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So you grew up watching movies. The action completely enthralls you that these movies bring to life. And sometimes, as you grew up, you developed a liking for the art of movie-making, an affection that kept on getting more prominent by night. And now you finally want to get hold of a friendly movie-making camera to get started for this journey.
To help you in this start and to save you from the pain of reading hundreds of meaningless reviews on the web is why we have created this concrete guide of the best cameras for movie making that you can get yourself, and that too at the most reasonable prices.
Let us now check the list without any delays!
Table of Contents
Best Cameras for Movie Making
Sony a7R Mark III:
The most recent high-resolution camera from the Sony Company, this is one of the most highly sought mirrorless cameras for movie-making. The high speed conforms to shooting about 10 fps. It also boasts a high and fast processor with improved focus and handling as well as a large battery for more extended usage hours.
This camera’s most striking feature is its 42-megapixel sensor with faster video processing and lower noise reduction i9n image processing. To help you in focus positioning, it offers you a touchscreen with a joystick too. The video feature that distinguishes it from the rest is the 4K footage oversampled to 5k capture.
Moreover, it also offers a phase detection mode even with adapted lenses to maximize performance and making it by far the best camera for movie making for the professional in you.
Panasonic Lumix GH5s: – Best Cheapest Camera for Movie Making
This again is one of the best mirrorless device offering a variety of compact lens options like LEIKA set with interchangeable lens camera standard that meets the quality of the video regarding brightness and sharpness of images. High performance, durability and mobility are what define it the best.
The most striking feature of it is it being installed with up to 60 pixels per image with a multi-aspect and dual native ISO, a brand of up to 10 bit, offering you unlimited recording experience. It is capable of using high speed video class at least 60 SD memory card that is recommended for a 4K video recording. With connectivity of Wi-Fi, a 3.5mm mic jack and an input line, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an HDMI socket, and a @.5mm remotes socket, it is definitely a buy option for you.
Sony PXW-Z150
Another Sony product in the list, this 120fps and image stabilizing camera is among the best buys for a movie-making camera. It is equipped with a 1” Exmore sensor to ensure that more light reaches the sensor, which by the way is a 20x megapixel, allowing you to focus and defocus at your desire.
It provides and captures high-quality videos for 4K and HD productions. It has a 12x optical zoom lens to capture even the most distant shots. Also, it is extremely light-weighted, and so very portable. The camera can support SDXC and SDHC memory cards. Its Wi-Fi and NFC networking capabilities gives you the connectivity you need.
Canon XA30: – Best budget-friendly camcorder for movie making
This newly released shooting camera, featuring impressive video recording abilities in quite a hottie among the professional users looking for budget buys. The amazing sensor it offers helps you take shots the way you look it with your naked eyes. The +3dB upgrade to your signal-to-noise ratio makes it possible to get extremely amazing pictures even in environments with low-lighting.
The 20x optical zoom gives you a range of 35mm and the minimum distance is 23.3”. You can adjust anything and everything with this camera including recording modes/codecs and frames/bit rates. With options to speed or slow down your video, you can easily create time-lapse shots using this camera. All in all, there is nothing you can not like in this camera.
Panasonic HC-X1
This unique Panasonic camera made upto this list for a reason. Despite it not offering interchangeable lenses, it’s advanced OIS, LEICA Dicomar 4K lens with 24 mm wide-angle setting and 20x optical zoom makes you forget the need to carry those heavy lenses along. Moreover, its high-precision 4K 1.0” MOS sensor and the dual codec recording features make it a much deserving candidate to this list. It is an all-in-one product for all your recording needs, and if that is what you are looking for, Panasonic HC-X1 is what you should go with.
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

Blackmagic’s great product gives you a great professional digital camera and the ability to carry it around very, very quickly. This feature-laden mini-sized camera comes with a 4/3 size sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, and dual native ISO up to 26500.
This means that you will get mindboggling 4K footage with a camera that can fit easily in your jeans pocket (and quite pocket-friendly too). It offers a built-in microphone, mini XLR input, MFT lens mount, and can record onto CFast 2.0 and UHS-II SD cards, as well as the standard SD cards. This camera is a complete game-changer in the world of movie-making.
Best Video Cameras for Movie Making
Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro: Premium Camera for Movie and Film Shooting
This multifunctional digital camera has a Swiss Army knife-like versatility in video production and is possibly the best movie making camera available in the market. It offers a super 35mm CMOS sensor with 4.6K resolution and an interchangeable lens mount that allows you to quickly switch between EF, PL, B4, and F mount lenses. Be it a documentary that you want to shoot, a news broadcast, or a feature film; you can ace it all with this beauty.
Canon EOS C200B:
Lightweight, streamlined, and highly customizable, Canon EOS C200B is here on this list for a good reason. It sends RAW 4K footage to a Cfast 2.0 card without losing the amazing details it’s Super 35mm CMOS sensor and 13 stops of dynamic range can capture.
Also, you can sport any Canon EF-mount lens with it giving you a shot of a lifetime. You can also very easily attach the EOS c200B’s 2.9 lb to a drone and capture breath-taking images without worrying about pull. While this may be the most expensive camera on our list, it is totally worth considering for indie filmmakers looking for a professional camera.
Factors to look upon before buying a camera for movie making
While you may know that you want a camera for yourself, you may not possibly know about the things to look while making a purchase. Let us, therefore, deal with this first:
- Price: Before anything else, it is essential to fix a budget for yourself. Ideally, you may want to set a number around $1000 if you wish to get a dedicated camera or a camcorder for yourself with the 4K capability and 20x optical zoom. You can ladder up the prices if a professional device is what you are looking for. Something to keep in mind is that no matter how much you decide for yourself, do stay flexible with the numbers going a bit up if the need be.
- Zoom: A camera’s performance is positively affected by its ability to zoom in at distances and details. Typically 10x zoom is what we are looking at; however, many improved models might go all the way up to 20X lenses. Moreover, some have a focus assist function to help you focus on the zoom element quite precisely. That said, opt for a high optical zoom device and is also easy to operate.
- Connectivity: One of the essential features of any device of this generation is its ability to share media to and from other cameras and devices. You would want to use a private server that uses FTP to share your recording with other cameras. For this, your camera must be able to connect itself to any wireless hotspot, computer, or smartphone. Do look for this essential in your devices.
- Quality: Some camcorders feature the advanced HD CMOS Pro image sensor that makes your recording sharp and highly detailed. To capture in dim light, you would want a high-quality low-light performance camera. You would also need to look for low-luminance noise ratings. Look also for better stabilization features that would stabilize your shots despite the zoom. These are some of the features that you cannot ignore if you intend to get fantastic quality shots on your new device.
- Portability: What decides a camera’s portability is its size and weight. Invest in light-weighted compact camcorders that make it easy to carry around.
- Continuous Shooting Modes: The burst mode or sports mode also allows you to capture several photos in quick succession. Some camcorders offer a high fps, allowing you to capture many still shots per second from which you can later choose the best ones. The most significant determinant of a camera’s speed to capture successive photos is its processing power.
- Occasion: In the end, what makes a camera or a camcorder ideal for you is where you wish to use it. A budding filmmaker may prefer one camera for his simple stories, while an educator might find the other more suitable as a teaching tool for him. Please choose the one based on what you expect from it.
Conclusion
The movie-making market offers quite impressive camera options for enthusiasts. With enough research in line with your needs and expectations from your device, you can get what you’ve looking for. Do pay weight to all the factors before locking a purchase, especially a zoom, image quality, and flexibility in operations.
Which of these cameras are you going to use in your filmmaking career? Let us know about your pick of the best camera for movie making in the comments below.
Be a bit flexible with your budget; you will be surprised how a little here and there can get you premium quality products. I hope this list helps you in your way of shooting some of the best movies ever shot; for more content like this, keep on visiting our blog. Happy Clicking!