The best retro-feel cameras to kickstart your photography hobby

High-end smartphones may be able to create stunning photos, but they still can’t match the tactile feel or rich results of a real camera. These days, options run the gamut from bulky professional DSLRs to true throwback analogue film shooters. But the best sweet spot for anyone who wants an old-school vibe with modern convenience is a compact mirrorless.

I’m not a professional photographer, but I do enjoy the practice of getting good shots with a manually controlled camera rather than using my phone.

So I set out to the find the best new cameras that have the classic SLR look and feel, and plenty of chunky physical controls, but also make it easy to learn at your own pace or apply in-camera filters so you can post direct to social media without processing through an app first.

The four cameras below have various “body only” recommended retail prices. But since you need at least one lens, and since they’re all found for less than RRP online, I’ve also included the price you should expect to pay at a retailer for a full kit. Sample shots are representative of what I got straight from the camera.

Camera 1: The king of classic SLR style

Fujifilm is no stranger to compact good-looking shooters with a balance of control and autonomy, but its brand new X-T30 III tilts the scale a little more towards the point-and-shoot mentality you might favour if you’re coming from a phone.

I love the three big chunky dials on top and the clicky command wheels front and back, which make important adjustments a tactile experience rather than a menu item you tap.

But the reality is you can leave the switch pointing to “auto” and ignore almost all of it if you like; the camera will change settings and load a scene mode based on what it thinks it’s looking at. The dials you will want to pay attention to are the exposure compensation on the right, and on the left something relatively unique; a dial that lets you cycle between Fuji’s film simulation modes.

These are essentially complex filters that mimic the use of different physical films, including vivid and monochrome options. You can also dive into the settings to alter these and save them as a custom “recipe”, and place them on one of three custom spots on the dial. Fuji enthusiasts share their recipes online, so it’s easy to find some you like to copy into your camera.

Elsewhere, I like that the X-T30 III has a small built-in flash and a nice viewfinder, and traditionalists will enjoy the little joystick for focus instead of buttons, though I’m not a fan of the fixed touchscreen. The camera uses Fujifilm’s X-mount, which has plenty of lenses to choose from, but the camera itself has no image stabilisation so you have to stick with OIS lenses. The lens included in the kit is an extraordinarily wide 13-33mm F3.5-6.3, which you’ll love if you tend to use the ultrawide camera on your phone, but might find a little short if you like to zoom in.

Camera 2: More features for a similar price

My personal favourite of the bunch comes from OM, the company that acquired the Olympus camera business in 2021. The OM-5 II is a beautiful machine with a chunkier, slightly heftier build that feels great to grip. It lacks the built-in flash and dedicated film emulation settings of the Fuji, but it has in-body image stabilisation, is fully weather-sealed so you can shoot in the rain (with a weather sealed lens) and has a rotating LCD so you can stow it away for protection or flip it out for selfies. Plus, its Micro Four Thirds lens system makes for smaller, lighter, cheaper zoom lenses and uses the same mount as some Panasonic cameras.

The viewfinder and array of controls may make the OM-5 II look like a miniaturised old-school SLR, but it’s up to you how you want to use them. One dial is a traditional drive mode, which if you’re like me will stay in auto or P most of the time, and two others are customisable control wheels, which you could set for shutter or aperture in the more hands-on drive modes.

If you like filters, there are some rudimentary ones in the “art” mode, but they’re not as nice as Fuji’s film simulations. On the other hand, the HDR mode is great if you want to get sky and foreground exposed in the same shot, and there are computational photography modes that work really well, including a 50MP high-res shot. Just expect each one to take a sec to process.

There are lots of Micro Four Thirds lenses available, and I love the 12-45mm F4 Pro that comes in the kit. It’s weather-sealed, and keeps its light and sharpness at every zoom level. I really enjoy taking manual focus shots with the OM-5 II, but if the camera has a weakness overall it’s that for autofocus you’re pretty much limited to single or continuous mode. There’s a face and eye tracking mode, but I didn’t find it very reliable and you can’t override it if it sticks to the wrong person. Single autofocus works great.

Camera 3: A step into the social media era

The obvious Panasonic alternative to the cameras above is the LUMIX G97, a Four Thirds model that’s a little older and cheaper but shares many of the same features. Unfortunately, Panasonic didn’t have one available for testing but suggested its S9 instead. I was a bit uncertain at first because, while it absolutely has classic styling, the S9 is clearly aimed towards social media and other video-first use cases. It has no viewfinder, minimal physical controls and a very flat grip-free build. Plus, its higher price and full frame sensor (using the Leica L-mount) puts it in a different class. Yet, I tested it as a stills camera and was pretty impressed.

The S9’s take on filters is the most technical yet, with a dedicated button labelled LUT, an acronym for lookup table. These are bits of code which dictate how an image should look, and it’s essentially a way to filter or colour grade your photos and videos instantly. The camera can hold dozens of LUTs, which you can define yourself or download from other sources and creators, with the idea being that images can go straight to socials without grading or editing. And it works well, especially since the camera produces such big and bright results.

I didn’t find the S9 as satisfying to use as the other cameras. Its flat body is hard to grip, it has no viewfinder, and only one control wheel. The directional buttons double as a wheel, but it’s so sensitive I tended to move it accidentally while trying to define an autofocus point, so I shifted to tapping the touchscreen instead, which just feels like using a phone. The electronic shutter also sounds completely soulless, though I guess that’s a nitpick. Pleasantly, this is a small and handsome camera as far as full frame units go, and the 18mm-40mm F4.5-6.3 lens is compact enough to not be a burden in your bag.

I ignored the video capabilities of the other cameras, but here I put it through its paces, and it does a great job handing in smooth, sharp, focus-tracking square video that you can cut vertical for socials and wide for YouTube, and the Lumix Lab app is satisfactory as a step from camera to posting. Given the extra expense, I’d say the S9 is a good camera for still photography, but you’ll only really want to consider it if you’re also keen on taking and posting video.

Finally, we come to the oldest and least expensive camera of the four. Its curvy look doesn’t have the same retro appeal as the Fuji or the OM, and it uses the Canon RF lens mount which doesn’t have as plentiful a line-up. But if neither of these factors are deal-breakers for you, the EOS R50 is a wonderful camera that feels great to shoot on. Best of all, it comes with a lens by default, and you can find it at retail with two lenses for $1500, less than any of the above cameras packaged with just one.

The dual lens kit is what I was loaned for testing, and the combination of an 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 and a 55-210mm F5-7.1 cover just about every scenario you’d encounter on a casual shoot, at least in terms of zoom. That 201mm maximum reach is the equivalent of 330mm full frame, which is plenty for snapping birds in the backyard or at the park. The lenses aren’t at the same level of quality as any above though, and could be a bit soft at their widest and a bit dim while zoomed in.

This is a comparatively tiny camera that might be a bit cramped for big hands, but I found it very comfy to grip, with a rotating LCD, a good viewfinder and a built-in flash. There’s no stabilisation in the body, but the autofocus is surprisingly good. I found that the animal-specific tracking setting (there’s also one for people and one for vehicles) did a great job locking onto birds and rabbits and my parents’ place in the bush.

There’s not much room for controls on top; only the drive dial and one wheel, but the camera’s clearly built with auto mode in mind. The menus are a bit dated, and I’m not sure if there’s much value in the artistic filters, but as a beginners step into the world of proper cameras you couldn’t ask for much more.

Disclosure: Fujifilm, OM, Panasonic and Canon provided product on a loan basis for this article.

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