Not long ago the sub $1,000 camera was a competitive segment of the photography market but as costs increase and inflation rises, the options have become less and less. More importantly are any of the cameras you can get for under $1,000 even worth buying in 2025? In this article I’ll cover all your options for new cameras that fit a budget of $1,000 or less and exactly the ones you should consider. One of them is so good, I bought it myself when I already own too many other cameras.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching what cameras are even still available under $1,000 new, so we’ll start with my consolidated list from every major camera manufacturer:

Sony - Sony ZV-E10 (2021), Sony a6100 (2019), Sony a6400 (2019)
Canon - Canon R10 (2022), Canon R50 (2023), Canon R100 (2023), Canon EOS RP (2019)
Fujifilm - Fujifilm X-M5 (2024)
Nikon - Nikon Z fc (2021), Nikon Z30 (2022), Nikon Z50 II (2025)
OM System - OM-5 (2022)
Panasonic - Lumix G97 (2025, but really 2019)

This might look like a healthy list of options, but once you narrow it down to cameras that were made in this decade (I included release years for all cameras) and have an affordable kit lens option, the list narrows quickly.

Let’s start from the top with Sony, who has three options. Both the Sony a6100 and Sony a6400 were released over 6 years ago. Are they still good cameras? Absolutely. However with that age, you’re much better off trying to find them in good condition on the used market than buying them brand new. As for the 4 year old Sony ZV-E10, it simply lacks an EVF which is a dealbreaker if this is your first and only camera.

Fujifilm once had quite a few cameras below the $1,000 price point but considering their demand lately, that has changed. You might find listings on websites like B&H for the X-T30II but don’t be deceived, those cameras haven’t been in stock for essentially 2 years and have quietly stopped being manufactured but never pulled from listings. That leaves Fujifilm’s only option being the X-M5 which is a fantastic little camera and one I would recommend in some cases, but just like the Sony ZV-E10 it lacks an EVF which I consider crucial.

I don’t have much experience with Panasonic or OM System but I can’t recommend either of them in this category. I cannot recommend the Lumix G97 because it appears to be released this year, 2025, but in reality it’s the same camera from 2019. As for the OM System, it simply doesn’t have a kit lens option that keeps it within this budget!

Canon dominates the affordable camera space. Both the Canon R50 and Canon R100 are respectable entry level systems that I would recommend to someone wanting to start photography with a more strict budget. The Canon RP is 6 years old however it’s the only full frame camera on the list and because of it’s age it is much easier to find on the used market. The Canon R10 was within this price range previously but has since increased to over $1,000 without a lens. Even if it were still the original price it released at, I’d still choose my recommendation over it.

Nikon Z50 II + Viltrox 25mm f1.7 - No Edit

Last but not least is Nikon who has less options than Canon but arguably a more unique lineup. The Nikon Z30 is a great camera from everything I’ve read about it, but sadly lacks an EVF. This does make it more compact and portable which might be what you’re looking for, but in general I use an EVF for so much that I don’t think I could live without it on my only camera. The Nikon Z fc is a cute retro style camera very similar to my Nikon Zf but it’s hard to recommend when I expect it to be updated very soon, plus it’s the same price as it’s newer updated sibling, the Nikon Z50 II. The Nikon Z50 II is the no brainer choice for me, and you’ll find out exactly why right below.

Once you narrow this list down to cameras that have been released in the last 4ish years, fit within the budget, and still have an EVF. You’re left with the Canon R50 (or R100 if your budget is tight), the Canon R10, or the Nikon Z50 II - that’s it. While the R10 is $1,100 with a kit lens, making it close enough to the Z50 II, I would easily recommend the Nikon Z50 II for one very specific reason.

The Nikon Z50 II

This camera intrigued me so much I bought one for myself, even though I definitely did not need it. Ironically this is the first entry level camera I’ve ever purchased in over 15 years of photography. So far my experience with it has been a welcomed surprise. Technology has come a long way and the truth is that no matter what camera you get from this price range, it’s going to take good photos.

Nikon Z50 II + Viltrox 25mm f1.7 + Maven ¼ Glow Filter - No Editing

Images and Recipes

So what sets the Nikon Z50 II apart from everything else in the list? Nikon recipes. If you’re unfamiliar these are similar to filters that come built into your camera that most manufacturers include. Names like “vivid,” “sepia,” or “dramatic.” Typically these are all quite useless once you start photographing more regularly. The Nikon Z50 II actually includes quite a few of these itself with a bit more customization to decrease the intensity of the filter, giving you more usable results.

Recipes are essentially the same but can be created by you or me (mine are free at the bottom of this article). These recipes tend to be far more subtle or pleasing than many of the built in filters that most camera manufacturers include. There’s a ton of flexibility when creating these recipes and most importantly you as a photographer don’t even need to know what they are, you just need to know where to find them and try them out. You can find out more about recipes in my writeup about the Nikon Zf if you’re interested.

What makes recipes so great? Recipes gives you the ability to take pleasing images, with more creative choice and freedom to how the photo looks right in camera, without editing. This is the most important factor when it comes to recipes. Many of you reading this might be interested in buying their first camera but haven’t a clue about editing yet. Many times these recipes are pleasing enough that you don’t even need to edit the images from the camera. All of the photos in this article from the Nikon Z50 II are straight out of camera, no editing.

What if you want to edit? Thats the beauty of Nikon recipes - they apply to raw images! Meaning you can take the raw image with a recipe selected and sit down to edit it however you’d like later on, no matter your skill level. To me this is a really important distinction between all the other camera brands. This gives you the flexibility of stylizing your images right in the field with really pleasing results or editing them to your hearts content. It’s important to note that Fujifilm has similar flexibility with their film simulations. The drawback to their system is that if you want to use recipes, they don’t work directly with raw images so you have to shoot both jpeg and raw.

Hopefully all of that isn’t too overwhelming or technical. The big take away here is that I could not pick up the Canon R10 or the Sony a6400 to take images with them and present them to you here without editing them first. The images that come out of (most) modern cameras are intended to be edited, usually looking flat or dull until you tweak them in a program like Lightroom. Thus a camera like the Nikon Z50 II (or the Fujifilm X-M5) has a huge advantage by giving us the ability to take really pleasing images right in camera.

Nikon Z50 II Guide

If you want to learn more about how to create recipes for the Nikon Z50 II or simply get a more streamlined setup for using your camera - check out my Nikon Z50 II Guide.

I cover every button, dial, and menu I’ve adjusted to streamline my photography with the Nikon Z50 II. I also explain what many of the settings actually do rather than simply tell you to copy me. That way you have the tools to customize much of this camera to your own preferences as well.

My goal with this guide is to enable you to spend a lot less time fighting with your camera and a lot more time nailing shots.

Save yourself a lot of headache and time by grabbing it today! This is also the absolute best way to directly support me as a creator to keep making content like this!

Build and Features

I didn’t plan for this to be a technical review but I do want to highlight a few things about the camera that I’ve enjoyed or haven’t enjoyed thus far. First and foremost, when it comes to buying a camera that fits you, the best thing you can do is try and go hold one in your hand. I realize this is a lot more difficult in 2025 than it was when I was purchasing my first camera in 2009. If it is an option, sometimes you’ll find you really enjoy the size, hold, or features of a certain brand more than others by simply using it for a few minutes.

Nikon Z50 II + Viltrox 25mm f1.7 - No Editing

Now if you can’t do that then trust me when I say that this camera is one of the best feeling entry-level cameras I’ve used. It is on the smaller side, but so is everything in this price range. Thankfully the grip is still a good size for your hand, about as good as you’d expect for a smaller camera. The button layout is strikingly similar to the more expensive Nikon Z5 II which I recently spent time with. I will admit the button ergonomics aren’t quite as pleasant though. Some of the buttons are just a bit harder to reach, which if I had to guess is because the molding for this is easier to fill. You’ll notice the buttons on the Z5 II laid out more organically while the Z50 II they are more linear or grid like.

The build quality feels better than I would expect for a camera in this range. The buttons don’t feel quite as tactile as my other more expensive systems, but they aren’t egregious in any way.

A welcomed feature from the camera’s more expensive counterparts are the two function buttons near the front of the camera. I’ve got mine customized to help with exposure and focus on the fly. Something I’ve written about in my guide to the Nikon Z50 II. While these buttons are common throughout the Nikon lineup, they are not in my Canon cameras so it’s been fun to use them.

One missing feature of the Nikon Z50 II compared to something like the Canon R10 is a selector joystick. Usually omitted in this price bracket, it does make the Canon R10 appealing. That being said, using the D-pad style selector on the Nikon Z50 II works, with slightly less convenience. To make up for it, Nikon allows you to set a quadrant of your touch screen to move the focus point around when you’re looking through the EVF. I have this setup on my Nikon Zf as well (it also lacks a joystick). Moving the focus point is one of the main uses of the joystick for me personally, so including this helps.

Overall I’ve been impressed with this little camera. Whether you’ve got numerous other cameras or this is your first, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised for what you pay for.

Auto Focus and Lenses

When it comes to image quality, basically every modern day camera is going to produce relatively the same quality of image within the price range. As someone who tends to use these cameras in the real world, I don’t review cameras with regard to their technical aspects. If you’re looking for that, take a look at the great info on DPReview.

So if the image quality of most cameras is relatively the same depending on your budget, what changes? Auto-focus performance. Nikon has had to catch up for years to Sony and Canon. Thankfully they have made great strides and the Auto-focus of the Nikon Z50 II is great. I cannot directly compare it to other cameras in this category, but my experience with it overall was good. Most of my style of shooting does using auto-tracking features to begin with and I’m mostly moving my focal point around. Sometimes it struggled, but that can also be because of the lens I was using.

Now seems like a great time to talk about lenses. One great way to save some money is with 3rd party lenses. I know all about this because every photo I’ve taken on the Nikon Z50 II was taken with a Viltrox lens! Specifically the Viltrox AF 25mm f1.7 Air. This has been a great little lens over the last several months of shooting with this camera and it’s quite affordable (trying to keep the setup within budget of course). For quite some time there was no 3rd party lens support for Canon’s RF mount but as of writing this, they recently changed that!

As for lenses you might be interested in down the road, the best and most versatile brand is Sony. Sony has a massive lens lineup, specifically for the fact that they have always had third party support, but more importantly they didn’t have to go through the growing pains of DSLR mounts to mirrorless. Is this enough to prioritize Sony? Personally I don’t think so, as there are lots of great options for the major 4 brands out there. Just something to look into before you hit purchase… or don’t, sometimes overthinking all of this is silly.

Video and Conclusion

Another strength of the Nikon Z50II will be in it’s video quality. 10-bit recording in N-log sets the camera apart from something like the Canon R10 which cannot record in any log format. If all this sounds like gibberish to you, don’t worry. Reality is, all the cameras will record decent video but the Nikon has a lot going for it, likely because it’s one of the newest in the list.

If you’re interested in the Nikon Z50 II as a hybrid camera, it’s got essentially everything you’d want to be able to vlog with, film a-roll, b-roll, and high quality video. I used it mostly as a photography camera, so I’d certainly look into other sources of information if you’re interested in just video. However as someone who makes YouTube videos for a living, the specs and output are great for this price.

Overall the Nikon Z50 II feels like an absolute slam dunk for a camera under $1,000. Not that it’s a game changer or setting any records. Simply because it’s a great camera in a field of good cameras. To me, just the flexibility to shoot without needing to edit sets this apart for any beginner (or even professional) out there. I can’t stress enough how nice it is to enjoy your images as you take them rather than having to wait to sit behind a computer to make them look presentable. Editing can be exciting and fun as well, I’m just happy the Nikon Z50 II gives you the option.

Download My Recipe Pack!

1. Download and open the folder. You should see 5 .NP3 files
2. Copy these 5 files to the root of your SD card.
3. Insert the SD card into your Nikon camera
4. Open camera menu and navigate to: Photo Shooting > Manage Picture Control
5. Select “load/save”, then choose “copy to camera.”
6. Select the file and pick which slot you want it to be (C1-C9)
7. Repeat for all other recipes.Description text goes here

The Best Camera Under $1000 (2025)