These are the best Sony cameras to buy in 2026 for photography and video

The range of best Sony cameras is one of the most broad, flexible and appealing in all of photography and video. Encompassing mirrorless and compact cameras in a range of sensor sizes, Sony’s catalogue is is extensive and broad, with options for all budgets – especially if you widen your search to include the second-hand market.

At AP, we test and review every new Sony camera that comes out. I’ve drawn on the results and scores from our full tests to put together this list, which includes the cameras that have highly impressed our team. This doesn’t just mean the most expensive models, as Sony produces plenty of excellent smaller cameras in its APS-C range, which provide a great shooting experience on a budget. At the bottom of this page, you can find a guide with a little help on how to choose the Sony camera that’s right for you.

Sony cameras can be fantastic for wildlife photography, or landscape photography, or just shooting photos for social media. You can click through on each entry to find our full reviews of each camera, complete with sample images – and remember to also have a look at the best Sony lenses to pair with your camera.

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Best Sony cameras at a glance:

Looking for the best deal on Sony cameras? Not only will you find the best Sony cameras, but you’ll also find some of the best Sony camera deals, as our ‘Buy now’ buttons are setup to automatically take you to the best prices, from trusted retailers, plus you’ll also find a list of other retailers below each camera, so you can find the right deal for you. If you want to get the best but save even more money, have a look for second-hand options for the camera that most suits you.

Read on to learn more about each of these excellent cameras…

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Best Sony camera for photography all round: Sony A7 V

Specifications at a glance:

Sony’s A7 cameras have always been its full-frame all-rounders, as opposed to the high-resolution A7R series, and the low-light specialist A7S line (both of which you’ll hear more about shortly). As such, these cameras are likely the members of the family that are going to suit the most photographers – and the Sony A7 V is the latest and greatest in the series.

Upgraded speeds

Having now finished our full review of the Sony A7 V, our technical editor Andy Westlake has awarded the camera the full five stars. The addition of a partially stacked sensor gives it the kinds of snappy responsiveness that characterises rival cameras from Nikon, while the comfortable 33MP resolution is on par with rivals like the Canon EOS R6 Mark III.

There’s a delightful feeling of slickness to the A7 V – the way it’s ready to go the instant you power it on, the way it can deliver completely silent and speedy shooting with its electronic shutter. The subject-detection and tracking in the autofocus system are practically seamless, with near-instant and reliable subject acquisition. Images are clean and wonderfully detailed, and we’ve managed to push the ISO up to 12,800 and still come away with good-looking shots.

Third-party lens issues

Some rumours were swirling around shortly after this camera’s launch that it had compatibility problems with third-party lenses – however, Andy looked into it with a thorough Sony A7 V third-party lens test, and had no problems with Sigma, Tamron and Zeiss lenses. There were some issues with Laowa and Samyang – however, firmware updates are already being issued to fix the problem.

Even so, the addition of a stacked sensor design has given the Sony A7 V the speed and versatility it needs to compete as one of the best all-rounder mirrorless cameras you can buy.

Best for: enthusiast photographers who want to shoot all kinds of subjects

Read our Sony A7 V review

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Best Sony camera for resolution: Sony A7R VI

Specifications at a glance:

The Sony A7R VI is the latest in the high-resolution line of A7R cameras. However, given that the A7R V boasts class-leading AI autofocus, increased buffer capacity and 8K video capability, the lines between different Sony cameras are becoming more and more blurred.

Whereas different Sony cameras used to be specialists in different areas, we’re seeing more cameras like the A7R VI and A1 that are simply good at everything – and are priced accordingly. Is this a good strategy? We’ll find out in the years to come, but in the meantime, the result is undeniably great cameras like the A7R VI.

66.8MP full frame sensor

So, what we get here is a lot more megapixels than the 61MP sensor of its predecessor and the Sony A7R IV. This is a headline feature to consider, given that it brings much faster continuous shooting as a result.

Elsewhere on the camera is a super-fast autofocus system with enhanced subject detection powered by an AI processing unit. It’s capable of recognising a huge range of subjects, including cars, trains, airplanes, insects, and the usual human, animal, and bird. It’s important to note, though, that the A7R VI is not quite on the same level as the A1 II when it comes to capturing demanding sports and action photography.

Low-res shooting options

Stabilisation has been dramatically improved, now delivering up to 8.5 stops of effective exposure compensation with the right lens. Users also have more image recording options to help manage those huge 66.8MP files, including lossless raw compression, and lower resolution options (26MP and 15MP) for those times you don’t need all that detail.

It all adds up to a hell of a camera. Is it worth $4,498/£4,500? That’s up to the individual user. Our conclusion in our review was as follows: Despite its quirks, though, ultimately the A7R VI is yet another startlingly accomplished camera from Sony. It brings very real improvements over its predecessor, and is now much more of an all-rounder, rather than being mainly a high-res specialist. If you want the very best possible image quality available from full-frame, coupled with a very healthy dose of speed, then just right now, this is it.

Best for: making large prints

Read our Sony A7R VI review.

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Best Sony camera for beginner vlogging: Sony ZV-E10 II

Specifications at a glance:

The Sony ZV cameras are designed specifically for vloggers – while they can shoot stills, it’s not their primary purpose, and a camera like the ZV-E10 II is definitely prized for its video capabilities. A lightweight mirrorless model sporting an APS-C sensor, the ZV-E10 II is priced and pitched towards amateur vloggers, perhaps those who are looking for their first serious video camera. As the name implies, it’s Sony’s second run at this model, and the Mark II version comes with lots of welcome improvements that make it superior to the original ZV-E10.

One is the inclusion of the NP-FZ100 battery, as opposed to the NP-FW50 on the previous model, providing much greater battery capacity that allows the camera to keep on shooting for longer before needing a charge. The autofocus is also improved, though it lacks the AI-powered subject detection systems we’ve seen on other new cameras, and the body of the camera has a larger handgrip that makes it more comfortable to hold.

Ideal for run-and-gun vloggers

While it’s lightweight enough to use handheld, the ZV-E10 II brings some serious video capabilities to the party. It inherits its Exmor BSI CMOS imaging sensor from the Sony FX30, a cinema camera, and it also boasts plenty of other features that make it a much more powerful video companion, such as LUT import. LUTs (Look Up Tables) are essential preset colour settings for video that allow you to give your footage specific looks, saving time in post-processing.

The ZV-E10 II is also much more mobile than its predecessor thanks to one big issue being fixed – the rolling shutter that plagued the original ZV-E10 has been much improved, making panning shots much more achievable. Phase-detection autofocus coverage is also even more comprehensive, meaning you can acquire and keep focus even on moving subjects. For newbie vloggers, there are a few handy time-saving modes it’s worth getting to know, such as Product Showcase and Background Defocus.

Best for: vloggers who want an agile, portable rig

Read our Sony ZV-E10 II first-look review.

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Best APS-C Sony all round: Sony A6700

Specifications at a glance:

The Sony A6700 is the latest model in Sony’s line-up and replaces the previous flagship A6600 model. It has a new 26MP sensor first seen in the company’s FX30 cinema camera, but in body designed for hybrid shooting – i.e. both stills and video photography. The body is slightly thicker than the previous Sony A6600 but still very compact, thanks to its ‘rangefinder’ design which incorporates an electronic viewfinder set into the back corner rather than mounted on the top of the body.

AI processor

This is a camera designed for video as well as stills, and it offers a big step up in technical specifications, notably the ability to capture full-width (no crop) 4K video and 30p and 60p oversampled from the camera’s full 7K resolution, and even 4K 120p video, albeit with a crop. This camera incorporates Sony’s latest AI-driven subject-detect autofocus and the dedicated AI processor first seen in the mighty Sony A7R V.

The A6700 is a very mighty camera indeed, and the only thing stopping it from hitting top spot in our list is its handling and controls, which are improved over previous versions but still sometimes frustrating.

Best for: vloggers, hybrid content creators and filmmakers

Read our Sony A6700 review.

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Best Sony camera for professionals: Sony A1 II

Specifications at a glance:

The original Sony A1 was one of the first monster ‘do-everything’ professional mirrorless cameras. No longer would pros have to choose between speed and resolution – here was the camera that could handle both. The Sony A1 II consolidates and builds on that legacy. It’s the most advanced camera Sony has ever made, and unquestionably the choice for Sony-using pros – but it comes at a sky-high price, and that complicates the picture somewhat.

The Sony A1 II is very similar to the A1, offering a 50MP stacked sensor design, with 30fps burst shooting, a maximum shutter speed of 1/32,000sec, 1/400sec flash sync and 8K 30p video. The improvements are mostly in the autofocus, with Sony having incorporated a new AI processor that brings its subject-detection autofocus modes bang up to date. The clever system – able to recognise humans, animals, vehicles and many other specific subjects – is much faster than it was before, and has an auto detection mode rather than needing the subject to be pre-selected. Also, with 759 selectable focus points and 92% frame coverage, you’ll be fine getting the shot even without the AI system. Pros will also want to note that the A1 II has a built-in ethernet port for fast image downloads.

A competitive field

So, yes, the Sony A1 II is one of the most advanced cameras around, and certainly the best Sony camera. However, it comes at an absolutely sky-high price, costing significantly more than comparable mirrorless rivals like the Nikon Z8 and the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, and it doesn’t really do a lot of things better than those cameras. Certainly not enough to justify such a hike.

We gave the Sony A1 II a full five stars in our review, because it is a five-star camera. However, the full picture is a little complicated because it’s only really worth the buy if you’re a pro who’s heavily invested in the Sony E-mount system. If not, then it’s hard to escape from the fact that this camera is almost double the price of the Nikon Z8, and does not offer double the capability.

Best for: big-budget pros

Read our Sony A1 II review.

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Best Sony camera for sports photography: Sony A9 III

Specifications at a glance:

Sony shook up sports and action photography with its blisteringly fast A9, and later consolidated its victory with the improved A9 II. From there, the line went a bit quiet, and the release of the fast-shooting Sony A1 led some to question whether the A9 line was being gently retired. Nope! The Sony A9 III made its spectacular debut at the tail end of 2023 — the first full-frame camera with a global shutter sensor, allowing it to expose and read out every single pixel simultaneously, rather than line by line as in other sports cameras.

What this means in real terms is no rolling shutter distortion due to rolling shutter, no banding artefacts in artificial light, and flash sync available at all shutter speeds without needing to use a power-sapping high-speed sync mode. Pair all this with an incredible, capable continuous shooting and autofocus system that allows for shooting at up to 120fps with full AF tracking and no viewfinder blackout, and you start to see what an incredibly capable sports camera this is.

A true specialist

Of course, that’s just what it is — an incredible sports camera. It’s specialised to the point where its native base ISO is 250 and its resolution is a comparatively low 24.6MP. These numbers make perfect sense for sports shooters, who generally use higher ISOs to compensate for fast shutter speeds, and don’t need extra resolution that is mostly just going to slow down the process of sending files to sports desks. For anyone else though, this is something of a detriment, especially in a camera with a price tag of $6,800 / £5,800 body-only. For this reason, the Sony A9 III is a near-perfect camera for professional sports shooters, but not particularly suitable for anybody else.

Best for: sports pros

Read our Sony A9 III review.

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Best camera for beginners: Sony A6400

Specifications at a glance:

With a 24.2 MP APS-C sensor the A6400 offers beginners excellent image quality in almost any situation without needing to step into a full-frame system with its greater cost and complexity. It is also a solid resolution for cropping in and printing. As a crop sensor camera it is also relatively compact and lightweight at 400g (body only) making it ideal for someone shifting from mobile photography.

One of the biggest advantages the A6400 offers beginners is its autofocus performance with an astonishingly good subject-tracking autofocus. Backed by a reliable focusing system you focus more on composing and learning creative aspects of photography rather than worrying about whether or not your shot was in focus. It is also reassuring to pick a system that has good selection of available lenses, and there is a generous selection of Sony’s E-mount lenses available for the A6400.

Read our full review of the Sony A6400

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Best Sony camera for video: Sony A7S III

Specifications at a glance:

The full-frame Sony A7S cameras were originally introduced as low-light photography specialists. However, they were quickly adopted by the videography community, and Sony leant into this, producing successor models with better and better video specs. 

The A7S III boasts all the refined handling the series is known for, but brings a newly designed back-illuminated Exmor-R sensor to the party. This means faster readout speeds, cleaner ISO performance, better phase-detection focusing and much more.

While it’s not an 8K camera, the A7S III captures 4K video at up to 120fps, with 10-bit 4:2:2 colour and All-I compression at 600Mbps. It looks superb, and thanks to the camera’s improved internal structure, it dissipates heat effectively for long recording times (Sony claims at least an hour of 4K 60p). There’s a huge suite of video options, including Log profiles, 24-bit internal audio recording – we could go on. Suffice to say, this is the full package when it comes to video.

Class-leading viewfinder

A somewhat surprising standout feature of this camera is an absolutely divine electronic viewfinder. With 9.44m dots of resolution, it’s an absolute monster for brightness and detail, and firmly puts to bed any lingering arguments about DSLR optical viewfinders being superior. This is just light-years ahead.

Sony also, thankfully, overhauled the menu system. This might sound like a trivial point, but Sony cameras have for years been held back by their ungainly, unintuitive menu systems, and the touch interface of the A7S III is a total breath of fresh air.

Best for: Video and vlogging

Read our full Sony A7S III review.

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Best Sony for travel photography: Sony RX100 VII / VIIA

Specifications at a glance:

Sony’s most recent and possibly final RX100 compact camera, the RX100 VII is a pocket-sized premium compact, boasting 20.1-MP, 1-inch type Exmor RS CMOS sensor and Sony’s Bionz X processing engine. It has a lot going for it and produces excellent imagery, but also suffers from some design flaws that have plagued the series since its inception. Bear in mind that you will also see it sold as the RX100 VIIA – this is the hasty reskin Sony put together to comply with EU rules about USB charging, the solution being to remove the micro USB port’s ability to charge the camera, rather than upgrading it to USB-C.

Otherwise, this is a solid premium compact. It’s got the same 24-200mm lens as the previous RX100 VI, and covers a great focal range. It also packs in plenty of high-end features for a camera in this class; the real-time Eye AF and Real-time Tracking systems are very effective at holding focus on subjects during stills and video shooting.

Slip it in your pocket

The little Sony RX100 VII is super compact and pocketable, meaning it’s ideal for city breaks and hikes as it won’t add much weight to your bag. The pop-up viewfinder is a nice touch as well, and 4K video at 25p with full pixel readout is super handy. The only downside is that its astonishing feature set is crammed inside a body and interface design that does little justice to it. It’s a difficult camera to hold and use – fiddly unless you have very tiny hands. It’s also still quite expensive for a camera that would otherwise quite well-suit being someone’s second body – do many people have four-figure sums to spend on their holiday camera?

That said, in our review, we were consistently impressed by how much technology was packed into the RX100 VII’s tiny body, saying, ‘This is, without doubt, the most accomplished pocket camera on the market.

Best for: world-explorer photographers who travel light

Read our Sony RX100 VII review.

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Best Sony camera for travel vlogging: Sony ZV-1 Mark II

Specifications at a glance:

While it seems unlikely that Sony will produce any more stills-focused compact cameras in the near future, in the vlogging world these cameras are having something of a renaissance. Enter from stage left the Sony ZV-1 Mark II, the latest release from Sony and a successor to the popular, vlogger-oriented ZV-1.

This isn’t so much a replacement for that camera as it is an update. The ZV-1 II offers a similar feature set in a lot of ways, fielding a 20MP 1-inch type CMOS sensor, a flip-around touchscreen.

Zoom range

The key difference though is in the lens – the ZV-1 II’s lens is significantly wider than that of the ZV-1, covering an 18-50mm equivalent focal range compared to 25-70mm equivalent. This makes it wide enough for arm’s length vlogging – a criticism levelled at the ZV-1 – and is unique among zoom compact cameras generally, making the ZV-1 Mark II potentially an interesting camera for stills shooters too.

Naturally, it comes with drawbacks. While you do still get an f/1.8 maximum aperture, this drops to f/2.8 once you zoom past 24mm and f/4 at 35mm. This means you get less in the way of attractive background blur, even when you’ve activated Sony’s Background Defocus mode. This certainly isn’t a ruinous issue, but if you do want to capture images with a shallow depth of field and the background nicely thrown out, the original (and significantly cheaper) ZV-1 may be a better choice.

Ultimately though, this is still one of the best cameras for vloggers. In our review we appreciated how Sony has overhauled the touch interface to make the camera much easier to use, and the new directionality settings on the built-in mics. Vloggers are unlikely to be disappointed with this one.

Best for: vloggers and aspiring YouTubers

Read our Sony ZV-1 Mark II review.

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Best used Sony cameras

Here’s a selection of Sony cameras which are no longer sold new but can be strongly recommended as used buys. There are plenty of these on the used camera market, often in excellent or as-new condition and showing few signs of wear. If your main interest is video, you might be better off going for one of the new Sony cameras above, but if you are principally interested in stills photography, these models deliver much of the resolution and performance of current models, but at a fraction of the price.

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Best budget full-frame Sony camera: Sony A7 III

Specifications at a glance:

Now two generations old, the Sony A7 III is an all-rounder full-frame mirrorless camera that cost $2,000 / £2,000 on release in 2018, and nowadays can be picked up for around $1,100 / £850 on the second-hand market. That’s a serious saving, and while you will have to make do without a few ultra-modern conveniences, this is still an excellent mirrorless camera that can turn its hand to most subjects, and should definitely be high on the list of consideration for budget-conscious photographers who are looking to make their way into Sony’s full-frame mirrorless system.

Solid all-round feature-set

At the heart of the Sony A7 III is a 24.2MP back-illuminated full-frame CMOS sensor. This resolution might sound low by today’s standards, but it’s still realistically going to be more than adequate for the majority of photographic applications. The A7 III may not have flashy AI-powered subject-recognition, but its 693-point phase-detection autofocus system is still really darn good, able to reliably track and lock onto even fast-moving subjects. It pairs well with the 10fps burst rate – which, again, is slower than the top burst rates you see today, but is still plenty fast enough to capture the vast majority of subjects.

With a topline video spec of 4K 30p, the A7 III probably isn’t the best choice as a vlogging camera – you can definitely spend the same amount elsewhere and get 4K 60p. However, even at eight years of age, it’s a mean photographic all-rounder that gives you access to the superb range of Sony E-mount lenses, and could provide you with many years of happy shooting.

Learn more about the Sony A7 III

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Best Sony bridge camera: Sony Cyber-Shot RX10 IV

Specifications at a glance:

The Sony RX10 IV is one of the most powerful bridge cameras ever made. A great, self-contained choice for wildlife photography, it pairs a 20.1MP 1-inch sensor with a 24-600mm (equivalent) f/2.4-4 lens, and also sports an incredibly capable autofocus system that consistently nails moving subjects.

The asking price has come down since launch, making the RX10 IV a much more tempting prospect than it was in the past. Those who want a marriage of image quality and convenience in a camera should really consider the RX10 IV; however, it has been increasingly difficult to find on the second-hand market.

Impressive up to 600mm

In our testing, we found that the sensor/lens combination delivers excellent image quality across the board. Many bridge cameras offer an enormous shooting range, but in practice their image quality is overly compromised at the extreme ends of their big lenses. No such issues here – you can push the Sony RX10 IV to 600mm and still get great images, though there is some fall-off if you stop down past f/8.

Our verdict? ‘The Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV sets a new standard for all-in-one superzoom models. If you’re interested in getting an all-in-one travel camera, or simply want to photograph your local wildlife without needing to buy a huge zoom lens for a DSLR, it’s the best you can buy.‘

Best for: wildlife photographers who want an all-in-one package

Read our Sony RX10 IV review.

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Best used Sony camera for beginners: Sony A6000

Specifications at a glance:

This fantastic camera has been around since 2014, and the fact that it’s still one of the best mirrorless cameras for beginners is an indicator of how many things Sony got right with it. The Sony A6000 kicked off an entire series of APS-C mirrorless cameras for enthusiasts, and over the years its price has come down to the point where it’s one of the best budget cameras you can buy. There are also plenty of E-mount lenses designed specifically for APS-C cameras, so you won’t feel short-changed when it comes to the glass.

Competitive specs

It’s amazing how many of the A6000’s specs are still competitive today. The autofocus system can acquire a subject in as little as 0.06 seconds, and the burst mode can manage 11fps – all of which is more than enough for speedy action photography. The only area where the A6000 has started to fall behind is video, as it pre-dates the 4K boom, and doesn’t have a mic jack.

In our review when the A6000 came out, we said, ‘Top-spec technology and a host of cutting-edge features may just see the Alpha 6000 mirror the longevity and success of its predecessor and keep it competitive in years to come.‘ Not to toot our own horns, but we called that one pretty well.

Best for: cash-conscious beginners and enthusiasts

Read our Sony A6000 review.

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Specifications compared

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How to choose the best Sony camera

Recent updates

• May 2026: Replaced Sony A7R V with Sony A7R VI, released in May. Specifications tables updated.
• March 2026: Added the Sony A7 III as the best second-hand full-frame choice for budget-conscious shooters.
• January 2026: Sony A7 V replaces the Sony A7 IV as the best full-frame camera overall, based on the initial findings from our in-progress review.
• December 2025: Sony A7R II removed from “best used” list, as it would make more sense to look for one of the newer models available, from reputable second-hand retailers.
• November 2025: several cameras removed that were judged to no longer merit inclusion, Sony A6400 added as best camera for beginners, and Sony RX10 IV has been moved to best second-hand Sony cameras, as it is no longer available new.
• September 2025: prices updated, no new cameras added as Sony’s last new camera was released three months ago. The Sony DSC RX1R III, released in July, is undergoing our rigorous testing process, so you can expect to see our full review online soon.

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Found your perfect Sony camera? Why not have a look at some of our choices for the best Sony lenses (E-mount), have a look at our other buying guides, and our latest reviews, for more great products.

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