Comparison of the best DSLR cameras (Reflex cameras): the 2021 guide

You are passionate or interested in photography, you are not afraid of manual settings and you are looking for a high-performance and versatile camera? Don’t go any further because the DSLR (or Reflex) family (with the mirrorless family) has the most powerful models with large sensors and a wide range of lenses. But large sensors and good performances also mean bulky and expensive. With DSLR, it is sometimes a question of finding a compromise according to your budget and your needs. Indeed, Reflex cameras with full-frame sensors can be VERY expensive (and are generally quite heavy) and the lenses that make the most out of the performance of these sensors are not exactly cheap (or lightweight) 😉 . If your budget is limited or you want to buy a camera for traveling, you may want to take a look at the lighter “entry-level” DSLRs, with smaller sensors but which are still excellent cameras.

Last update: 27/04/2021

Which DSLR camera (Reflex camera) to choose? the important criteria

So I’m not going to re-explain all the important criteria to keep in mind when choosing a camera. I will just highlight a few points that I think are interesting in the case of DSLRs:

• Sensor size: As I said in the article, the larger the sensor, the better the performance of the camera in low light and high light contrast situations. However, in the DSLR family, cameras with a “full frame” sensor are generally very expensive (nothing less than 1500$ body only) and rather heavy (so not necessarily suitable for travellers). I have therefore chosen in the table below to compare only models with an “APS-C” sensor that are more affordable, lighter and should be suitable for the vast majority of people. The “full frame” DSLR cameras are more for experienced photographers and professionals who will not necessarily need this comparison table to findwhat they need 😉
• The selection of lenses: When purchasing a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, one of the extra components to keep in mind is the quality of the lens lineup available for this camera. As I said, the quality and style of your photos will depend a lot on your lenses and if you decide to buy a Reflex camera (or Hybrid) you will probably have to buy several lenses depending on your needs. At this point, you will be happy to have a wide range of lenses to be able to find your happiness according to your budget and your needs. To put it simply, popular brands like Nikon or Canon have the widest choice of lenses followed by Pentax, Olympus, Fujifilm or Sony.
• Buying lenses: If you are new to the world of DSLR, you probably don’t have any lenses yet. So in general when you buy a DSLR camera, it comes with a kit lens that will allow you to start and learn how to use your device. But in general the kit lenses are not incredible (versatile but not very bright) and you will quickly need to buy new lenses. So I recommend that you keep some of your budget to buy a quality lens because once again, the lens is as important as the camera body in the quality of your photos.

Without further delay, here is the comparison table of the best DSLR cameras in 2019. I will obviously try to keep this table up to date according to the new cameras coming out but do not hesitate to comment if you have any suggestions to complete this table. You will find my personal opinion after the comparison table and what would be my choice if I had to buy a DSLR.

In the comparison table below, I also chose not to include super high-end cameras like the Nikon D850 or the Canon EOS 5D M4 that clearly target professional photographers and not the general public.

The comparative table below is interactive. You can choose the cameras you want to compare, remove the lines that do not interest you… and to reset the table, simply reload the page. For a better reading, do not compare more than 2-3 models on mobile and 6-7 on computer.

Choose the DSLR cameras you want to compare
Nikon D 3400
Pentax KS 2
Nikon D 5600
Canon EOS 800D
Pentax K3 M2
Pentax KP
Nikon D 7500
Canon EOS 80D
Pentax K1
Nikon D 500

Criteria	Nikon D 3400 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Pentax KS 2 See on Ebay	Nikon D 5600 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Canon EOS 800D Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Pentax K3 M2 See on Ebay	Pentax KP Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Nikon D 7500 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Canon EOS 80D Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Pentax K1 See on Ebay	Nikon D 500 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay
Critères	Nikon D 3400 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Pentax KS 2 See on Ebay	Nikon D 5600 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Canon EOS 800D Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Pentax K3 M2 See on Ebay	Pentax KP Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Nikon D 7500 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Canon EOS 80D Buy it onlineSee on Ebay	Pentax K1 See on Ebay	Nikon D 500 Buy it onlineSee on Ebay
Characteristics of the camera
Price	300-450$	550-800$	600-800$	600-800$	650-900$	800-1000$	900-1200$	1100-1400$	1500-1700$	1500-2000$
Weight (body + kit lens)	395gr + 250gr	678gr + 181gr	465gr + 205gr	532gr + 215gr	785gr + 230gr	699gr	720gr	790gr + 480gr	1015gr	856gr
Size	124 x 98 x 76 mm	122 x 91 x 65 mm	124 x 97 x 70 mm	131 x 100 x 76 mm	132 x 102 x 77 mm	132 x 101 x 76 mm	136 x 104 x 73 mm	139 x 105 x 79 mm	137 x 110 x 86 mm	147 x 115 x 81 mm
Toughness – Waterproofing	1/5	4/5	1/5	1/5	4/5	4/5	4/5	4/5	4/5	4/5
Battery life	1200 photos	410 photos	970 photos	270-600 photos	720 photos	390 photos	950 photos	300-960 photos	760 photos	1240 photos
Speed	min exp : 1/4000 img/sec : 5	min exp : 1/6000 img/sec : 5.2	min exp : 1/4000 img/sec : 5	min exp : 1/4000 img/sec : 6	min exp : 1/8000 img/sec : 8	min exp : 1/24000 img/sec : 7	min exp : 1/8000 img/sec : 8.2	min exp : 1/8000 img/sec : 6.7	min exp : 1/8000 img/sec : 4.6	min exp : 1/8000 img/sec : 10.2
Sensor
Size	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	Full Frame	APS-C
Resolution	24.2mpx	20.1mpx	24.2mpx	24.2mpx	24.4mpx	24.3mpx	20.9mpx	24.2mpx	36.4mpx	20.9mpx
ISO Range	100-25600	125-51200	100-25600	100-25600	125-51200	100-819200	100-51200	100-16000	100-204800	100-51200
Kit lens
Focal range (full frame equivalent)	27-83	27-75	27-83	29-88	27-83	no kit lens	no kit lens	29-216	no kit lens	no kit lens
Max Aperture	f3.5/5.6	f4/5.6	f3.5/5.6	f4/5.6	f3.5/5.6	no kit lens	no kit lens	f3.5/5.6	no kit lens	no kit lens
Lenses available for the brand	5/5	3/5	5/5	5/5	3/5	3/5	5/5	5/5	3/5	5/5
Additional functionalities
In Body or lens stabilization	lens stabilization	in body stabilization	lens stabilization	lens stabilization	in body stabilization	in body stabilization	lens stabilization	lens stabilization	in body stabilization	lens stabilization
Viewfinder	optical viewfinder 95% coverage	optical viewfinder 100% coverage	optical viewfinder 95% coverage	optical viewfinder 95% coverage	optical viewfinder 100% coverage	optical viewfinder 100% coverage	optical viewfinder 100% coverage	optical viewfinder 100% coverage	optical viewfinder 100% coverage	optical viewfinder 100% coverage
Screen	fixed screen with 307’200 pxs	180 degree rotating screen with 230’400 pxs	180 degree rotating touch screen with 345’600 pxs	180 degree rotating touch screen with 345,600 pxs	fixed screen with 345’600 pxs	articulated screen with 307,200 pxs	articulated touch screen with 307,200 pxs	180 degree rotating touch screen with 345’600 pxs	articulated screen 345,600 pxs	180 degree rotating touch screen with 589’750 pxs
Video	full HD	full HD	full HD	full HD	full HD	full HD	4k (cropped) and full HD	full HD	full HD	4k and full HD

Best DSLR camera (Reflex camera) : my opinion

Honestly, if you are new to the world of DSLRs (i.e. you don’t have any specific brand lenses), the Pentax brand really offers the best quality/price ratio since 2015. The KS-2, K3-M2, K-70 models (not shown above) or more recently the impressive Pentax KP all offer advanced features that are not available from other brands for the same price range. So of course the cameras are quite heavy (but if you want to buy a DSLR, it’s because you’re ready to carry some heavier equipment) and the autofocus is probably not the best but all their cameras are weather sealed (VERY useful for travellers), stabilized with super quality optical viewfinders. To be honest, if I had to buy a DSLR, I would buy a Pentax even if the choice of lenses is a little less extensive than for Canon or Nikon (well there’s plenty to do!).

After that, if you already have Nikon or Canon lenses, it is not necessarily worth changing and both brands offer good cameras in all price ranges (although in my opinion Nikon has a little more interesting DSLR cameras in 2019).

And if you have the money and the desire to test the “full frame” sensors, the first prices are available with models like the Pentax K-1 (the best quality/price ratio currently in the full frame DSLRs you will find in the comparison table) and the excellent Nikon D 750. If you want to break the bank, you can always take a look at the Nikon D 850, which is the current star among the pros with high-end mirrorless cameras.

P.S. This article contains affiliate links so if you buy a reflex camera by clicking on one of our links, we will get a small commission. Please also note that we are not sponsored by any brand and this is our sincere opinion about the best reflexs cameras in 2021. Finally, you will not find any Amazon links in this article because we do not support the questionable ethics of this company.