The Buyers guide to...Best Sony cameras for beginners

The Sony ZV-E10 II is a significant upgrade for content creators, particularly vloggers. It features a 24.2 MP APS-C sensor, offering high-quality stills and 4K video recording. The camera stands out with its advanced autofocus system, featuring real-time tracking and Eye AF, ensuring sharp focus on moving subjects. The vari-angle touchscreen enhances usability, allowing creators to shoot from different angles easily. Audio quality is a priority, with a directional three-capsule microphone and a dedicated mic input for better sound capture.

While the camera is highly portable and lightweight, it maintains robust performance, making it suitable for both beginners and more experienced creators. However, it lacks an electronic viewfinder, which might be a drawback for some traditional photographers. The overall design and user interface are tailored for easy operation, especially when shooting video content.

The ZV-E10 II’s versatility makes it a solid choice for anyone looking to elevate their content creation without diving into overly complex gear. It’s particularly appealing for those who prioritize video work but also want the option to capture high-quality still images.

The Sony ZV-1 is a compact, all-in-one camera tailored for vloggers and content creators. It features a 1-inch, 20.1 MP sensor, which delivers high-quality stills and impressive 4K video with full pixel readout and no pixel binning. The camera’s standout feature is its advanced autofocus system, which includes real-time tracking and Eye AF, ensuring sharp focus during video shoots. The built-in directional microphone with a windscreen enhances audio quality, while the vari-angle touchscreen makes it easy to frame shots from different angles.

The ZV-1 also includes a background defocus button for instant bokeh effects, making it ideal for creators who want to easily achieve professional-looking results. Its compact size and user-friendly interface make it accessible to beginners, yet powerful enough to meet the needs of more experienced users. The camera lacks interchangeable lenses, which might limit some creative possibilities, but its built-in 24-70mm equivalent lens covers a versatile range for most situations.

Overall, the Sony ZV-1 is a fantastic choice for those prioritizing portability and ease of use in their content creation journey, especially for video-centric work.

Read our Sony ZV-1 Review

Promising ‘A9-level’ AF performance as well as 90fps single burst shooting, the RX100 VII turned a lot of heads when it was announced and reinforced Sony’s reputation as a true innovator in the market.

Inside the RX100 VII is a 1-inch, stacked 20.1-megapixel Exmor RS CMOS sensor with a DRAM chip and Sony’s Bionz X image processor. On the outside is a ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* 24-200mmviii F2.8-4.5.

What should really get people excited, though, is the technology the RX100 VII inherits from Sony’s A9. Like the A9, the RX100 VII’s image sensor realises blackout-free shooting for a completely live view, even when continuous shooting at 20fps.

The RX100 VII also promises ‘A9-level’ AF/AE tracking performance during continuous shooting, meaning the camera performs AF/AE calculations up to 60 times per second and captures fast-moving action at 20fps with AF/AE tracking.

Sony’s Real-time Eye AF and Real-time Tracking modes also make their debut for the first time in a compact camera. With 357 focal-plane phase-detection AF points and 425 contrast-detection AF points, its AF system is among the best you will find both in a beginner camera and one that is this small.

Unlike most bridge cameras, the Sony RX10 IV uses a larger one-inch sensor that offers 20.1-megapixel resolution. This is combined with a 25x optical zoom (24-600mm equivalent in 35mm terms) and Sony’s powerful BIONZ X processor and front-end LSI. Mix all these together and you’ve got something which has been designed for serious performance.

What’s great about the RX10 IV is that because it copes so well with a variety of different subjects, it’s perfect for beginner photographers who haven’t yet found their niche and are exploring how to shoot a different types of images.

The RX10 IV isn’t cheap, and it might be more money than you want to splash out for a beginner camera with a fixed lens, but with such an impressive number of feature, super image quality and performance and in a lightweight body, this is not only one of the best cameras for beginners but one of the best cameras full stop.

Read our Sony RX10 IV Review

Read our Sony ZV-E10 Review

The Sony Alpha 6400 is a highly capable APS-C mirrorless camera that strikes a balance between portability and advanced features. It boasts a 24.2 MP sensor, delivering excellent image quality and impressive performance in various lighting conditions. The standout feature is its autofocus system, which includes real-time tracking and Eye AF, making it perfect for capturing fast-moving subjects and portraits with ease.

The camera supports 4K video recording with no time limit, catering to vloggers and videographers. Its compact design includes a tilting LCD touchscreen, which is useful for selfies and creative shooting angles. While it lacks in-body image stabilization (IBIS), the Alpha 6400’s robust feature set, combined with a wide range of compatible lenses, makes it an ideal choice for both photography enthusiasts and content creators looking to step up from entry-level gear.

Overall, the Sony Alpha 6400 offers a powerful package for those who want more advanced features without moving to a full-frame system, making it a versatile choice for both stills and video work.