full-frame mode, which cover 74% of the frame. In the camera’s APS-C mode it has 325 AF points which then cover nearly the entire frame. There’s also Sony’s excellent AI-driven Real-time Eye AF (for humans and animals ins stills mode) and Real-time Tracking modes, which is invaluable for portrait, wedding, sport, pet and social photography.

Depsite its high resolution, the Sony A7R IV is also built for speed and can capture full-resolution 61-megapixel images in continuous shooting mode at up to 10fps, and up to 68 images per continuous burst.

Also among its key features is 5.5-stop, 5-axis in-body image stabilisation, wireless tethering capability, faster USB connection, 802.11ac Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth and studio lighting support.

It all adds up to make the Sony A7R IV one of the best cameras available right now.

Find the best deals on the Sony A7R IV at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Sony A7R IV Review

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III is Canon’s flagship DSLR and its the best professional DSLR currently available.

Its AF system, which is designed with pro sports photographers in mind, is superb and the 1D X Mark III can shoot at up to 20fps to capture once in a lifetime moments.

Thanks to its 20.1Mp full-frame (36x24mm) CMOS sensor, which has a new High Detail Low-Pass Filter, and the Digic X (8) processing engine, the 1D X Mark II controls noise very well up to around ISO 51,200.

The EOS-1D X Mark III is also Canon’s most advanced interchangeable lens video camera outside the Cinema EOS series. It can shoot 4K 12-bit video with raw internal recording. It can even record raw and MP4 video simultaneously to two separate memory cards.

In addition, 4K video can be video can be oversampled at 5.5K (5472×2886) and recorded as 12-bit CRM files highly-detailed footage.

As a twin-gripped camera, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III is big and heavy but it’s also very robust.

Find the latest deals on the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Review

The Fujifilm GFX100S is a medium format camera that doesn’t feel like a medium format camera. With the right lens, it can blend in with full-frame DSLR and mirrorless camera yet it has a sensor that’s 1.7x the size.

It has the same 102Mp back-illuminated CMOS sensor as the Fujifilm GFX100, which means it can produce images that measure 98.62 x 73.96cm or 38.8 x 29.1-inch when printed at 300ppi. And there’s Fujifilm’s Pixel Shift Multi Shot mode that enables it to produce 400Mp images with a little help from a computer running Fujifilm’s Pixel Shift Combiner software.

If you look at images shot at the top native sensitivity setting of ISO 12,800 at 100% on screen, you’ll see a fair amount of luminance noise in the raw files, but as you zoom out, it disappears and there’s a long way to zoom out! Of course it depends what you want to do with your images, the the Fujifilm GFX100S is one of the few cameras that we’d feel reasonably happy about using the upper sensitivity expansions settings.

While the GFX100S’s AF system is a bit fidgety, it’s responsive and can get moving subjects sharp. The Eye AF isn’t the best around, but it’s useful for portraits and the level of detail captured in low to mid-range ISO images is fantastic.

Read our Fujifilm GFX100S Review

The Alpha A1 is Sony’s most advanced camera to date, it combines a high-resolution full-frame sensor with high-speed performance. It features a new 50.1Mp full-frame stacked Exmor RS image sensor and can perform up to 120 AF/AE calculations per second.

Thanks to its impressive processing power, the Sony A1 can shoot at up to 30fps (frames per second) while its large buffer allows for sequences of up to 155 full-frame compressed RAW images or 165 full-frame JPEGs to be shot at that rate.

In addition to improved Real-time Eye AF for humans and animals, the Alpha 1 uses high-level subject recognition technology for Real-time Eye AF for birds. Algorithms also maintain the AF tracking if a sitting bird takes off or the framing changes.

The Sony A1 is the first Sony Alpha series camera to feature 8K 30p 10-bit 4:2:0 XAVC HS video recording. It’s also capable of shooting 4K 120p / 60p 10-bit 4:2:2 video and offers S-Cinetone colour. It uses 8.6K oversampling for enhanced resolution and, naturally, the 8K footage can be used for 4K editing during post-production.

The Sony A 1 has a 9.44 million dot OLED Quad-XGA electronic viewfinder, with a refresh rate of up to 240 fps, ensuring no blackout, delivering the highest resolution in its class. In addition, there’s a 3-inch 1,440,000-dot tilting touchscreen that features the revised menu arrangement and more extensive touch-control that was first seen in the Sony A7S III.

In case a resolution of 50Mp isn’t enough, the Sony A1 has Sony’s Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode onboard to enables 16 full-resolution images to be composited.

You can order the Sony A1 from Wex Photo Video and Park Cameras in the UK and Adorama or B&H Photo Video in the USA. You can also find the latest Sony A1 offers at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Read our Sony A1 Review