For many years, DSLRs were the crème de la crème of that space, and there are still plenty of excellent ones to purchase used for reasonable prices. However, if you want to truly step into the modern digital age, you are going to want to get yourself a mirrorless camera. These cameras eliminate a mirror inside the camera that would typically reflect light into your viewfinder and instead capture exactly what the sensor can see. With this change, cameras can be smaller and lighter, have increased autofocus abilities, give you a greater range of continuous shooting speeds, and typically give you much better video capabilities than a DSLR. A lot of hardcore photographers still prefer DSLRs, but mirrorless cameras are the true present of digital photography and are my preferred camera choice as someone who has been photographing since before my days in film school over a decade ago.

All the major camera manufacturers are producing mirrorless cameras, and if you want to get yourself a brand new one, you will probably be looking at spending a tremendous amount of money that you might not have. High-quality mirrorless cameras have been made for many years now, and there are many fantastic options out there to buy used. These may not necessarily be among the most popular of all mirrorless cameras, but they still can capture pristine images and even 4K video. Plus, they can help you save hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars. I am going to spotlight four mirrorless cameras that you should definitely check out based on my own experience and the opinions of trusted photography-based sources.