Cameras and lenses list by price from Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, Sony, Panasonic, Leica, and Pentax — Buying is the fun part.

We’re In the Golden Age of Digital Photography

Image quality in cameras hasn’t meaningfully improve since ~2008. DSLRs are and will always be fun to use.

Good quality 4k30p video has been widely available since 2015, thanks to mirrorless cameras.

The shift in tech has resulted in a selloff of Canon EOS EF and Nikon F cameras and lenses. It is possible to get absolutely obscene price to performance value on used gear. Lens adapters make it possible to use these lenses on mirrorless cameras.

Used Camera Gear Shopping

My two recommendations for camera shopping are:

Smaller and lighter is better.
Lenses matter more than cameras. Don’t buy an expensive body only to use a kit lens.

Used Camera Price Lists

Picking Out Vintage Lens Winners.

All lenses aren’t equal, especially when it comes to vintage and early digital camera lenses. Modern lenses will give you images that are razor sharp corner to corner. Vintage lenses can set themselves apart by how they render, the color you can get with them, interesting bokeh, or other characteristics not valued by current photographers.

On the other hand, many vintage lenses are not good. Their performance may not be good enough to set them apart from other lenses. Worse, as time has gone on some lenses have defects such as haze, fungus, balsam separation, or degraded grease, that will render them worthless because of the difficulty in repair.

I’m somewhat indiscriminate in my purchasing of gear, so I get a mix of good, bad, and average. The lens reviews will help you find a lens worth owning. These are popular film cameras that recieve frequent lens questions.

Camera Batteries

Have you ever been paranoid about the capacity of a battery? Especially if it was from a third party? I was.

I have figured out how ANYONE can inexpensively capacity test camera batteries. I have written a guide on how to capacity test camera batteries. It is a simple DIY project that only requires a screwdriver and pair of wire strippers.

Good Enough Lighting Options Under $Z

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2024-04-01

Wireless TTL and High Speed Sync are features that have triggered upgrade cycles. There’s constantly new innovative light gear being released. Which means there is a constant stream of used gear being put up for sale. It’s challenging to know what to look for and if it is a good deal. SpeedlightsI’m only interested in speedlights with wireless controls. I do not want to deal with additional batteries for triggers or using optical slaves.

A list of professional camera bodies available for under $2,000.

12 Pro Cameras Available for Under $2,000.

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2024-03-29

This price point highlights not only how many models Sony pumps out, but for how long they’ve been doing it. Most Expensive: Sony HDW-F900 ($80,000+?) Cheapest: Sony FX30 ($1,799) Oldest: Sony HDW-F900 (2000) Newest: Nikon Zf, Sony A7C II, Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome (2023) Model Year MSRP MP Weight Sensor Video Sony FX30 2022 $1,799 26.0 646g APS-C 4k120 Nikon Zf 2023 $1,999 24.5 630g FF 4k30 Sony A7C II 2023 $2,199 33.

There are some incredible deals on used cameras that are available for less than $500. As many lens mounts as possible are covered.

24 Cameras Available Used for Under $500 [April, 2024]

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2024-03-29

There are an excessive number of cameras available for less than $500. I have tried to select the best of what is available for as many lens mounts as possible. I have tried to focus on professional bodies, as they age better than entry level models. Most Expensive: Canon 1D X ($6,799) Cheapest: Pentax S-Q1 ($499) Oldest: Nikon D3 (2007) Newest: Canon M50 Mark II (2020) I will be breaking this list down into more specific groupings.

CompactFlash memory card compatibility with Canon PowerShot cameras.

Canon Powershot Compact Flash Cards

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2024-03-23

CompactFlash cards are expensive. You can’t even save money by buying used. There are CompactFlash adapters allow SD and MicroSD cards to be used. Even if you don’t have an SD or MicroSD card, this can still be a cheaper option. For storage capacities of 32GB or larger, this will be the cheapest option. Transfer speed is not an issue as cards in adapters will still be faster than what the camera is capable of.

A list of used professional camera bodies that can be found for less than $250. Some entry level cameras have been included to cover as many lens mounts as possible.

16 Used Pro Cameras Under $250 [March, 2024]

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2024-03-12

Professional cameras have better ergonomics, built quality, and features. They are often better than newer entry level cameras. Lens costs have not been included. Every system has a kit zoom, 50mm f1.8, or equivalent standard lens that can easily be found for less than $100. Cameras have been ordered roughly in terms of price to performance. Availability can be an issue for cameras lower on the list. This is due to the systems not being supported for very long due to poor sales.

Memory card compatibility requirements for Nikon Coolpix cameras. Multiple formats, types, and specifications of memory cards, such as SD and Compact FLash were used in Coolpix cameras.

Nikon Coolpix Memory Card Compatibility

Nathaniel Stephan published on 2023-10-14

Multiple formats and specifications of memory cards have been used in the line of Nikon Coolpix cameras. This can cause compatibility issues if a memory card is a generation older or newer than the camera it is being used with. Old memory cards may not have fast enough write speeds. During continuous shooting, this can prevent the image buffer from clearing quickly. Video recording might quickly cut off or video files could be corrupted.