GIZGUIDE Gift Guide 2021: Cameras from compact to professional

We share our picks for the best cameras for travel, vlogging, and professional use to give this holiday season 2021.

From compact to professional

In 2021, camera manufacturers launched several new cameras that have shaken up the best cameras to gift for the holidays that are currently available in the Philippine market.

Let's dive in!

Compact Vlogging Cameras

Sony ZV-1 and ZV-E10

1. Sony ZV-1 or ZV-E10 - Priced at PHP 42,990, the Sony ZV-1 is one of the best compact vlogging cameras the company has ever released. It features a 1-inch 20MP stacked CMOS sensor and BIONZ X processor. It is paired with a 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 35mm equivalent lens.

At the back is a fully-articulating 3-inch touch display. The camera can record up to 4K at 3fps or a 1080p at up to 120fps. 

The body measures 105.5 x 60 x 43.5mm and weighs only 294 grams.

At a similar SRP of PHP 42,990, the ZV-E10 features nearly the same feature set as the ZV-1 but with an interchangeable lens system. This means users can use other E-mount lenses that they have or will purchase in the future with the ZV-E10. 

Fujifilm X-S10's vari-angle 180-degree articulating 3.0-inch touchscreen LCD

2. Fujifilm X-S10 - Priced at PHP 55,990, the X-S10 features a 26MP X-Trans sensor and X-Processor 4. It however has a smaller In-body image stabilization mechanism than the bigger X-T4. This allows for up to 6-stops of vibration reduction. 

The camera can capture 26MP stills in either JPEG or 14-bit RAW. It can also capture up to 4K at 30fps in 8-bit 4:2:0 internally and up to 10-bit 4:2:2 externally. Both photo and video are saved into the single UHS-I SD card slot.

At the back is the 1.04M-dot 3-inch LCD display and on top is the 2.36M-dot electronic viewfinder. 

It is Fujifilm's best compact vlogging camera yet!

Canon EOS M50 Mk II

4. Canon M50 Mk II - Priced at only PHP 36,998 for the Body only, the Canon M50 Mk II comes with a 24MP CMOS sensor with Dual Pixel AF. It has been upgraded to include Eye-detection. It can capture up to 7.4fps with the Servo AF.

It has an ISO range of 100 to 25600 and at the back is a 3-inch touch screen LCD. The camera can capture up to 4K at 24fps and 1080p at 60fps. 

Its unique feature is that it can live stream directly to YouTube.

Nikon Z50 Photo Courtesy: @photo_op_ph

5. Nikon Z50 - Priced at PHP 46,900 for the body only, the Nikon Z50  is a compact mirrorless camera with vlogging-focused features. It has a 21MP Back-side-illuminated sensor with the Expeed 6 processor. It has an ISO range of 100 - 204800.

It has a 3.2-inch 1.04M-dot tilting LCD display that can face the user for selfies and vlogging. At the back is the 2.36M-dot EVF. The camera can connect via Bluetooth, WiFi, micro HDMI, and micro USB.

It uses the EN-EL25 lithium-ion battery with a CIPA rating of 320 shots.

Best APS-C cameras

The new Vari-Angle touch display

1. Fujifilm X-T4 - Priced at PHP 96,990 for the body only, the Fujifilm X-T4 is the company's high-performance APS-C mirrorless in the SLR style form factor. It features the 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS sensor with the 5-axis In-body image stabilization and X-Processor 4. 

It is powered by the NP-W235 battery and is rated for over 500 shots per charge. It features a fast EVF and a new fully-articulating vari-angle touch screen. It can also capture 4K at 60fps and 1080p at 240fps slow motion.

Sony A6600

2. Sony A6600 - Priced at PHP 80,999, the A6600 is Sony's high-performance rangefinder-style mirrorless camera. It features a 24.2MP Exmor CMOS sensor with 5-axis optical image stabilization and BIONZ processor. It features Sony's industry-leading real-time tracking AF. It even tracks the eyes of animals in real-time. 

It can capture up to 14-bit RAW images and can record up to 4K at 30fps which saves into a single SD card slot. The camera is powered by the NP-FZ100 which is rated for over 720 shots per charge. 

Fujifilm X-Pro 3 with XF 33 F1.4

3. Fujifilm X-Pro 3 - With a starting price of PHP 104,990, the Fujifilm X-Pro 3 is the company's latest high-performance rangefinder-style camera. It features the 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and the X-Processor 4.

It features a 3.69M dot EVF display with 97 percent coverage and up to 100 fps refresh rate. At the back is a 1.62M dot 180-degree tilting touch screen display.

It can capture stills at up to 30fps with the electronic shutter with a 1.25x crop and up to 20fps without crop.

The camera charges via USB-C and is powered by the NPW-126S lithium-ion battery.

It is the perfect companion for street photography enthusiasts or rangefinder-style fans.

Best Full-frame cameras

Nikon Z6 II

1. Nikon Z6 II - Priced at PHP 125,900 for the body only, the Nikon Z6 II features a 24.5MP CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 100 to 204,800. It can shoot up to 14 fps continuous still shooting and can record up to 4K at 30fps video.

At the back are the 3.2-inch tilting touch display and an electronic viewfinder. It is powered by the EN-EL15c battery that is rated for up to 400 shots or up to 100 minutes of video recording.

Lastly, it connects via WiFi and Bluetooth and it saves the images and videos into a UHS-II SD card slot.

It offers practical improvements to the original Z6 which makes it one of the better full-frame cameras from Nikon for 2021.

Canon EOS R6

2. Canon EOS R6 - Priced at PHP 165,998 for the body only, the Canon EOS R6 is a powerhouse hybrid camera that can capture 21MP stills at up to 20fps continuously and capture 4K at 60fps 10-bit 4:2:2 with C-Log or HDR PQ internally. Other key features are the fully articulating touch screen, full coverage EVF, and the dual UHS-II SD card slots.

It is one of the best full-frame cameras from Canon that you can buy today.

Alpha 7 IV

3. Sony A7 IV - Priced at PHP 149,999 for the body only, the new Alpha 7 IV is the latest iteration of the company's Alpha series. It features a new 32MP Back-illuminated Exmor CMOS sensor that is paired with the Sony BIONZ XR image processing engine. Key features include ISO 50-204800, 15-stop dynamic range, 15-stop dynamic range, 10-bit HEIF still image format, and 10 presets + 8 Parameters for a creative look.

It can capture up to 4K at 60fps in 10-bit 4:2:2 video and up to FHD 120fps. It now comes with the new S-Cinetone for the cinematic look, S-Log3/S-Gamut3, Cine 15+ stops dynamic range. 

The camera comes with the real-time AF that Sony is known for but adds real-time AF for birds aside from humans and animals.

Best Medium Format Cameras

GFX 50S II's Medium Format 51.4MP sensor

1. Fujifilm GFX 50S II - Priced at PHP 223,990 for the body only, the GFX 50S II is one of the best options to enter the realm of digital medium format cameras. It features a large 51.4MP medium format CMOS sensor with contrast-detect AF and with the new 5-axis in-body image stabilization that the company claims to offer over 6.5-stops of vibration reduction. The sensor is paired with the X-Processor 4 that should improve AF.

It was not designed for video but it can capture up to 1080 at 30fps video and is powered by the new NP-W235 Li-ion battery.

It also includes a 3.2-inch tilting TFT LCD display and a 3.69M-dot EVF with 100 percent coverage. The camera saves the high-quality medium format image into two UHS-II card slots and is now available in the Philippines.

2. Fujifilm GFX 100s - Priced at just PHP 329,990, the new GFX 100S arrived in the Philippines earlier this year. It features the 102MP BSI CMOS 44 x 33mm medium format sensor with in-body image stabilization paired with the X-Processor 4. It can capture 100MP 16-bit RAW photos at up to 5fps and capture DCI or UHD 4K at 30fps video in either H.265 or H.264 at up to 400Mbps and at up to 10-bit 4:2:2 or 12-bit RAW video thru an external recorder.

The camera saves all photos and video into dual UHS-II SD card slots. At the back is a 2.36M 3.2-inch tilting touch display.

These two digital medium format cameras from Fujifilm are currently one of the more affordable digital Medium Format cameras available in the Philippines.

And there we have it. The top camera manufacturers have launched several new cameras that deserve to be on anyone's wishlist from vlogging cameras to professional cameras.

Do you agree with our list?

What do you guys think?