We’ve said this a lot, but it bears repeating – photography does not need to be expensive. Even if you’re shopping for interchangeable-lens system cameras, you can absolutely pick up a great camera and lens set for a minimal outlay. Whether you’re shopping for your first camera system, or for a capable second camera to use alongside your main kit, you can spend as little as £150 and pick up everything you need to get out and start taking pictures.
The trick, of course, is buying secondhand. This isn’t just a way to save money on the RRP of a camera but is also a good way to shop smart. Digital cameras have been in their stride for a good couple of decades now, and that means we’ve had a fair few generations of flagship professional and enthusiast cameras. As new models come along, old ones get discounted, and that’s where the savings are to be had.
A budget of £500, for example, could easily net you a decent entry-level camera and lens that’s new off the shelf in 2023. However, for that same money, you can get a camera that pros and high-end enthusiasts would have been using back in, say, 2013. Go back and look at some competition-winning or professionally published images from 2013. Are they awful, primitive? Do they offend your eyes? Of course not! They look great – because while the kit back then may not have had AI-powered autofocus or 120fps burst shooting, it was still capable of getting the job done, and the image in the bag. And it still is today.
Right now, cameras that once would have cost thousands of pounds can be picked up second-hand for just a tenth of that. It’s simply about knowing what to look for, knowing where to look, and knowing when to pounce. We’ve put together this guide to do the first two steps for you – we’ve scoured all the biggest reputable photo retailers in the UK to find what we think are the best camera and lens combinations that have stood the test of time and still represent great value today. We’ve got options for buyers with a budget of £200, those with £350 to spend, and those with £500 – that’s the total budget for both camera and lens.
A word of warning. We’ve made every effort to ensure all
