The best photography gear for beginners in 2024

If you’re just starting out with photography you’re bound to have had your eye on several highly impressive cameras (often at equally high prices), not to mention some of the best photography gear to go with them. But, you’ll also have noticed that the photography marketplace is crowded. With so many DLSR cameras, compact digital shooters, lenses, bags and more, how do you even get started and choose the right kit for your new hobby?

Thankfully that’s where our photography experts here at What’s The Best come in. Perhaps the first myth to bust is budget. Despite what many a seasoned snapper will have you believe, you really don’t need to spend thousands of pounds to get the best photography gear for a beginner’s needs. Even better, we’re not talking about particularly low-end camera options either. If you’ve had your sights on a digital camera like a Canon DSLR, a compact point-and-shoot or a hybrid camera that combines the best of both worlds, there’s something to suit you.

But, before you embark on your photographic journey, it’s worth taking some time to consider what kind of photography really floats your boat. Knowing what you want to shoot really helps you to make an informed decision before investing in your beginner’s best photography gear and the essential extras. There's a buyer's guide at the end of the article to help you narrow things down.

Best photography gear for beginners: What kit do you really need?

Now to the exciting bit - finding your new photography kit. While there are plenty of places that will try to convince you that you need three lenses, two tripods and more lens filters than you can fit into a photographer’s rucksack, we’re breaking this down into the true essentials.

Here’s a heads-up on what we’ll be looking at: Cameras, lenses, tripods, filters, bags, memory cards and lastly camera cleaning kits. By the end of this article, you’ll be all kitted out with the best photography gear that a beginner could need.

As we mentioned, there’s a lot of choice and variation when it comes to technology in this hobby. We’re making our recommendations here based on the average photographer’s needs. If you’re looking at specialisms like extreme macro or ultra-wide lenses then, again, just make sure that your choice of camera supports the lenses you want to use. Here are our top camera picks:

Best photography gear for beginners: Cameras

Best beginner's compact digital camera

Although instant cameras and compact cameras are ten-a-penny, decent compacts are actually highly capable pieces of kit. The best of them will give you software-based access to key settings like aperture and shutter speed but also have a slew of technical enhancements to make shooting faster and easier. They’re typically a great choice for the casual photographer who likes to keep things light, portable and flexible with reliable results.

Best beginner's hybrid / bridge camera

A hybrid camera (or bridge camera) is a broad term for a camera that combines some of the flexibility of a full DSLR (such as interchangeable lenses, and manual controls) with some of the automatic features of a digital point-and-shoot compact camera. It’s a great starting point for any new photographer who wants to learn more about key photography principles without getting out of their depth.

Best beginner's DSLR camera

Most DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras are ASP-C - which means it’s a cropped sensor. Although this sounds like a disadvantage, it’s still the de-facto standard for many professionals when they’re not using expensive full-frame cameras. A full-frame camera is the closest to the old 35mm film cameras of old in terms of the size of the sensor and the image the lens can create. An ASP-C sensor is physically smaller, by about 1.5x, so your shots appear cropped compared to full-frame. Here’s our pick of a DSLR camera with a cropped sensor, the most common type on the market.

Best beginner's mirrorless camera

A mirrorless camera has a distinct advantage over a DSLR because, unlike the latter, there is no mirror to ‘reflex’ out of the way of the sensor between shots. And that can mean super-fast shutter speeds and burst modes. So, if you’re all about shooting in burst mode to get the shot, mirrorless is probably the way to go.

Our pick below is a micro four-thirds-based camera. Although you can buy mirrorless cameras with cropped and full-frame sensors, we think the most cost-effective and flexible choice here is micro four-thirds. The name comes from two things - the size of the sensor (which is smaller than ASP-C) and the universal lens mount system. That means you can buy a micro four-thirds lens from any mainstream brand and it should fit your camera body.

Best photography gear for beginners: Best lenses

Depending on your choice of camera brand and model, your lenses will need to be compatible. One of the better lens standards for compatibility is micro four-thirds, as it’s a universal mount; but the sensor in a micro four-thirds is smaller and more cropped than a standard ASP-C. So, it may not be a good idea to choose a camera body based on the micro four-thirds lens standard alone. That said, Sony has a great range of micro four-thirds cameras and the lens system is universal. So, you should be able to mix and match your camera body with lenses from other manufacturers, like lenses by Panasonic and others.

Elsewhere though, not every lens will fit every camera, even within the same brand. Using Canon as a popular example, even its own DSLR lenses aren’t universal. For instance, its EF and EF-S lens ranges will fit onto a Canon crop sensor body, but the latter will only fit full-frame Canon cameras.

So, with that in mind, we’ve listed our best beginner’s lens picks here and chosen Canon products as a rough guide to lens types. The same benefits and principles apply to all lenses of these types, regardless of brand or which body they’re compatible with.

Best fixed (prime) lens

Best zoom lens

Best macro lens

The best tripod for beginners

Although shooting hand-held is well within most people’s grasp, we recommend that beginners attach their new camera to a sturdy and well-engineered tripod. Beyond being stable enough to keep your kit safe, it’ll free up your hands to use the camera and familiarise yourself with the controls and settings. This is especially true if you’re going for one of the larger DSLR cameras, as they can be quite bulky with an array of buttons on all sides. So, keeping things simple, here’s our pick of a tripod that’ll be a reliable second pair of hands as well as an essential addition for anyone who needs to avoid camera shakes during shoots with long exposure times.

The best lens filters for beginners

The term ‘lens filter’ can strike fear into a novice photographer, bringing to mind some physics lessons about light frequencies and cheesy starburst effects. But here, with the beginner in mind, these recommendations are all about protecting your lens as well as some fringe benefits to your shots. Keep in mind that you’ll need to find the right size and fit for your chosen lens, though - or a lens adapter ring.

UV filters

These, like most filters, screw onto the front of your compatible lens. The best ultraviolet Lens Filters for Canon cameras work like this, and they will protect your precious lens and lock UV light - it'll hardly affect your shot while preventing that blue cast you can get with photos taken on bright sunny days. The primary function, we think, is to protect the lens. Buy one, you'll thank us later.

Polarising filter

A polarising filter will, of course, protect the lens behind it. But the reason we've listed one here is because budding landscape photographers will quickly realise they want to darken skies, and negate pesky reflections and glare too. A polariser lens filter is easy to use with just a twist and it'll transform all manner of shots.

The best camera bags for beginners

Anyone and everyone should put one of these right at the top of their shopping list the moment they purchase their camera and lenses. There are plenty of protective options to choose from, although you can find compact versions and larger more rugged backpacks too of course. Check out our guide to the best camera bags to find yours.

Essential photography accessories for beginners

You won’t get too far in your new hobby without these two essential accessories - memory cards and a camera cleaning kit. We’re looking at SD cards here, as they’re the most common format in use, but some cameras have alternative memory card types and extra slots too. We recommend the affordable SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO SDXC memory card - it's a Class 10 card, which means fast data transfer speeds, and it won't break the bank.

And don’t forget about keeping things clean. Even your trusty UV filter and camera body are going to need a quick dust and clean from time to time - and don’t be tempted to use your sleeve or t-shirt. We’ve chosen a well-rated kit that won’t damage your precious kit. We like this very comprehensive and affordable Professional Professional camera cleaning kit.

Best photography gear: Buyer's guide

What kind of photographer do you want to be?

Each camera and lens has its own specific strengths, so your choice here will have a direct impact on the shots you’ll be taking with them. Here are some of the more typical styles of photography to get you thinking.

Landscape and wildlife photography

Any photographer who’s looking to capture those grand sweeping landscapes will need two things: a wide-angle lens (or a powerful zoom if you're trying to capture wildlife from a distance) and a camera with a sensor and resolution to do the shot justice. Quite often, landscape photographers will have their favourite shots printed at larger scales to really bring the shot to life. So, it’s important to be able to capture the scene using the best lens and camera body combination for either distant cityscapes or the great outdoors. The best travel camera is the one you have with you - so choose wisely and it won’t let you down.

Portrait photography

If you’re all about capturing people in a more controlled studio setting, your lens choice will be well catered for by the majority of standard zoom lenses on the market, such as any lens that goes up to and beyond 55mm. This means that you can comfortably frame your subject without introducing undue lens distortion (or a fisheye effect) the closer you get to their face. The camera body will ideally have fully manual settings that allow you to change the aperture and ISO settings to tightly control the depth of field for those more evocative portraiture shots.

Documentary photography

If you’re a budding news photographer who likes to have the speed and flexibility to opportunistically capture the moment, you’ll need a camera body that’s capable of fast shutter speeds and burst shooting modes (firing off a continuous series of shots while the shutter release is held down). Some of the best budget cameras for action shots are very capable here. Combined with a practical but long zoom lens (plus, preferably, solid automatic shooting settings and fast autofocus) you’ll be ready for anything.

Macro photography

If you’re fascinated by those beautifully detailed super-close-up shots of insects, flowers, machine parts and more, you’ll need to prioritise your choice based on lens alone. Although many zoom lenses and compact cameras have a macro mode, for the best results you’ll need a macro lens. Having a dedicated lens like this does two things: Firstly, the available light will be better, as (not being a zoom lens) you’ll lose less light once it passes through the glass and travels down the lens body to the sensor. More light equals more choice when it comes to exposure, shutter speed and depth of field. Body-wise, any camera that has good low-light sensitivity (usually a cropped or full-frame sensor) with a high megapixel count will do the job, as long as the camera allows for full manual control over shutter speed, aperture and more.

Get out there and start shooting

Whatever you choose, we’ve no doubt you’ll have the best photography gear for any beginner as you begin your new adventure. Our only remaining tips, other than enjoying your new hobby, are:

• Always take a spare battery - or two (if you can afford it)

• Stock up on memory cards - the larger the capacity the better

• Buy a waterproof cover (if your bag doesn’t have one)

• Last (but absolutely not least), take your time to learn. Discover the relationship between shutter speed, ISO (film speed) and aperture. Experiment with how they affect each other and you’ll be controlling your depth of field, exposure and much more in no time.

Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best and Yours. His background includes writing, editorial, marketing, design, video production and photography.

He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including speakers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming media players, and TVs. He is also one of our resident experts in computing (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches), DSLR photography and all kinds of digital cameras. He also writes about retro gaming, game consoles and various electronic gadgets. If it plugs in, lights up or makes a noise, he’ll write about it.

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