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Best Cameras For Car Photography [Top 5 Pick For Automotive Photographers]

best cameras for car photography

Personally, I’ve done a lot of automotive photography in the past, and I’ve worked with many different car dealerships. According to my experience and personal opinion, i think that the Canon EOS Rebel T6 is hard to beat when it comes to photographing cars, however there are also some other great options you can’t go wrong with.

The camera is a very important device nowadays. A well-rounded photographer can do many different genres, and some cars are a passion. Cameras are great for saving your memories in the shape of pictures that will last forever. Since the first-ever dslr camera was introduced, people were amazed, but at that time it was hard to use a dslr camera because of the large components. Nowadays cameras are very easy to use and people still love them.

There are many reasons why cameras are great. For instance, they give instant feedback, they are very easy to use and to carry on. Basically, they are one of the most popular devices in the world. They have made it possible to be able to remember and have flashbacks of things that happened in the past. Today the technology is very advanced and it has become very efficient to take pictures. Thanks to the digital cameras we can process of documenting through the picture to become mainstream. There are plenty of things that you should check out before buying a camera for car photography. However, if you are a professional, you already know which one is the best for you.

As you may know, cars are one of the most alluring objects to capture and people that love to take pictures of cars (Car Photography) know that this is one of the most desirable niches in the world of photography. That’s why we did our research and came up with our top 5 best cameras for car photography. Let’s check out our list and see if you can find the right camera for you.

Image Product Rating Price
Best For Beginners
Canon EOS Rebel T6
Canon EOS Rebel T6
 
10
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Best All-Purpose
Nikon D3400
Nikon D3400
 
9.8
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Best For Budget Videos
PANASONIC Lumix G7
PANASONIC Lumix G7
 
9.6
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Best For Videos
Canon EOS 80D
Canon EOS 80D
 
9.5
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Best High-End Option
Sony a7 III
Sony a7 III
 
9.2
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The Top 5 Best Cameras For Car Photography

5. Sony a7 III Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera 

The reason why this camera is preferred by many professional photographers is that it has a high-tech processing system and delivers stunning photos. It has plenty of more features and it is easy to use. You should know that the Sony a7 III Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera is one of the best in the market when it comes to car photography. This camera is packed with 24.2 MP EXMOR Back Screen Illuminate Full Frame Image sensors. It has plenty of more great features that you should check out and see if it is the camera that you were looking for.

It also has a 35mm sensor and an Iso up to 51200, which is great for picking up the minute details of the cars. You should also know that it comes with a Sony NP-FZ100 lithium-ion battery which is rechargeable and it can click more than 600 images on a full charge. There is no number of hours that this camera would last because it all depends on the shooting style.

I also noticed that the BIONZ X image processing system helps the camera a lot to have a 1.8 times faster processing capability and it also helps it to obtain two times faster data readout. It can produce great 4K HDR videos and it is suitable for a continuous burst of up to 10 fps. Also, eye AF is a great thing it can focus on moving subjects pretty well. This will come in handy for car photography, because as you know, cars are moving objects which are hard to capture with regular cameras. If you want a nice looking and performing camera to shoot cars with, make sure that you take a look at the Sony a7 III Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera, because its definitely capable of delivering a great image quality.

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4. PANASONIC Lumix G7 

Another great camera for car photography is the PANASONIC Lumix G7. This one is a very powerful camera that can take plenty of great pictures and videos. It is capable to record 4K videos with a variety of 4K photo functions. It features a 16-megapixel Digital Live MOS image sensor, a 3 inch 1040 K-dot Free-Angle Touch screen display, a high-speed dual OLED Live View Finder, 8 fps continuous shooting, and many more great thing that will help you a lot during your shooting days.

It is very easy to use and it has a pretty cool design. It is very easy to operate and feels very comfortable on hands. It has a nice textured plastic finish and it is very well-built. The chassis is made of high-quality aluminum and the metal tripod along with the metal lens mound look great. Something else that I should mention about this camera is that it comes at a very reasonable price.

You can change all of the menu options via the touchscreen interface, and you can control image playback by just touching the screen. You can magnify your images up to 16x, scroll through them, and tap a thumbnail to see the full-size version, which is a very important fact you should consider if your goal is car photography. It delivers images of excellent quality and it also produces noise-free images at ISO 100 to 1600. At this price point, you won’t get any better performing camera. Make sure to check this one out and see if it fits you best.

This camera is literally unstoppable if you pair it with a good lens for Panasonic Lumix G7.

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3. Canon EOS 80D Digital SLR Camera 

Moving on, we have a great camera by Canon. It is the Canon EOS 80D Digital SLR Camera. This one delivers some amazing features along with excellent specs. It is a small and compact camera that offers high-quality photos. The battery of this camera can last for up to 960 shots per single charge. It has many more great features that you should definitely check out.

It has a nice design and it feels great on hands. I should mention that the autofocus performance of this camera is just great and it comes from the contrast-detect sensor which makes use of the 45 AF points, in the end, they deliver super-fast focus points. I should also mention that this camera is packed with a 24MP APS C sized CMOS sensor that offers high-quality images. It can help you a lot in taking perfect shots of cars, thanks to the DIGIC 6 image processor.

This camera is not only great for car photography or other objects, but it is also great for any type of photography. It has plenty of great features and it is one of the best when it comes to Canons EOS lineup. If you want one of the best in the market, make sure to check out the EOS 80D, and see if it is the one you were looking for.

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2. Nikon D3400 DSLR 

The Nikon D3400 is a very popular camera for car photography. They have produced some amazing performing cameras, and one of them is the Nikon D3400 DSLR. This camera has a 3.0-inch display, with a 24.2-megapixel sensor and an EXPEED 4 image processor. Thanks to all these specs, you will be able to take some sharp, and nice-looking pictures.

It comes in a light and small construction and it looks very nice. The design of the camera makes it easy to hold and comfortable to fit in your hands. I should also mention that all the dials and buttons are placed in a convenient spot for easy usage. The optical viewfinder offers a 95% field of view which is amazing. It comes at a very inexpensive price and it makes up for a great entry-level DSLR.

The fact that this camera does not have 4K capabilities, is very disappointing, so if you are looking for a camera that has 4K capabilities, maybe you should take a look at the other picks. However, it still manages to satisfy us, thanks to the overall performance and the compact and nice-looking design. If you want one of the best cameras for car photography, take a look at the Nikon D3400, because it is worth the money.

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1.  Canon EOS Rebel T6 Digital SLR 

One of the best cameras for car photography is the Canon EOS Rebel T6 Digital SLR. As you may know, Canon is one of the best camera manufacturers in the market. The T6 has very nice 4k shooting capabilities, great autofocus system, amazing design and many more great features that any camera enthusiast would love. It looks so much like its predecessor and it is very compact.

The overall design of this camera is amazing and it feels so comfortable in hands. The built quality of the T7 is very solid, and it can last you for years. On top of the camera, you will notice that there sits a tilting LCD screen. The T6 is constructed with a combination of polycarbonate resin body and aluminum alloy which looks great. It has an 18.0 MP CMOS image sensor and DIGIC 4+ image processor. It really is one of the best in the market and you should check out all of its features.

Something else that I should mention is that this camera has a pretty great autofocus system. The nine-point autofocus system, that is arranged in a diamond pattern, and it performs great. The thing is that this autofocus system is not the best for moving objects, but it still does a great job. The image quality from this camera is hard to beat. If you want the best camera for car photography, make sure to check out the EOS Rebel T6.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How to take pictures of your car at night ?

The thing that you should do when it comes to car photography, is to find a nice spot and set the dslr camera up on a tripod. After you find the perfect spot you should set your ISO to 100, then the shutter speed on 30 seconds and the aperture to f/9. In the end, when the shutter opens you should take a strong contrast light source and walk around the car.

How do you photograph motion in a car?

To properly photograph motion in a car you should first use slow shutter speed. For example, something like 1/40 to make sure that the car is the main thing that is on focus with a big amount of motion blur.

How to capture motion and moving subjects?

There are somethings that you should capture motion and moving subjects. First, you should increase the aperture because that is the hole where light comes into the dslr camera into the image sensor. Then there is the shutter speed, which is very important, and also the last but not least the flash.

Can I sell a photo of a car?

The first thing you should do is to make sure that you take consent before you are taking the photographs. When the rights to privacy are concerned the act of taking photos can become a crime. Therefore you should take consent, after that you are free to take pictures of that particular car.

Verdict

In my opinion car photography is one of the most exciting and thrilling genres to shoot. It is not necessary to have access to supercars, you can also take some nice pictures and experiment fun things even if it’s your family car. As you may know, there are somethings that you should know before taking a photo of a car. First, you should pick the right spot. For that, you should spend some time scouting for car photography locations. Then you should think about what would be a great location that makes sense for the car. Also, a big factor is what kind of a camera you are using. 

If you’ve decided on the camera, you should also get a lens for car photography so you can complete your gear.

Taking pictures in bright sunshine might be a bit troubling because the highly reflective surfaces can be problematic to photograph. So an overcast day can be ideal to photograph cars, thanks to the background clouds that can add a big impact. There are plenty of more things that you should experiment and see when and where is the perfect place and weather to take photographs of a car because taking pictures of cars can get very satisfying. That’s why we made this list for you to see which one is best for you. I hope that our top 5 picks will help you a lot in making your final decision.

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