14 Best Cameras for Night Photography in 2024

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is a powerhouse. Its sturdiness and reliability are why it is so high up this list.

When shooting in rugged and unforgiving environments, having a piece of kit that is built strong with excellent weather sealing capabilities can put your mind at rest. This is particularly relevant for people who want to shoot the night sky in remote areas.

Prominent star features are its whopping 30.4 megapixels and a high ISO range. It would be hard not to take noise free images in low light with these combined elements. With its 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor, you won’t struggle to do so. This allows the autofocus system to function accurately even in low light conditions.

If you are considering buying a 5D Mark IV, you should check out how it compares to other models first. You can try the following for inspiration:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark IV vs Fujifilm X-T5
• Canon EOS 5D Mark IV vs Sony a7R IV
• Canon EOS 5D Mark IV vs Nikon D780
• Canon EOS 5D Mark IV vs EOS R10
• Canon EOS 5D Mark II vs 5D Mark IV

The Sony A7 III is one of the best mirrorless cameras for night photography. It is a smaller camera, ideal for shooting on the go.

I recommend this product as the best camera for street photographers who enjoy taking photos at night. Sony has managed to reduce noise in their higher ISO range. So, street photographers can now push up ISO sensitivity without worrying about noise or loss of quality.

Another feature that shows the Sony A7 III is great for street photographers on the go is its five-axis image stabilization system. This heavily reduces camera shake, therefore giving you sharper images. With all these features combined, you can see that the Sony A7 III may not be made for shooting at night, but it certainly does excel in this field.

Have a look at these comparisons with the a7 III before you decide:

• Sony a1 vs a7 III
• Fujifilm X-T3 vs Sony a7 III
• Nikon Z7 vs Sony a7 III
• Sony a6400 vs a7 III
• Sony a6000 vs a7 III

Nikon’s D850 is favourable for night photography, with the highest megapixel count on this list. It’s the right camera for night photographers because of its high ISO sensitivity and image quality.

Its ISO capabilities combined with its stunning nine frames per second shooting gives you a camera geared up for night time sky photography. The Nikon D850 is also a camera you can trust on a tripod, allowing for fast processing of its images.

Check out the following comparisons with the D850:

• Canon EOS R7 vs Nikon D850
• Canon EOS R3 vs Nikon D850
• Nikon D7500 vs D850
• Nikon D850 vs Sony a7 III
• Nikon D850 vs Z5

Nikon’s Z6 II is another mirrorless camera that can be a street photographer’s best friend at night. Their strong point in night photography lies in their autofocus system. This system can detect focus points in -6 EV (exposure value) visibility. Nikon even claims that you can find focus points under quarter-moon light.

With a great dynamic range, you will be able to get information in the shadows and potential highlights in your night sky photographs. A camera with an excellent dynamic range will go a long way when dealing with night photography.

Canon cameras have dominated the top of this list because of their excellent features. The Canon EOS R6 is no different. The camera’s fantastic ability to function as a handheld camera at night is why you can add it to the list of best cameras for night photography. And it is the other best mirrorless camera on our list.

The Canon EOS R6 has fewer megapixels than other Canon cameras but a higher ISO sensitivity. A great feature of this camera is its five-axis image stabilization system. This stabilizer allows you to take sharper images when photographing without a tripod. Canon claims you can take a four-second exposure, and it will still be sharp!

Olympus makes it onto this list with a great cropped image sensor camera. Not only is the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III camera light, but it will provide sharp images thanks to its excellent autofocus system.

A new feature solidifies its place on this list. It is a new feature called Starry Sky AF (autofocus). If you haven’t guessed already, this feature will identify the night sky and get all the stars in focus, no matter how small or faint they are. It is ideal for night sky photography.

Panasonic’s mirrorless camera also gets a spot on this list with the Lumix S5.

The lightweight capabilities matched with extraordinary image quality means that you can use mirrorless cameras in both on and off tripod situations. Its off-tripod success comes from its image stabilization system.

Its new I.S. II system allows up to 6.5 stops of benefit. This comes in handy when shooting along the streets at night.

Since its inception, the Canon EOS 6D Mark II has been one of the best cameras for night photography. It set a high bar for DSLR’s in its time with a high ISO range and night photography capabilities. Even now, the Canon EOS 6D has kept these qualities.

And it has kept improving, keeping this line of cameras on our list. It has improved its autofocus system so that the camera has outstanding low light performance with added sharpness. It was an issue with the older rendition.

For those who aren’t quite ready to spend money on a full frame camera, Nikon’s D7500 is a great option.

The ISO capabilities here are plenty to quench your thirst when it comes to night photography. Nikon has worked on reducing fine grain. This means you’ll be able to push into higher ISO sensitivity without noise ruining the image.

Fujifilm also provides cameras that function great in low light situations. My favourite Fujifilm camera has got to be the Fujifilm X-T4.

It seems that all companies are developing autofocusing systems with excellent low light performance. The same can be said for Fujifilm. The X-T4 system works down at -7.0 EV—almost in complete darkness!

The Nikon D780 comes in as a significant upgrade of its older sibling, the D750. It even outperforms its more professional sibling, the D850, with a newer processor (EXPEED 6 vs EXPEED 5).

A handy feature for night photography is the 900-second or 15-minute exposure time you can set. This relieves your duty of holding the shutter release down when exposing longer than an average camera allows. It is perfect for star trails and other long exposures you will take in night sky photography.

For professional photographers who are fans of the Pentax lens range, the Pentax K1 II is the ideal camera for taking low light images. With fantastic quality and plenty of options for complete control over your images, the Pentax K1 II will give you spectacular results.

The main weakness of its night photography abilities is its noise reduction system. It can often be quite aggressive when shooting in JPEG mode. Even if you shoot in RAW, Pentax has a pre-processor that adds noise reduction into RAW files that you can’t turn off.

The Nikon D5600 is a great camera for night photographers who want an up to date DSLR for cheap. The advantage of having an up to date DSLR is the quality you will get packed into a small body. This DSLR also has an impressive dynamic range performance for its size. This means it will be able to handle low light situations with ease.

This option is for people who want a dedicated point-and-shoot that handles low light conditions well. We are now in a time where small sensors can produce whopping 20-megapixel images!

Of course, it won’t handle low light conditions like others on this list, but the portability and price make up for it. I would suggest using this camera to take low light images with more light in the scene. For instance, it would work great in nightclubs or on city streets.