by Tom Barrance | Updated May 2024
This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
Filmmaking costs a lot less than it used to. You can shoot really high quality video with a camera costing a fraction of what you’d have paid a few years ago.
If you’re getting started with creative low-budget filmmaking, the first type of camera to consider is a mirrorless camera. That basically means a camera that can take different lenses, and can shoot stills as well as video.
You could also film (and edit) with your phone. High-end phones like the iPhone 15 Pro are small and easy to manage, and less intimidating than a big camera.
You could consider a cinema camera (great image quality, but not designed for beginners) or a prosumer camcorder.
Here’s my choice of filmmaking cameras from $500/£500 to around $2000/£2000.
Best filmmaking camera for beginners:
Panasonic Lumix G85 (G80/G81)
The Panasonic G85 (G80/81 in Europe) is the best value camera for starting out with filmmaking, at around $700/£550 with lens. I use one myself. It’s fairly small and light, with a solidly built weathersealed magnesium body. The sharp 12-60 kit lens covers a useful zoom range, from wide to telephoto. The camera can shoot 4K, and HD at up to 60p slow motion. And it has very good image stabilisation, which makes for easy handheld shooting.
It uses the Micro Four Thirds sensor size, which gives you access to a range of high-quality, compact, and affordable lenses from Panasonic and Olympus.
It doesn’t have a headphone socket, though you can rig up an audio output from the HDMI socket. Battery life is OK but not great (you can add a battery grip to double it, or use an adapter and an external battery). Autofocus is a bit slow, especially when shooting 4K. But its solid build, slow motion and image stabilisation make it a great choice.
More about the G85/80.
Check price/buy Amazon | Adorama | MPB | eBay
Best camera for pro videography:
Panasonic Lumix GH5 II
The Panasonic GH5 II has a lot of professional video features for a camera that only costs around $1000/£1000 body-only. It has excellent in-body image stabilisation and good battery life for a mirrorless camera. It’s solidly built and robust, and you can add a pro audio module.
I use one as my main camera for shooting factual videos and events. I love the Boost IS feature. With compatible Panasonic lenses, I can film handheld video that looks as if it was shot on a tripod.
The GH5 II can record in a range of broadcast-quality 4K and HD video formats, as well as 6K anamorphic. It includes log recording, which is good for managing contrasty light.
Low light performance isn’t as good as some competitors, but you can get around this by using fast (wide aperture) lenses, or adapting full-frame lenses with a Speedbooster adapter. More about the GH5 II
Check price/buy Amazon | Adorama | MPB
The original GH5 has most of the features of the GH5 II (though V-log is a paid upgrade). This makes it a great value used buy.
Check price/buy MPB
Best camera for creative filmmaking:
Fujifilm X-T5
Fujifilm’s X-T5 has a larger APS-C sensor, so it’s better than the Panasonics for low light and creative shallow focus. But it’s expensive.
It has great colour rendition, good dynamic range, and plenty of pro video features. It also has excellent image stabilisation, ultra-fast autofocus, 4K slow motion, and 10x slow motion in HD. It can shoot in log mode, allowing you to capture a greater range of contrast. It doesn’t have a headphone socket, but it comes with a USB-C to headphone adapter. It has a 30 minute video recording limit (20 minutes for 4k 60p).
It has a tilting touchscreen rather than a flip-out screen. I prefer this for filming, but it makes it less useful for vlogging.
It’s also a very good camera for still photography.
Check price/buy Amazon | Adorama
Most affordable cinema camera:
BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
The BlackMagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has plenty of professional features and excellent image quality at an affordable price. It costs around $1300/£1350 body only. It can shoot high quality RAW and ProRes files at up to 60fps and has pro audio inputs. Like the Panasonic cameras it has a Micro Four Thirds sensor.
Its RAW and ProRes files are very large, it doesn’t have in-body stabilisation or an eye-level viewfinder, and battery life is poor. It’s very good value for creative filmmakers looking for high image quality in controlled conditions. I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners. More about the Pocket Cinema Camera
Check price/buy Amazon | Adorama | MPB | eBay
Best prosumer camcorder:
Canon XA60
A prosumer camcorder, with a built-in zoom lens, can be more convenient than a mirrorless camera. Buttons and dials give direct access to important controls. So they’re quicker and easier to use for news, events, corporate videos and school use.
The Canon XA60 has a detachable top handle which makes it easier to film low angle shots and lets you connect professional XLR microphones. It can shoot 4K, and HD with 2x slow motion. It’s compact and well designed. The zoom range is long: 29.3-627mm.
Check price/buy Amazon | Adorama
You could also consider buying used. Older models such as the XA11 or XA20 (HD only) or the XA40 (4K) have a very similar design to the XA60, though the viewfinders are smaller.
Best phone for filmmaking:
iPhone 15 Pro
A phone can be a great choice for creative filmmaking, and the iPhone 15 Pro is a handier size than the more expensive Pro Max. For me the 3x zoom is plenty on a mobile device (the Pro Max has a 5x zoom).
It has great stabilisation and can shoot ‘cinematic’ shallow focus shots. You can easily ‘pull focus’ from one subject to another, and even change the focus after you’ve filmed the shot.
Its 1x (24mm equivalent wide angle) lens can also record full quality at 2x (48mm). The 0.5 lens is a 13mm extreme wide angle; and the 3x lens is 77mm equivalent, ideal for closeup shots of people. It can also film in the professional ProRes format, with the option of recording in Log mode.
I’d get the 256Gb model as the 128Gb model can’t shoot ProRes at 60fps. If you need more storage, get an external USB-C solid state drive like the Samsung T7. It’ll work out much cheaper than buying a phone with more built-in memory.
Buy Amazon (renewed) | Amazon UK
More about iPhone filmmaking and accessories
Used alternatives
The iPhone 14 Pro is almost as good if you don’t need to shoot ProRes.
Find iPhone 14 Pro on Amazon
The older 13 Pro has a smaller sensor, but can also film in Cinematic shallow focus mode. Find iPhone 13 Pro on Amazon.
Best used cameras for filmmaking
If you’re on a tight budget, used older models of Canon’s video SLRs such as this T4i, or the more expensive 70D, are a good choice. Unlike the other cameras here, they aren’t mirrorless and can’t shoot 4K. But they have good colors, relatively large APS-C sensors, and a wide range of affordable lenses. They are also very good for still photography. Search on eBay
Alternatively, you could choose one of the mirrorless EOS-M series, or a camcorder. There are more options under $300 on this page.
Search for used Canon cameras MPB
Buying cameras
I’ve included direct links to buy these cameras on Amazon or Adorama. If you use these affiliate links, you’ll help me to maintain this site.
You can save a lot of money by buying used, and it’s obviously better for the environment. So I’ve also added links to MPB and eBay. I mainly use MPB myself: I’ve found them very straightforward and reliable. They give a six month guarantee on all products, and you can also sell or trade in equipment. (MPB sell used cameras body-only so you can choose the lens you want. This page has advice on choosing lenses).
This article has useful tips on buying safely on eBay.
Camera features
I recommend mirrorless cameras for most low budget film and video. A mirrorless camera (also known as a compact system camera, or CSC) takes interchangeable lenses and can shoot video and stills. It looks a bit like a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera, but it doesn’t have a moving mirror to reflect the image into the viewfinder. This makes it smaller, lighter, and more convenient for filmmaking. Most mirrorless cameras have electronic eye-level viewfinders as well as screens.
Mirrorless cameras have bigger sensors than most camcorders. This makes them better in low light. It also makes it easier to film creative ‘shallow focus’ shots, because larger sensors have less depth of field.
Image stabilisation
Image stabilisation can make pictures less shaky. It’s not essential if you’re going to use a tripod or a good camera support, but it’s very useful for shooting handheld. The most effective stabilisation, featured in cameras like the Panasonic GH5 II, combines lens-based optical stabilisation (OIS) and sensor-based in body image stabilisation (IBIS).
Sensor size
The sensor is the electronic part that captures the image (it’s like the film in a traditional camera). Larger sensors are usually better in low light. They also let you film creative shallow focus effects. But for news and events shooters, small sensor cameras may be better as more of the image will be in focus.
Mirrorless cameras and DSLRs come in three main sensor sizes: full frame, APS-C and Micro Fourth Thirds (MFT):
- MFT (Micro Four Thirds) sensors are the smallest. This means the cameras and lenses are compact and convenient, but can be less good in low light.
- APS-C is around the same size as a 35mm movie film frame. It’s better than MFT for shallow focus and low light.
- Full frame cameras are usually the best in low light. You can also get really shallow focus shots. But they’re expensive and have bigger, heavier lenses. I don’t really recommend them unless you’re sure you need them.
Don’t worry about ‘megapixels’ (how many million light-capturing pixels the sensor has). More megapixels are good for big prints, but they don’t make video any better. (Full HD video is only 2 megapixels and even Ultra HD 4K is only 8MP). More megapixels on a small sensor can mean that the camera is worse in low light.
Recording formats
Check that the camera records in a format that your editing program can handle. Most programs can handle MP4/H.264.
You may only need 1080p HD resolution, but filming in 4K ‘ultra high definition’ has some advantages. 4K footage can look better even when downsized to 1080p. It also gives you the option of cropping (eg from a mid shot to a closeup) when you edit.
Some cameras can record higher quality video formats like 10 bit and 4:2:2. They take up more space (and are more demanding on your computer) but they’re easier to correct and adjust when you edit.
If you’re planning to film material for broadcast, check the format requirements with the broadcaster.
’Log mode’ compresses the highlights and the shadows. It looks very flat out of the camera, but it’s easier to colour correct and ’grade’ than normal footage. It also extends the ‘dynamic range’ (the amount of contrast that the camera can record). It has to be edited with a professional editing program such as Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve.
Audio inputs
There are two main kinds of microphone socket. A standard 3.5mm minijack will accept most consumer and prosumer microphones. To connect professional microphones you’ll need a three-pin XLR socket. Some cameras have optional XLR adapters.
A headphone socket is really useful so that you can monitor sound as you record.
