What Video Camera Should I Buy

Most record in the H.264 codec at 720/1080p video, the bitrate at which these cameras record video is not very high, therefore the quality of these cameras will be very low, and they will usually have little to no customizable options or settings.

The sensors in these cameras are very small, and the maximum aperture of the fixed lenses will not be very wide, therefore the ability to create shallow depth of field for cinematic purposes is almost impossible.

Due to the mirrorless system, the camera housing is relatively small, despite the small-format full-size sensor and an interchangeable lens system. Sony is clearly targeting this camera to customers with an interest in video.

The Blackmagic URSA is a digital movie camera developed and manufactured by Blackmagic Design, released on August 8, 2014. It is the first camera to be user-upgradeable for additional equipment manufactured by Blackmagic and other third-party makers.

At the NAB Show in April 2014, Blackmagic Design announced the URSA digital movie camera, which was the first movie camera to be user-upgradeable for additional equipment, alongside the Studio Camera, the television-oriented version of the Cinema Camera.

If your budget can stretch a little further, the Panasonic GH5 Mark II offers outstanding value. It builds on what was already one of the best mirrorless cameras for shooting 4K content, offering a wide variety of 4K frame rates, resolutions and color profiles in a compact, lightweight body. What really gives it an edge is the inclusion of built-in wireless live streaming skills. It can send footage in real-time to the likes of YouTube, without any additional kit, which makes it a brilliantly accessible option for streamers.

Depending on your video shooting needs, you need to consider resolution, frame rate, and bit depth, among other things, when choosing the best video camera for videos or film. Luckily, there are also great options at a range of prices, and we are here to help.

That the GH5 Mark II includes all this in a compact, lightweight and weatherproof body with effective IBIS makes it all the more impressive. Its sensor may be small (which does limit its low-light capabilities), but our tests revealed it to be a mighty video camera. Consider it if you don't have the budget (or perhaps the need) for the GH6.

One of a select few cameras that can record 8K/30p footage, the Z9 also offers filmmakers a candy store of capabilities. Besides 4K slow-mo at 120fps, it serves up sharp oversampled 4K video, together with lengthy 125-minute recording times and reliable Eye AF tracking. We found that image quality from the 45.7MP stacked CMOS sensor was superlative, with huge cropping potential, aided by superb image stabilization.

For video shooters, an out-and-out recommendation is a little trickier. For starters, while the R5 offers a lot of higher-end video modes (8K ALL-I or RAW, 4K at 120fps, 10-bit 4K HEVC), they require an expensive CFexpress card. We also found that the more intensive video modes also cause the camera to overheat, not only limiting recording time but requiring a long cool-down before you can record again.

Mark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile. \",\"contributorText\":\"With contributions from\",\"contributors\":[{\"name\":\"Sam Kieldsen\",\"link\":{\"href\":\"https:\\/\\/www.techradar.com\\/author\\/sam-kieldsen\"}},{\"name\":\"Chris Rowlands\",\"link\":{\"href\":\"https:\\/\\/www.techradar.com\\/author\\/chris-rowlands\"}}]}; var triggerHydrate = function() { window.sliceComponents.authorBio.hydrate(data, componentContainer); } var triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate = function() { if (window.sliceComponents.authorBio === undefined) { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = ' -9-3/authorBio.js'; script.async = true; script.id = 'vanilla-slice-authorBio-component-script'; script.onload = () => { window.sliceComponents.authorBio = authorBio; triggerHydrate(); }; document.head.append(script); } else { triggerHydrate(); } } if (window.lazyObserveElement) { window.lazyObserveElement(componentContainer, triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate, 1500); } else { console.log('Could not lazy load slice JS for authorBio') } } }).catch(err => console.log('Hydration Script has failed for authorBio Slice', err)); }).catch(err => console.log('Externals script failed to load', err));Mark WilsonSocial Links NavigationSenior news editorMark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile.

If you ask a professional or any camera expert about which is the best camera for video, you'll probably get a different answer every time. It all comes down to what you want to use it for. The best camera for streaming won't be the same as a camera you'd choose for shooting a movie, your next vacation, or for launching an influencer career!

This guide is for anyone just starting out in video that doesn't know what camera to get. If you already know what you're looking for, you can jump straight to our dedicated buying guides to the best camcorders (opens in new tab), the best 4K cameras for video (opens in new tab), the best action cameras (opens in new tab), and more.

Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. For the last 3 years Hannah has worked at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With 5 years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.\"}; var triggerHydrate = function() { window.sliceComponents.authorBio.hydrate(data, componentContainer); } var triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate = function() { if (window.sliceComponents.authorBio === undefined) { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = ' -9-5/authorBio.js'; script.async = true; script.id = 'vanilla-slice-authorBio-component-script'; script.onload = () => { window.sliceComponents.authorBio = authorBio; triggerHydrate(); }; document.head.append(script); } else { triggerHydrate(); } } if (window.lazyObserveElement) { window.lazyObserveElement(componentContainer, triggerScriptLoadThenHydrate, 1500); } else { console.log('Could not lazy load slice JS for authorBio') } } }).catch(err => console.log('Hydration Script has failed for authorBio Slice', err)); }).catch(err => console.log('Externals script failed to load', err));Hannah RookeSocial Links NavigationStaff WriterHaving studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. For the last 3 years Hannah has worked at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With 5 years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.

These devices replace your existing doorbell with one that bundles a ringer button, a camera, a microphone, a speaker, and several sensors. When a smart doorbell camera is triggered by motion or the push of a button, it notifies you via an audible chime and a smartphone notification. And it streams live audio and video to your phone or tablet so you can hear and see your visitors in real time. You can even talk with those visitors or, in the case of solicitors, send them on their way.

We focused exclusively on smart doorbell cameras you can install yourself, rather than on higher-end models that are part of a larger security system. That eliminated options from ADT and Vivint, which require additional equipment and sometimes hefty subscription fees.

Since video doorbells (and all smart cameras) have more potential for privacy and security issues than any other smart-home device, we monitor the practices of each company, review issues that come up in the news, and keep tabs on how each company responds to those incidents. During testing, we also connect devices to Firewalla Blue, a firewall device that monitors the communications of all devices on a network and reports which devices are sending out data and to what country. Once we narrow down final candidates, we review privacy policies and send our own questions to the company behind each candidate, specifically looking for clauses or activities that are outside normal practice in this category. (See Security, privacy, and smart do