What Camera Should I Buy As a Gift?
It’s that time of year! It’s time for family, comfort food, gratefulness, and gift-giving! This time of year comes with big purchase decisions. You are presented with Black Friday deals, holiday sales, and last-minute “must get” items.
I’ve lost track of how often I have been asked the big question: What type of camera should I buy my daughter, son, wife, or husband? Whether you ran out of time to research cameras or don’t know where to start. I’m here to help! Let me remove some of that anxiety over this big decision this year so you can focus on what matters most—your people.
Do They Like Photography, Or Do They Want A Camera To Take Pictures FOR Them?
To help you make the right camera purchase for your person, you must first know: “Are they interested in photography or just want a camera that will take nice pictures?” I don’t mean that disrespectfully. I just want to save you a ton of money. This typically breaks down to:
Will they want to switch the camera out of Automatic Modes so they can control it?
Are you or are they willing to buy different lenses to go with the camera, or do they want something that’s all-in-one and works out of the box?
Will they want to edit the photos?
And lastly, “What’s your budget?
If your answers to those questions are:
“If I’m paying a ton of money for a camera, shouldn’t it just work?”
“Wait, I have to buy lenses, too? Aren’t they part of the camera?”
“What exactly do you mean by editing? They’ll probably use a filter in Instagram.”
And, “Under $300.”
Get a Point-and-Shoot Camera
Please save your money! You can purchase one of these point-and-shoot cameras for $100-$300.
Your best bet is to go with a zoom-in/zoom-out point-and-shoot camera. It will essentially do the same thing as the big, expensive cameras purchased with one of the lenses many times sold as a bundle (we call them “kit lenses”), used in automatic mode. Please save your money! You can purchase one of these point-and-shoot cameras for $100-$300. I bet your person will be delighted with what it can do. These all-in-one cameras have excellent resolution and speed. The zoom range for those babies is usually quite expansive, too! So, they can take pictures of things close to them in a small room and zoom in to photograph things far away without needing to switch lenses (it’s built-in!). They can also use the batteries you already have in your house (typically AAs) rather than purchasing extra “special” batteries and chargers if they need to use the camera for more than a few hours. The special batteries in the big cameras can cost almost as much as a point-and-shoot camera! Plus, the point-and-shoot cameras are lightweight and can fit in a pocket if traveling.
It will take lovely photos with no fuss and is a little better than your phone camera (though some phones could rival these days!). If you are really tempted to buy a big camera for your person, I must caution you that if they plan to use it in Automatic Mode, it is basically the same as using a point-and-shoot—and a massive waste of your hard-earned money (and a waste of a nice camera). It’s like buying an iPhone and only using its call feature. For that, you could have bought a flip phone for $30—same idea.
If your answers to the questions were more like:
“My person loves playing around with the settings! They have been begging for a nicer camera for ages to improve their photography.”
Or, “Of course, I know I need to buy lenses, memory cards, batteries, etc. Just tell me more!”
Or, “They are thinking about starting a photography business. What kind of camera should they have to start?”
Or, “They already have an entry-level camera and are starting to charge people money. They keep talking about how their current camera limits what they can do, so I want to help them level up. What should I get?”
And your budget is, “Probably a few hundred dollars. I’m willing to entertain options.”
This is where it gets personal, depending on where they are on their photography journey. I am a Nikon shooter. I know Nikon cameras and lenses, but there are many different brands of cameras out there, so in addition to giving you specific Nikon recommendations, I will also give you some overall things to look for if you are going the Canon or Sony route—all are great brands. They all have camera models and lenses comparable to Nikon's. So, do your homework if the person you are shopping for is not a Nikon shooter.
If you’re unsure, and they don’t already have a camera or a preference, close your eyes and pick between Nikon, Sony, and Canon. There are solid arguments for each brand, and everyone seems to be happy with what they use, so just go for it!
FOR THE TRUE BEGINNER PHOTOGRAPHER
Get An Entry-Level Camera
Suppose they like taking pictures and are interested in learning more about photography as a hobby or taking photos in an ‘artsy’ way. In that case, you want to purchase an “entry-level” camera body. Some brands call it a “hobbyist-level” camera body.
They have what is called a “crop sensor,” which (to keep it simple) takes what you would usually see through a lens and “crops” it a little. They are less expensive, have a little lower resolution, and typically only offer one memory card slot, but they do an excellent job and allow the photographer to take over manual control. I shot my first two weddings with one of these types of cameras!
Nikon Entry-Level Mirrorless Cameras:
You should expect to pay $500-$1,000 for these types of camera bodies. If you are looking at other brands, the things that should be important to you are:
It can switch to Manual Mode
It has RAW image file capabilities (so that the images can be edited better)
The white balance can be manually adjusted (with Kelvin or a custom mode)
The lenses are purchased separately from the camera body
Please note that I gave suggestions for mirrorless cameras. While you can still buy some DSLR cameras, most major companies are discontinuing them. I don’t suggest purchasing one at this point, even though they are less expensive than their mirrorless comparison models. For Nikon, these are your “Z” series cameras and lenses. Speaking of lenses…
What about a lens?
When deciding on a lens to purchase with the camera (if you decide to purchase one to use with their new camera body), it might make sense to opt for a kit lens at this point. A kit lens is a lens the store will sell you as a “bundle” with the camera. A kit lens is going to be far from top-of-the-line. It will not have wide-open aperture abilities and probably won’t be the sharpest thing on the planet. Still, it will typically have a range of focal lengths (zoom) to work with and is an inexpensive place to start because, let’s face it, not everyone has thousands of dollars to spend on a starter camera and lens for a person who isn’t making money off their photography skills just yet. Keep it simple to start.
FOR THE DEDICATED LEARNER
Get Them Education & A New Lens
Maybe they have been experimenting with an old, entry-level camera and are starting to learn a thing or two, and they want a better camera to go pro. Here is where I am going to burst a bubble or two. When they are at this point, it’s time to invest in education—and one pro lens—before buying a more expensive camera.
Otherwise, they’ll make the mistake I made when I was starting—I bought a whole bunch of crap I didn’t need trying to take better pictures when all I truly needed was to learn how to ‘actually’ use the camera I already had and maybe buy one lens with more capabilities to get to the next level.
Don’t get me wrong, a more advanced camera will make a difference if they are doing this for a living, but if they are still primarily trying to figure things out, the difference they need to start seeing at this point is mastery of the concepts that will make a great photograph and how to work with people and run a business—which they can do with an entry-level camera, education, and one pro lens. They don’t necessarily need to shoot super-fast or with enormous file sizes, so it doesn’t make sense to spend thousands of dollars on an advanced camera when they may not even notice the differences. I suggest investing in a 50mm f/1.2 lens for their entry-level mirrorless camera body instead. That lens will last a lifetime and will help them get to the next level—along with education.
The “f-number” 1.2 indicates the maximum the lens can open in low light and how blurry it can make the background (to keep things very simple here). The smaller the number, the more power it gives the photographer over the visual signature of their final images (hence the price tag—you really do pay for what you get here). The kit lenses will not open enough to make the background very blurry. I suggest a 50mm lens because it is the closest to what we see naturally with our own eyes, so it will make the most “sense” to the brain as your person starts taking control over the camera. The 50mm will also allow them to stay close to the subjects and to shoot in smaller spaces if needed.
GOING PRO
Get a Full-Frame Camera
Are they ready to call themselves a pro photographer and business owner?!
If people pay your person to take pictures, they are a professional photographer with a real business. Now, it’s time to get real. You are so kind to want to buy your special person professional gear to support them, but photography gear is expensive, so I suggest checking with them before purchasing, or you might waste your hard-earned money on this sweet gift. With that said, you may want to send them this article to read and check back with you before making any rash purchases, so I will speak to your person from here on out…
Even if you aren’t 100% sure you know what you want, you can always sell gear you no longer need. It’s kind of like buying a new car, though. Once it has been used, you will never get the full price back again, so choose wisely. There are options like buying refurbished and used gear. I have heard people have succeeded with that, but I have also heard horror stories. What you do is your choice, and I bet you want to save some money for your family members when they are buying you a gift, but I will tell you that I bought all my new gear. It’s the only way to guarantee quality and an easy return if something is wrong. Plus, I plan on using my equipment for a long time. So, I want to get as much use out of it as possible. Did you know that, like a car, digital cameras have a lifespan before they need replacement parts? For someone like me who takes an average of 200,000 photos yearly, I want to get as many clicks of the shutter out of my gear as possible. If you aren’t shooting that much, it may make more sense for you to gamble and buy used.
Full-Frame Camera Body
Once you are comfortable shooting with your 50mm f/1.2 on your crop sensor camera, you are nailing your focus at wide-open apertures and getting the exposure correct in the camera, people are paying you regularly, and you have saved enough money for it, it’s time to buy a full-frame camera.
Hey, if you are rich, buy one earlier in your journey! But, for us regular people, this is a milestone. Your first full-frame camera. This is huge. I remember the day I got mine. I ran to the park to practice with it and quickly realized I needed to figure out where all of the buttons I needed were. It was super awkward for a hot minute until I got used to it, and I realized I could customize what I wanted each button to do. So, I suggest moving to a new camera body during a slow season. Do not expect to get a new camera and shoot a session with a paying client the next day.
Nikon Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras…
Z6II (This is the camera I use—I own two of them)
You should expect to pay $1,000-$2,000 for these camera bodies. If you are looking at other brands, the things that should be important to you are:
Full-Frame Sensor
Generally speaking, as long as you purchase a full-frame, it will have all you need. But, make sure it has…
Dual Card Slots (2 SD or 1 SD/ 1 CF)
The camera should have two memory card slots so that your photos can be safely written to two cards simultaneously. This is especially important when people are paying you to take their pictures.
Memory Cards
I argue that memory cards are the most critical equipment you will use as a professional photographer. If you take amazing photos on top-of-the-line gear and the memory card fails, it means nothing. You must buy top-of-the-line memory cards. I’ll be frank: use SanDisk Extreme Pro brand cards. They have the lowest failure rate of any other memory cards and write extremely fast, so you won’t need to ask your clients to wait while the camera writes data on the cards every few shots.
Linked below are the two types of memory cards you will need to buy for the Nikon full-frame mirrorless cameras I suggested earlier. You will need at least one of each for those cameras.
SD Cards (for the entry-level cameras linked above, this is the only type of card you need)
Professional Lenses
This is a monster topic and probably an entire hour of discussion with my students in our Office Hours Q&A sessions. I will still tell you that, after a decade, I could shoot a whole wedding with my 50mm lens. I think it is the most versatile lens in my bag to achieve the visual signature my photos are known for. With that said, there are some real benefits to having other lenses in my bag, and I have never actually shot a wedding with only one lens.
I use an 85mm f/1.2 for portraits whenever possible.
I use a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for outdoor wedding ceremonies and children that move faster than I can move my feet to get the shot.
I use a 24-70mm f/2.8 for small getting-ready rooms on wedding days and wide landscape shots.
Lastly, I use a 105mm f/1.4 macro lens for ring shots (I still have an old D750 DSLR I keep in my bag for these shots with this older lens).
These are expensive lenses, folks. A new 70-200mm Z-Mount lens is almost $3,000 alone! I don’t take these types of purchases lightly, and I don’t suggest you do either. I recommend talking with a mentor photographer about your business goals, what you want to achieve in your photos, and what type of photography you are getting into to make intentional purchases for your needs.
If you want a more guided approach to learning photography, check out our signature course, Kickstart Your Photography Business,™ an online course where students can learn at their own pace, access a private community of fellow students, and even get mentorship from me every other week if they choose to.
Want to Buy the Kickstart Course As a Gift For Someone?
As fun as it is to gift gear for the holidays, an LPS course is more affordable and valuable. All you need to do is sign up with their name and your email address (to keep it a surprise), use your own for payment information, and get creative with how to “open” it on the holiday itself. Then, once they know, you can go in and change the email address to theirs and give them the login information—which they can also change if they like.
The best part? They can start learning right away and have lifetime access to the course!
I hope this information helped you make the best gift choice for your photography-loving family member or friend. Photography can be overwhelming in the beginning, but I’m here to help!