How to Choose a Camera (2026): Sensors, Megapixels, Terms
Wired · LC · trust 45/100
Scott Gilbertson Aug 10, 2026 6:33 AM Courtesy of Fujifilm Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story The first thing to know about buying a digital camera in 2026 is that it’s virtually impossible to buy a bad one. You probably have a great camera in your hand right now. For many people, a smartphone will suffice , but if you want a camera separate from your phone, read on.
The current crop of digital cameras is almost universally fantastic. Everything on the market is capable of capturing great images, provided you learn how to use your camera and understand the basics of photography: composition, light, and timing. That said, you don't just want a technically good camera—you want the right camera for you.
That camera depends on what you want to photograph, how you want to use it, where you're going to shoot, and a myriad of other questions that only you can answer. To help you out, I'll walk through the basics of every major component of a camera you'll want to know about, breaking down jargon and explaining things on a practical level.
Updated August 2026: I've updated this guide with specs on new sensors and some additional advice on lenses, and I’ve updated links throughout.
The first step in finding the best camera for you is knowing what you want to do with it, at least somewhat. For example, if you know you're going to be taking pictures of your kids' sports games, you'll want to pay special attention to how good the autofocus is, and how fast it can capture images (measured in frames per second, or fps). If you know you're also going to want to make videos, make sure you get something with high-quality video features, like 4K 100 fps for slow-motion content and something to eliminate or minimize rolling shutter. If you love astrophotography, you'll want to note how noisy a sensor might be.
While every camera made today is capable of great images, some are better than others at certain niche tasks like the examples above. Knowing the type of images you want to create will help you narrow down your search. If you're new to photography and don't know what you're going to end up liking, that's okay—don't worry about high-end niche features like superfast autofocus. Look instead at entry-level cameras designed for the generalist, which will save you some money as well. Put that money into high-quality lenses.
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson If you want to step up from a camera phone, I'd suggest skipping over point-and-shoot cameras and going to an interchangeable lens system. The reason is that most point-and-shoot cameras are only moderately better than a phone. Some aren't even as good as your phone. You do get a zoom lens in many cases, which is a step up, but it's not much of a step, especially for the price.
If you're going to invest in a new system, I suggest you invest in something that can grow with you by allowing you to add different lenses down the road. Those lenses are the real investment, the things you keep even if you upgrade your camera body.
That said, point-and-shoot cameras do have one advantage: size. They're compact and lightweight. The one point-and-shoot I own is the Fujifilm X70 , and I own it because it fits in just about any pocket (it also has an APS-C sensor, which is huge for the size of the camera; more on sensors below). It's not my main camera (that's an interchangeable lens camera), but when I'm headed to a place where it would be awkward to carry a larger camera, the X70 is nice to have.
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson Should you go with a mirrorless camera or a traditional DSLR? The difference is in the name. Digital Single-Lens Reflex cameras have a mirror, just like film cameras. When you look through the viewfinder, you see the scene reflected through the mirror. When you press the shutter button, the mirror lifts up, and the sensor behind it records the image.
Mirrorless cameras lack the mirror, which means that when you look through the electronic viewfinder, you are looking at a tiny LCD screen showing a live video feed. This has several advantages, including the ability to magnify your view with a touch of a button and preview how the image will look at your chosen exposure settings, as well as much better autofocus when shooting video. Mirrorless cameras are also lighter and smaller.
Most people would be best served by a mirrorless camera. The exception would be if you have a lot of lenses that will work with only a DSLR. If you've spent thousands on lenses designed for a DSLR, then by all means, stick with DSLR. If you're not already invested in a system, then get a mirrorless camera. Read our Best Mirrorless Cameras guide for recommendations.
I have never heard professional photographers talk about their sensor, or their gear at all, actually, but this is the internet photographer's favorite topic. This is also the one that matters the least in making great images. That said, let's dive in.
There are many, many different sensors out there, ranging from the tiny one in your phone to the massive medium format sensors found in Fujifilm's GFX 100II or Hasselblad's 907X .
To keep things simple, we'll ignore smaller sensors, which tend to be in only point-and-shoot cameras, action cameras , and phones. That leaves us with four basic sensor sizes to choose from:
Photograph: WIRED You would think that the larger the sensor, the better the images, right? Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The sensor specs ultimately have very little bearing on the quality of your images, but here are a few things sensor size does affect.
The larger the sensor, the shallower the depth of field at the same aperture. That is, to get the same depth of field in an APS-C sensor as a full-frame camera produces at f/2, you'd have to shoot at f/1.4. The same depth of field in Micro Four Thirds would require a lens capable of f/1. Alternatively, you could increase the focal length of the lens to create greater depth of…
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