Camera Recommendations

[Jobos]

As title really.

What are schools using to take photos and videos as we are looking to buy a camera that will mainly used by myself, the HT and a handful of staff? The camera will be for photos and videos of around the school that will be used on displays and for the school website/signage. Our hall is not very bright so the camera must be good in low light.

 

[itskdog]

Teachers are just using their iPads to take photos here.

[Gongalong]

How much budget to you have and how are the camera skills of the relevant staff? We started with a low end Canon DSLR 10+ years ago, and recently bought an R6 Mark 1. We have the same problem with hall photos, so I'm looking to get the RF 24mm f1.8 lens next. We also take all staff and some student ID photos. As the photos can be used to market the school, I see it as an important part of that, and worth getting something relatively decent. It does require some skill to get the best from it.

[DavR]

Pretty much all of our photos are taken on iPads now. Occasionally on staff phones, but that's against policy. We've found that the iPad cameras are more than competent for almost all scenarios.

 

We found that, unless you're willing to go into entry level DSLR territory, most standalone cameras are rubbish these days. Since everyone got a camera on their phone, development on budget digital cameras stagnated about the late 2000s.

 

We did buy a couple of Kodak PIXPRO FX102 digital cameras when they were about the £100 mark, these are pretty good, but tbh just sit in the drawer whilst everyone uses the iPads.

[Fazza]

Cameras are too complicated for Teachers (in our experience anyway) and they all seem to have expensive smart phones so are able to use Academy issued iPads for taking photos and videos on without too many issues.

[dhicks]

On 01/05/2026 at 14:43, Jobos said:

What are schools using to take photos and videos

 

We've just had a similar query from our performing arts department. To be honest, our 10-year-old Panasonic HC-V270 camcorders are still working just fine. I'm not sure exactly what the latest model equivilant is but a quick search suggests camcorder features haven't really moved on much in the last decade. They are small and light enough to be mounted on a simple single-pole mic stand, they can run from a USB battery bank for hours (cabled-tied to the pole, so no trailing cables needed), record on to a single 128GB SD card for something like 12 hours, and the zoom lense is good enough to frame a picture from a decent sized school hall.

 

If you want something with a larger image sensor to get that "pro" / cinema fell, then an entry-level DSLR with the standard kit lense is probably still a good option. DSLRs might still limit you to half an hour video footage at a time (for import / tax reasons rather than anything technical), but for modern social media promo purposes that might be more than enough.

 

If you want something you can have (keen) children train on for later profesional use, then maybe look at something like the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema. Around £800, although you'll also need to buy a lense. Maybe costs could be shared with the performing arts / ICT department if they do any video editing in the curriculum. Blackmagic make / own the DaVinchi Resolve editing software, which is free to use, so the hardware is just a one-off cost.

 

If you do decide on an iPad, then maybe look at the Padcaster, which adds a bigger lense and a frame that lets you mount the iPad on a stand like a traditional camera:

 

https://padcaster.com/

 

[Jobos]

This school is a primary so not that big but all teachers use an iPad for their day-to-day photos but I get a feeling a DSLR with proper flash would be so much better for website photos. I have an old DSLR at home I've not used in 10 years so I intend to dig that out and if the battery still holds a charge I'll try that in the hall which would be the acid test with it's poor lighting.   

[Gongalong]

In my experience, a camera with a basic flash tends to end up with a pretty awful photo. Better to get something with a fast lens, depending how detailed you want to get. You can get some fast prime lenses relatively cheaply e.g. the Canon 50mm, but anything wide angle or telephoto will be very expensive.

[SamanthaD]

At this point I would advise against getting a DSLR - new lens options are slim to nil as manufacturers are moving away from DSLR to support mirrorless cameras (I went to the Photography and Video show at the NEC and was bitterly disappointed with the lack of support for my Canon 5D Mk4!)

 

Mirrorless cameras might be good, more like a phone to operate in that the screen is used more than the viewfinder (the viewfinder is a mini-screen anyway) and with exposure simulation you can effectively see what the image will be like before you press the shutter. However there are some features that might cause issues, such as pre-emptive taking of photos which could potentially be a safeguarding issue, and the battery life on them is rubbish.

 

Issued (non-personal) iPads really are such a better choice. Secure, backed up storage. Flexible for photos and videos. Easy to use. For school use there's really no better alernative IMO.

[Gongalong]

Good point. When I said DSLR earlier on I meant mirrorless *facepalm* (we have an EOS R6 that is a mirrorless model)

[Jobos]

I bought my my old Canon 400 in last week and tested how it performs both indoors and out and was impressed how good the photos were when compared to a phone or iPad. Yes it's an old DSLR and looking on Ebay the body sells for just £50 but the photos show there is little grain when zooming in and coupled with a good flash gun the hall took bright photos even when standing at the back. I was using a 50-200mm lens for that one.

 

I understand the concerns about buying outdated kit but for the cost of a few boxes of paper we could buy a used camera that would take great photos.

[DavR]

Often older high quality kit can beat the modern cheaper equivalents, especially with feature heavy stuff like cameras. The question is, whether your intended users have the skills to use the higher end kit and get good photos out of it. Something like photography I find you have to have "the bug" and know your gear.

[Jobos]

59 minutes ago, DavR said:

Often older high quality kit can beat the modern cheaper equivalents, especially with feature heavy stuff like cameras. The question is, whether your intended users have the skills to use the higher end kit and get good photos out of it. Something like photography I find you have to have "the bug" and know your gear.

 

Very true, you do need to know what you're doing to get the best out of the camera although a lot of photos the camera can be left on auto but the skill comes in when you need depth of field adjustments.

[Andrew_C]

Why would "new" lenses be an issue?  Very unlikely the school is going to need "fancy" stuff anywhere down the line.

[Danp]

Sort of related to this. I need to buy 8 x Android (sim free) phones. Might get Galaxy A16S as they are only £99 each. Just need them for taking pictures on trips, sport fixtures etc. Thoughts?

[Dos_Box]

Moving to the AV and Miltimedia Forum.

[dhicks]

1 hour ago, Danp said:

Thoughts?

 

 Might be worth getting transparent cases for them that you can put your own artwork (school logo, atc) inside, that way it's a bit more obvious the phones are official school devices.

[DavR]

20 minutes ago, dhicks said:

 

 Might be worth getting transparent cases for them that you can put your own artwork (school logo, atc) inside, that way it's a bit more obvious the phones are official school devices.

 

Slightly off topic, but we might be getting some school smartphones for a project soon, and I like this idea.

 

Perhaps use some tamper-proof stickers to print out the school logo, apply it to the phone, plus a visible asset tag. Branded, and protected from bumps also!

[Danp]

30 minutes ago, dhicks said:

 

 Might be worth getting transparent cases for them that you can put your own artwork (school logo, atc) inside, that way it's a bit more obvious the phones are official school devices.

That's the plan

[ColonelPogs]

On 13/05/2026 at 10:18, DavR said:

Often older high quality kit can beat the modern cheaper equivalents, especially with feature heavy stuff like cameras. The question is, whether your intended users have the skills to use the higher end kit and get good photos out of it. Something like photography I find you have to have "the bug" and know your gear.

 

I my experience, with young people and old DSLRs, most of them have a minor brain implosion when you explain you have to use the viewfinder and not the screen.

One thing to consider,  it's not just the faff involved with operating the camera.  There's also the issue of getting photos off,  which if it's too tricky will end up being your job.