ULTIMATE Camera Buying Guide!

What's up guys, Sagi here, and welcome to the 2020 Camera Shopping Guide. I hope this helps you buy a camera during Black Friday, going into the holidays, and then all the way into 2021. I'm gonna talk about the cameras that I think you should check out, and we'll give you different options based on what the camera will be used for. And I'm going to cover some of my favorite cameras in terms of value, so hopefully I can help you choose whether you're looking for a camera for yourself or as a gift. I'll link to all the cameras I talk about in the description and those links will automatically be updated with the lowest prices and the best deals that I can find. And finally, if you're interested in more information about any specific camera that I talk about, I'll also link to my detailed videos about each camera that I've already published a review for. I'm gonna start at the lower end in terms of price and then move my way up, and then towards the end, we'll get into some of my favorite compact cameras. All right, so starting out with one of my absolute favorite cameras, the Canon M50. Now, depending on when you're watching this, Canon is releasing the M50 Mark II, which I'll also highlight in this section. Now, both are very, very similar, and if you're looking for an entry-level mirrorless camera that will do a great job for both photography and video on a budget, definitely check both of them out. Now, the M50 is the camera that we bought for our girl who's interested in both photography and video. It's small, it's portable, it can shoot 4K video, and it has a fully articulating touchscreen, which makes it super easy to use. The M50 has a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor. It can shoot great 1080p video, 4K at 24, like I just mentioned, and it uses Canon's outstanding dual-pixel autofocus system with both the electronic viewfinder and the LCD on the back. Now, the M50 uses Canon's EF-M mount, so the lenses are very small and light, and when this camera was released, the only lens options that were available were from Canon, and they were a bit limited, but over the past two years, we've seen third-party lens options from companies like Sigma and Viltrox. They're offering great options at very reasonable prices. This is a great travel and vlogging camera, and it's also a good choice if you wanna start a YouTube channel or create some video content for your small business. You can also use the M50 as a webcam with Canon's free EOS webcam utility software, and this will let you stream or make high-quality video calls on Zoom, Skype, or essentially every other similar platform. Now, the M50 Mark II is the exact same body. It looks exactly the same, has the same buttons, same screen, but it has some software updates like an improved autofocus system, a clean HDMI output, which lets you stream at a higher quality, and the ability to record vertical video for mobile platforms. And the M50 sells for $529, and the M50 Mark II sells for $599. There are currently some incredible bundles and creator kits available. I definitely recommend that at the very least, you buy it with a 15 to 45 kit lens, which is a great first lens. As I mentioned, I'll have links to all the cameras and accessories that I talk about in this video to help you quickly find the best deals. And the next camera I wanna talk about is from one of the most underrated brands in photography and video, Fujifilm. And I'm talking about the new X-T200. This is a small and very powerful mirrorless camera. It's got a 24.2 megapixel APS-C sensor that's capable of capturing outstanding images at up to eight frames per second and 4K video at up to 30 frames per second. Now, in addition to the impressive imaging capabilities, the X-T200 uses a hybrid autofocus system with both face and eye detection for fast and accurate focusing. It's really nice to have when you're filming video and it's an excellent feature when you're shooting portraits. Like the M50, we have a fully articulating touchscreen and a built-in electronic viewfinder, but the X-T200 has a clean HDMI out like the M50 Mark II. And again, that allows for higher quality streaming and external recording. Now, it normally sells for $699, which I already think makes it a great value, but I found it for 499 with the kit lens included, which is an absolute steal. And I'll put a link in the description to that listing. The next camera I wanna talk about is the Canon SL3, which is also called the 200D or 200D Mark II, depending on where you live. Now, this camera is a DSLR and has a very similar feature set to the M50. Again, it's an excellent option for both photography and video, and it's very simple to use. It's a small and light DSLR. It has a 24 megapixel APS-C sensor. It can shoot great 1080p video and 4K at 24 frames per second. The SL3 uses Canon's EF and EFS mount lenses. So you have tons of options at different price points from both Canon and third-party manufacturers. Like the X-T200 and the M50 Mark II, the SL3 has a clean HDMI out, which makes it a perfect DSLR for someone who's gonna be doing a lot of live streaming. This means that the camera can send out a clean screen to the computer at full resolution while still using Canon's amazing autofocus, and the stream is going to look nice and crisp. The SL3 sells for around 499 bucks, and I'll link to a few kits for this camera, as well as give you some other lens options. Next, we're gonna look at a really great option from Sony. Sony's most recent lineup of APS-C cameras includes three cameras, and we're gonna start with the a6100. For the price, this camera's about as powerful as you can get. This small and portable mirrorless camera sports a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, which is capable of absolutely stunning image quality. We're also getting Sony's fantastic autofocus with industry-leading eye detection for photography. The a6100 is an equally powerful camera for video with up to 4K, 30 frames per second, and full HD at 120 frames per second for beautiful slow motion. Like several other cameras on this list, the a6100 offers a clean HDMI output for crisp live streaming, and this camera is very good in low light, or another way that we would say it is it has very good high ISO performance. The a6100 has an external mic input for better audio and a unique feature that we haven't seen yet on this list, unlimited recording. This means that unlike the other cameras on this list, which were mostly limited to 30 minutes of recording time, the a6100 can record for as long as you have battery life and space on the memory card. The a6100 also offers USB charging, and the camera can also be powered via micro USB for long events, interviews, or long live streaming sessions. At 750 bucks, the a6100 could be at the top of the list for me so far when looking at overall value, and it's definitely a camera that I recommend often. Moving on, the next mirrorless camera that I wanna highlight is another one from Canon, the M6 Mark II. This is currently one of my favorite cameras from Canon. It's small, it's portable, and it's extremely capable. We have a higher resolution 32 megapixel APS-C sensor, an improved implementation of Canon's dual pixel autofocus with eye detection for photography and video, and a three-inch flip touchscreen. It can shoot 4K at up to 30 frames per second with no additional crop, do in-body time-lapse video, and has an external mic input. This is the camera that we took with us to Mexico, and I used it a ton with the Canon 22 millimeter lens, which I showed you on the M50. I've also used this for some of my videos on the channel, and I've been very happy with the results. I absolutely love the small form factor and the dedicated buttons for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, which offer an excellent user experience. The image and video quality from the M6 Mark II are outstanding, and I always find Canon's menu system to be simple to learn and intuitive to use. This camera also offers a clean HDMI output, so again, it's a great camera to use for streaming or for video calls. It's a great value at around 799 bucks, and I'll make sure that I link to any deals that I find in the description. The next camera I wanna talk about is another one from Fujifilm, the X-T3. This extremely powerful mirrorless camera is slightly larger than the X-T200, has a fantastic 26.1 megapixel APS-C sensor, an excellent hybrid autofocus system, and a tilt touchscreen. The X-T30 takes absolutely beautiful photos and shoots video at up to 4K, 30 frames per second. You can also use it to shoot slow motion and use an external microphone to capture better audio. The X-T30 offers impressive performance in a compact and portable body, and currently sells for $799. Next, I wanna talk about another very capable mirrorless camera from Sony, the A6400. And this is the next level up from the A6100, which I previously mentioned. We're getting a 24 megapixel APS-C sensor, a three-inch flip touchscreen, and a built-in viewfinder. And what's great is that we're still getting an industry-leading autofocus system for both photography and video. The A6400 images are crisp and clean, and it can shoot up to 4K, 30 frames per second. For slow motion, the A6400 can shoot at up to 120 frames per second, which gives great results. And like the A6100, it's very good in low light for the price. A couple of additional features which were not included in the lower-tiered A6100 are weather sealing and picture profiles, which allow for more advanced color grading for video. Now, this is a great all-around camera. It could pretty much do it all. Currently sells for around 900 bucks, and check out the description for any additional discounts. Moving on, we're gonna take a look at a very impressive camera from Nikon, the Z50. Now, this is Nikon's first APS-C mirrorless camera, and I really enjoyed using it. It has a 21-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, and it's extremely capable for both stills and video. The Z50 can shoot photos at up to 11 frames per second, which makes it a great option for sports and wildlife. And the low-light performance on this camera was truly outstanding. We've got a reliable autofocus system with eye detection for portraits, it can record video at up to 4K 30 frames per second, and also offers 1080p at 120 frames per second for slow motion. This is an excellent all-around camera, and with its weather-sealed body, is another great option for those looking for a small and portable camera. The Z50 currently sells for 850 bucks, and I feel like this is a very fair price for what you get. Okay, so moving on. Until now, we only talked about APS-C sensor cameras, and that's a smaller sensor than a full-frame sensor. The first full-frame sensor camera that I wanna talk about is the Canon RP. And if you're interested in learning more about the differences between full-frame and APS-C, check out some of my RP camera comparisons. Now, the RP is Canon's entry-level full-frame sensor camera. And with a few firmware updates and a significant price drop, it's an absolutely fantastic option for someone who wants to go Canon full-frame on a budget. The RP has a 26.2-megapixel full-frame sensor, can shoot 4K and Full HD video, employs Canon's dual-pixel autofocus system, and has a fully articulating touchscreen. It uses Canon's new RF mount, and you can usually find it with an adapter, which lets you use Canon's EF and EFS mount lenses for more options. We've got in-body time-lapse in Full HD and 4K. I was really happy with the color processing and the overall image quality. The RP was originally priced at $1,300, but you can get it now for under $1,000 with a 24-105 lens, which is the kit lens that I recommend. If you're looking for a full-frame Canon camera on a budget, definitely give the RP a look. And now we're going back to APS-C sensors. And if you're looking for a DSLR with a similar but slightly better feature set than the Canon M6 Mark II, check out the Canon 90D. It's definitely larger and heavier than all the other cameras that I talked about, but it's also the most comfortable to hold for long shoots, and especially when you're using larger lenses, because it feels more balanced that way. And we've got the same upgraded high-resolution 32-megapixel APS-C sensor that we saw in the M6 Mark II. Got dual-pixel autofocus, a three-inch fully articulating touchscreen, and video at up to 4K, 30 frames per second. In addition to the features that we saw in the M6 Mark II, we're also getting weather resistance, improved features for monitoring and adjusting audio levels while recording video, and a headphone jack. And we're also getting in-body 4K time-lapse and an external mic input. Now, the image quality is excellent, and the video footage was clean and crisp. So if you're thinking of picking up a DSLR, this is my favorite option at this price point. Now, the 90D usually sells for 1,200 bucks, but with the holiday savings, you can save yourself 50 bucks. So check out the links in the description. Next, we have the flagship Sony APS-C, the a6600. This is Sony's top-of-the-line camera if you're looking for an APS-C sensor, has essentially all the features that we saw in the a61 and a6400, with the notable omission of a built-in flash. The a6600 uses a larger body for longer runtimes and has in-body image stabilization. And that's something that until now, no other camera on this list had. This helps you get sharper images at lower shutter speeds and also more stable handheld video. We also see an even better autofocus system for video with real-time eye detection and tracking, which is not available on the other two models. This is the ultimate APS-C camera from Sony, has excellent image quality for both photography and video, and like the other two, is great in low light. If it's in your budget and you're looking for this feature set, you won't be disappointed. The a6600 currently retails for $1,400, but I've seen it on sale a few times for $1,200, so I'll update the links in the description as needed. And moving on to possibly my favorite mirrorless APS-C sensor camera, we have the Fuji X-T4. This is an upgrade from my previous favorite model for this sensor size, the X-T3, and I'll talk more about this later. We have an extremely powerful 26-megapixel sensor, a fully articulating touchscreen, and a great electronic viewfinder. We also have an IBIS, or in-body image stabilization system, like what we saw in the a6600. But we can now shoot video at up to 4K 60 frames per second, which no other camera on this guide can do, and Fuji has an amazing video picture profile called Eterna for a more cinematic look. The X-T4 has extremely fast burst shooting, letting us take 30 individual pictures in one second, and the overall image quality for video and stills is unbelievable for the price. The X-T4 retails for $1699, and I'm excited to see if we can get a small break on the price during this time of the year. I do wanna mention that the previous model, the X-T3, is now available for under $1,000. So if you don't need some of the most recent features like IBIS or a fully articulating touchscreen, it's probably the best value on this list. All right, going back to Sony, I have to bring up the best bridge camera that I've ever used, the RX10 Mark IV. This is a very unique camera because it has a built-in lens which gives you a crazy range of 24 to 600 millimeters. That's giving you 25X zoom with image stabilization in the lens. The one-inch sensor and the processor allow you to shoot it up to 24 frames per second, and that means you can later on go and pick your favorite picture, and it's perfect when you have moving subjects. As a travel camera, it's pretty difficult to beat the RX10 Mark IV in terms of range. It is bigger than most of the cameras that we saw in this list, but you won't need to bring any additional lenses with you, which will save you space. And also at the same time, while you're shooting, you don't have to keep switching between lenses, and one lens pretty much does it all. It currently sells for around 1,700 bucks, and again, that includes the lens, so you're not spending any additional money on more lenses. Going back to Canon, if you're looking for the next level up from the RP, what you need is the EOS R. This is a 30-megapixel full-frame mirrorless camera that uses Canon's latest RF lens mount and the new Digic 8 processor. As you would expect, it uses Canon's dual-pixel autofocus system. It has a 3.15-inch fully articulating touchscreen, and it can shoot 4K at up to 30 frames per second. The image quality is outstanding. I love this camera for photography, and I always enjoyed Canon's color science for JPEG. Like the other Canon cameras on this list, it was really easy for me to learn and use. It was an absolute pleasure to work with as far as just the overall user experience. Now, when the EOS R was released, it cost $2,000, but recently it had a price drop to under 1,600 bucks, and after a few important firmware updates, this makes the EOS R an even better value. Now, if you're looking for the top-of-the-line full-frame mirrorless cameras from Canon, the newly released R6 and R5 sell for $2,500 and $3,900 respectively, but I decided to cap this video at $2,000. Next, let's take a look at another mirrorless option from Sony, the a7 III, and this was the camera that made me bring Sony into my kit. Then later on, it made me add the a6400, and it's all downhill or uphill from there, depending on how you wanna look at it. Now, we got a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor, a weather-sealed body, very good autofocus, and a 3-inch tilt screen. Like the Sony a6600 and the Fuji X-T4, we have IBIS or in-body image stabilization, but unlike the other two, we're getting a full-frame sensor. We have 4K at up to 30 frames per second and full HD at up to 120 frames per second for very good slow motion. Image quality for stills and video has been outstanding, and I continue to be impressed with the overall performance. If you're looking for a hybrid Sony full-frame camera, this is definitely an option that I recommend. The Sony a7 III usually sells for $2,000, but it's on sale for 1,700 bucks right now, so definitely go check it out. All right, so now we're gonna shift gears a little bit, and we're gonna talk about a couple of point-and-shoot options, which make for fantastic all-in-one solutions. These cameras offer a built-in lens that retracts, and you can easily fit one of these in your pocket. So the first camera is the Canon G7X Mark III, and this is an update to the extremely popular G7X Mark II. The Mark III has a 20-megapixel one-inch sensor, a three-inch flip touchscreen LCD. It can record internally at up to 4K 30 frames per second and 1080p at up to 120 frames per second. The lens has a versatile 4.2X optical zoom with an equivalent focal length of 24 to 100 millimeters and an aperture of f1.8 to 2.8, and that helps with low light performance and provides a shallow depth of field or that blurry background effect. It can shoot photos continuously at up to 20 frames per second, has an external mic input for capturing better audio, and a clean HDMI out, which makes it a great and compact option for streaming. The G7X Mark III currently sells for $649, and with a firmware upgrade that helped improve the autofocus system, now makes for a great compact camera. Now next, I wanna talk about the Sony ZV-1, which is a fantastic compact camera for content creators. This all-in-one solution has a 20 megapixel one-inch CMOS sensor and a 24 to 70 millimeter equivalent f1.8 to 2.8 lens. Got a fully articulating touchscreen, 4K at up to 30 frames per second, 1080p at 120 frames per second for slow motion, and even log and HLG shooting modes. We're looking at 700 bucks, so if you wanna vlog in 4K, you want slow motion, you don't wanna deal with interchangeable lenses, ZV-1. And the next camera I wanna talk about is still the most powerful compact camera that I've ever used, the Sony RX100 Mark VII. Now being a Mark VII has given Sony plenty of opportunities for incremental and major updates. So we've seen this line consistently improve over time. It's definitely not cheap at right under 1300 bucks, but I've never seen this feature set in another compact camera. We have a 20 megapixel one-inch sensor with very impressive performance, even in low light. We have a 24 to 200 millimeter focal length range in a built-in retractable lens, which is amazing and again, super versatile. We can shoot video at up to 4K 30 frames per second, and we're still getting flat color profiles which help in challenging conditions and allow for more flexibility when editing. We've got burst or continuous shooting at 20 frames per second blackout free, meaning that the screen doesn't turn off with every exposure and you can easily follow a subject. The image quality has been fantastic for a one-inch sensor and the cleverly designed pop-up EVF is my favorite implementation. We have real-time eye autofocus, which is the best in class, a mic input for capturing better audio with an external microphone and a clean HDMI out. Again, not inexpensive, but you can't find this feature set in any other compact camera on the market. All right, so this wraps up my 2020 camera buying guide. Like with every year, I'm not able to include every camera that I liked. So if you have any questions about any other model on the market, just put them in the comment section. I'll put links in the description to all the cameras that I talked about and we'll update those links as I find better deals. I really hope that I was able to give you a good overview of some great camera options. And if I did, please let me know by giving this video a thumbs up, tweet it, share it, and if you haven't yet, join the community by hitting the subscribe and notification buttons. You can always find me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at Techier Talk. You know what I always say, buy it nice or buy it twice. Good luck and see you soon.