The best cheap mirrorless cameras provide an incredibly cost-effective way to hop onto an exciting camera system. We've picked out the following cameras for this list because we believe they represent genuine value for money – you'll be able to use them and get value out of them for years to come. With competitively sized sensors and impressive megapixel counts, these aren't just good cheap cameras, but good cameras in their own right.
Many of them are great choices for vlogging, as well. With video content creation becoming ever more accessible, all of these models can shoot video - and many of them in 4K. If you're looking to get into YouTube, filmmaking, or content creation on a budget, cheap mirrorless cameras are the ideal place to start.
Prices do fluctuate, especially when it comes to older cameras. However, all the cameras we've included on this list are consistently available at prices significantly lower than the average for a mirrorless camera.
One more thing. When you're shopping for cheap mirrorless cameras, be sure to check whether the camera is 'body only' or comes with a lens. We'll give our thoughts on the best lenses to get below.
Sebastian Oakley
For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large-format photography and cinema cameras. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E shooting Street/Life photography, usually in Black and White.
While it might be quite old, this Micro Four Thirds camera still delivers 4K video and good 16MP stills, perfect for those on a strict budget. Read more below
The budget option from the impressive Sony A6000 series. The A6100 is not only small, but offers all the essentials for both video and stills, including 11fps burst mode and a mic socket. Read more below
Best retro styling If you're looking for a cheap camera, but want that little bit of retro thrown in then this is the perfect balance of old-school looks and modern tech. Read more below
The Sony A7 III is a great budget option for fast-moving subjects like sports and wildlife with its amazing autofocus, quick burst speed, and wide selection of lenses
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The Panasonic Lumix G100D is a fantastic starter camera for vloggers and has clearly been designed with that exact audience in mind. Unlike most consumer mirrorless cameras, it's got a fairly sophisticated built-in mic setup, meaning that while you can plug in an external mic with the 3.5mm jack, you don't have to, and that's hugely handy for casual vlogging.
Its approachable button layout makes it easy for pretty much anyone to pick up the Lumix G100D and start shooting high-quality 4K video. The tactile ergonomics make it a pleasure to use, and even though it's a relatively new model, the price has already come down a little.
We appreciated a lot of features of the Lumix G100D when it came into our hands for a full review – with a bright electronic viewfinder and high-quality LCD screen, it's just an all-around pleasant shooting experience for stills and video.
The Lumix G7 was launched back in 2015, so it’s a few years old now, and that shows in its styling and specs. It’s the ideal choice for mirrorless camera buyers who prefer the heft and gripability of a DSLR-style body, and it comes with a viewfinder, which is terrific in a mirrorless camera at this price. Bad points?
The G7 was launched before Panasonic started including in-body stabilization in its cameras, so you’re reliant on any optical stabilization in the lenses themselves. It also has a relatively old 16-megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, which knocks back the image quality ever so slightly compared to current APS-C sensor offerings. Prices vary a lot, so keep your eyes peeled, we have seen some crazy twin-lens deals on this camera.
(Image credit: Matthew Richards/Digital Camera World)
3. Sony A6100
Best for travel
Our expert review:
Specifications
Type: Mirrorless
Sensor: APS-C
Lens mount: Sony E
Screen: 3-inch, 922k-dot tilting LCD
Max burst speed: 11fps
Max video resolution: 4K
Reasons to buy
+
Fast, capable shooting
+
Built-in EVF
+
3.5mm mic input
Reasons to avoid
-
No in-body sensor-shift stabilization
The A6100 is the budget option in Sony's best-selling A6000-series of cameras - and although it was launched back in 2019 is still a great camera for those wanting a small system camera with a great selection of lenses.
The fundamentals on the A6100 are incredibly solid, for photographers at least. With 11fps burst shooting, 24MP of resolution, and a highly capable autofocus system, it's got pretty much everything most photographers are going to need. It's far more powerful than many similarly priced beginner camera, and its slimline body makes it perfect for travel.
This camera replaced the legendary A6000 - and one of the biggest improvements was to its video shooting capabilities. The A6100 can shoot in 4K - and has a microphone socket – making it a decent choice for vlogging, which is made easy thanks to its flip-up rotating LCD screen.
We love the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV. Its predecessor, the Mark III, was (and is) a perennial favorite around the DCW office, and we're full of admiration for how sensibly Olympus went about updating this beloved camera.
The addition of the 20.3MP sensor from the PEN-F was a great shout, and we were immensely glad to see improved Continuous Autofocus further expanding Mark IV's burst shooting capabilities. After all, it's not much good being able to shoot at 15fps if you can't focus worth a damn!
The extra-tiltable screen impresses too, and the fact that it flips down 180° makes the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV a tempting proposition for YouTubers and vloggers. For the money, the Mark IV is absolutely stuffed with features, and the fact that it's so portable makes it a great choice for travel.
The EOS RP was Canon's second full-frame mirrorless camera, and it's smaller, lighter, and a lot cheaper than all of the others. It's designed to be a compact, affordable and easy-to-use entry point into Canon's full-frame mirrorless system, and it succeeds brilliantly.
Its small dimensions mean it can sometimes feel overbalanced by larger lenses, though, and the 4K video mode comes with some caveats – the image frame is cropped by a factor of 1.6 and you can't use Canon's speedy Dual Pixel CMOS AF system unless you drop the resolution to full HD.
On the upside, the pictures are clear and sharp, the vari-angle touchscreen display is a real advantage for both stills and video, and the inclusion of an EF lens adaptor means you can use existing Canon DSLR lenses alongside the new but growing RF lens system.
At under $1,000/£1,000 you wouldn't say it was 'cheap' in the general run of things, but for a full-frame camera, its price is practically miraculous.
This is one of the best-selling full-frame cameras of recent years - and particularly popular with enthusiast photographers. It packs a lot of tech into a small body - offering 696-point AF system, eye autofocus, and 5-axis image stabilization. A 10fps motordrive combined with a detailed 2.5 million eyelevel viewfinder make it a great choice for those who want to shoot sports. With the launch of the newer A7 IV model, this version has started to become a bit of a bargain - so now qualifies as one of our cheap mirrorless picks.
The resolution is a modest, yet mangeable, 24 megapixels - which is fine for most types of photography. And thanks to there being a wide range of lenses from Sony and third-party manufacturers, you can get a kit to shoot almost any subject without needing to spend a fortune.
We test cameras both in real-world shooting scenarios and in carefully controlled lab conditions. Our lab tests measure resolution, dynamic range, and signal-to-noise ratio. Resolution is measured using ISO resolution charts, dynamic range is measured using DxO Analyzer test equipment and DxO Analyzer is also used for noise analysis across the camera's ISO range. We use both real-world testing and lab results to inform our comments in buying guides.
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For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
