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Compact, DSLR or mirrorless? Read our guide to choosing a camera and find out which device is best for you.

How to choose a camera

Are you planning to buy a quality camera and getting lost in the selection? Let's first read our guide on how to choose a camera that suits your needs and abilities.

To answer the question "How to choose the best camera?" there is no clear-cut answer. Whether you're figuring out how to choose a DSLR or a mirrorless camera depends on a lot of variables. So we've put together a quick guide that you can bounce ideas off of. Just remember that we're only talking about choosing a camera body. Lens selection is another chapter again.

Determine what you expect from your camera

The first and most important step in choosing a camera is to figure out what you expect from it. If you're a beginner, you probably won't need an expensive professional model. On the other hand, if you're not buying your first camera and you've already taken some photos, you'll have significantly higher expectations. Or are you looking for a lightweight travel camera to capture memories, with light weight being the main criteria? And that you plan to shoot videos as well as photos? Make a list of your requirements first, so you have something to go on.

While a regular compact will be fine for still photos from your holiday, you'll need to push the parameters a bit for snapshots and motion. However, always choose based on what you plan to shoot, don't assume that more expensive will always be better. Each genre requires slightly different specs, so it's a good idea to be clear if you're drawn towards shooting landscapes, sports or maybe the night sky.

Match your choice to your budget

Cameras vary really widely in price. Compact cameras can be had for a few thousand crowns, while high-end DSLRs or mirrorless cameras can easily cost a couple of months' salary and a kidney to boot. In fact, getting a camera body is just the beginning. Don't forget about lenses, tripods or camera bags. So keep in mind that the total cost is likely to be more than just the price of the camera itself.

The Viltrox brand today introduced a new wide-angle lens for the Sony E mount, Viltrox AF 16 mm f/1.4 FE! It features a silent stepper autofocus motor, high quality optics including three aspherical and four ED elements, an integrated status display and an aperture ring switch (free/step). Coming soon!

Products of innovative camera and photo accessories brand Edelkrone finally in stock! Including the foldable "flexible head" FlexTILT v3, the miniature motorized slider SliderONE, the very interesting articulated tripod StandPLUS and the motorized ride DollyPLUS.

Samyang has introduced another addition (45 mm T/1.9) to its V-AF lens lineup, which focuses on high image quality while minimizing size (73x70mm) and body weight (<300g). Samyang V-AF lenses for E-Mount provide very good optical resolution suitable for devices with up to 4K and 8K sensors; also of interest is the pair of LEDs indicating recording in progress, which will facilitate the use of the lenses on stabilizers, etc. The "Focus Save" button is used to lock focus settings during AF operation, while the integrated "Custom Switch" can be used to switch the ring function from focus to aperture settings in AF mode, for example.