Finding the Best Starter Camera
Have you recently decided to give photography a go? Maybe it’s your first time around but you’ve been told that you have the eye. Or maybe you had put this creative hobby on hold for a bit but are now curious about picking it back up? In any case you’re going to need a camera to get started!
The great thing about writing this article as a brick and mortar camera shop is that the advice and insights we are about to share are based on years and years of helping people just like you. Let’s help you in finding the best starter camera.
That being said, we are also very much aware that all the technical jargon, competing brands and, let’s be honest, cryptic camera model names, can be a major turn-off to an activity that should be fun, social and rewarding: creating images!
If you are looking for a quick summary here it is: a good starter camera is one :
- Which allows you to change the three settings of the exposure triangle (shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity)
- Who’s size strikes a balance between big enough to be comfortable to hold and small enough that you don’t think twice about bringing it with you.
That’s about it! Everything else are nice-to-haves, more control dials, flash mounts, tilting-screens, interchangeable lenses, etc…
Whether you’ve been worried about researching your starter camera or if you have started but are overwhelmed with spec sheets and “new and improved!” features, we at O’Leary’s Camera World have compiled a short list of the best starter cameras that we recommend the most and get the best customer feedback from.
The Canon EOS R100 and R50 mirrorless cameras.
As the most popular brand in Ireland, Canon’s line of beginner cameras are easy to recommend. With great after-sales support, intuitive menus, comfortable ergonomic cameras and renowned Canon colours, a fair chunk of our customers looking for a starter camera leave with an EOS model.
With their traditional PASM dial*, front dial and compact size, the Canon EOS R100 and Canon EOS R50 have everything a beginner taking up a photography course could need to learn.
The EOS R50 and R10 add nice-to-have features such as fully-articulating touchscreens (think tap to focus, pinch to zoom, not having to crouch down as far for low shots) and the Canon EOS R10 adds a seconds control wheel and a universal flash mount for photographers that would like to explore the world of flash lighting.
*PASM stand for Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority and manual. They are a range of modes that go from camera doing all the work (Program) to you doing all the work (Manual). Very handy to have to learn the exposure triangle by breaking down the settings in easy to learn modes.
The Fujifilm X-T30ii and X-S20 mirrorless cameras
Photography can be hard at first when confidence is still building up and taking photos of other people seems daunting. This is where the Fujifilm X-T30ii camera comes in handy. It’s retro look (think film camera of the 60’s and 70’s) always puts a smile on subjects’ faces where a big bulky pro camera usually has people turning their heads away. Controls are unique in that the shutter speeds have their own dial which can really help in understanding its role in image making. A handy “Auto” switch is there for times when you want to turn the camera into a simple point and shoot affair.
As for the Fujifilm X-S20, we like recommending it for its Canonesque design (re: PASM dial), very comfortable grip and large all-day battery life.
The Sony a6100 mirrorless cameras
The Sony a6100 is by far one of the best-selling mirrorless cameras of the past ten years. Many of our customers gravitate towards it because of its size. But don’t be fooled by its compactness, you have everything you need to get going in photography, including a viewfinder (the little secondary screen you bring up to your eye), a flash mount and access to hundreds of lenses. This last point is important if you already see yourself dipping your toes in photography niches such as macro (close-up), portraits, interiors, sports and wildlife photography.
The Nikon Z 50ii mirrorless camera
The Nikon Z 50ii is a brilliant camera for new photographers that know they want to grow with their first camera. Right off the bat you have two control dials, making manual exposure setting more intuitive, a very smart auto-focussing system that can recognize various subjects and let you focus on exposing your photography to your liking (light and airy? Dark and moody? Blisteringly sharp or artistic blur?) and it also can be bought as a two lens kit, which adds a very sharp telephoto zoom lens for capturing things in the distance.
The Canon PowerShot SX70HS bridge camera
Speaking of distance, if it’s subjects way out there that you are interested in, and especially if you find the idea of one camera able to do most everything without having to add loads of bits and bobs, the Canon SX740HS bridge camera comes highly recommended.
Let’s start with the concessions. For indoor shots without using the flash, for the best image quality in various light and for the ability to build a kit that reflects your interests, you are better off with the aforementioned cameras.
But for photographers who are looking for a simple and comfortable camera that can do near and far (very far!) photography, this is a great option. You get the controls you need to learn the basics of exposure control and some nice-to-have features such as a fully-articulating rear screen (and secondary screen viewfinder), 4k video recording and a 65x zoom (!) where all other recommendations have between 3 and 8x.
A few extras
So far, our recommendations have all been cameras that allow you to learn about the exposure triangle, aren’t too bulky and represent a great value balance between cost and quality.
If you are lucky enough to have a bit more to spend on your starter camera, manufacturers have been producing awesome full-frame mirrorless cameras for photographers starting out.
To keep things simple, full-frame refers to a larger image capturing sensor, this part of the camera being an important factor in overall image quality (with the help of lenses and technique). These cameras are typically larger, but over the past 5 years their has been a trend towards more compact FF cameras which make for great starter cameras for photographers looking to invest. Here are our recommendations:
The Sony A7C and A7Cii full-frame mirrorless cameras
Pricey? Yes? Capable of following you in your journey all the way to awe-inspiring astro photos, captivating studio portraits and professional looking life mementos to be cherished for a long time? Also yes!
The Sony A7c is the smallest, yet comfortable, full-frame camera we recommend to beginners. It doubles as a very impressive content creation tool for businesses who need both photo and video clips for their socials.
The Canon EOS R8 full-frame mirrorless camera
Take everything we said from our description of the EOS R10 and make it more extra! The Canon EOS R8 is lovely camera that you can bond with for the coming years. Corny but true. It’s full-frame sensor is brilliant indoors and it can easily track your moving subject, letting you focus on your composition and exposure.
The Nikon Z f full-Frame mirrorless camera
We are a bit on the fence about recommending the Nikon Z f. On one hand it has all the dials, controls and visual cues you could ever need to learn photography. On the other, it is a beast of a camera “under the hood” and would no doubt be overwhelming for anybody allergic to learning menus.
But we’ve included it, because if there ever was a camera you just want to become inseparable with, it’s the Nikon Z f.
Finding the Best Starter Camera : The final word
So there you have it, a list of our recommended cameras for anybody getting into or back into photography in 2025. All this is based on experience we have working in our Cork City camera shop, collaborating with camera clubs and photography schools over the past 40 years.
No camera is perfect and it is true that it is the photographer that makes the image, but if your tool makes you want to pick it up and take it with you, then you are guaranteed to learn and get closer to where you want to be as a creator.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you very much. We couldn’t do any of this without you and so please share along and visit us in our Cork City camera shop if you’re passing by 😉
And if you have any questions at all, please get in touch with us!