The 5 best cameras for car photography
Picking a camera to be stressful. Here's a list of the several of the best cameras for car photography.
Best budget:
Sony Alpha a6000
This camera offers a lot to photographers on a budget. The mirrorless design and OLED viewfinder offer a lot at this price point.
Best overall:
Fujifilm X-S10
This is a fantastic one-stop camera. While it may be pricey, has a lot to give, with its 26 MP camera and 5-axis image stabilization.
Best beginner:
Canon EOS Rebel T7
When looking for somewhere to begin, look no further than this camera. It gives the essentials and remains an excellent starter camera to get a handle on the basics.
Automotive photography and photographing cars is a growing niche market within the car industry. Further, it’s important to be taking high quality images when showing a car on a blog, social media, for a career…the list goes on and on. This is a list of the 5 best cameras for car photography.
What is the best camera for car photography?
The right answer to this question depends on experience level and type of photography (stand still, motion, etc.). There are many options out there that can meet the needs of a car photographer and help continue to grow their niche by upping their image quality and automotive photography game.
Important features for a camera to have (image quality)
When choosing a camera, it’s important that it has certain features (fast shutter speed, full frame sensor, high tech processing system, etc.). This ensures that the image quality is great and crisp. Some people also prefer a DSLR camera versus a mirrorless cameras.
Like all photography, there is an art to car photography. Because of this, understanding different car terminology and how it works is important, like image stabilization and ISO range. A lot of this is learned by using a camera and being out in the field.
Without further ado, here is a list of some of the best cameras for car photography.
Notable features
3-inch multitouch pivoting color display
5-axis image stabilization
26 MP sensor
18 film modes
4K video
The Fujifilm X-S10 is the only camera you’ll need in your arsenal. With its wide array of features, including 4K video, taking photos with superb image quality or videos is a breeze. Thanks to its quad-core processor, autofocus is a is snappy and sharp, and gives great in body image stabilization to get high quality images.
This compact camera has a 26 MP sensor is the highest on this list in the handheld camera section, giving all car photos a crisp and sharp finish to them and allows you the freedom to edit the high resolution image after the fact. The X-S10 also has excellent low light performance with a wide iso range.
This mirrorless camera has a Fuji X mount system to attach other Fujifilm lenses, like an ultra wide angle lens, and uses Fujifilms fantastic image processing engine. For these reasons, the Fujifilm is the all-round best camera for car photography.
With its quick shutter speed, the X-S10 is able to shoot fast moving cars without the motion blur associated with it. In a similar regard, its 5-axis image stabilization reduces camera shake significantly, making this a great full frame mirrorless camera.
Notable features
24 MP sensor
WIFI-enabled
Full HD video
EOS utility software
Fixed screen
9-point autofocus system
Canon is a household name at this point. Any potential customer could walk into a Target and find a Canon camera, and for good reason. The Canon EOS Rebel T7 is an updated camera in a familiar package.
With their most recent T7 iteration, it updates the megapixel count to 24 for the previous T6. This is an increased pixel count by 33%. The lowlight ISO increased, making the T7 higher performing in lowlight. The added bonus? There are 333 Canon lenses available for the T7.
All of this combined with the simple UX experience and going back-to-the-basics with it being a DSLR, the Canon EOS Rebel T7 lands itself as the best beginner camera in the lineup of best cameras for car photography.
Notable features
Retractable lens
Mirrorless
OLED Viewfinder
Multiformat memory slot
11 FPS shot speed
Sporting a 24-megapixel sensor, the Sony Alpha a6000 is no slouch in the field, providing great image quality. Its retractable lens helps with storage and travel, ensuring that the lens is safe.
While this may not support 4K video or some of the features of the Fujifilm X-S10, this camera isn’t for the faint of heart and shoots clean full HD videos. It is still a great option for more advance photographers to take superb quality images.
With a shutter speed of 11 FPS, you don’t miss a single moment when taking pictures of moving cars. You’ll be able to catch every moment of a car screeching around the corner or all the smoke from a burnout.
One big selling point on this mirrorless camera is the OLED viewfinder. This electronic viewfinder shows the user exactly what will be in a recording and, according to Sony, delivers “100% frame coverage.”
Notable features
Durable, rugged design
5K video capture with 2.7k slo-mo
Hydrophobic lens cover
GP2 Processor
HyperSmooth 4.0
"Hindsight"
GoPro has become the go-to camera for more extreme circumstances. Thanks to its rugged design, it can withstand the elements of the outdoors while still being held up to great image quality standards. This camera also features a screen on the front so you are able to frame a shot from the front of the camera.
GoPro makes a multitude of attachments for this device, and there are a plethora of third-party accessories too. Some of them allow the user to stick the GoPro on the outside of a vehicle while it’s moving. The possibilities are endless with the Hero10.
Arguably, one of the best features is labeled Hindsight. This feature allows the user to see footage from 30 seconds prior to shooting. This makes it so no important moments are missed and acts almost as a continuous shooting feature.
While the Hero10 may not be the first car photography camera to come to mind, it definitely can capture images in any environment. This is an underdog in the best car photography cameras race, but it provides peace of mind when shooting cars because of its weather-proof design.
Notable features
Built-in screen on controller
48 MP camera
Records at 4K
34 minutes of flight time
Tri directional obstacle sensing
No registration required (depending on country)
Why is a drone on a list for the best cameras for car photography? Simple: its versatility and ability to get exciting shots. DJI has been the leader of the drone game for several years now. The technology has progressed far enough to allow even the most novice of users to fly their products and shoot high resolution videos.
The large 5.5 inch display allows the user to see exactly what the drone sees to make sure the shot is perfect. Using this will give the opportunities for fantastic panning or following shots while shooting car videos, not to mention great aerial stills. The Mini 3 Pro also is great at shooting cars without motion blur.
With a battery life of up to 34 minutes, there’s plenty of opportunity for going site-to-site to get great picture and 4K video. Because it’s the Mini, the DJI Mini 3 Pro only weighs 249 grams, making it ultra portable in its collapsed form. This drone doesn’t require any registration, depending on the country.
Even though this is a video-first “camera,” stunning photos are still achievable and will still treat car photographers well.
Why is choosing the best camera for car photography so important?
Choosing the right automotive photography camera is important because different kinds of content requires different kinds of tools. From mirrorless cameras to DSLR cameras, there is such a wide variety of options for professional photographers and amateur photographers alike. The goal is always the same: to take high quality photos.
Further, every photographer is at a different level experience-wise. Thus, this list exists.
Whether it’s aerial footage of your car or close up still shots, this list provides you with a wide range of camera types for automotive photography. Each have their place in your lineup and will give you the best results for the money.