What’s the best family camera to get? It’s a question I get asked all the time & so thought it could make a good subject for a little blog.
As a photographer I could rattle on for hours about cameras, settings & lenses, but I’m going to try & keep this sweet & simple.
So here are my 5 tips for anyone looking for a new camera to capture photos of your family.
- Crop Frame (DX)
Professional photographers would all have a full frame camera, mainly because it makes it easier for us to get those nice creamy blurred backgrounds.
But the jump from crop frame cameras to full frame is huge in terms of cost & in all honestly if you’re just using the camera to capture your family, or for a blog then a crop frame camera will be perfect.
- Brand
The main players in the camera world at the moment seem to be Nikon, Canon, Fuji & Sony.
I wouldn’t get hung up on brand, but these are the ones that I would look to first when getting a camera.
& in terms of budget, around the £500-£700 mark seems to have some good options.
- Lenses
I’d recommend getting a camera that allows interchangeable lenses (so you can swap the lenses).
Many people are tempted by the zoom lenses e.g. 18-55mm, but I much prefer prime lenses & the 50mm is the best all rounder lens to get.
A 35mm lens is great for photographing indoors as you can be closer to your subject & still get the whole scene in.
Also you don’t have to get the same brand as your camera, just make sure that it’s compatible.
For example I shoot with a Nikon D850 camera, but use Sigma Art lenses because I prefer how they handle the light (I just make sure that the Sigma lenses I buy are for mounting on Nikon cameras).
- Aperture
Ok this may be a foreign language to many, but it’s honestly pretty simple.
The aperture in products specs is usually called the f number & this relates to the lens rather than the camera.
You want the lowest f number you can afford e.g. 1.8 & they call this the maximum aperture number.
The lower that your camera can go in terms of the aperture, the better you will be able to photograph in low light (e.g. on rainy cloudy days indoors).
Lower apertures are also how professional photographers get those lovely creamy, blurry backgrounds with the subject still in sharp focus.
Ok admittedly reading it back that does sound a little complicated, but just remember the lower the f number the better.
- Mirrorless
This is the new technology & if your budget allows for it then I would absolutely go for this option.
Mirrorless cameras are much lighter so easier to carry around & some argue that they are sharper.
I always buy my cameras & lenses from Wex, they are a specialist photography retailer & I’ve never had any problems with items from them.
If I was picking an entry level camera now I’d go for:
- Canon EOS MCanon EOS M50 Digital Camera with 15-45mm Lens – £649
- Plus if you can stretch your budget I would get this lens as it goes down to f 1.4 Canon EF-M 32mm f.1.4 STM Lens – £489
