Our top camera picks for 2024

With the year coming to close its time to look at our top picks for a great camera. Whether you are beginner in the world of photography or an enthusiast all the way up to a professional photographer and videographer, this is a great time to get an entry level digital camera, all the way up to the high-end full frame mirrorless cameras. DSLR cameras come with tremendous features that will help a photographer progress in their career. You can look at camera body only options which is referred to as an interchangeable lens camera, meaning you can purchase a separate lens from the same manufacturer as your camera. So, let’s say you pick up a great DSLR camera from Sony and you want to attach a lens from Canon EOS Line, Nikon, Olympus, Fujifilm X or Leica, whether that be a prime lens, wide angle lens, telephoto lens or a zoom lens, you may need a mounting adapter in order for the lens to be properly mounted on the camera as the proprietary mounting system may differ from your camera.

Obviously, you will want one of the best mirrorless cameras, which have tremendous specs and features and great build quality. In addition, these DSLR cameras should be able to produce high quality images and videos and have the capability to handle all types of shooting environments and be able with perfect image quality with their low light performance.

But, if you are a beginner you may want to start off with a simple point and shoot camera, or retro film cameras, which with their features that can sometimes match mirrorless cameras with a full frame sensor. Plus, these are cool and fun to share with your friends.

If you are a vlogger or content creator, you also want a camera that will give you tremendous IBIS or in-body image stabilization, which is great for handheld shooting as it should minimize if not remove all shake and blur from your exposures, as this is often found in handheld shooting. In addition, you should grab a digital camera that has a lot of battery life, so if you are out there vlogging, you don’t have to worry about your camera running out of power.

If you are vlogging on the go than camera ergonomics should be very important to you. Your compact camera should be able to fit in your photography bag without issue and with its accompanying weather sealing technology, you can feel free to vlog anywhere at any time.

Before we get into our buying guide for the best DSLR cameras for 2024, we just want to touch on one more feature that we will delve further into is have an EVF or an Electronic Viewfinder which accompanies the LCD touchscreen, allowing you to concentrate on your image and video recordings without having to look through the lens of the camera.

Top Photography Products

Option #1

One of the best more entry level DSLR interchangeable lens cameras that come with a great price tag is the Sony Alpha ZV-E10 II Interchangeable Lens Mirrorless Camera w/16-50mm Lens.

General Features

Let’s begin with this wonderful CMOS APS-C camera which provides high resolution and can capture up to 26 megapixels in their images and video recordings. The Exmor aps-c sensor which is the megapixel sensor on this full frame camera is about ten times bigger than the average smartphone sensor like an Apple iPhone or Android, and three times bigger than 1-type (1-inch) sensor found in compact cameras. In addition, the image processor gets you higher resolution and thanks to its standard ISO range that can go from 100 to 32000, you will get high quality sharp and detailed images and video recordings.

We also need to explain that this camera can shoot in 4K oversampled from 6K in the dynamic range for even battery color and vibrancy in your exposure.

The autofocus system on the Sony ZV-E10 is really a cool feature for shooters taking photos or video recordings making it much easier for beginners. The real-time eye AF accurately depicts the faces and eyes of humans, as well as the eyes of animals and birds. Real-time tracking ensures that focus is maintained on your subject of your exposure, as it moves around in the frame in high speed. So, if you are trying to use this as an action camera, you can rest easy that with its sensor size and ability to shoot in 4K up to 30FPS or 60FPS.

Build Quality and Portability

There is a 3” LCD flip out touchscreen EVF viewfinder or optical viewfinder which is so important when shooting a vlog or taking street photography as it allows you to focus on your subject better and see your entire shooting area and subjects. You can easily use the EVF when shooting vertically which makes this camera operate sort of like a gimbal type camera often found on drones. Not to mention its weight at just 10.3 ounces, which makes the ZV-E10 II the perfect camera for vloggers and content creators who do their vlogs while traveling or just on the go on a regular day.

Image and Video Features/Stabilization

You get fantastic IBIS which uses an advanced AI technology to make an algorithm to remove blur and shake which is often found when shooting handheld.

The wonderful BIONZ XR image processing engine gets 4K HDR images oversampled from 5.6K at 60 FPS for images and video recording so your videos will come out in the dynamic range with sharp details and vibrant colors.

Give shooting in RAW format as this type of photography allows for better postproduction editing. You can then use software such as Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop or your smartphone’s editing capabilities to really edit your exposure when recorded as a RAW File.

Connectivity

The ZV-E10 II has Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi AC as it’s known, so your camera can use the 5 GHz band on Wi-Fi, making it ideal for wireless livestreaming. As this band is much faster than the older Wi-Fi N or Wi-Fi 4 spectrum. It also has a superspeed USB 5 Gbps (USB 3.2) Type-C port also which lets you use highspeed wired transfer to a PC or smartphone for easy post-production and sharing on social media platforms. This also offers bluetooth technology, so you can pair the camera with your smartphone and download the Sony creators app. The creator’s app allows you to connect Sony cameras to the cloud, giving you better functionality and ease of use.

Storage

It is also imperative that you have plenty of storage for your still images and video recordings. This camera has single card slot for memory cards which are rate at SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I). This camera does not support the faster cfexpress memory card. We do recommend that your purchase a spare memory card as you may need additional storage, or if you just want to have one handy in case of memory card failure.

Battery Life

With the high-powered battery in this camera, you won’t have to worry about running out of juice during a long vlog shooting session or extensive street photography, thanks to the high-capacity NP-FZ100 battery, which gives you continuous movie recording for up to 195 minutes per charge and up to 610 still images. So, you are getting quite a bit of battery life for those long vlog sessions.

Option #2

Our next choice for one for one of the best cameras for 2024 is the Panasonic LUMIX GH7 Mirrorless Camera w/ Leica 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 Lens Kit. Let’s delve deeper into this wonderful DSLR camera.

General Features

When it comes to video cameras, this tremendous mirrorless camera from Panasonic really delivers. The included 25.5 megapixel sensor and 13+ stop dynamic range boost makes every photo and video recording appear in high quality with sharp, clear images of your subject and vibrant colors.

This camera can be purchased as a mirrorless micro four thirds camera body, or you can attach the Panasonic lens with a focal length of 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 Leica DG Vario-ELMARIT ASPH./Power O.I.S. Lens, making this an interchangeable camera.

This camera comes with the world’s first 32-bit floating recording, so it gets that wide dynamic range, and the 32-bit float format records more information, from quiet to loud sounds, which makes the usage of the camera much easier for the user as they are not constantly having to switch volume levels.

There is also a built in OLED EVF or electronic viewfinder which makes taking photos and videos of your subject much easier.

Build Quality and Portability

There is no worry about your camera overheating as the GH7's compact body which is great for travel and is very portable plus the heat dissipation structure which enables extended recording even when shooting heavy photos.

Image and Video Recordings/Stabilization

There is a mechanical shutter which is rated for the following photos: Up to 14 fps at 25.2 MP and up to 215 Frames (Raw) / 260 Frames (JPEG). The Electronic Shutter is rated for: Up to 75 fps at 25.2 Megapixels for up to 215 Frames (Raw) / 260 Frames (JPEG). This is great resolution and frame refreshing for continuous shooting.

Video capability is rated at 4:2:2 10-bit C4K/4K 60p/50p internal recording, however this is not medium format camera rather a micro four thirds camera. A medium format camera which would a larger sensor size and higher resolution.

There is a sensor-shift, 5-Axis stabilization built into this camera which will eliminate shake and blur from your exposures.

Connectivity

This camera comes with Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi AC so you can access the faster 5Ghz network meaning uploading your images and video recordings will go much faster. There is also Bluetooth 5.0 so you can pair your smartphone and download the companion app to upload and store images and video recordings.

Storage

There are two memory card slots with the first one supporting the fast CFexpress Type B and the second memory card slot is rated for cards that are SD/SDHC (UHS-II) [U3/V30 and up]. This gives you a lot of onboard storage with fast read/write speeds. Although we do recommend that you purchase a spare memory card.

Battery Life

There is quite a large battery which comes with this new camera. It is the DMW-BLK22 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, 7.2 VDC, 2200 mAh (which gets you approximately. 350 Shots). You may want to look into a spare battery or a power bank so you can charge the camera while you are on the go in let’s say a long vlog session which includes quite a bit of street photography.

Option #3

Our top pick for the best cameras of 2024 is the Canon EOS R5 Mark II Full Frame Mirrorless Camera Body. This is a top notch DSLR camera body. Let us look at some of the fantastic features of this top tier camera.

General Features

This is a newly designed camera from Canon which comes with an all new full-frame back-illuminated stacked CMOS 45 Megapixel sensor. This helps you get 30 fps RAW or full-resolution JPEG still images when shooting images. You also can record in UHD or Ultra High Definition at 120FPS.

There are three shutters to get multiple shutter speeds, the Electronic Shutter 1/32000 to 30 Seconds, Electronic Front Curtain Shutter 1/8000 to 30 Seconds and the Mechanical Shutter 1/8000 to 30 Seconds.

There is a 0.5-inch 5.76 million dot OLED EVF or electronic viewfinder with approximately 100% coverage of the photography scene.

Image and Video Recordings/Stabilization

Being able to capture JPEG and RAW photos is great but this camera also gives you the option to record your still images or video recordings in a HEIF format. This compresses the content and makes it easier to share via social media or e-mail and texting. The Apple iPhone offers this type of shooting standard as well. The ISO range is 100 to 51,200 (Extended: 50 to 102,400).

You can record 4K UHD at 120FPS in additional to being able to record FHD or Full HD at up to 240 FPS, so you get blazing refresh rates with this camera.

There is a sensor-shift, 5-Axis which provides excellent image stabilization, which means you can rest easy that your exposures will be blur and shake free.

Connectivity

This camera comes with Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi AX which can make 2.5 times better performance than the older Wi-Fi 5 standard. Make sure that you have a Wi-Fi AX router so your device can access the faster channels. The camera also comes with Bluetooth 5.0 to connect to your smartphone or tablet and download the Canon camera connect app from the Apple app store or the Android Google Play store and you get the following additional features: you can access stored files, also adjust settings to fit your needs, download firmware updates so your camera stays up to date with features, use it as a remote control and view live feed. It’s a fantastic app for this camera.

Storage

There is one memory card slot rated for memory cards as follows: you can use a CFexpress Type B (CFexpress 2.0) [2 TB Maximum / VPG-400 or Faster Recommended], or an SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) [V90 or Faster Recommended] so you get fast read/write speeds and transfer speeds as well not to mention all the storage. As we previously stated we highly recommend getting a backup memory card.

Battery Life

As this camera require more power than previous versions of the Canon EOS camera lineup it comes with the more powerful LP-E6P battery. This extended battery should suffice even for those long vlog sessions, however having a spare battery or power bank to charge the camera is always a good fall back as you don’t want to run out of power while shooting your vlog, or landscape photography or street photography.

Conclusion

So, we have provided our top picks for the best cameras of 2024. Whether you are a beginner and you want the Sony ZV-E10 which is great for beginners, or you are a professional photographer and want the features and specs of the high end Canon EOS R5, there are plenty of great options to choose from. So don’t hesitate and take advantage of holiday discounts and get your hands on one of these great cameras.