The Best Digital Cameras Of 2021 (29 Photos): Rating Of Inexpensive New Medium Format Products In Terms Of Image Quality And A Review Of Other Models

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 05:33

It is good that nowadays digital analogs have replaced film cameras. Thanks to them, it is possible to view the captured frame, crop it, process it yourself and transfer it to a computer or a social network. The digital apparatus is based on the photoelectric principle. The semiconductor photomatrix converts light into electrical signals, which are processed into digital data and stored in a volatile memory device. A lot of companies are engaged in the production of digital cameras. In the article, we present a small rating of their best models.

Review of popular brands

For over half a century Sony is one of the leading camera companies.

The brand was founded back in 1946 by 38-year-old Japanese Masaru Ibuka and 25-year-old physicist Akio Morita . Each of them took on a specific mission. Ibuka was in charge of product development, while Morita handled all sales issues. For many years, the brand has been developing and manufacturing television, radio and photographic equipment. It is distinguished by excellent quality, thanks to which it is known and in demand all over the world.

Among the range of cameras there are SLR and mirrorless options, functional compacts and ultrazoom, professional and moisture resistant, shockproof and ultra-compact models, different in their configuration and number of megapixels, camera capabilities. And also here you can pick up a device from different price categories.

Kodak Company even older - it was founded in 1888 by George Eastman, who was one of the first to offer photographers the simplest cameras.

They were distinguished by a simpler and more accessible photographing process . Year after year, the production of cameras has improved, and the variety of models has increased many times over.

The brand is known all over the world, its products are used by both professional photographers and amateurs. The models differ in their design, different zoom and other functional characteristics, as well as cost.

Nikon brand originated in 1917 in Japan due to the merger of 3 companies that dealt with optical equipment.

At that time, the company was producing military optical devices. In 1932, the production of lenses began . Within a few years, the company already had 19 factories and 23,000 employees. They were engaged in the production of binoculars, periscopes and sights for the Japanese army. Today the company has grown even more, is engaged in everything related to the image.

It has 6 factories that are distributed around the world. Two factories are located in Japan: one is engaged in the manufacture of professional top cameras, the other - professional optics. One of the factories is located in China and produces absolutely all compact cameras for Nikon, the rest of the factories are located in Thailand and produce 95% of cameras and 70% of lenses.

Olympus brand founded also quite a long time ago - in 1919. Its founder was the Japanese Takeshi Yamashita.

At that time, he was just a young lawyer who graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Imperial University. He served in the army for a year and worked in the sugar trade, where he achieved great success. For his good work, the management gave him the opportunity to head a separate division based on the production of thermometers and microscopes. At that time, these products were in great demand, other countries were interested in them.

Over time, the company decided to start manufacturing cameras. The Japanese copied the first production scheme from the Tessar brand. Year after year, the production of cameras has been improved and modernized. Today Olympus is mastering new technologies in the photographic market and producing interchangeable-lens mirrorless cameras . Digital cameras occupy the leading position among Micro Four Thirds devices.

Rating of the best models

It would be logical to divide the best models in the range of leading brands into categories based on their value.

Budget

Budget amateur mini-camera model with good matrix Sony W810 has compact dimensions 97x56x21 mm and weight 111 g. The model is made in a combination of black and steel colors. The type of CCD (CCD) sensor, and the maximum image size is 5152x2896 pixels with a sensitivity of 80-3200 ISO. Focal length 27-167 mm. There is an optical image stabilizer that compensates for camera pull-up when shooting handheld.

The model does not have a viewfinder, it is equipped with a display with LifeView mode. This model can shoot video with a resolution of 720p . A battery is provided as a power source, which will be charged for 200 shots. There is a built-in flash, it can be used in the range of 3.2 m. Video shooting in the VGA standard is at a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels. The HP standard has a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels, which is what is used in almost all modern cameras.

You can purchase this model for 9,000 rubles.

One of the inexpensive models is the Kodak FZ152 . It is made in black and stylish design. It has small dimensions 108, 4x69, 9x32, 8 mm and a weight of 202 grams. The body is made of plastic. The model does not have image stabilization and a viewfinder. The focal length from the camera lens to the subject for a photo varies from 24 to 300 millimeters.

The minimum distance of the device to the object being shot, on which the lens is able to focus, is 5 centimeters. There is a point exposure system, in which the device determines the illumination of one small point in the frame . There is a flash in the model. The diagonal of the display is 3 inches with a resolution of 4600 pixels. The camera has a 800 mAh battery, which can be charged for 210 shots. Video recording is limited in time to 2 hours. The cost of this model is 9400 rubles.

Middle price segment

Olympus OM-D E-M10 camera ||| body is a novelty and is made in a combination of two colors - steel and black. Body material - aluminum. The model is equipped with a mirrorless camera with a maximum image size of 4608x3456 pixels, and the sensitivity varies from 200 to 25600 ISO. It is possible to record photos in RAW format, there is manual and touch focusing. There is auto bracketing.

The model is equipped with a built-in flash with a range of 5, 8 m, and it is also possible to connect to an external flash . The work comes from the battery, the charge of which is enough for 330 shots. There is an electronic viewfinder of 2630 pixels, thanks to which the photographer sees the captured image. The diagonal of the display is 3 inches, and the resolution is 1040 pixels. The swivel display has a touch screen and an accelerometer. It can track the position of the camera in space and make the necessary adjustments to the shooting settings. The dimensions of the device are: width 122 mm, height 84 mm, thickness 50 mm, and weight 410 g.

You can buy this model for 35,000 rubles.

Premium class

Professional darling Nikon D5 Body model equipped with a digital SLR camera, has a matrix cleaning, recording in RAW format, autofocus drive, manual and touch focusing for photos and videos, front / back construction. There is no image stabilization in the camera. The diagonal of the display is 3.2 inches with a resolution of 2359 pixels.

There is a touchscreen and additional screens, an accelerometer that tracks the position of the camera in space and is able to make appropriate adjustments to the shooting settings. There is a viewfinder, thanks to which the photographer can see the captured image even in bright ambient light . The model has 2 memory slots. It does not have a built-in flash, but works by connecting to an external one. Battery with a capacity of 3900 mAh, which will be enough for 3780 shots. The body of this model is made of magnesium alloy, equipped with dust and moisture protection, has dimensions: width 160 mm, height 159 mm, thickness 92 mm. The device weighs 1415 g.

You can buy this model for 400,000 rubles.

Nikon Z7 Hybrid Body + FTZ Mount Adapter equipped with a digital camera with interchangeable optics. It has a full-frame CMOS sensor with back illumination and a resolution of 45.7 megapixels. Focal plane phase detection provides very clear photographs. Thanks to the fast Expeed processor, photo processing is carried out with low noise.

The mount has a diameter of 55 mm and captures a lot of light during shooting. The distance between it and the full-frame sensor is 16 mm, so most of the light falls on the sensor. The AF system will help you catch the right frame. Even small and fast moving objects are reproduced very clearly in any kind of lighting . There is an autofocus system with face detection - it keeps them locked, even if the subject is briefly turned away. The body of this model is made of durable and lightweight magnesium alloy with good sealing. Thanks to her, the device is protected from environmental influences. The high-precision shutter has a service life of 200,000 cycles. Thanks to the special handle, the camera is convenient and easy to use. You can buy this model for 19,800 rubles.

How to choose?

To choose a camera, you must first of all decide on the amount that you have. Based on this you should pay attention to very important criteria, one of which is the quality of the picture . It depends on the matrix - a special plate that forms the image quality, which is measured in pixels or megapixels.

The higher the number, the better the photo will be . But this only applies to professional models. Even cheap cameras with a resolution of about 3 megapixels are suitable for high-quality photography for a 10 by 15 home album. The quality of the image also depends on the type of matrix: depth of field, colors and the transfer of small details in the photo.

In order to check the photo quality of the camera, you can take several pictures on a completely white or black background. There should be no white dots on black photos, and black ones on white ones. If there are any, then it is better to refuse to buy such a model.

If you want your shots to be with super-saturated colors, bright, then the camera must have a function of the lens aperture. It determines how wide the lens opens and how much light enters the sensor.

If you choose a semi-professional device, then they are divided into mirror and compact types . For better shots, especially if you are shooting movable subjects, DSLRs are suitable. The compact ones have a high focal length range and built-in stabilization. In good lighting conditions, they will give high quality images.

Professional devices take a large number of shots, have supersensitivity and fast focusing, are equipped with many functions, but have a cost several times more than amateur versions.

When considering optics, pay attention to the type of magnification - it can be digital and optical. Expensive cameras have both magnifications, and cheap ones only digital.

The light sensitivity index determines the quality of the photo in low light. The higher this indicator, the better the quality of the photos will be.