Looking to get started in photography but feel overwhelmed at the huge number of different camera models on the market? The daunting feeling can be an obstacle as you try to dive headfirst into the art form, but you have come to the right place: we have selected the best cameras for beginners looking to dip their toes in photography without breaking the bank or getting in over their heads.
Photographer and occasional PetaPixel contributor Usman Dawood has put together a video and camera showcase that seeks to prove a simple, possibly overlooked point: the best beginner camera for aspiring professionals isn't a high-end APS-C system... it's a used Canon 5D Mark II.
Focus stacking is a fun and easy technique you can do right at home with nothing more than your camera, lens, and editing software. In fact, the Fujifilm X-T2, X-T3, and X-T4 series of cameras—and many others—contain a "focus bracketing" feature that lets you do this automatically.
Simon Roberts, a London-based animator and designer, has created a great photography resource for beginners that is both simple and useful. It's called Photography Mapped, and it allows you to play around with and better understand the manual settings you'll find on a DSLR.