These days, everyone carries a camera with them everywhere they go in the form of a smartphone, but here are some affordable entry-level cameras for novice photographers who’d like to try something different. They each offer a unique take on taking pictures, and any one of them would make a great gift.
Ilford Sprite 35-II Reusable Film Camera
It doesn’t get any more entry-level – or affordable – than this stripped-down, easy-to-use 35mm film camera from Ilford. It’s the perfect choice for that certain someone on your gift list who’s thinking about trying their hand at film photography.
The aperture and shutter speed are fixed – at f/9 and 1/120 sec., respectively – so there’s no need to worry about fussing with settings, and it also features a handy built-in flash to assist in low-light situations. The versatile and popular wide-angle 31mm focal-length lends itself to everything from family snapshots to street photography.
Fujifilm Instax Mini EVO Camera
Fujifilm recently breathed new life into the instant-camera marketplace with its wide-ranging Instax lineup, including the Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 and Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic cameras. They’re all classically handsome, highly portable and feature-packed, but the one that’s been turning heads lately is the Instax Mini EVO for its combination of retro analogue style and contemporary digital functionality.
You can give each of your shots a customized look using a variety of lens effects and film effects straight from a menu on the three-inch LCD screen. There’s enough internal memory to store up to 45 images, and you can even send pics from your smartphone to the EVO to print them out. The 62mm×46mm prints are small enough to fit into a wallet, and you can choose between Natural Mode for conventional image quality and Rich Mode for more vibrant colours. Fujifilm Instax Mini film packs are also available in monochrome for bold black-and-white hardcopy photos.
Ricoh WG-80
The all-weather WG-80 adventure camera stands out for several reasons. Housed in a super-rugged chassis, it’s built to withstand some of the harshest conditions out there. Waterproof to a depth of 14m for up to two hours, it’s also freezeproof to ensure operation at temperatures down to −10°C. Shockproof to endure drops of 1.6m, it’s also crushproof against forces of 100 kgf.
This is one tough camera, one that can accompany you wherever your adventures take you, but it has a couple other tricks up its sleeve that truly set it apart. The underwater shooting modes for both stills and video are designed to optimize the unusual colours and contrast that occur in images captured beneath the water’s surface. The WG-80 also features a cool digital microscope mode that’s bolstered by six LED macro lights positioned around the circumference of the lens barrel. Imagine the possibilities.
Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
Canon packs a lot into the pocket-friendly PowerShot SX740 HS point-and-shoot, including a 20.3MP sensor capable of 4K video capture and 30 fps 4K time-lapse recording. The DIGIC 8 image processor delivers reliable AF performance and respectable 10 fps continuous shooting, and the three-inch LCD screen tilts a full 180 degrees for shooting selfies. But its most notable feature is its ability to capture images from afar. With both a 40x optical zoom and a 40x digital zoom, the SX740 HS offers an astonishing 24-960mm zoom range, using Dual Sensing image stabilization technology to keep photos in sharp focus and correct unwanted shaking, even at the furthest reaches of this camera’s considerable telephoto capabilities.
