People are always passionate about the Best camera for car photography and nowadays the trend is all-time high with Instagram stepped in in our life.
I believe you have seen a lot of people posting photos and videos especially reel with their cars and motorcycles.
While you can easily do car photography with your mobile but to get that professional look you need a good quality camera. That’s why we are here to help you increase your popularity on Instagram with our Best Camera for Car Photography review.
Now if you want me to tell you about the best camera for car photography you go and buy it, that’s not happening.
There is a various factor that suits according to your need which makes the camera best for you. So we are going to discuss the basic but important parameters for you to choose the best camera for car photography.
While searching for the best camera for car photography you can also look for our similar article about Best car stereo with Backup camera.
Comparison table of 7 Best Camera for car photography 2021
| Image | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
 | Sony a7 IIIThe BEST
| Price |
 | Sony a6600Value for Money
| Price |
 | Canon EOS RBest from Canon
| Price |
 | Canon 90DBest DSLR
| Price |
 | Nikon Z6Best from Nikon
| Price |
 | Nikon Z50Alternative to Sony a6400
| Price |
 | Sony a6400Best under $1000
| Price |
Product
| Price |
- Comparison table of 7 Best Camera for car photography 2021
- Features of 7 Best camera for car photography 2021
- Sony Alpha a7 III Review
- Sony Alpha a6600 Review
- Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera Review
- Canon EOS 90D Review
- Nikon Z6 Mirrorless Camera Review
- Nikon Z50 Mirrorless Camera Review
- Sony a6400 Mirroress Camera Review
- Buyers Guide of Best Camera for Car Photography
- Conclusion
Features of 7 Best camera for car photography 2021
Sony Alpha a7 III Review
As I told you earlier, I will always recommend you a mirrorless camera for car photography. Now if you look at the below image you can clearly understand the reason behind my statement. Mirrorless cameras are so compact compared to DLSR and will give an advantage in holding the camera in a moving car. And as usual, it comes with a bit higher price tag but trust me it is worth every penny.
Sony Alpha is the best when it comes to a mirrorless camera. And the Sony a7 III is one of the best DLSR cameras right now in the world. Go search on youtube and you will find 8 out of 10 Youtubers are using a Sony Alpha mirrorless camera.
Specifications
- 24MP Full-Frame sensor
- Raw capture capability
- ISO 50-204800
- Eye detecting Autofocus
- 425 autofocus point
- Bluetooth and WIFI connectivity
Sony Alpha a7 III is the best camera you can buy for your car photography.
The Sony a7 III has a 24MP full-frame sensor. It can shoot JPEG as well as 14-bit uncompressed RAW photos. ISO can be down at 50 and the highest is 204800.
You can use all Sony E mount lenses with this camera. Additionally, you get Sony’s top-grade eye autofocus system along with 425 autofocus points. You have the Bluetooth and WIFI connectivity option, rechargeable battery.
Now let’s discuss how the above-mentioned features will help you click pictures from your car. First, a 24 MP sensor is more than enough to provide you a clear photo with more than adequate details. So you will never miss a single moment of your journey.
Secondly, the 14 bit uncompressed RAW is one of the best advantages of this camera. The photos you click from your mobile or point and shoot camera is JPEG which you can say a readymade photo.
You can play with colors and other details in editing. That’s why the raw image is very important. It captures more details which you can relive in post-processing. Also, Raw images provide better color accuracy here.
If you look at the ISO range this camera offers, it’s simply unbelievable. You can shoot between 50-204800 which gives a lot of room to play with your photos.
Depending upon the time of the day or light condition you can vary the ISO to get a perfect shot with proper light.
Almost all the Sony mirrorless cameras are coming with Sony’s exclusive eye detecting autofocus feature. It helps to track the eye of a moving person or animal so that you never lose focus on your object. This results in excellent crisp and clear shot.
In case, you previously own Sony E mount lenses you can use them with the Alpha a7 III. Sony lenses are superior in quality and also very expensive.
So you can easily use your existing lens with this camera. Furthermore, there is support for Bluetooth and WIFI. As a result, you can easily transfer your photos from camera to mobile and upload them on Instagram.
Sony Alpha a6600 Review
Best Mirrorless camera for car photography
If you are a bit tight on your budget but still want a Sony mirrorless camera then the Alpha a6600 is the best option for you.
The Sony Alpha a6600 is the latest offering in the APS-C sensor segment that has in-body stabilization built-in. It has all the top-line features almost similar to the great a7 III.
It has a 24.2MP CMOS sensor compared to a full-frame sensor in the a7 III. First, you should know the difference between the two sensors.
Suppose you are using a 16mm wide-angle lens in a full-frame camera. But the focal length you will get is exactly 16mm but when you use it on an APS-C sensor you get 24mm.
A crop sensor crops the focal length by 1.5 times (16×1.5) =24mm. But to be honest the difference is negligible when you consider the price difference.
Specifications
- 24.2MP APS-C Sensor
- Real-time eye autofocus for human and animal
- Built-in Image stabilization
- 180° Tilt Screen
- 128GB SD Card Included
The Alpha a6600 replaced the a6500 addressing a lot of issues like 30-minute video recording limitation, tilt screen, eye detecting autofocus, and much more. This is the perfect camera for your car photography.
Generally, the crop sensor Sony mirrorless cameras use NP-FW50 batteries that we called average. But the a6600 uses the NP-FZ100 that you will see in flagship mirrorless cameras like the a7 and a9 series.
As an example, the a6500 can shoot around 400 shots with a full charge but you can take almost 800 with the a6600. That’s completely double the number.
The ISO range is also slightly bigger than the a6500. You can shoot at 32000 ISO in a6600 compared to 25600 in the a6500. But I will always recommend you not to shot at that level until it’s very necessary.
And now let’s talk about one of the biggest improvements that a6600 brings in the crop sensor lineup. Previously the a6000, a6300, a6500 can only shoot 4k video up to 30 minutes. Sony overcomes this limitation with the a6400 (review is below) and a6600. Now you can record as long 4K video as there is storage available.
Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera Review
The EOS R is the latest offering from Canon in the mirrorless camera segment. It gives a good competition to the above discussed Sony a7 III. You will get all the essential features inside the EOS R that you help you to click some stunning shot from your car.
As I already discussed the necessity of some features in car photography, I will try to compare this with the Sony a7 III and try to figure out which is a better option if you are spending more than $1500.
Specifications
- 30.3 MP Full Frame sensor
- Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus
- 5655 autofocus point
- Vary Angle Touchscreen
- 4K Recording
- Very lightweight
The Canon EOS R is the perfect competitor of Sony Alpha a7 III. Read more below to decide which one to pick.
You get a 30MP sensor in the Canon EOS R compared to the 24MP in a7 III. Yes, you may see a few more details only when you zoom in a lot. But practically we never zoom in that much so I will say it’s a draw.
Now let’s talk about autofocus. Sony has ‘Eye detecting autofocus’ where Canon offers ‘Dual pixel CMOS autofocus’. Sony came up with their eye-tracking focus long before Canon introduced the dual pixel autofocus.
The eye-tracking autofocus is soo good that Sony went ahead of Canon in the market. It’s is so powerful that it can track a human or animal eye continuously even if the human or animal is moving.
I am personally using a Sony a6400 which also has the same autofocus and trust me the dual pixel autofocus is very good but it’s no way near to Sony.
You can shoot 4K at 30 frames per second which is exactly the same as Sony a7 III. In case you already own a Canon camera I believe you have EF/EF-S lenses as well. Guess what you can use those existing lenses with the EOS R.
The biggest advantage of EOS over the Sony a7 III is the fully tiltable screen. You can move the 3.15inch screen as per your need.
It will not only help you to capture an image easily but also you can touch the screen to focus on the object. And, it just weighs 1.46 pounds which makes it one of the lightweight cameras compared to other Canon cameras that weigh around 2.7-3.5 lbs.
Canon EOS 90D Review
Best camera for shooting car videos
As discussed earlier, I wouldn’t recommend getting a DSLR for car photography but if you badly need a DSLR for what so ever reason go with the Canon EOS 90D. It replaces the famous Canon 80D and fix some issues.
Canon 90D comes with a 32.5MP APS-C CMOS sensor with DIGIC 8 image processor. It can record 4K video at 30 frames per second and Full HD at 120 frmaes per second. Along with you get a 3inches LCD touchscreen where you can control the camera setings as well as touc to focus on your object.
Specifications
- 32.5MP CMOS Sensor
- DIGIC 8 image processor
- Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus
- 4K recording at 30FPS
- Full HD recording at 120FPS
- 45 points autofocus system
- Continuous shooting up to 10FPS
- Multiple Custom keys
In case you are looking badly for a DLSR, get the Canon 90D.
Canon improves the 90D quite a bit compared to the all-time famous 80D. We are going to take a look at those differences and try to find out how big the impact is in real life.
The 80D features a 24MP sensor where the 90D has 32.5MP. But as discussed it doesn’t make a lot of difference in your image.
The ISO range in the 90D improved a lot. You can now click pictures at 25600 compared to 16000 in 80D. It’s not ideal to shoot at this high but having an option is always good. Continuous shooting frames improved from 7 FPS to 11FPS which is a very good thing to capture fast-moving objects.
The 80D was capable to record full HD video only. Canon let you record 4K video in the 90D. Also, battery life gets improved a lot.
You can now take 1300 shots in 90D with a full charge compared to 960 in the 80D. The weight also gets reduced a bit, it’s around 30 gm lighter than the 80D.
Additionally, in case you often post photos on social media then there is an advantage for you in 90D.
It features Bluetooth unlike the 80D to transfer your photos direct from camera to phone and upload them in social media in minutes.
Nikon Z6 Mirrorless Camera Review
The Z6 is the latest offering from Nikon in the mirrorless camera segment. Its main competitors are the Sony a7 III and the Canon EOS R. before we jump into the comparison let’s take a look at the specs that Nikon Z6 offers.
The Nikon Z6 has a 24.5MP full-frame backside-illuminated sensor. It comes with Nikon’s phase-detection autofocus system.
You can shoot 4K video at 30FPS. Also, slow motion is supported at 120 FPS in full HD resolution. The highlighted feature here is 6K time-lapse video support.
Yes, you can capture timelapse videos at 6K resolution. The Z6 is compatible with Nikkor Z lenses. You get a 180-degree movable screen like Sony.
Specifications
- 24.5MP Full-Frame Sensor
- 4K 30FPS Recording
- 6K timelapse Recording
- Subject Tracking Autofocus
- 180 Degree tiltable screen
Z6 is the latest offering from Nikkon that makes it compete with the top-level mirrorless camera out in the market.
Now let’s take a look at how the Z6 stands against the Canon EOS R and the famous Sony a7 III. Both the Sony and Nikon Z6 have the same 24MP camera but Canon has 32MP. But as mentioned you can barely see any differences in real-life images.
All three Nikon, Canon, and Sony use their own autofocus technology but I would say the eye-detecting autofocus by Sony is still the best to date.
I am not saying the Dual-Pixel autofocus by Canon of phase-detection autofocus by Canon is not good but Sony is so good here that you can easily point out the differences in real life.
Apart from this all of them are nearly equal. Each three offers excellent photo and video quality. You can shoot 4K video on all 3 cameras. All of them are capable of capturing raw images and slow-motion video.
The user experience is best in Canon for beginners. Canon easily lets you change the manual settings as per your need.
Nikon is also great but in case you don’t have any idea about the camera then I would recommend you to avoid Sony cameras. You need minimum technical knowledge to handle the Sony mirrorless cameras properly.
Nikon Z50 Mirrorless Camera Review
Nikon Z50 is a perfect mirrorless camera if you are looking for something under $1000. Well, it’s not the best mirrorless camera for under $1000 but it’s one of the best.
The Z50 has some great feature that makes it an excellent camera for your car photography. The nearest competitor of the Nikon Z50 is the Sony Alpha a6400 which we will discuss below.
The Nikon Z50 has a 20.9 MP image sensor. It comes with Nikon’s phase detection autofocus system. You can shoot 4K UHD videos as well as Full HD slow-motion video.
The Z50 even supports 4K time-lapse recording which is actually great. You can use all the Nikkon Z lenses with the Z50 and it has a fully tiltable screen. So in case you want to vlog with it, you can. Also, you get built-in WIFI and Bluetooth to easily transfer our photos to mobile or PC.
Specifications
- 20.9MP Image Sensor
- 4K Ultra HD recording
- 4K time-lapse recording
- Phase Detection Autofocus
- in-camera trimming
- Lightweight
- Budget-Friendly
If you are tight on your budget then the Nikon Z50 should be your choice of the mirrorless camera this time.
Now as you know, it’s time to compare with its rival, the Sony a6400. First, discuss some advantages the Z50 has over the Sony a6400. The max ISO you can shoot at in Z50 is 51200 compared to 32000 in the a6400.
Although it is highly recommended not to shoot any near at both these numbers but it’s good to have the opportunity. The LCD screen is around 0.2” bigger than the Nikon Z50. The flash coverage of Nikon is 7m where Sony is 6m. And Z50 is 6 grams lighter than the a6400.
So you already know that a6400 has more advantages over the Z50. Sony has a higher megapixel image sensor, 24MP compared to 21 in Nikon.
The number of focus points is more than double in Sony. Sony has 425 where Nikon Z5o only has 209. Sony a6400 can take 410 shots with a full charge compared to 320 in Z50. So the battery life is also good in Sony. And a6400 has the advantage of eye-tracking autofocus and NFC support over the Nikon Z50.
Now you may have thinking that why buy the Nikon Z50 over the Sony a6400. Well, there are reasons and let me tell those to you.
First of all, Nikon cost around $300. So if you are out of your budget then definitely go with Nikon Z50, it’s an excellent camera. Then you got a fully tiltable touchscreen which is very handy at situations. The Sony a6400 doesn’t have it. Additionally, the Z50 is lighter and has a slightly bigger LCD screen.
Sony a6400 Mirroress Camera Review
So it’s time to talk about the trump in the house, the Sony Alpha a6400. This is the best entry-level camera you can buy right now for any kind of photography and videography.
So this is just the best entry-level camera for car photography. The a6400 replaced well-known a6300 with some huge improvements on the board.
The Sony Alpha comes with a 24.2MP stacked back-illuminated CMOS sensor. It has 425 autofocus points along with 11FPS continuous shooting.
You will get Sony’s flagship real-time eye-detecting autofocus with this. There is also support for real-time tracking autofocus.
On the video end, you get 4K recordings at 30FPS along with 120FPS slow-motion video at Full HD resolution. The Sony a6400 overcomes the 30 in recording limit so in case you want a long interview video to record, then this is the camera for you.
Specifications
- 24.2MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
- Eye-detecting autofocus
- Real-time tracking Autofocus
- 11FPS Continuous Shooting
- 4K Video Recording
- Built-in timelapse feature
- 425 focus points
- Upward Tiltable screen for selfie and vlogging
One-liner: The Best Camera to buy under $1000 for your car photography
Now the Sony a6400 sits between the a6300 and a6600. There are huge improvements over the a6300 and differs slightly from the a6600.
So we will take a look at how it stands against the a6300 first. To be honest the a6400 is ahead in each and every position from the a6300 and in some cases the difference is huge.
First, you get a touch-enabled LCD screen in the a6400 which you can use to control the camera. This is missing in a6300. Also, you won’t find the upward tiltable screen in the a6300 that helps you to shoot properly from multiple angles.
The max ISO is 25% higher, 32000 compared to 25600 in the a6300. You get a built-in timelapse recording feature in the a6400 where you need to use an optional app in the a6300.
Then you will miss Bluetooth in the a6300. Trust me this is heavily useful to transfer your photos to mobile or pc and upload them easily on social media.
Additionally, the ultra-high-speed SD card is supported in the a6400 over the a6300. And, you will miss the animal eye-tracking autofocus in the a6300.
Ok, now take a look at what improvements the a6600 offer over a6400. Sony releases the a6600 about 7 months after the a6400 launch.
The only huge difference you will notice here that a6600 has the in-body image stabilization feature that the a6400 missing. This is no way near using a gimbal but this helps you to shoot long exposure shots so it’s definitely an advantage.
Then Sony improved the battery life, they make it almost doubled. The a6400 is capable of taking 410 shots with full charge where the a6600 can take 810 shots. Also, you get a headphone port in the a6600 which you can use to check the sound in your videos.
I believe you got it now why I am saying the a6400 is the best entry-level mirrorless camera to buy right now.
It improves a lot from its predecessor and there are only a few differences from its successor. Now giving the price point, it’s crystal clear that the Sony a6400 is the best camera to buy for your car photography.
Buyers Guide of Best Camera for Car Photography
What type of camera you need
Before we discussed any technical thing first let me tell you which is the most suitable camera for car photography. You can find 3 types of cameras nowadays – DSLR, mirrorless, and point and shoot. A lot of people will recommend you to get a DLSR but according to me, you should get yourself a mirrorless one.
Mirrorless cameras don’t have a mirror-like the DLSR so the weight is less and more than out it’s not bulky. You will be able to handle a mirrorless camera far better than a DLSR. This is very important as you are capturing photos or recording videos from a moving car. I would only recommend you to get a point and shoot only if you are super tight with our budget and unable to get a DLSR.
Most important feature: Image Stabilization
Forget megapixel, sensor size, ISO, and everything. No matter how good your camera technically is, you can’t use a blurred photo anywhere. That’s why built-in image stabilization should be there in every camera used for car photography.
Since you will be clicking photos from a moving car it’s impossible to hold your hand stable. This will result in you blurry images. You can find some lenses with image stabilization feature nowadays but they are very expensive. So always try to avoid a camera that doesn’t have the image stabilization feature when you are doing car photography.
Learn to shoot in Manual Mode
You will best the best result when your shoot in manual mode. Manual mode means you are setting everything related to photogrpahy settings on your own like the aperture, shutter speed, ISO and many things. And you can only do that once you have the basic understanding of the above parameter and practice.
So just to give you an idea, let’s discuss some basic stuff that you need to know before your go out with any camera and do car photography.
- Aperture: Aperture defines the opening of a lens through which light will enter the image sensor. It is defined as fx where ‘x’ is a number that varies. You often see a lens with an aperture of f3.5 or f1.8. The lesser the number the more lens can open its face to allow light. As a result, you will get a brighter image even in low light.
- Shutter Speed: Shutter speed is the duration that the camera shutter remains open to expose light on the camera sensor. You can vary the speed to get your required shot. Suppose you are shooting a moving car then you need to keep the shutter speed as fast as possible otherwise your photo gets blurred.
- ISO: From a technical perspective, ISO refers to the sensitivity to the camera sensor. In case you are new to photography then ISO helps to brighten or darken a photo. When there is adequate natural light keep the ISO as low as possible. Do the exact opposite when it’s dark around you. You will learn about ISO more once you start experimenting with your camera.
First, discuss the best cameras you can but for car photography, and at the end I will let you know about different lenses that will enhance your car photography to a text level.
Conclusion
If you are this bottom then definitely you came to know some basic but important stuff about cameras that you can use car photography. As mentioned in the beginning, we picked mostly mirrorless cameras as they are compact and easy to handle from a coving car. They beat the DSLR in every segment with better features and specs. And, in case you still need a DLSR Canon 90D is our choice. Still, if you have any doubt or question on anything let us know in the comment below, we will be to help 🙂