My opinion on the greatest Hybrid cameras of today
Let us talk about what are, in my opinion, the greatest cameras in terms of value and if you're someone on a budget, at least to some extent. Primary focus=cameras up to about $800 (w/out lens) and that is to be especially the focus of this article, but later I'll also add some that are pretty great even if you decide to expand your budget to some extent. By the way, the list, despite being written in a numerical order, doesn't indicate the cameras in terms of overall performance or mean that one is overall better than the other in all other aspects.
1) Sony A6400: For my personal needs, this is still far from a perfect camera, but for most people's needs, it might just do the trick; A 24 megapixel APS-C sensor, not a bad lens lineup by any means (especially considering the fact that manufacturers have been focusing a lot of new lens production on Sony much), as well as what is practically unrivaled video capabilities. Sony's sensors are thought to be of the best performance when it comes to aspects such as lowlight, dynamic range, and color depth.
2) Sony A6300: Having the same size of sensor and same resolution as the A6400, this camera is better suited for my own personal needs as opposed to the A6400, because it does have at least some environmental sealing, and this camera in particular would do very well, even if not quite perfectly, for photographic genres such as Astro and landscape, and Macro is also one of those genres that should be relatively easy with this camera; of course, for these genres, it's important to choose on the proper lens. Once again, a great selection of lenses are available for the Sony E Mount, and some of the Sony lenses are quite compact.
3) Canon M50: For the price of about $629, this camera in particular can do wonders for what it's worth. It can come quite close (although I personally don't consider it as an equal performer) in terms of image quality and video quality as the Sony cameras can, but as you might already know, this isn't the ideal camera for prosumer 4k production, mainly because of the minor crop of the sensor that's been applied to the 4k video. Overall, this camera has relatively exceptional value despite it's downfalls; slightly better ergonomics in my opinion that the Sony's and even Fuji mirrorless cameras, but the most major downfall, at least for me, includes the fact that the sensor is fairly poor compared to the competition; that means that the dynamic range, performance in lowlight, as well as color depth isn't quite on par with much of the competition, especially the Sony and Fuji MILCs. But, if you come from the Canon ecosystem, you should definitely consider this exact camera as your next.
4) Fuji XT30: ~$899 This is a really great camera, and it has quite a lot of the features and aspects that it's once pricier cousin, the Fuji XT2, has. That being said, there really is a great deal of wonderful stuff that can be accomplished in both video and photo mode, including the ability to record outstanding 4k footage with minimal, if not zero, crop as well as F-log Gamma, which is kind of a big deal for the video production industry. It also has touchscreen for the display! For the price of $899, there doesn't seem to be much better cameras in terms of abilities.
5) Panasonic G85: ~697.99 (Must be w/lens) This is what might be considered an overachiever, based on its price. In fact, over at the Cameradecision website, this was considered quite high on the list of best mirrorless cameras, not on a general list, but rather on various lists that considered a different genre of photography each. For video, this camera is a total achiever, and even though having only 16 megapixels, is overall an exceptionally great Hybrid camera for both stills and video. For video, it can offer many features, and there is what is essentially a blend of photographic-videographic features such as 4k photo, in which 4k photos can be made up out of 4k video. Great for macro applications due to it's in-camera focus stacking, but not quite doing too well as it come to astrophotography or other applications where an extreme lack of light is present, due to it's relatively small Micro 4/3rds sensor that's not of the best technology.
6) Fuji XT2: ~$899 Simply an outstanding camera, this camera is weather-sealed better than the Sony A6500 even though it's video abilities might be slightly less than it's rival. Except for the fact that it might be slightly large for some, and the grip isn't quite as deep as I might wish, the ergonomics are great! It's physical control dials are also great, combined with it's retro-style design, makes it feel a lot like using an old style film camera. The only downside that I've noticed is that it can be difficult to turn the dials on the bottom without affecting the top dials at the same time. The video is very good. The autofocus in lowlight seemed to be excellent in terms of speed when using my Fuji 50-230mm lens. The video was initially not as good as some other cameras from Sony, but this has since been improved to include internal F-Log in 4k although not at 60p. You might need a camera for perfect stills as well as video, or in other words, a Hybrid camera, and I don't think that there's anything that gets much better than this, at least not unless using up another several hundred dollars or more. A really great and interesting competitor is the much more expensive Fuji XH1, which, if I had enough budget, I might've chosen.
Now, moving on to cameras that are slightly more expensive, albeit if willing to expand your budget at least a little...
1) Sony A6500: ~$1,098 This is an upgraded version of the A6300, that costs a little more than $1,000. It's video capabilities are simply stellar, and one of the main advantages, at least for video, is its 5-axis image stabilization. It also accepts E-mount lenses, and has a sensor that performs better than even the A6300, and only the more recent Full Frame Sonys have better sensors. I wouldn't mind switching my own Fuji XT2 for this camera, with a little tiny exception; my XT2, now being owned since October of 2018, has garnished some nostalgic value for me, and making a switch would probably make me miss it much. And what I forgot to mention is that the A6500 is lighter than my XT2, although on the plus side, please consider the smaller size. The most significant reason for why I'd like to also have an A6500 is because of the possibility to use relatively slow shutter speeds as for video recording, which means that videos can be recorded in extremely lowlight as the exposure time for each frame can be increased to 1/4th (Possibly 1/2 of a second); If I had this particular camera, I could easily record starry skies with the correct lens, not really possible with my XT2 as it can only go up to 1/24th of a second. An incredible piece of equipment, is the A6500!
2) Fuji XT3: ~$1,499 Despite maybe not having as large and comfortable of a grip as the previous cameras listed, don't be disappointed, because the XT2 is a really great achiever. If I had the budget myself, I'd consider this as one of my cameras, and will probably happen in the future once an XT4 might get released. This camera's got what I think is more impressive video performance than even the A6500 by Sony. The pixel resolution of the sensor is slightly higher than the A6500, and it has great features such as focus stacking as well as internal log for 4k video, which is internal 4k/60 w/10 bit output; surely a big deal for videography! Not only this, but it's weather sealed against various elements.
This is all for now; Hopefully the article might have come in handy!
1) Sony A6400: For my personal needs, this is still far from a perfect camera, but for most people's needs, it might just do the trick; A 24 megapixel APS-C sensor, not a bad lens lineup by any means (especially considering the fact that manufacturers have been focusing a lot of new lens production on Sony much), as well as what is practically unrivaled video capabilities. Sony's sensors are thought to be of the best performance when it comes to aspects such as lowlight, dynamic range, and color depth.
2) Sony A6300: Having the same size of sensor and same resolution as the A6400, this camera is better suited for my own personal needs as opposed to the A6400, because it does have at least some environmental sealing, and this camera in particular would do very well, even if not quite perfectly, for photographic genres such as Astro and landscape, and Macro is also one of those genres that should be relatively easy with this camera; of course, for these genres, it's important to choose on the proper lens. Once again, a great selection of lenses are available for the Sony E Mount, and some of the Sony lenses are quite compact.
3) Canon M50: For the price of about $629, this camera in particular can do wonders for what it's worth. It can come quite close (although I personally don't consider it as an equal performer) in terms of image quality and video quality as the Sony cameras can, but as you might already know, this isn't the ideal camera for prosumer 4k production, mainly because of the minor crop of the sensor that's been applied to the 4k video. Overall, this camera has relatively exceptional value despite it's downfalls; slightly better ergonomics in my opinion that the Sony's and even Fuji mirrorless cameras, but the most major downfall, at least for me, includes the fact that the sensor is fairly poor compared to the competition; that means that the dynamic range, performance in lowlight, as well as color depth isn't quite on par with much of the competition, especially the Sony and Fuji MILCs. But, if you come from the Canon ecosystem, you should definitely consider this exact camera as your next.
4) Fuji XT30: ~$899 This is a really great camera, and it has quite a lot of the features and aspects that it's once pricier cousin, the Fuji XT2, has. That being said, there really is a great deal of wonderful stuff that can be accomplished in both video and photo mode, including the ability to record outstanding 4k footage with minimal, if not zero, crop as well as F-log Gamma, which is kind of a big deal for the video production industry. It also has touchscreen for the display! For the price of $899, there doesn't seem to be much better cameras in terms of abilities.
5) Panasonic G85: ~697.99 (Must be w/lens) This is what might be considered an overachiever, based on its price. In fact, over at the Cameradecision website, this was considered quite high on the list of best mirrorless cameras, not on a general list, but rather on various lists that considered a different genre of photography each. For video, this camera is a total achiever, and even though having only 16 megapixels, is overall an exceptionally great Hybrid camera for both stills and video. For video, it can offer many features, and there is what is essentially a blend of photographic-videographic features such as 4k photo, in which 4k photos can be made up out of 4k video. Great for macro applications due to it's in-camera focus stacking, but not quite doing too well as it come to astrophotography or other applications where an extreme lack of light is present, due to it's relatively small Micro 4/3rds sensor that's not of the best technology.
6) Fuji XT2: ~$899 Simply an outstanding camera, this camera is weather-sealed better than the Sony A6500 even though it's video abilities might be slightly less than it's rival. Except for the fact that it might be slightly large for some, and the grip isn't quite as deep as I might wish, the ergonomics are great! It's physical control dials are also great, combined with it's retro-style design, makes it feel a lot like using an old style film camera. The only downside that I've noticed is that it can be difficult to turn the dials on the bottom without affecting the top dials at the same time. The video is very good. The autofocus in lowlight seemed to be excellent in terms of speed when using my Fuji 50-230mm lens. The video was initially not as good as some other cameras from Sony, but this has since been improved to include internal F-Log in 4k although not at 60p. You might need a camera for perfect stills as well as video, or in other words, a Hybrid camera, and I don't think that there's anything that gets much better than this, at least not unless using up another several hundred dollars or more. A really great and interesting competitor is the much more expensive Fuji XH1, which, if I had enough budget, I might've chosen.
Now, moving on to cameras that are slightly more expensive, albeit if willing to expand your budget at least a little...
1) Sony A6500: ~$1,098 This is an upgraded version of the A6300, that costs a little more than $1,000. It's video capabilities are simply stellar, and one of the main advantages, at least for video, is its 5-axis image stabilization. It also accepts E-mount lenses, and has a sensor that performs better than even the A6300, and only the more recent Full Frame Sonys have better sensors. I wouldn't mind switching my own Fuji XT2 for this camera, with a little tiny exception; my XT2, now being owned since October of 2018, has garnished some nostalgic value for me, and making a switch would probably make me miss it much. And what I forgot to mention is that the A6500 is lighter than my XT2, although on the plus side, please consider the smaller size. The most significant reason for why I'd like to also have an A6500 is because of the possibility to use relatively slow shutter speeds as for video recording, which means that videos can be recorded in extremely lowlight as the exposure time for each frame can be increased to 1/4th (Possibly 1/2 of a second); If I had this particular camera, I could easily record starry skies with the correct lens, not really possible with my XT2 as it can only go up to 1/24th of a second. An incredible piece of equipment, is the A6500!
2) Fuji XT3: ~$1,499 Despite maybe not having as large and comfortable of a grip as the previous cameras listed, don't be disappointed, because the XT2 is a really great achiever. If I had the budget myself, I'd consider this as one of my cameras, and will probably happen in the future once an XT4 might get released. This camera's got what I think is more impressive video performance than even the A6500 by Sony. The pixel resolution of the sensor is slightly higher than the A6500, and it has great features such as focus stacking as well as internal log for 4k video, which is internal 4k/60 w/10 bit output; surely a big deal for videography! Not only this, but it's weather sealed against various elements.
This is all for now; Hopefully the article might have come in handy!
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