The Canon EOS R50 is the camera Canon built for people who’ve been shooting on a phone and want more. It’s tiny, it’s cheap, it focuses very well and it’s simple to use. Released in early 2023, it became one of the best-selling interchangeable-lens cameras in the world, and for good reason.

Canon has since released the R50 V, a viewfinder-less, vlogging-focused version. The original R50 is still the better pick for most beginners because it keeps the eye-level viewfinder that makes shooting outdoors so much easier.

The Fujifilm X-M5 is the smallest and lightest interchangeable-lens camera Fujifilm makes. It weighs about 355 grams with battery and card, launched in October 2024 at $799 for the body, and puts a film simulation dial right on top. It’s Fuji’s answer to Sony’s ZV-E10 II, aimed squarely at creators and first-time camera buyers who want the Fuji look.

It’s a funny little camera. Very capable in some ways, very stripped-down in others.

Most Fujifilm cameras are built around dials and nostalgia. The Fujifilm X-S20 isn’t. It has a normal mode dial, a deep grip and a flip-out screen. It’s Fuji’s camera for people who want Fuji color and Fuji lenses without the retro controls, and who shoot as much video as stills.

Released in mid-2023 at $1,299 for the body, it upgraded the popular X-S10 in the places that mattered: a much bigger battery, the newer X-Processor 5, better autofocus and a serious jump in video.

Kit lenses have a bad reputation. The Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 is one of the few that deserves a better one. It ships with the Lumix S5II and S9 and sells on its own for about $600, and its trick is the same one that makes Sony’s 20-70mm f/4 popular: it starts at 20mm.

That wider start makes it far more useful for vlogging at arm’s length, interiors, and travel shooting in tight streets. Most kit zooms start at 24mm or 28mm.

The Panasonic Lumix S9 is a full-frame camera that doesn’t look like one. It’s small, flat and colorful, with no viewfinder and a rear screen that flips around. Panasonic launched it in May 2024 at $1,499 for the body, aiming it at people who shoot social content on phones and want full-frame quality without full-frame bulk.

It takes the 24.2MP full-frame sensor and phase-detect autofocus from the excellent Lumix S5II, then strips the body down to about 486 grams with battery and card.

The Sony ZV-E10 II is a camera made for people who point it at themselves. No viewfinder, a flip-out screen, a big built-in microphone and a body small enough to hold at arm’s length all day. Sony released it in July 2024 at $999 for the body, and it’s the update the hugely popular original ZV-E10 needed.

The first ZV-E10 had a tiny battery, 8-bit video and an old sensor that wobbled when you panned. The Mark II fixes all three.