The best and easiest image quality for your money
Lazy guide
YouTube represents the Big League of user-createdBudgetcontent. Although there’s plenty of interesting material to find on other media like Tik Tok or Instagram, YouTube is commonly the end goal for most small creators.
And if there’s something you need to appeal to an audience is to Budgetcanake your videos look and sound nice. Today, we’re taking care of the “look” part by presenting the best camera for YouTube content at three different price points.
Bear in mind improving your gear won’t automatically make you better. But as you grow as a creator, the right tools can better allow you to express your ideas.
Lazy Overview
The prices we’re presenting are budget if you’re just starting out. Then, you could upgrade your gear with our intermediate selection; or go all-in with the premium option.
We picked these items based on personal experience, user reviews, and the overall price-to-performance ratio. In that regard, the crucial factor is what you could do with each camera and how much extra you would get by climbing the price ladder.
Also, we’re not taking smartphones into consideration as best YouTube cameras. We consider their value is considerably below what a dedicated gear like a camera can deliver for the price.
Budget
Canon EOS M50
Mid-Level
Sony Alpha 7000 II
High-End
Canon EOS R
Canon EOS M50
Calling a near 600$ a “budget” item is an awkward proposition. However, this is as low as I would go when it comes to achieving a steady video quality.
In essence, this is an entry-level camera, but there’s a good reason why it’s one of the main cameras used by YouTube content creators. Many consider it the best YouTube camera for the price.
The M50 offers the same kind of quality as 2016’s coveted Canon 80D, a DSLR camera that sells for about a grand. But this is a mirrorless camera, which means it’s easy to carry, lightweight, and subtle. All of those qualities are useful to either record yourself or on the street.
Now, the best part of the M50 model is its autofocus. It features Canon’s advanced Dual Pixel autofocus on 1080p and 720p video. It’s an incredibly capable sensor able to track moving faces via eye-tracking. It’s a very handy feature if you’re looking to record yourself, without any help.
Other than that, it has everything you’d need as a beginner, plus many features you’ll learn to use as you grow as a creator. For instance, it can record at 1080p/23.97 fps to deliver that smooth 24fps cinematic feeling. It can also record at 1080p/60fps for swift motion, or 720p/120fps for slow-motion shots.
Additionally, it can record at 4K, but it does crop the image while losing the Dual Pixel autofocus. You may use it with manual focus on tight shots, like for example vlogging, and it can do magic.
Consider you can swap its lenses for extra experimentation, although you’d need the particular “EF-M” lenses for this model. So, for example, you could use a wide-angle lens to handle the 1.7X 4K crop.
Another trick is using an EF lens adapter. They allow you to use regular Canon DSLR lenses on your mirrorless camera. At the same time, they open up the frame, which means the camera could function as a pricier “Full Frame” camera for wider images.
Overall, the Canon M50 is the ultimate budget camera, featuring some of the latest Canon technologies at a competitive price point. It’s easy to use, easy to learn and delivers great results in both video and photo applications. You can’t go wrong with the M50, even if you buy it as an experienced video maker.
Helpful Resources
Aside from the package contents, I bet you’d need a camera tripod, an SD card, and maybe a camera bag.
There’s also a Canon M50 Mark II model that came out in 2020. It improves autofocus on camera mode and allows vertical video recording. It also adds an HDMI output, a wireless YouTube live streaming feature, and a record button on the LCD screen.
These upgrades may be worth the extra price for you.
Aside from the package contents, I bet you’d need a camera tripod, an SD card, and maybe a camera bag.
There’s also a Canon M50 Mark II model that came out in 2020. It improves autofocus on camera mode and allows vertical video recording. It also adds an HDMI output, a wireless YouTube live streaming feature, and a record button on the LCD screen.
These upgrades may be worth the extra price for you.
Package Contents
Sony
Calling a near 600$ a “budget” item is an awkward proposition. However, this is as low as I would go when it comes to achieving a steady video quality.
In essence, this is an entry-level camera, but there’s a good reason why it’s one of the main cameras used by YouTube content creators. Many consider it the best YouTube camera for the price.
The M50 offers the same kind of quality as 2016’s coveted Canon 80D, a DSLR camera that sells for about a grand. But this is a mirrorless camera, which means it’s easy to carry, lightweight, and subtle. All of those qualities are useful to either record yourself or on the street.
Now, the best part of the M50 model is its autofocus. It features Canon’s advanced Dual Pixel autofocus on 1080p and 720p video. It’s an incredibly capable sensor able to track moving faces via eye-tracking. It’s a very handy feature if you’re looking to record yourself, without any help.
Other than that, it has everything you’d need as a beginner, plus many features you’ll learn to use as you grow as a creator. For instance, it can record at 1080p/23.97 fps to deliver that smooth 24fps cinematic feeling. It can also record at 1080p/60fps for swift motion, or 720p/120fps for slow-motion shots.
Additionally, it can record at 4K, but it does crop the image while losing the Dual Pixel autofocus. You may use it with manual focus on tight shots, like for example vlogging, and it can do magic.
Consider you can swap its lenses for extra experimentation, although you’d need the particular “EF-M” lenses for this model. So, for example, you could use a wide-angle lens to handle the 1.7X 4K crop.
Another trick is using an EF lens adapter. They allow you to use regular Canon DSLR lenses on your mirrorless camera. At the same time, they open up the frame, which means the camera could function as a pricier “Full Frame” camera for wider images.
Overall, the Canon M50 is the ultimate budget camera, featuring some of the latest Canon technologies at a competitive price point. It’s easy to use, easy to learn and delivers great results in both video and photo applications. You can’t go wrong with the M50, even if you buy it as an experienced video maker.
Helpful resources
Aside from the package contents, I bet you’d need a camera tripod, an SD card, and maybe a camera bag.
There’s also a Canon M50 Mark II model that came out in 2020. It improves autofocus on camera mode and allows vertical video recording. It also adds an HDMI output, a wireless YouTube live streaming feature, and a record button on the LCD screen.
These upgrades may be worth the extra price for you.
Aside from the package contents, I bet you’d need a camera tripod, an SD card, and maybe a camera bag.
There’s also a Canon M50 Mark II model that came out in 2020. It improves autofocus on camera mode and allows vertical video recording. It also adds an HDMI output, a wireless YouTube live streaming feature, and a record button on the LCD screen.
These upgrades may be worth the extra price for you.
Package Contents
Canon EOS R
Calling a near 600$ a “budget” item is an awkward proposition. However, this is as low as I would go when it comes to achieving a steady video quality.
In essence, this is an entry-level camera, but there’s a good reason why it’s one of the main cameras used by YouTube content creators. Many consider it the best YouTube camera for the price.
The M50 offers the same kind of quality as 2016’s coveted Canon 80D, a DSLR camera that sells for about a grand. But this is a mirrorless camera, which means it’s easy to carry, lightweight, and subtle. All of those qualities are useful to either record yourself or on the street.
Now, the best part of the M50 model is its autofocus. It features Canon’s advanced Dual Pixel autofocus on 1080p and 720p video. It’s an incredibly capable sensor able to track moving faces via eye-tracking. It’s a very handy feature if you’re looking to record yourself, without any help.
Other than that, it has everything you’d need as a beginner, plus many features you’ll learn to use as you grow as a creator. For instance, it can record at 1080p/23.97 fps to deliver that smooth 24fps cinematic feeling. It can also record at 1080p/60fps for swift motion, or 720p/120fps for slow-motion shots.
Additionally, it can record at 4K, but it does crop the image while losing the Dual Pixel autofocus. You may use it with manual focus on tight shots, like for example vlogging, and it can do magic.
Consider you can swap its lenses for extra experimentation, although you’d need the particular “EF-M” lenses for this model. So, for example, you could use a wide-angle lens to handle the 1.7X 4K crop.
Another trick is using an EF lens adapter. They allow you to use regular Canon DSLR lenses on your mirrorless camera. At the same time, they open up the frame, which means the camera could function as a pricier “Full Frame” camera for wider images.
Overall, the Canon M50 is the ultimate budget camera, featuring some of the latest Canon technologies at a competitive price point. It’s easy to use, easy to learn and delivers great results in both video and photo applications. You can’t go wrong with the M50, even if you buy it as an experienced video maker.
Helpful resources
Aside from the package contents, I bet you’d need a camera tripod, an SD card, and maybe a camera bag.
There’s also a Canon M50 Mark II model that came out in 2020. It improves autofocus on camera mode and allows vertical video recording. It also adds an HDMI output, a wireless YouTube live streaming feature, and a record button on the LCD screen.
These upgrades may be worth the extra price for you.
Aside from the package contents, I bet you’d need a camera tripod, an SD card, and maybe a camera bag.
There’s also a Canon M50 Mark II model that came out in 2020. It improves autofocus on camera mode and allows vertical video recording. It also adds an HDMI output, a wireless YouTube live streaming feature, and a record button on the LCD screen.
These upgrades may be worth the extra price for you.
Package Contents
- 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 STM kit lens
- Canon LP E12 battery
- Canon battery charger
- Canon camera strap
- 1-year warranty.
The Essential Stuff
The last part of the article is here to clarify the specs and numbers we discussed above. In case you didn’t understand something, here’s a quick rundown to better understand how to pick the best camera for YouTube.
Camera lens specs
Lenses have two basic specs. First, there’s the angle of the lens, which you can see as millimeters. The lower it goes, the wider the shot; the higher it goes, the closer the shot. So, for example, 15mm -45mm lenses go from a wide 15mm shot to a closer 45mm shot.
The other aspect of lenses is aperture, indicated as “f/”. The aperture means how much light it allows within the sensor, so the lower it goes, the brighter the shot and vice versa. At the same time, the lower it goes, the faster it can blur the background and vice versa.
So, a lens with an f/3.5-6.3 means it has a 3.5 aperture without zoom or 6.3 with full zoom. A low-light lens typically has a maximum of 1.5 aperture.
Mirrorless vs DSLR cameras
We feature three mirrorless cameras and left the other big category behind, the DSLR. In essence, DSLR cameras use a complex system of mirrors within the sensor to deliver an image, much like older cameras do. On the contrary, mirrorless devices trade some of these mirrors for all-digital processing.
Like all things in life, digital technologies tend to surpass analog methods. Also, for a YouTuber, it’s best to keep mirrorless cameras as they are lighter, more compact, easier to use, and commonly cheaper.
Autofocus vs. manual focus
I put a lot of emphasis on autofocus features because, typically, a YouTuber doesn’t have a dedicated camera operator.
Manual focus requires moving a ring on the lenses to set on focus on a particular distance. It’s a slow process that does not work if there’s movement on the scene and no one to track it on the ring.
Autofocus, then, is a great solution for humble content creators. It allows the camera to track and focus the subject as they walk, talk, and move around without the need of having someone else helping you out.
So, in summary, the best cameras for YouTube feature the best autofocus features.