Best Camera for Artwork Photos (10 Cameras for Artists in 2024!)

Sony has become one of the big hitters in digital cameras. That’s largely down to their range of mirrorless cameras. The Sony A7 III is one of the best models in their mirrorless range.

It’s a full frame camera that delivers incredible images and media. The Sony A7 III is the perfect camera for art photography.

The Sony A7 III is a full frame digital camera. The sensor has a resolution of 24.2 MP. That isn’t record-breaking for a full frame mirrorless camera. But the images the camera produces are stunning.

A BIONZ X image processor powers it. And the larger sensor gives you an increased dynamic range. So it picks up every detail in any artwork.

The excellent ISO range also contributes to the quality of the photos. You have a high ISO range for low-light situations. This is handy for shooting in galleries. And it gives more freedom to fine art photographers.

The 50 ISO setting is ideal for taking pictures of artwork. The colors and details will be bright, vibrant, and true.

The Sony A7 III also has 5-axis image stabilisation. This system ensures sharp images by reducing camera shake. You might not think this is important if you’re using a tripod. But it can still help improve image quality.

Your camera can still show small signs of shake on a tripod when you click the shutter. The stabilization system ensures great image quality every time.

The electronic viewfinder (EVF) is excellent. It has 2.35M dots to give you a bright and accurate representation of your image. And the vari-angle screen is another handy feature for art photography.

You can tether the camera to your computer using the ports. Plus, the camera has built-in Wi-Fi connectivity for easy file transfers.

The autofocus system is fantastic. But you won’t need it for photographing artwork. We recommend you use manual focus for that job.

Yet the autofocus makes the Sony A7 III a superb camera if you want to shoot other things as well as art photography. Versatility is important for professional photographers.

The Canon EOS 90D is one of the best APS-C cameras. It’s a powerful DSLR camera that creates stunning images. The sensor size and usability make it a fantastic enthusiast camera.

But the performance also makes it a viable DSLR for professional photographers. It’s the best Canon camera for photographing artwork.

We start with the high-resolution sensor. It gives you a pixel count of 32.5 MP. Finding an APS-C sensor with anything above 25 MP is impressive.

But 32.5 MP is another level of image quality. The dynamic range is excellent. And the detail and color rendition are superb. It’s exactly what you need to photograph art.

The ISO range gives you plenty to work with. You have a max setting of 25,600 ISO for low-light shooting when you’re out and about. Then you have the low setting of 100 ISO for art photography. That gives you fabulous detail.

The EOS 90D has a fantastic optical viewfinder. It gives you a true view of your artwork. And the vari-angle screen has an excellent range of motion. That helps when you take photos of the artwork from above or at difficult angles.

You can easily connect the camera to your phone using Wi-Fi connectivity. You can also use the camera remotely from your phone. That means you can press the shutter without disturbing the camera.

You also get 4K video recording and a 10 fps burst mode. That perhaps won’t help with art photography. But it’s a good camera for taking recordings and pictures of your artmaking.

The battery life is also impressive. You don’t have to worry about charging it often. It’s a well-rounded machine. So the Canon EOS 90D is the best DSLR camera for photographing artwork. It is an upgrade from the cheaper 80D model, and you can see the Canon 90D vs 80D comparison for more details!

The Sony a6400 is one of Sony’s most popular models. You can go for the newer a6600 model. But the Sony a6400 still makes the grade for art photography. It’s a brilliant APS-C mirrorless camera. And it’s an affordable camera too.

It captures quality images and videos. And it delivers for photographers of all kinds. While it may be compact, the Sony a6400 is full of features.

The APS-C sensor has a healthy resolution of 24.2 MP. It isn’t groundbreaking. But Sony pairs the camera sensor with a BIONZ X image processor. Together they produce high-quality images.

You can shoot in RAW format. And you get crisp and clear images with natural colors.

The dynamic range and low-light performance make the Sony a6400 a great camera. You get an excellent top ISO limit of 102,400. And the photo quality is strong.

You won’t experience digital noise until you hit the upper limits. When shooting art, you also have the standard ISO 100 for better image quality.

The camera body is compact and lightweight. It’s ideal if you need to travel to different art studios. And you get an excellent selection of interchangeable lenses. It uses Sony E-mount lenses, so you have plenty to choose from.

There’s 4K video mode and an 11 fps continuous burst mode to capture fast movement. The autofocus is also the best in its division. And you get Wi-Fi connectivity built-in. All these features make it the perfect camera for artists of all kinds.

It gives you quality photos of professional quality. Plus, it’s compact and affordable. The Sony a6400 is a great mirrorless camera for art photography.

See our Sony a6400 vs a6600 or Sony a6400 vs a6100 posts for related specs comparisons!

There aren’t many photographers who wouldn’t be happy with a Nikon DSLR camera. And the Nikon D810 is one of their top DSLR cameras. It’s a full frame camera. And it has the power and performance for any professional photographer to use in the art world.

You can expect stunning images from the D810. The camera’s sensor is a full frame FX-format CMOS with no optical low-pass filter. And it has a high resolution of 36.3 MP for superb images.

The color rendering is true to life. And the wide dynamic range gives you great details in light and dark areas.

The ISO range is another strength of this DSLR camera. You don’t have the biggest top end, with a max setting of 51,200. But you can go as low as 64 ISO. That gives you incredible noise-free images. That makes it the best Nikon camera for art.

It shoots RAW format images. And there’s a special feature to shoot 16 MP RAW images. These are smaller RAW files. So you can save space on your SD cards.

The Nikon D810 also has dual card slots for extra storage. That’s a handy feature for photographers with large workloads. The battery life is also long enough for professionals.

The Nikon D810 has a built-in flash. That might be too crude for photographing artwork. But it also has a hot shoe connector for external lighting setups. The downsides include a lack of image stabilisation and a vari-angle screen.

There’s also no Wi-Fi connectivity. But you can use a cable to tether the D810 to your computer. These are inconveniences. But not much more than that. They don’t take away from the powerful images shot with the Nikon D810. It is still one of the best cameras for photographing artwork.

Panasonic makes some of the finest hybrid cameras on the market. They are specialists in cameras that produce photos and videos.

The Lumix GH5 is an excellent example of Panasonic’s hybrid philosophy. Not all art photographers need a camera with such versatility. But it’s one of the best cameras for multimedia artists.

The Panasonic Lumix GH5 has a Micro Four Thirds (MFT) sensor. An MFT sensor is smaller than an APS-C and full frame sensor. But you still get excellent images.

The camera has a 20.3 MP resolution. The color tones and details are gentle and authentic. And it’s far superior to any phone camera.

Multimedia artists will love the movie specs. It has brilliant 4K video recording at 60 fps. And there’s the Lumix 4K Photo mode. It lets you take single-frame images from 4K footage. And it gives you a burst of 30 fps.

The 5-axis image stabilisation is another bonus feature when photographing artwork. It counteracts camera shake for super-sharp images. And it even gives you stabilisation when paired with lenses without stabilisation.

The Panasonic Lumix GH5 has a compact and robust body. It’s good for shooting outdoor projects and art installations. And it has all the wireless connectivity you’d expect from modern cameras. The Panasonic Lumix GH5 is the best digital camera for artists who use video.

One of the best DSLR cameras for beginners is the Canon EOS Rebel T8i. It has excellent features and produces excellent results. It doesn’t have the resolution of the professional cameras. But the Rebel T8i is an affordable DSLR for budding artists.

It has an APS-C sensor. And the Canon EOS Rebel T8i gives you a solid image resolution of 24.1 MP. That’s outstanding quality for an entry-level camera. And it blows smartphone images out of the water.

You also have a healthy ISO range (100 to 12,800). The low-light performance is good. And you have the standard 100 ISO setting for photographing artwork.

You get a lovely optical viewfinder. What you see is what you get, unlike lesser electronic viewfinders. You also have a handy rotating touchscreen for vari-angle shooting.

The autofocus system is also great. And it has face and eye recognition if you want to shoot artistic portraits. It’s ideal if you’re documenting art and artists.

The Canon EOS Rebel T8i gives you great 4K video. And you can use it as a webcam using the EOS Utility app. That’s an excellent feature for online art tutorials.

The EOS Rebel T8i is one of the best DSLR cameras for beginners. It’s affordable and gives you fantastic images with little previous photography experience.

Fujifilm mirrorless cameras combine a stylish retro look with modern camera technology. The Fujifilm X-T30 II is a fine example of old-fashioned good looks and modern performance. It delivers the picture quality art photographers need. And it has creative features for different photography endeavors.

The Fujifilm X-T30 II has an APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor. And it gives you an excellent image resolution of 26.1 MP. That’s a lot of megapixels for a sensor of this size. You can photograph art in accurate detail.

The standard ISO range only gives you a low level of 160 ISO. But you can expand that to 100 or 80 ISO. This ensures you capture paintings in all their glory with little digital interference.

The Fujifilm X-T30 II is a versatile mirrorless camera. It has excellent 4K video recording for video makers. And there’s a 30 fps burst with the electronic shutter.

You also get beautiful built-in filters, including Fuji’s film simulation modes. These might not help capture artwork images, but they give you plenty of creative options. The Fujifilm X-T30 II is one of the best mirrorless cameras for artists.

Not every artist needs a big camera for photographing artwork. Some might be looking for something small to document progress in their studio. Or they might want something to capture nuggets of inspiration when out and about. The Sony RX100 VII is the perfect option for those artists.

The Sony RX100 VII is a fantastic compact camera. It uses a small 1-inch sensor. But you get an impressive 20.1 MP of resolution.

The high standard of the images is also helped by the great optical quality of the Zeiss lens. It has a wide max aperture of f/2.8 and optical image stabilisation. These help in low light and with camera shake. The 8x optical zoom is handy too.

It’s hard to find another compact camera with more features than the Sony RX100 VII. It has a superb 4K video option. There’s a 20 fps continuous burst mode to capture quick movement. And it has the best autofocus system of all compact cameras.

It’s an all-in-one machine. And it’s the best camera for an artist’s pocket.

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III is a fantastic Micro Four Thirds (MFT) camera. The smaller sensor means you get a compact camera body. But there’s no compromise in camera performance. It’s the best camera for artists from Olympus.

The MFT sensor has a 20 MP resolution. That won’t set the world alight. But that’s still excellent image quality for amateur artists.

The OM-D E-M5 III also has a trick up its sleeve. There’s a High-Resolution Shot mode. It produces 50 MP images. You need a tripod for this. But it’s the perfect option for photographing artwork.

This MFT camera also has 5-axis image stabilisation. That ensures there’s no blurring on the digital versions of the artwork.

There’s an excellent AF system. The camera has a fantastic 4K video mode and a rapid burst function. And it has easy file transfer and sharing through its Wi-Fi connectivity. The battery life is good too.

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 III is a versatile little camera. And the High-Res Shot mode makes it an ideal camera for artwork photography.

If you’re looking for raw power and resolution, you could look at a medium format camera. They aren’t as versatile as mirrorless or DSLR cameras. But they are the best cameras for outstanding image quality.

The Fujifilm GFX 50S II is one of the best and most accessible medium format cameras. It isn’t cheap by anyone’s standards. And it’s a camera for professional photographers. But it’s an incredible camera for photographing artwork.

The medium format sensor is bigger than a full frame sensor. That means it has space for more megapixels. The GFX 50S II has a whopping 51.4 MP resolution for still images. That gives you images of the highest quality. And the camera gives you a wide dynamic range.

The camera has built-in image stabilisation. And there are filters and film simulation modes. The face and eye detection AF are perfect for professional fine art portraits.

It isn’t a versatile camera. But when it comes to raw image processing, it’s hard to beat the Fujifilm GFX 50S II!