Buying a new camera, there are a lot of things to take into consideration, but ultimately it all comes down to your budget.

You need to have an idea of what your price range is. All cameras are meant to do the same thing (take pictures and record videos), but the thing that differentiates low priced cameras from the high priced cameras are the functions, features and quality. You can find cameras from the price of $200 up to $40,000+. So once you’ve figured out your price range, the next thing you’d want to think about, is why you’re going to buy one. All cameras are the same, but different. Each with their own specific features that make them stand out from the rest, but it all comes down to your preferences of features and ultimately, what you’re going to use it for. There are cameras that are designed to perform specific tasks, there are the low priced simple Point and Shoot cameras where you basically point your camera to your subject, and simply press a button. Then there are DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflect) cameras which have a lot more to them. These types of cameras are typically a lot more pricy than a point and shoot. With a DSLR you can do a lot more because you have the ability to manually adjust the settings yourself such as: Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. So if you just want a simple camera that is better then your bad phone camera, maybe a Point and Shoot would be good for you, but if you want to get the most of a camera and have the ability to change lenses, have accessories and take time in capturing excellent photos, then a DSLR maybe something you might want to invest in.

There are those who may desire the quality of a DSLR but the size of a point and shoot, a mirrorless camera is also something to take into consider. A mirrorless camera can function just like a DSLR, but instead of the light having to reflect through mirrors, the light simply goes straight through. This makes the camera a lot smaller, simply because there is no mirror, but you may be wondering, “it’s a pricy camera that’s small, I can just save up money for a BIG DSLR” (if not, then you are now) here’s the thing with mirrorless cameras. They may seem very small, but don’t mistake the size for it’s capability. Mirrorless cameras such as the Sony a6300 have great qualities. Such as, having the ability to record a video in 4K quality, having great auto-focus, having the ability to add accessories and switch lenses. So if you really want to take great photos, capture high quality videos, yet having it in a small size; then a mirrorless camera is something you’d want to take a look at.

Finally, the big guns. You may be wondering: “why spend so much money on camera?” well, you get what you pay for. People who spend a lot of money towards their cameras have a reason for it. For example: professional photographers would want the best camera possible for still images, but other people would want the best camera for video purposes. For photographers, another reason why they spend a lot of money, is for the lenses. There are so much different lenses out there that do specific things. There are lenses that are made to take wide shots, there are lenses that were made for close up shots (Macro) and lenses that help you take photos of things in the distance (telephoto), but these cameras may not be the best at recording videos. This means when buying video camcorders, it’s going to be a lot more expensive. For video, there are a lot more to take into consideration. First, audio. If you have bad audio, then your video is not going to turn out good. People pay the extra money not just for the good microphone, they also do it for the quality of the video. There are cameras that can only shoot 1080p quality videos, (that may sound a lot, but not on the big screen) people filming high budget movies would want cameras that can record some high quality footage; such as: RED. RED is a company that manufactures high priced camcorders that can record amazing footage. There are RED cameras that can shoot up to 8K such as: The weapon 8K. So when buying a new camera, make sure you know what you are getting and why you are getting it.

Here is our List of recommendations, please note that all prices are in Canadian dollars and that the prices are based on the prices at the time of the publication of this article.

Here are some recommended models if your price range is around $600:

1. Nikon 1 J5 – a compact camera, with interchangeable lenses with the ability to shoot at 4K at 15fps, comes at a price of $549
2. Canon EOS Rebel T5 – a great starter DSLR camera for anyone who wants to start learning photography at a price of $429
3. Olympus Stylus Tough G4 – a great camera, designed for the adventurous with the capability of waterproof up to 50ft, also shock/freeze/dust/crushproof  at a price of $499
4. Nikon D3300 – a great still image camera, with the capability of recording 1080 at 60fps at a price of $497
5. Canon Powershot G9 X – a camera that is best for stylish design, compact body, and large image sensor at the price of $479

Next, are the recommended models if your price range more than $600 but under $1,500:

1. Canon 70D – a great camera overall, especially with a long battery life at the price of $1,550
2. Nikon D5500 – another great camera, with a high range of ISO and auto focus points at the price of $940
3. Nikon D5300 – just like the Nikon D5500, has great auto focus ability, and 60fps 1080 video settings at the price of $900
4. Canon EOS 60D – one of the more heavy cameras, at the price of $1,300
5. Nikon D3300 – one of the lightest models, at the price of $600

for the price range of the ‘professional’ grade cameras ($1,500 – $9000)

1. Canon EOS 5DS – with stunning, detailed picture capabilities, and white balance; this camera comes at the price of $3,500
2. Nikon D810 – with a high resolution sensor, and 5fps burst shooting; this camera comes at the price of $4,100
3. Canon EOS 5D Mark III – with detailed, low noise images, an excellent HDR mode; this camera comes at the price of $2,200
4. Nikon D750 – with a new 24MP sensor, and great high performance AF system; this camera comes at the price of $2,600
5. Canon EOS-1D X Mark II – with an excellent control layout, and a 14fps burst shooting mode, good for sport shots; this camera comes at the price of $8,000

Next, cameras for the ‘Super Pro’ at the price range between $10,000 – $25,000

1. Canon EOS C300 Mark II EF – great for shooting video with high quality and less noise; ate the price of $15,000.00
2. Sony PXW-FS7 – great camera with a high quality video performance, and easy handling and grip; at the price of $11,890.00 (only for the body)
3. Sony PMW-300K1 – a great camcorder that has a high bit rate, which means it can capture fast moving objects excellently; at the price of $12,3000
4. JVC Professional Products GY-HM850Ub – built with a great wide angled lens offering the highest magnifications and superior low light performance; at the price of $10,650
5. Sony PXW-FS5 – with a great 4K recording abilities, this camera comes with a grip that can be rotated 360 degrees to get the best shots; at the price of $9,850

Finally, we have the cameras that are the top of the line for those with deep pockets and high demands, prices here are higher than $30,000

1. Leica S2-P – popularly used for outdoor photography, with a stunning 37.5 megapixel images, great for on the road people at the price of $30,000
2. Panoscan MK-3 – is a great camera for panasonic images, and full 360 degree view that can be done in 8 seconds which has use in the police force with a price of $40,000
3. Phase One P65+ Digital Back Medium Format with 645 DF – with this camera, you can easily capture very high quality images with a price of $40,000
4. Seitz 6×17 Panoramic – this camera has the capability of 160 million pixels, which means it is great for landscape shots, group shots, and for subjects that require a high resolution at a price of $43,00
5.  Hasselblad H4D 200MS – this camera is the most top notch camera in the world, it has 200million pixels and has a sensor mounted into a symmetrical multi shot frame to be more precisely positioned; at the price of $45,000, which makes it the most expensive (still) camera in the world.
6. Cinema 4K Camcorder – with 35mm sensor, 4K video at 60 fps, 2K slow motion, this professional grade camcorder is priced at $24,100
7. CineAlta 4K PMW – with RAW 60fps 4K video capturing, this camcorder has simultaneous recording abilities at the price of $46,750
8. EPIC-X RED DRAGON – with up to 9x more pixels than 1080p camcorders, this has the capability of recording 6K video at 75fps, and as well with a new colour science, this camcorder is priced at $27,500
9. Weapon 8K – with an outstanding 8K video quality with 60 fps, this camcorder is unrivalled and is probably the best one out right now, is priced at $50,000

Also, if you think that 2 year old camera is something you are planning on getting rid of because there are newer ones, DON’T (well not yet) unless it’s a point and shoot camera, you can just simply buy better lenses instead of spending an extra couple hundred dollars. Also remember that you can choose from a variety of different accessories for your camera such as: better flashes, better microphones, screens that you can attach onto your camera, extra batteries that can be added as an extension to your camera. Just remember, it’s 2016, there are a lot of extra features that you can buy for your camera, if the camera is capable of having attachments added to it.

Of course there are more than just 3 types of cameras you can purchase. There have been many companies, creating, designing different varieties of cameras. The are small, compact, action cameras which is designed for people who would want to record themselves doing different activities from bungee jumping to biking. These action cameras can even be attached to drones that can fly with a great range so you can capture shots from a high point of view, and you can even fly over bodies of water and get shots like that as well. There are also special phones that you can buy, where you can add a lens to it so you will be able to have a phone with upgraded lens. They have even created cameras that can record a 360 degree angle of what ever is going on. So if you set on up in the middle of the room, it will capture everything around it, and with that, you can watch videos on YouTube that are specifically 360 degree videos where you can rotate your phone, and the video will rotate in that direction. You can even buy cameras that print out the picture right after you take it. In this day of age, there are many different types of inventions being created, so maybe in the near future, we will have a lot more cameras that may even have the capability of doing things we never dreamed of.

– Carlos Jochico, Big City