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The 8 Best Digital Cameras Under $1000
Everyone loves photography. Whether you’re behind the lens or simply looking at a picture, they can be powerful, awe-inspiring, and bring back plenty of memories. Great photography needs a great camera but not everyone has thousands of dollars to spend on the most expensive models.
Thankfully there is a range of options around the $1,000 mark that have incredible specs while not costing the earth. The problem can be trying to work out which models are giving you great value for money and which aren’t. That’s where we wanted to help.
We’ve scoured the market and have come up with eight digital cameras for under $1,000 that we think have outstanding quality with top specs. We took many features into account including pixels, focal length, sensor, lenses, and much more.
All you need to do is read on and choose the best camera for you. Let’s get started!
Best Buy
1. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV
We thought this camera struck the best balance between quality and affordability, making it our best choice. It weighs 1.1 lbs and has dimensions of 4.8” x 2.6” x 3.3”, making it very compact.
It includes one Lithium-ion battery, which is included with the camera. Comfort is high here with a deep grip, allowing you to hold and snap pictures with ease. It’s a mirrorless camera with 5x image stabilization which allows you to take 4K videos with richness and smoothness.
The camera also has a monitor that can be used as a touch screen to help you quickly access the folders and even check the screen as you take a selfie.
It’s Bluetooth enabled which can be connected to the OI share smartphone app, allowing you to share the images with your device in real-time. A Truepic VIIII processor gives your pictures life-like colors and defining sharpness.
It has both digital and optical zoom, along with 14 art filters. It all adds up to an epic camera and one that we think you’ll love.
2. Nikon D5600 DSLR
If you wanted a camera at the top end of this price bracket, then the Nikon D5600 DSLR could well be for you. It is small and size and has easy handling, weighing around 1 lb, making it the perfect traveling companion.
Its 24.2 megapixel CMOS sensor gives the images sharpness and clarity from one edge to another and has a touch screen that can be adjusted to allow you to get the best images possible.
You can take regular videos and also time-lapse videos which can be shared on your smartphone via the SnapBridge function. It has the capabilities to take pictures in extremely low light and also has an extra flash port that can be attached to the camera for extra lighting.
It has a multi-format memory slot and can connect to any HDTV with a cable to allow you to view videos and images at any time. It can shoot images at even five frames per second. It also allows for versatile zoom range and has VR image stabilization. It’s another brilliant option and well worth the extra money.
3. Ricoh GR III
For those that want value for money, it’s hard to look past the Ricoh GRIII. It’s another camera that’s light and compact, making it ideal for those who love to travel. It’s made of a rigid magnesium alloy that gives it an impressive level of durability.
What makes this camera shine from its competition is its built-in stabilization. It boasts a newly developed GR lens and mechanism which reduces shaking. It can take amazing photos even when the camera is in motion, reducing the chances of blurry photos.
Its sensor is very sensitive, having a 24.2 megapixel lens allowing for pictures with high definition. It has good light sensitivity and can take pictures in relative darkness. It has a 3″ high definition LCD monitor with a responsive touch screen, giving you exceptional functionality.
The touch screen can also be used to control focus and shutter release. The camera can be connected to a multitude of android and iOS devices with a USB port to transfer images and videos.
It also has wireless capability, which can allow you to pair the camera with any device, mobile, or even tablets. After downloading the Image sync application for the camera on the device, you can view the images and videos on your device in real-time. You can also release the shutter and give the camera various commands with your device.
4. Sony Alpha A6100 Mirrorless Camera
You can always rely on Sony technology and this is the perfect camera to take some high-quality pictures and videos. It has the world’s fastest AT, with a 0.02 second speed. The pictures are taken with real-life color tones, with continuous shooting at 24.2 megapixels.
It also has real-time eye autofocus, which tracks the eyes in real-time when taking photos. It can track human and even animal eyes. It can do this even when a face is hidden, down, or backlit. It can also track objects in real-time to allow you to take photos of real moments with a burst of speed, capturing them within seconds.
It has a 3″ LCD touchscreen which can be tilted up to 180 degrees. It’s also great for bloggers as the camera also has a place for attaching a mic which allows you to record videos with high-quality audio.
The camera can also be attached to any device with a USB cable provided. Exceptional functionality is featured here and there is no doubt that the specs are equal to that of much more expensive models.
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5. Fujifilm X-T30 Mirrorless Digital Camera
Here we see another high-quality camera that is available in three different colors of black and two shades of silver. It’s one of the heaviest cameras on the list but still only weighs 2.2 lbs.
This Fujifilm model has a state of the art 26.1MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor. This sensor has a unique X-Trans color filter array, which eliminates false colors from pictures, without needing to use a filter.
It also has an X-Processor 4 Quad-Core CPU and allows the camera to shoot up to 8.0 fps with its mechanical shutter. It also has a Sports Finer Mode and in this mode, the camera will take 16.6 megapixel images and use an electronic shutter. It allows the camera to autofocus and tracks the subject with impressive precision.
When taking a picture of a group of people, if you want the picture to focus on a particular person, you can easily do it by touching the screen on that person. It’s an example of the features that you can expect from this brilliant camera.
6. Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II
If you were hoping to get a small and lightweight camera that’s also able to produce fantastic images then this would be exactly what you’re looking for. The camera allows you to look at each scene in detail with its electronic viewfinder that has an incredible resolution. It has a 1” CMOS sensor with a 20.1 megapixel camera.
It allows you to take high-quality images while maintaining its quality, even when you’re cropping and trimming the images. It boasts a digital and optical zoom of 5x, allowing you to crop and trim to exact measurements. It can take videos up to 4K, having the quality of full HD movie clips while ensuring that there is minimum distortion of sound.
It has an image stabilizer that reduces the blurred images and its autofocus gives clear pictures. The camera has inbuilt Wi-Fi technology which allows it to pair up with any device so that pictures can be shared with ease.
It also has technology that allows you to print photos taken from this camera without needing a PC. You can upload pictures remotely with your phone by connecting it to the camera with its PictBridge technology. Its connectivity and stabilization are perfect for those taking pictures on the move.
7. Panasonic Lumix G95
There has long been a trend of technology getting lighter and more compact. For some people, however, they love the weight and feel of something a little heavier. This camera is a little bit of a throwback in that sense.
It has a more rugged design with the structure of the shell being made from a magnesium alloy. It has an electronic zoom finder with a Lumix g MFT lens and a resolution of 20.3 megapixels.
It uses an advanced 5-axis image stabilizer, in combination with a 2-axis optical image stabilizer, and a 5-axis, body image stabilizer, giving you very effective suppression against blurring in photos. This gives you extra compensation against small and large movements.
This camera can take pictures even when the image is moving too fast or cuts sharply across the camera. The screen is a 3″ LCD touch screen with free angle, which allows you to take pictures at both high and low angles with ease. It can also take videos up to 4K.
A great feature of this camera is that it can send real-time images to an external output monitor in 4:2:2 HDMI output via a cable while recording video at the same time. It’s a brilliant option for people who are avid photographers or who love video blogging as it allows you to be flexible with your videos in post-production.
It also has a 3.5 mm microphone jack, where you can attach an external microphone to record clearer and crispier sounds. This camera comes with a dust/splash-resistant logo which adds to this camera being a perfect travel companion.
8. Samsung NX500
If you’re happy to stretch your budget a little then we’d highly recommend the Samsung NX500. It’s a brilliant camera with a range of excellent features you’re sure to love.
It’s the perfect companion for hiking and traveling. It has a rapid start-up time and you can start taking pictures within seconds of turning the camera on. It sits comfortably in your hands and the button for taking pictures is sloped, making it much easier to take instant photos for those wanting to capture the moment.
It also has image stabilization allowing it to take a high-quality photo even when the camera is shaking or you’re on the move. It has a 3.125x optical zoom. The touch screen is also very responsive and quick.
The screen is brilliant as it can also be turned around, making it the perfect choice for people who love taking selfies or those who vlog. Its photo sensor size is APS-C, while it can capture video with up to 2160p resolution.
There is also a range of brilliant features on this device that allows you to easily edit your pictures for the perfect effect. You can then easily transfer the photos from your camera to your devices. It’s another brilliant model that has a classical feel but with modern technology.
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