The Best Digital Camera Nikon 2016

Canon and Nikon both offer a pair of strong midrange and pro APS-C SLRs, priced under $2,000. The EOS 80D$1,099.00 at Amazon and 7D Mark II$1,499.00 at Dell utilize Canon's Dual Pixel AF system for Live View, which makes video autofocus just as quick as it is with a mirrorless camera. Nikon has the D7200$779.00 at Buydig.com and the D500, the latter of which has the most advanced autofocus system we've seen in a camera at its price point.

While photographers who want to capture distant subjects and take advantage of telephoto lenses will likely love the flexibility that the APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sensor sizes deliver, there are also a number of full-frame models aimed squarely at enthusiasts. The full-frame size, called so because it matches 35mm film in physical dimension, is a solid choice for landscapes, portraiture, event coverage, and reportage.

The larger sensor provides more control over depth of field when paired with wide aperture glass. There are entry-level SLRs, like the Canon EOS 6D$1,399.00 at Dell, which can fit just as easily into the pro category as it can in the enthusiast world.

If you're in the market for an interchangeable lens camera and want to keep the budget between $1,000 and $2,500, you have a lot of options. Perhaps too many. If you're already invested in a system, it would take a much greener field to make you jump ship, and models in this price range are very close in terms of features, performance, and image quality.

If you're buying into a system, or don't have a huge investment in lenses and accessories, the first thing I'd recommend doing is identifying which lenses you'd like to have in your bag and factoring those prices into your decision. You may find that spending a bit more on a body is worth it if lenses you're going to buy are significantly less than the competition.

And then there's the capabilities of the camera itself. You can buy a D500 or E-M1 Mark II and enjoy extremely high burst rates for image capture and 4K video recording. But if you're more of a landscape shooter and don't give a hoot about video, a full-fame model like the 6D or Alpha 7 II may be a much better choice.

The choice between an optical or electronic viewfinder is another one to consider. Modern EVFs are really, really good, and refresh quickly enough so you can track moving action. If you haven't used one in a few years, you'll be surprised at how far they've come. But for some photographers there's no substitute for an optical viewfinder, in which case an SLR will be preferred to mirrorless.

Professional Options: Full-Frame and Medium Format

Pro photographers are almost always shooting Canon or Nikon SLR systems, but there are some very capable alternatives out there. Sony has premium full-frame mirrorless models, including the 42MP Alpha 7R II$2,579.00 at Buydig.com, which offers a ton of resolution and 4K video recording. On the other end of the spectrum is the 12MP Alpha 7S II$2,624.52 at Walmart.com, which excels at extreme ISO settings and records 4K video natively, without any sort of resampling.