The best cameras for vlogging

The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III offers upgrades in both video and content creation. Its most obvious feature is the vlogging and selfie-friendly tilt screen. With touchscreen controls, it flips over 180°. But because of the tilt screen, there’s no room for a viewfinder, which marks this as more of a video and vlogging-based model than a regular point-and-shoot camera.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be used for still photography, however. You can easily take stills from the 4K video, while there’s also a panoramic mode and a continuous shooting speed up to 20fps.

You can share your videos directly on X or Flickr using the built-in Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. Best of all for vloggers, you can livestream directly to YouTube. An external mic port ensures that the sound matches the image quality. Plus, it has NFC for syncing with your phone or smart device.

Other features include image stabilisation, an impressive one-inch sensor, and versatile lens. It’s also very compact, great for taking on vlogging adventures.

Maybe you’re not ready to spend a grand on something seriously hi-spec. After all, vlogging is meant to be fun — something that anyone can get into, not just the affluent. For anyone who's looking to save some money or who's just getting started in the vlogging game, the Sony ZV-1F is a great buy.

It’s simplistic. Possibly too simplistic for some users. Think of this as a step-up from the smartphone (which, to be fair, offers great video quality these days). It’s probably smaller than your phone too, depending on which model of phone you’re currently rocking, which makes this camera ideal for filming on-the-go.

With its array of features — background blur, eye-tracking autofocus, face priority auto-exposure, and flip-out monitor — this is a camera that’s absolutely made for vlogging and video creation. Particularly for filming yourself talking directly to the camera. A product showcasing feature, for instance, is handy for influencers. Hold up a product to talk about and the camera intuitively focuses between your face and the product.

It’s not only for designed for vlogging, but for making you look good too. An algorithm helps capture accurate, natural skin tones, and you can defocus the background — i.e. put the focus on you — at the touch of a button. It also throws in great sound and smartphone connectivity.

When vlogging becomes high-quality content creation, or even documentary making, you need something that’s top-of-the-range and (if you don’t mind spending some cash) has the ring of, well, premium AF. If that sounds like you, check out the Panasonic Lumix GH6. It's a complex and comprehensive piece of kit by any photographer’s measure.

It’s chunky and robust, but still very portable. In technical terms, it's a mirrorless micro Four Thirds camera. That means it uses a smaller sensor and photographs in a 4:3 aspect ratio, balancing portability with image quality.

As with other models, the most obvious sign that it’s good for vlogging is its flip-out monitor, which twists and angles any way you need — so you always have a good grip on framing yourself. But it comes equipped with best-in-class spec, too: A 25.2MP sensor, algorithm-based stabilisation, a powerful processor, tons of video modes, fan cooling for endless shooting, and the capability to shoot 5.7K video and hi-res slo-mo.

The video is industry standard: High quality but low compression. Hi-spec memory makes it easier to store on the camera and edit on your computer. It doesn’t have Wifi or Bluetooth like other cameras, but it's more for professional grade recording than simply posting on Instagram.

It’s not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, though in the high-end camera world, it's fairly priced. And it comes equipped with an F2.8 lens.

The Fujifilm X-S20 is a well-reviewed shooter with a 26.1-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor for crystal-clear photography and uncropped, natural-looking 4K at 60fps, or immense 6.2K at 30fps. Sure, this camera isn't cheap, but it’s well-priced with this level of spec, and the price includes the lens.

Armed with an Optical Image Stabiliser Lens, which combines with the already-stellar in-body five-axis stabilisation for impeccable performance. It also supports the F-Log video format, which records video in a wide dynamic range, improving detail and better replicating how the human eye sees.

New to this upgraded model is an X-Processor 5, which brings a few hi-spec extras to the table, including lightning quick processing and powerful Auto Subject Detection and tracking. It recognises people, animals, and vehicles, for instance, and optimises the camera’s settings and tracks the subject.

The reason we're here though vlogging and this camera comes with a dedicated vlog mode, which can adjust focus with a tap and pulls in on the foreground subject — i.e. you — when you’re making content. It's a quick-and-easy means of tweaking settings for the very best vlogging quality.

The Fujifilm X-S10 connects to WiFi or Bluetooth, allowing you to send footage and photos directly to your smartphone and upload onto social media. And though you've likely come to expect this feature by now, we'd be remiss to not mention the large fully articulated flip-out LCD touchscreen. Hey, this nifty camera even doubles as a webcam in case you need one.

You've almost certainly heard about GoPro. They're the name in action cameras — the byword for strapping a little camera to your heard and capturing gnarly footage while you ride a wave or do something similarly extreme.

The GoPro Hero 13 Black is the latest, best iteration of its flagship action camera, balances performance and convenience with its 5.3K video, voice control, improved slo-mo, and touch display. It's also waterproof up to 10 metres, so you can film your underwater adventures.

And with the Quik app, you can easily (and, as the name suggests, quickly) edit your videos. Also using the app, you can make your phone a remote control for the GoPro camera. Though be warned: You'll need an up-to-date phone to handle it. The Quik app is seriously powerful. It’s made all kinds of adventuring, with a scratch resistant lens and rugged build.

HyperSmooth stabilisation is really important when it comes to shooting moving video, whether it's handheld or mounted to your gear. And you can auto upload everything to the cloud with the GoPro Plus subscription service.

New features include Lens Mods, a selection of lenses that attach to the GoPro and effectively upgrade the built-in lens. Lens Mods options include ultra-wide, anamorphic, and macro close-up. There's also a selection of Neutral Density Filters, but all of these add-ons will cost extra.

In the digital camera world, £500 is considered budget. In the real world, it's a hella lot of cash. That's why it's great to have the pocket-sized Feiyu Pocket 3 as an option, which costs a touch under £280, a superb price for a camera that offers 4K quality video and innovative portability features.

Indeed, this is especially good for vloggers who prefer the handy convenience of a smartphone. At just 86g, it’s seriously lightweight — you’ll barely notice it on your person — but the real USP is a detachable magnetic gimbal head. In basic terms, you can remove the wireless head from the handle and mount it on other surfaces, such as a bike or crash helmet, or attach it to the included tripod. That means an endless selection of shooting angles.

The handle has a display screen viewfinder but you can choose to swap the handle out and use the camera with your smartphone instead. Other features include face tracking, which follows movements to prevent blurry faces, and smart AI tracking that will keep track of moving objects.

Of course, it's never going to match the big-hitters in this roundup, and there are some limitations — some reviewers have marked it down for its cheaper build and less impressive video quality, for instance — but overall it’s a fantastic little camera and endlessly handy.