When looking for the best cameras for Instagram, you're going to want something that is easy to use, takes great-quality photos and videos (particularly the latter, given how much the algorithm favours videos and Reels), and is portable.
Once upon a time, the best camera for Instagram would indisputably have been your phone. However, given that these days the app is used by professionals to promote their businesses using high-quality images and video, dedicated cameras are going to be the choice for those who want imagery that's a cut above. still do a fantastic job, but dedicated cameras will produce imagery that's a cut above.
All the same, given that Instagram massively compresses your photos and videos when you upload them, reducing the image quality, the best camera phones are still going to get the job done. So, we've looked for both cameras and phones that offer a suite of features that Instagram users need, and have come up with a list of ten distinct choices.
Hannah Rooke
Hannah specializes in portrait, fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylised product photography – making her the perfect choice to pick out the best Instagram cameras.
It's new, it's expensive and it's devilishly hard to get hold of, but the Fujifilm X100VI is an exceptional piece of kit that'll make you the envy of Instagrammers everywhere.
For fast-paced street shooting, as is popular on Instagram, we love the Ricoh GR IIIx and its 40mm equivalent lens. It focuses fast, and it's lightweight, too.
An affordable, novice-friendly mirrorless camera that still sports an APS-C sensor, the Canon EOS R50 is great for maximizing image quality without getting complicated.
The PowerShot G7 X Mark III is a clever compact that can shoot in vertical orientation – ideal for producing Reels and Stories to be viewed on a phone screen.
Sony's first vlogging compact, the ZV-1 is still on the cards as an excellent buy for those whose primary focus is video – a creator base Instagram is ever-more keen to court.
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Maximum continuous shooting speed: 11fps (manual shutter), 20fps (electronic shutter)
Max video resolution: 6.2K30P (1.23x crop)
Reasons to buy
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Sublime design/handling
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Improved video
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Gorgeous 40MP photos
Reasons to avoid
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In short supply
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Premium price
When was the last time a camera caused such a frenzy among photographers? We can't remember when people were quite as excited for a camera as they have been for the Fujifilm X100VI, a long-awaited successor to the mega-viral X100V, which has had Fujifilm scrambling to fill back-orders after it blew up on TikTok.
The formula for an X100 camera has been essentially the same since the first one back in 2010 – a high-quality APS-C sensor, paired with a beautifully sharp 23mm lens, all of which is housed in a retro-styled body featuring dial-led controls for an immersive shooting experience. It's got the popular Film Simulation modes that let you emulate classic film stocks, and in general, Fujifilm's color science is second to none. While you certainly can shoot in Raw, if you want a camera that's going to produce Insta-ready JPEGs right away, this is one to do it.
The X100VI also inherits the 40MP sensor from the X-T5, giving you much more latitude to crop into your files losslessly. Video has been much improved compared to the X100V, and in our review, we were impressed by the effectiveness of the subject-detection autofocus.
Really, the only downsides of the X100VI are the price (which was to be expected) and how long you might be waiting before you get hold of one!
Max continuous shooting speed: 30fps (crop) / 20fps (no crop)
Max video resolution: 6K30P
Reasons to buy
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Small size & excellent build quality
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Vari-angle touchscreen
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In-body image stabilization
Reasons to avoid
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Conventional mode dial
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Average viewfinder
I think the X-S20 is probably the best all-rounder in the Fujifilm's stable right now. It's got a fully articulated touch screen, which makes it ideal for self-shooting content, it handles extremely well, and even though it has fewer external controls than other X-Series cameras, the dial setup is more conventional. It also has in-body image stabilization, which is great for shaky hands and low-light shooting.
Best of all, for anyone who is making videos for Instagram's Reels or Stories then the X-S20 has some pretty incredible video specs. Capable of 6.2K video 4:2:2 with open gate recording as well as the ability to record in RAW formats using an external recorder – if you want the freedom to edit your Instagram footage to have your own unique style then this camera has all the editing flex you're going to need.
The X-S10 is portable enough to take everywhere with you, and it produces images of brilliant quality. Also, like all modern Fujifilm cameras, it allows you to take advantage of the famous Film Simulation modes. These are just what they sound like – special digital modes that ape the looks of classic film stocks like Provia and Velvia. For producing Insta-ready images straight out of the camera, they're the ideal choice.
Apple's best-ever iPhone for photography gets better with the release of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While not everybody needs features like a 5x telephoto zoom lens or a huge 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display, those who do will find the iPhone 15 Pro Max to be an absolutely sublime Instagram camera. The user experience is as polished and refined as ever, and in terms of ease of use from shooting to posting, the iPhone is basically unmatched.
While there have been some reports of overheating with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, we didn't encounter these when we subjected it to a full test and review. What we did find was that the phone held up brilliantly under a number of conditions, with a display that looks great in all lights, and a versatile camera system that produces sublime shots. While there are some slight noise issues at the end of the zoom, it's mostly a home run.
Battery life has also been improved, making the iPhone 15 Pro Max a much better choice for power users who expect to spend a lot of time shooting, editing, and scrolling.
Viewfinder: None (GV-3 optical viewfinder sold separately)
Maximum continuous shooting speed: 4fps
Max video resolution: Full HD
Reasons to buy
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40mm f/2.8 lens
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Built-in ND filter
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Effective stabilisation
Reasons to avoid
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Viewfinder costs extra
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No 4K video
Street photography is very popular on Instagram, and if this is something you'd like to shoot, we'd definitely recommend considering the Ricoh GR IIIx. It's similar in form factor to an X100 camera, in that it's built around a fixed prime lens and an APS-C sensor – however, the GR IIIx ups the focal length to 40mm equivalent. This is great for getting naturalistic images that are a little closer to your subject. With natty eye focus and effective stabilization, the GR IIIx is a wunderkind for quick, handheld grab shots.
In reviewing the camera, we were majorly impressed with how compact it is, and how many features are packed into those small dimensions. There's a built-in ND filter, letting you control the light levels in bright conditions and making larger apertures more useable in blazing daylight. It's also handy for video, and while the GR IIIx only shoots in Full HD rather than 4K, this is realistically plenty for Reels and Stories.
It's a fairly pricey camera, and you may balk at having to also pay even more for extra accessories like a viewfinder. However, the Ricoh GR IIIx is still one of our favorite cameras for street shooting.
The Canon EOS R50 is the perfect companion for content creators and travelers that want a small and simple-to-use camera. An APS-C sensor combined with interchangeable lenses is a step up in quality from any compact camera or camera phone – especially when those lenses are from Canon's cutting-edge RF lineup (and you can mount Canon's EF-mount DSLR lenses using an affordable adapter).
Canon has also gone a long way to make connecting a camera to a phone or laptop as simple as possible, with several different methods of wirelessly transferring files, removing the barriers that might slow workflows previously so that content can get online faster.
With the guided UI and Canon's straightforward menus, it couldn't be simpler to use. With a solid spec sheet, including 24.2MP still images and 4K video (oversampled from 6K), you can get a lot of quality from this tiny camera. The autofocus system trumps anything else in the category, and you get blistering 15fps stills shooting for fast-moving subjects.
Dimensions: 6.4 x 3 x 0.3 inches (162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9 mm)
Storage: 28GB, 256GB
Reasons to buy
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Impressively specced camera mix
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Supports wireless charging
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IP68 water resistant
Reasons to avoid
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Much pricier than Pixel 7
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Divisive designed camera bump
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Slower charging than competition
The Pixel 8 Pro is one of the best camera phones you can buy at its price. While the camera hardware upgrades are fairly minimal from the Pixel 7 Pro, there have been some massive improvements to Google's much-touted AI tools like Magic Editor. This empowers new features like 'Night Sight' for better low light images, 'Unblur' for cleaning up small motion, and 'Face Selection', so you can choose different poses for each face in a photo to get Instagram-perfect group shots.
The Pixel 8 Pro has also improved video quite significantly over previous models, and while it still can't quite beat the iPhone, it has come a long way and offers some of the best video in an Android phone. This has also been boosted by 'Night Sight for Video' which uses AI to boost video detail in low light – just like photos!
The only thing holding back Google's phones is some people might not like how Google processes photos, with a more natural and cool color tone than iPhone shots many are used to. But the camera mix is still mind-bogglingly good as far as point-and-shoot photography goes.
With a sleek design, a mighty screen, and excellent future-proofing by way of continued software support, you do get a lot for your money here. So even though the phone had a couple of small hiccups in our time with it – as a package, you'll be hard-pressed to get a better value flagship phone than the Pixel 8 Pro.
Canon’s dinky G7 X cameras have long proved popular with social-media lovers, thanks to their fantastic video features. The G7X Mark III builds on that heritage, adding a range of specifications that make it even more tempting.
Top of the list is 4K video recording, which is uncropped. You can use the tilt-up touchscreen to frame your vlogs, while LiveStreaming to YouTube is also built-in.
For fans of Instagram stories, a special vertical record mode has also been added. The icing on the cake is a new external mic input socket. It’s not just video lovers that should consider the G7X Mark III. With a very flexible 24-100mm (equivalent) lens and a large one-inch sensor it’s also capable of capturing some striking stills, too.
Nikon's first mirrorless cameras were full frame models designed for experts and professionals, but the Nikon Z50 is pitched firmly at amateurs and enthusiasts – and especially the new generation of content creators. The Nikon Z50 is a much smaller camera than the Z6 and Z7, but clearly shares the same design DNA. Despite its small size, it has a good grip and good external controls, and the retracting 16-50mm kit lens is remarkable not just for its pancake lens dimensions but for its overall performance.
Nikon may have come to the APS-C mirrorless market comparatively late, but it's come in with a camera that has so many good points it's hard to know where to start – but we will highlight the 4K video, 11fps shooting... and the fact that its Z mount is identical to that on the larger cameras, so you can use dedicated Nikkor Z DX lenses, full frame Nikkor Z lenses and regular Nikon DSLR lenses via the FTZ adaptor. It also has a flip-over screen for selfies and vlogging. Best of all, the Z 50 is a terrific value, especially when bought as a twin-lens kit.
While the newer Sony ZV-1 II supersedes it, the ZV-1 remains a great option that doesn't require you to faff with lens changing. Some might dismiss it as yet another Sony RX100 variant, but it’s much more than that. The sensor and lens might be familiar, but the body, the controls, the audio, and the rear screen are all new and different and optimized brilliantly for vlogging.
There are a couple of niggles. The huge change in the minimum focus distance when you zoom in is annoying and (yet again) the SteadyShot Active stabilization didn’t work too well for us. But the autofocus is exceptional and the ZV-1 is a joy to use, not least because here at last is a vlogging camera that really is designed specifically for content creation, right down to that fully vari-angle rear screen and the supplied mic windshield. It's also a lot cheaper than the flagship Sony RX100 VII, despite offering a better proposition for creators.
Instagram is many different things to many different people – but there are some constants. We've identified four primary criteria that we consider when making our choices:
Portability: It’s safe to say that much of what we see on Instagram falls under the genre of “travel” photography. Gleaming white sands, exotic food, and epic landscapes are what fill our feeds anyway. In which case, it stands to reason that you don’t want to be lugging around a great big heavy camera – especially if you’re traveling “hand luggage only”. See our guide to the best cameras for travel.
Connectivity: It’s all well and good taking an amazing picture that will go down well with your followers, but if you can’t get it off your camera quickly and easily then it’s all for nothing. You don’t have this problem with smartphones, but cameras need to have decent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options – as well as an intuitive smartphone app. (Smartphones are obviously already a step ahead here!)
Image quality: This is the biggie, of course. If there’s one sure-fire way to stand out from the crowd on Instagram, it’s by taking something with superior image quality than the average dinner-sharer. Smartphones are good and getting better, but if you want quality to be your calling card, then a mirrorless camera is the best choice. We're not talking resolution, since Instagram crunches your images, but a camera sensor is able to capture so much more detail, dimension, dynamic range and dynamic motion (by using the shutter to arrest or accentuate motion).
Unusual features: This one applies more to smartphones. We’re keen to suggest smartphones that offer something special – such as wide-angle lenses, telephoto lenses, special modes, or professional-level controls – but cameras offer some great tricks as well. OM System / Olympus cameras have a great selection of in-camera Art Filters, for example, while Fujifilm cameras have built-in film simulations.
What is the best camera for both Instagram and YouTube?
We'd say it's the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Many modern content creators are expected to be jacks of all trades across multiple platforms, and many people with their own YouTube channel are also going to be running an Instagram page, and vice versa. If you want one camera to work across both platforms, we'd say the PowerShot G7 X Mark III is a great pick. It's got plenty of video modes, including portrait-orientation shooting for Reels, as well as a mic socket and livestreaming capability.
How do I get a photo/video from my camera to Instagram?
Unlike a smartphone, a camera almost certainly won't have the ability to share directly to Instagram, so you'll need to transfer your files. There are a number of ways to do this – for sharing purposes, the fastest and most convenient is probably to use your camera's in-built Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capability to hook it up to your smartphone, and download from there.
However, since Instagram has (finally) graced us with the ability to upload posts directly from desktop, you may want to plug your camera in via USB and transfer the files that way instead. This is especially useful for video, both in terms of the faster transfer speeds, and the fact that you may want to do some editing on your computer.
We test camera resolution, dynamic range and noise under scientifically controlled conditions using two key testing tools: Imatest Master and DxO Analyzer. All DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are subjected to these tests and, in some instances, high-end compact cameras. We also subject all cameras to real-world testing, to get a sense of how they feel to use for the average shooter. For point-and-shoot compact cameras, action cameras and smartphones, we focus more on this real-world testing, as reflecting the likely userbase for these devices.
We use these real-world testing and lab results to inform our comments in buying guides.
Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. For the last 3 years Hannah has worked at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With 5 years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.