Having the best camera for food photography could be the difference between a blog post that’s read and shared or not. Here are some of the best cameras you can use.
How do you pick the best camera for food photography? There is plenty of equipment on the market, each with unique features. This can make choosing an appropriate camera or lens quite challenging. I’ll help you narrow down your options with this list of my favorite mirrorless cameras for food photography—from point and shoot to DSLR.
If you’re interested in starting a food blog, then understand that you’ll require some gear. And while you could get by with your phone or cheap point-and-shoot, I recommend going with a traditional camera if possible.
Best camera for food photography and video
In this post we’re looking at the best mirrorless camera for food photography. You should be able to take fantastic photos of your food when cooking, but with a slightly different type of camera than you would use for landscapes. The main reason you have an SLR is for long time exposures and low light situations, but when it comes to photographing food, you don’t always have time for that. Having the best mirrorless camera for food photography means you can capture those precious moments without having to wait ages for them to develop!
I’ve been working as a food blogger for the past couple of years and have tried many different cameras. I’ve used the likes of Nikon, Canon and Olympus cameras but the most recent one that I fell in love with was the Sony Mirrorless E-mount Alpha 7000. After using this camera I switched to it over my older camera and haven’t looked back since. As a blogger, food photography is important because there are so many social media sites (e.g. instagram) that want to see that you’re really getting some good food shots which then brings more traffic your way.
These days, everyone is interested in food photography. From bloggers to food lovers and professional chefs to home cooks, everybody loves food! In fact, the whole world is crazy about what they eat on a daily basis. Well ladies and gents, it’s high time we also take a look at these most important culinary items. And you’re invited for an expedition into our kitchen today!
It can be difficult to know which camera you should buy if you’re new to food photography. So, what is the best camera for food photography?
Best mirrorless camera for food photography
As a food and still life photographer, you won’t need a lot of the bells and whistles that modern cameras offer.
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Let’s take a look at some things to consider when you’re shopping for a new device. Then we’ll show you a few of our picks for the best cameras for food photography, at different price points.
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What to Consider When Shopping for a Food Photography Camera
Size of the Sensor
The first thing to think about when you’re on the hunt for a new camera is the size of the sensor.
Will you buy a camera with a cropped sensor, or will you invest in a full-frame?
Your budget might be the biggest factor in determining your choice.
A cropped sensor is cheaper for the manufacturer to make. This makes good digital cameras available to a wide variety of consumers at every price point. These are often referred to as “prosumer” cameras.
You can take great pictures with a cropped sensor device. The issue is that your camera and lenses will behave differently with a cropped sensor than a full-frame.
A full-frame device matches the 35mm cropped standard of a traditional film camera. It has a sensor size of 24mm x 36mm. A cropped sensor is smaller than this. It doesn’t match most lenses and the final images look different.
Every camera has a crop factor. This is a number used to describe how much the device is cropping your image in relation to the standard 35mm. Most full-frame cameras tend to have a crop factor of 1. Others like the Canon 1Dx come with a 1.3 format factor.
For example, I started out shooting food photos with an APS-C Canon EOS camera, which has a crop factor of 1.6.
This means that you multiply 1.6x times the equivalent focal length of your lens to get the actual focal length that it will look like your pictures were taken at.
So on a Canon Rebel, a 50mm lens behaves more like an 80 mm. This is a lens that works wonderfully to shoot food on a full-frame camera.
No wonder so many food bloggers recommend the 50mm as a great all-around food photography lens!
This isn’t necessarily true, especially if your camera is full-frame.
File Size
These days, most digital cameras have large file sizes. But the file size is something to be aware of if you ever want to print your images.
If you’re a food blogger, you often shoot images for the web only. But what if you want to write a cookbook one day, or license your food photos through stock agencies? You’ll need to make sure that your camera can accommodate large file size.
This usually means at least 3000 pixels on the short side.
Also, be sure that the camera you choose is capable of shooting RAW files.
Some photographers start shooting JPEG files. Then they move on to shooting RAW when they feel they have developed their skills. But I urge everyone to start shooting RAW and learning to edit as soon as possible.
RAW files are basically a digital negative. They can withstand endless editing without having data loss, unlike a JPEG file. The quality of a JPEG file is downgraded with every edit.
They also pack thousands of times more information and colour luminance. This gives you an endless amount of freedom in how you approach your post-processing.
Unless food photography is strictly a hobby for you, I would make sure that the camera body you choose can shoot RAW files.
ISO Level
When you shoot food photography, you should be working on a tripod most of the time. But there will be cases where you will need to handhold your camera. Like when shooting food photography in a restaurant or on location at a vineyard or a farm.
This is when your ISO becomes very important. You will need a camera that can handle a relatively high level of noise.
Despite advances in camera technology, using high ISO absolutely does degrade image quality.
If you’re shooting in the scenarios mentioned above, be sure to test how far you can push your ISO before the shoot.
Post-processing programs like Lightroom, and the noise reduction plugin called Dfine can reduce noise in an image. But they cannot completely rescue an image of poor quality.
Number of Focus Points
This is one of the biggest factors that has influenced my decision about which camera to get when making new purchases for food photography.
Some photographers focus on using manual mode. I have less than perfect vision, so I need to rely on automatic focusing.
Plus, it’s very easy to miss focus completely even if you’re off just a tad while engaging manual focus.
Let’s say that you have a camera with only nine focus points. The odds are that there will be many times that you can’t get the focus point where you need it. This can be very frustrating.
Popular Cameras for Food Photography
Canon Rebel T6i
If you have less than $500.00 to spend, you might go for a camera with a kit lens. Like the Canon Rebel with an 18-55 mm zoom lens.
A kit consists of a camera with a lens at a single price. The lenses are cheap quality. But this kit is an option if you’re strapped for cash.
Otherwise, I would recommend buying only the camera body and the “nifty-fifty” Canon’s F1.8 50mm lens. You can purchase for a low price, and it is a much better option. The quality is great relative to the price.
Together, these will only be a bit more expensive than the kit option but will deliver on quality.
This camera has some handy features, like a tilt screen and a touch screen.
It has a 24-megapixel sensor and goes up to 12,800 in ISO and has 19 focus points.
Nikon D3400
When looking for the best camera for food photography, always consider different brands.
Comparable to the Canon Rebel T6i, the Nikon D3400 is also a great entry-level DSLR. It has 11 focus points, a 24-megapixel sensor.
While it has many of the same specs as the Canon, the battery life is almost three times as long, which is a nice bonus.
But it doesn’t have wi-fi connectivity. Instead, it offers Bluetooth to transfer images to a smartphone via an app called SmartBridge.
Canon 6D Mark II
This is your entry into the full-frame market. It’s the most inexpensive DSLR full-frame camera that Canon manufactures. That’s why it’s a very popular camera for food photography.
It has a 45-point Autofocus system, 26.2-megapixel sensor, and goes up to 40000 ISO (50-102800 expanded).
One of the biggest selling points of the 6D Mark II is its ability to shoot in low light. The system is sensitive down to -3EV. It also benefits from Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF, which means that there are phase detection pixels built into the image sensor. This results in more accurate autofocus even in low light conditions.
This can be extremely useful if you shoot food photos in natural light.
Canon 5D Mark IV
The Canon EOS 5D lineup has been a popular choice for food photographers for a long time. It’s a fantastic all-around camera to have and a real workhorse.
In fact, this camera is one of the most used and best cameras in the digital age.
I’ve worked with these cameras ever since I decided to go pro and I have never regretted it.
The Mark IV is the latest of the 5D EOS cameras. It offers a 61-point AF system with 41 cross-type sensors, and up to 32000 IS0 (expandable to 50-102400).
It is also the first Canon full-frame camera that can focus in Live View while capturing the photos.
If you’re looking for versatility, there is the best camera out there. This one can take your food photography to the next level.
Nikon D850
This is Nikon’s equivalent to the Canon 5D Mark IV.
It has a bigger, 45.7-megapixel sensor, and it also offers Wi-Fi compatibility as the Canon does. The two cameras are matched in many areas. But the Nikon offers an extended battery life.
Comparing any two cameras between brands means that each has its pros and cons. My suggestion is to compare all of the specs if you’re not sure which brand has the best camera for food photography.
Canon 5DS
This model is on the pricey side. If you’re on the pro level, this 50.6-megapixel device will deliver more resolution and sharpness than any food photographer could hope for.
Only slightly higher-priced than the Canon 5D Mark IV, the 5DS goes to 6400 ISO (expandable to 50-12800). It offers 61 autofocus points as well as contract detection. This is an excellent camera for food photography if you are shooting in low light.
It has the same autofocusing system that you find in Canon’s flagship sports camera.
Sony A7 Mark III
I would be remiss to not mention a mirrorless camera when talking about the best cameras for food photography.
It is becoming clear that mirrorless cameras are getting more and more powerful.
I know some food photographers that have sold off their Canon and Nikon gear and moved over to a mirrorless system with thrilling results.
Although the Sony A7 Mark III is thought of as a basic model, it’s an excellent full-frame camera. It offers image quality, high resolution, and a wide variety of features.
It has a 24-megapixel sensor and a touch screen. It boasts 93% autofocus coverage with 693 phase-detection points, 423 points for contrast-detection! There is an autofocus point in every bit of the screen. For a food photographer, this is worth the price of admission alone.
The autofocus system is lifted from Sony’s advanced A9 pro sports model. Also, the Sony A7 Mark III is one of the best low-light cameras on the market.
If you buy an adapter, you can even use lenses you have purchased from other brands.
How to Shop for Used Gear
I recommend buying used gear if you do so through a reputable dealer.
In fact, my main camera body is a pre-loved Canon 5D Mark III that I bought at an unbeatable price. It’s an older camera, and the Canon 5D Mark IV has already been out for some time. But it’s still an excellent camera that does the job.
When you’re buying gear, the lenses matter much more than the camera body.
Lens sharpness and quality have the biggest impact on how your images turn out. This is where you need to direct most of your budget.
The good news is that you don’t need a lot of lenses to take a variety of great food pictures.
When shopping for used equipment online, make sure that the seller has a lot of positive feedback in relation to the number of transactions. This is usually a good sign.
I would recommend buying from a store as opposed to an individual.
Make sure that the camera comes with a 30-day warranty. And be wary of where it is being shipped from so that you don’t end up paying high shipping fees.
Be aware that there are a lot of knockoffs of Canon and Nikon bodies being sold from China on places like eBay. Make sure that the feedback is close to 100% in relation to the transactions.
I buy my used gear locally from a dealer so I can personally inspect what I’m purchasing.
If you’re buying online, make sure that the image shown is a picture of the actual camera. Or you can end up getting a body that is scratched or otherwise haggard looking.
Conclusion
If you want to photograph food professionally, go for a full-frame camera if your budget allows for this. Buy a used one from a reputable dealer, if you can’t afford to buy a new device.
If you’re shooting in-studio, you will need to have two cameras with you, in case one of them malfunctions.
This is a very real possibility, one that I’ve seen in the past, as a photographic assistant.
There is nothing worse than having your camera stop working while a whole team of people depend on you to get the job done.
Are you new to food photography and shooting for your blog or website? Then you might want to start with a budget-friendly cropped-sensor camera.
You can upgrade to full-frame as your skills improve, and you make decisions about the direction you want to take your photography in.
