Best Camera for Food Photography
Buying a camera is stressful and expensive - I was just there. I bough my camera last Black Friday after months of intensive research. After a year of seeing competitors pop up, I'm still over the moon with my camera. Since Black Friday is right around the corner, I figured this was the perfect time for a post about the best camera for food blogging: the Sony a6000.
One thing to keep in mind when camera buying is: there will be trade-offs. Just buy what is right for you. You don't necessarily need the latest and greatest but you also shouldn't get the camera that was all the rage five years ago. (Five years is a long time in tech.) For me, I needed a camera and lenses that were versatile and compact. I wanted to be able to shoot food, interiors, people, and sometimes landscape. I didn't need a lens for each specific purpose, just a solid camera and 2 lenses that could do most of what I wanted.
Action shot on Sony a6000 on Carl Zeiss 32 mm f/1.8 lens. I'm pretty excited my belly didn't pop out of my shirt here. Take note of the sharpness and depth.
Why a6000?
Remember: the best camera is the one you have on you. For this reason, I selected the Sony a6000 body only. This camera's mirror less body makes it compact, and it has functionality that matches large DSLR competitors. Whenever I go to restaurants or venues where it's not appropriate to brandish a camera bag, I can stash the Sony a6000 in my purse and I'm good to go. Another great feature is the wi fi connectivity to my phone so I can quickly upload photos to my phone and post to social media. The low light performance of this camera also makes it easier to take photos at darker restaurant venues.
Other technical reasons I chose this camera are: fast autofocus, image stabilization, and the APSC sensor. The MOST important reason I chose this camera is because it's HANDS DOWN the BEST bang for your buck (or rather bang for your $400).
But what about Canon and Nikon?
You'll be hard pressed to find a camera that comes anywhere near the a6000 specs, size, and features at this price range. I'm a spec geek and did quite a bit of research on this... I implore you to riddle me a better camera.
Macro shot on Sony a6000 on Carl Zeiss 32 mm f/1.8 lens.
Landscape shot on Sony a6000 on Carl Zeiss 32 mm f/1.8 lens.
Why body only?
I wanted to buy higher quality prime lenses. Prime lenses are fixed focal length lenses, which means you can't zoom. However, prime lenses tend to have lower f-stops (this lets more light into your camera) and take higher quality photos over zoom lenses. The Sony a6000 kit lens pales in comparison to E mount prime lenses.
Dark interior shot on Sony a6000 on 19 mm Sigma f/2.8 lens.
Food shot on Sony a6000 on Sigma 19mm f/2.8 lens.
What lenses did you buy?
The lenses you buy really depend on the use case. Because I shoot a variety of landscape, portrait, and food, so I didn't need a zoom lens. I wanted a lens that could shoot at a wide angle and a fast shooting lens that was great quality.
For landscape, flat lays, andr estaurant interiors, I bought the 19 mm f/2.8 Sigma lens.
For portrait and everything else, I chose the 32 mm f/1.8Carl Zeiss lens. This is a fast prime lens that takes beautiful photos and fleeting moments. If I were to get one lens, it would be this one.
What do you not like about this camera?
he menu is sometimes annoying to navigate through and the eye piece comes off if you're too aggressive with it. I sometimes have issues with low light performance, but I would have to switch to a much more expensive camera to resolve this.
Why listen to me?
I've been photographed professionally for a few years and I'm an obsessive spec geek. If you like photos you see here, you'll likely like the a6000.
Researching a camera to buy is a pain. Your thorough research should lead you to the best camera for your use case. There'll always be new models and people with "better" cameras. You just have to be comfortable with your decision and run with it. In the end, just make a decision. #noregrets
For more food photography, follow along on Instagram @thesnobbyfoodie. If you like this post, you may like:
Photo taken by Nao.
