Best camera & photography gear for Beginners in 2024 : Let’s go Mirrorless!

by Osan Altun
24 November 2023

Learn Photography

The mirrorless has won! For 2024, we have updated our camera recommendations to 100% mirrorless. While the lens and accessory recommendations stay unchanged, we recommend a mirrorless camera for almost everyone buying new equipment for ease of use and to benefit from latest innovations. Read on to find out more.

The most frequent question that we receive from our students is : “I’m new to photography / videography, which camera / lens should I buy”? We teach thousands of students every year, and we understand your needs quite well. So we have put together our recommended camera & photography gear for beginners, based on extensive research in the Swiss and German markets.

We will suggest three complete kits for different budgets for beginners general purposes. Then we have more recommendations for specialized photography needs if you already know what you want to photograph. You can then find a detailed discussion about each decision later in the article.

Overall recommendations:

Consider buying secondhand: A recent camera with an older but high quality lens will deliver much better results than a new camera and lens at the same budget. Check the number of actuations before you buy. A camera with under 50’000 actuations still has lots of life left.
Pair a fancy lens with a cheaper camera. Cameras simply capture what the lens sees. Better lenses will always make better images.
Buy a camera with an interchangeable lens: Fixed-lens cameras are not worth it.
Do not buy the “kit lens”: Kit lenses (usually 18-55mm) deliver similar or worse results compared to your phone. Buy the camera body and your lens(es) separately so you can get a better lens.
Get a mirrorless: Over the last few years, all major manufacturers has transitioned from DSLRs (with mirror) to mirrorless cameras. These are lighter, have superior auto-focus capabilities, can have sensor stabilisation and you can see the exact image before you hit take the photo. Going mirrorless is now our recommendation for 2024.
Sensor size – Full frame vs Cropped (aps-c): Larger sensor cameras cost more, weigh more and get paired with more expensive and heavier lenses. For most beginners and wildlife photographers, we recommend a cropped frame system. However if you are shooting in low light and/or demand the highest quality, you can consider full frame cameras as their cost has come down significantly.
Get a custom strap: Cameras original straps are usually terrible. Get a good strap that you can use with any camera.
Consider renting before you buy to figure out which brand you will actually use. Remember that you cannot use lenses from different manufacturers, so once you select a brand, you will have to start investing in lenses made for that brand.
Invest in learning: Better gear doesn’t make you a better photographer. Save on gear in the beginning and invest in classes & education. Learning photography will get you better photos with any camera, including your phone. Cameras are like paintbrushes: buying the best won’t guarantee you great pictures–it’s only at higher levels of skill & expertise that you notice the difference.

General purpose beginner

Camera & Lens

For beginners with a budget, we recommend a mirrorless camera with a cropped sensor (also called aps-c), with a good lens or two. For those with higher budgets, nowadays there are great full frame sensor camera offers, however remember that full frame camera will need bigger and more expensive full frame lenses.

More expensive cameras have better build quality, extra features and maybe specific features like weather sealing or two card slots that a pro would need but would not not benefit a hobbyist.

Also consider user gear as mentioned above, to get more features for the same budget.

We don’t recommend “camera & lens kit”s, buy the camera body and the lens(es) separately to avoid paying for a low quality kit lens that you do not need.

Budget

Cropped sensor entry level recommended for most beginners

Camera:

Canon M6 II + 18-135mm
Sony Alpha D6400 + 18-200mm
Nikon Z50 + Z DX 18-140mm

Lens:

An all purpose lens (e.g. 18mm – 135) for general purpose plus
A prime 35mm or 50mm f/1.8 lens for creamy backgrounds and low light.

Software: Adobe Photography Plan Lightroom & Photoshop

CHF 1.5K

Better

Entry level full frame for better low light performance.

Camera:

Canon R8
Nikon Z6 II
Sony A7 C

Lens:

An all purpose zoom (e.g. 24-105 or 24-200) plus
A specialist fixed lens with f/1.8 or f/2.0 (e.g. 28mm, 50mm or 85mm)

Software: Adobe Photography Plan Lightroom & Photoshop

CHF 2-3K

Best

Top quality full frame cameras with sensor stabilisation

Camera:

Canon R6 Mark II or R5
Nikon Z8
Sony A7R V

Lens:

An all purpose zoom (e.g. 24-70 f/2.8)
A specialist fixed lens (e.g. 50mm or 85mm f/1.4 or f/1.8)

Software: Adobe Photography Plan Lightroom & Photoshop

CHF 3-6K

Choosing the brand

As of 2024, all three leading brands (Canon, Nikon, Sony) offer similar performances for each price point, so you cannot go wrong by choosing any of them. Canon and Nikon are usually more user friendly with their buttons and menus and ergonomics. Sony usually leads with the latest technologies in their sensors; however, we find their menus and the buttons sometimes too complicated for a beginner.

Retro design cameras : Special note

Retro-design cameras such as FujiFilm, Nikon Z Fc, OM-D Pen, etc have become very popular with their beautiful designs that include dedicated dials for exposure.

However, in our experience, these dedicated aperture & shutter speed dials make it more difficult for beginners to start. If you’re an absolute beginner, we do not recommend those cameras to start your photography journey. However they can be an excellent second camera for your travels. 🙂

Accessories

Strap

Whatever your level in photography, we strongly recommend a good strap to make carrying your camera much easier. The original straps that come with your camera are not comfortable; they are too short and not ergonomic. A good strap will make it very comfortable to carry your camera and you can use it with any camera that you have. The brand that we recommend is BlackRapid (Sports model).

This strap has soft padding that always stays on your shoulder, distributes the weight equally to both sides of your body, and when you need to take a photograph, the camera is easily pulled up into position because the camera glides along the sling while the shoulder pad stays put.

You can order it from our online store at special prices for our followers.

Post-processing:

Check our software for photographers article for an in depth look at our software recommendations

Software: Adobe photography plan: Lightroom & Photoshop. CHF 11.85 / month.

Hardware: Apple MacBook M3 or MacBook M3 Pro

We offer several photography classes for beginners to get you up to speed quickly.

Our recommendation is the 5-week evening class for beginners if you are free in the evenings. We also offer a full day beginners course if you prefer a weekend. For a complete education, check our SPC Academy Programs which starts from 4 weeks up to 1 year.

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