Top 8 Best Vlogging Cameras with Flip Screen 2023 – VloggerPro

As a vlogger, I’m sure you’ve asked yourself:

How could someone record themselves without a flip screen?

That’s like taking a selfie with your phone without a front camera. Awful!

Articulating screens let you make sure everything is A-Okay while you record. 

This is why I’ve compiled a list of the best cameras with flip screen, and have been keeping it up-to-date for the last 6+ years. Check it out:

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Our Favorite Picks

These are the ones that we like the most, but there are more options below for different needs.

Different Types of Flip Screens

Flip-up Screen

These have the disadvantage of blocking the upper side of the camera, which you could use to mount a shotgun mic.

This is especially common in Sony mirrorless cameras. They come with a flip-up screen located just behind the hot shoe mount. 

This creates a problem that can be easily fixed by getting a cold shoe adapter relocation plate. It might not be difficult to fix, but it’s an extra cost you have to take into account.

Flip-out screen

These are common in Canon DSLRs and Panasonic mirrorless cameras.

They are the best kind of flip screen because they are much more versatile than the flip-up screen.

They can be flipped to the side and offer more angles and rotate up to 270 degrees. 

This gives more options than the simple up and down offered by a flip-up screen.

Flip-down Screen

The big problem with these is that they block your tripod. You can’t use them for vlogging because of this.

You will need a small tripod to hold your camera if you don’t want to drop it to the ground, and it also helps with stability — plus, it helps you get the camera further away from your face so you can capture a wider frame and give people more context of your surroundings.

I see a lot of sites recommending flip-down-screen cameras for vlogging, but they’re basically useless. Avoid these!

Best Vlogging Cameras With Flip Screen

I’ll order this list by brand, but know that this doesn’t mean one is better than the other.

The one you choose will depend on your needs.  These are all excellent cameras.

Now, let’s begin.

The Good

• Reliable autofocus 
• Great lens quality for the price
• Great image stabilization
• Portable, small and lightweight

The Bad

• Small sensor
• No interchangeable lens

Image Quality: 2160p30 (4k) | Sensor: 1″ BSI-CMOS Sensor (Point & Shoot) | Weight: 294g (0.65 lb) | Mic Input: Yes | Stabilization: Yes

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The Sony ZV-1 has been the go-to point & shoot camera for vlogs since its release.

This camera has an excellent lens for the price. It’s a fast f/1.8 24-70mm lens that can zoom out enough for you to record yourself while holding the camera and that can also zoom in enough to get rid of perspective distortion when using it at home on a tripod.

That’s the main feature, but it also offers many more advantages, for example:

Its quality in low light is basically the best you could achieve with a 1’ CMOS sensor camera. Of course, it’s not better than a mirrorless in this regard, but it is pretty reliable for a compact.

It’s also responsive and has fast accurate autofocus. Its flip screen is also a touchscreen, so you can actually change its focus point with the tip of your finger in the middle of a video.

The quality of this camera —especially its lens—, its reliable auto modes and its fully manual mode make it possible to record high-quality vlogs without having to carry around heavy equipment.

It can record 4k video at 30p without a recording limit, which is something unique of the newest Sony cameras. Normally, they’re limited to 5 or 10 minutes of recording time.

Add to this the easiness of uploading to the internet by wireless connection to your smartphone, and you have the almost perfect vlogging camera.

The only downside I see is that it’s still a compact, non-interchangeable lens camera. This means you won’t be able to upgrade it later on with a better lens. You do get a lot for your money, but you could get more by going with an interchangeable-lens camera in the long run.

The Good

• Good in low light

• Lightweight for a mirrorless
• Great price-quality relationship

The Bad

• Cropped 4k recording

• No in-body stabilization

Image Quality: 4kp30 (cropped) | Sensor: APS-C | Weight: 387g (0.85 lb) | Mic Input: Yes | Stabilization: No

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The Canon EOS M50 got very positive reviews from the vlogging community.

Although marketed as a beginner upgrade from phone photography and videomaking, it truly has everything to become the new best vlogging mirrorless camera.

Its popularity and hype stem primarily from its 4K video shooting capability, being Canon’s first entry-level mirrorless camera with this desired feature.

But be warned though, the Canon EOS M50 Mark II adds an extra crop factor of 1.5x when shooting 4K. So, you’ll get a relatively smaller coverage — or frame — in this mode.

But despite this minor hiccup, the Canon EOS M50 Mark II still proves to be a great vlogging camera for those looking for a gear upgrade from any compact camera.

Its main advantage over the Sony ZV-1 compact is the ability to upgrade the lens and the larger sensor that achieves better results in low light.

For one, its sensor allows the camera to have a wide sensitivity range (ISO 100 to ISO 25,600). And sporting Canon’s new DIGIC 8 processor, the M50 Mark II features an improved autofocus system of 143 AF points which can also be manually controlled through its flip-out touchscreen.

Previous version (still viable): Canon EOS M50

The Good

• APS-C sensor in a small size

• Great for both photo and video

• Great stabilization

The Bad

• Autofocus could be better

Image Quality: 4kp30 | Sensor: APS-C | Weight: 467g / 1.03 lb | Mic Input: Yes | Stabilization: Yes

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If you want a camera that is outstanding for both photography and video, the Fujifilm X-S10 is the latest release you should pay attention to.

It has everything you’d want in a camera for video: in-body stabilization, flip-out screen, and external mic input.

Cameras with stabilization are usually a lot heavier. But Fujifilm managed to design a smaller stabilization system that makes it viable as a vlogging camera, even though it’s an APS-C sensor.

Combine this with the high dynamic range, and you can record astonishing smooth 4kp30 videos.

For photography, the X-S10 can shoot fast up to 30 fps (with a crop) and 20 fps without. It also shoots photos at 26MP, which is great to get highly detailed images.

It’s not common to find an APS-C camera with so many great features for video and photography at the same time.

Overall, it’s a great option if you really want the best quality for vlogging, but would also like a camera for more than just vlogging.

4) Canon EOS Rebel SL3: Best DSLR for Vlogging

The Good

• Good for low light (APS-C sensor)
• Great battery life
• Probably the best video autofocus in this list

The Bad

• No in-body stabilization

Image Quality: 4kp25 | Sensor: APS-C | Weight: 449g/ 0.99 lb | Mic Input: Yes | Stabilization: No

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If you are a follower of the most important Youtube channels, you probably have noticed that many of them still use a DSLR.

Content creators like Casey Neistat and Jake Paul still seem to prefer this kind of camera to give their vlogs the most quality.

The truth is that DSLRs aren’t dead yet, and there are still quite a few new models that have excellent performance for vlogger despite their size.

Between DSLRs, I believe the best one for vlogging is the Canon EOS Rebel SL3 The main reason? It has good autofocus for video, a flip-out screen, an external mic port, and it is way smaller and lightweight than most DSLRs.

Finally, Canon has decided to include 4k recording in most of its new DSLR models, including the SL3.

If you get a gorilla pod to go with it and a good 24mm lens from the huge selection Canon offers, you will certainly take a lot of advantages from this camera.

You can have multiple lenses for different situations. You can have a super heavy telephoto lens for wild photography, and a small wide-angle for vlogging. You can use both on the same camera. Plus, you get twice or even thrice the battery duration than most other mirrorless cameras. These are the main reasons to go for a DSLR nowadays.

The Good

• Great autofocus
• Good in low light
• Great image quality

The Bad

• No in-body stabilization

Image Quality: 4kp30 | Sensor: APS-C | Weight: 343g (0.76 lb) | Mic Input: Yes | Stabilization: No

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As we said before, the Sony ZV-1 is great as a vlogging channel, but it has a curse: it’s a compact camera that will eventually become outdated.

The Sony Alpha ZV-E10 is the brand’s answer to this problem. You’re basically getting a Sony ZV-1 with an APS-C sensor and an interchangeable lens.

You do get less for your money upfront because the kit lens is not as good as the ZV-1’s. You’re getting a slower lens (f/3.5 vs f/1.8), although with a much wider angle (16mm vs 24mm, which is even wider because it’s an APS-C versus a 1” sensor).

However, you can keep upgrading it with better lenses as the years go by. If you plan to do vlogging for a long time, getting the ZV-E10 instead of the ZV-1 might be a better investment in the long run.

You get the same basic features as the ZV-1: a directional mic that makes it possible to vlog without an external mic (although you can still connect one), easiness of transferring to your smartphone, excellent eye-tracking autofocus.

Bear in mind that you’ll also get the bad thing: lack of in-body stabilization, which will make you stick to lenses with stabilization if you want to vlog.

The Good

• Reliable autofocus 
• Great lens quality for the price
• Great image stabilization
• Portable, small and lightweight

The Bad

• Small sensor
• No external mic port

Image Quality: 4kp30 | Sensor: 1″ BSI-CMOS Sensor (Point & Shoot) | Weight: 372g/ 0.82 lb | Mic Input: No | Stabilization: Yes

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The Powershot G7X Mark III has been the go-to point & shoot camera for vlogs since its release.

What made the G7 X great and is still present in the Mark III is the high-quality lens. It’s a fast f/1.8 24-100mm lens that can zoom out enough for you to record yourself while holding the camera and that can also zoom in enough to get rid of perspective distortion when using it at home on a tripod.

That’s the main feature, but it also offers many more advantages, for example:

Its quality in low light is basically the best you could achieve with a 1’ CMOS sensor camera.

It’s also responsive and has fast and accurate autofocus. Its flip screen is also a touchscreen, so you can actually change its focus point with the tip of your finger in the middle of a video.

It also comes with a time-lapse recording mode, which was lacking in the first version (although it’s still achievable in the older model).

The quality of this camera —especially its lens—, it’s reliable auto modes and its fully manual mode makes it possible to record high-quality vlogs without having to carry around heavy equipment.

This version doesn’t get rid of all the problems the G7 X had, although it does improve a lot its battery life. The main downside is that it still doesn’t have a mic input, but that’s mostly normal for compact cameras—except the Sony ZV-1.

When compared to the Sony, you can get this one if you want the extra zoom. Otherwise, the ZV-1 is a better competitor right now with more options (better mic and external mic jack, blurred background option, better connectivity, etc).

7) Panasonic G100: Best for a Tight Budget

The Good

• Small design
• 4k recording for a good price

The Bad

• No in-body stabilization
• Autofocus is not the best

Image Quality: 4kp30 | Sensor: Micro 4/3 | Weight: 419g (0.92 lb) | Mic Input: Yes | Stabilization: No

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Panasonic is a really good brand for small cameras that can record really good video.

For vloggers, one of the most important models to consider is the Panasonic G100.

The 4k recording is really good. The camera achieves beautiful colors and can record 4k at 25p/30p for 10 minutes straight. But it can also do 1080p at 120p for extra slow-motion video.

Compared to the Sony ZV-1, this one comes with a larger Micro 4/3 sensor and an interchangeable lens. But it doesn’t have internal stabilization.

You have the option to use electronic image stabilization (EIS) instead, which can also be paired with a lens with OIS. But this adds a crop that’s especially noticeable in 4k.

If you want truly stabilized video, you’ll want to use 1080p because the frame in 4k with EIS on is too small to record yourself.

It performs better in low light thanks to the larger sensor, but you might want to get a faster lens later on if you want to use it a lot in these situations.

Although, if you really want a camera that can perform in any lighting situation, you’d probably be better off with an APS-C camera like the Canon EOS M50 Mark II. It’s just that you’ll have to pay slightly more.

It is still one of the best vlogging cameras you can choose, especially for the price. But can get something a lot better for just a couple hundred more bucks.

8) Panasonic Lumix G85: Best for Starters

The Good

• 4k recording
• Great price-quality relationship
• Made for video (IS, mic. port and flip screen)
• Lightweight

The Bad

• Micro 4/3 Sensor is smaller than most DSLRs and mirrorless

Image Quality: 4kp30 | Sensor: Micro Four Thirds | Weight: 505g /1.11 lb | Mic Input: Yes | Stabilization: Yes

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Panasonic doesn’t make many cameras, but the few ones they got are a really good fit for vlogging.

The Panasonic G85 is my favorite from them when it comes to vlogging cameras. This one simply has all the additional features vloggers love.

We could wrap up this camera by simply saying that you will sacrifice a bit of low-light performance in exchange for being able to connect an external mic to your camera, and 4k recording quality in a fairly lightweight body.

This is really comfortable for vloggers since that’s one less step you’ll have to go through during the editing process. There will no need for you to sync audio and video if you want to have the best audio quality.

Additionally, you will be able to set a shotgun microphone on the hot-shoe of the camera, which combined with a gorilla pod will be the perfect vlogging setup.

The low-light performance will suffer a bit, together with the ability to achieve the “blurred background” effect some vloggers like to have.

This is due to its sensor size being a Micro Four Thirds, which is slightly smaller than the APS-C found in most mirrorless cameras.

But if you are a vlogger, you will probably record mostly outside your house, and an MFT sensor is more than enough for that.

This is the way Panasonic can give more features to buyers: by using a cheaper and smaller MFT sensor.

Still, remember that you can record 4k video at 30fps with this baby. This is definitely a really good trade for vloggers, and that’s why I can’t leave this post without mentioning this camera.

Read the full review: Panasonic G85.

What Camera Sensor Size is The Best for You?

When you don’t know much about cameras, this is the part that can confuse you the most. But don’t worry, I’ll quickly explain the advantages and disadvantages of each one.

Advantages of Larger Sensors

The biggest advantages of having a larger sensor are:

1. Higher quality video in low light
2. Higher Dynamic Range
3. More intense Bokeh effect

1) Higher quality video in low light

When you capture an image with a small sensor in low light your image will look noisier. Like this:

The little dots you can see in the image is called noise

This happens because when the sensor receives low amounts of light, it needs to increase its sensibility to light. The higher the sensibility to light (ISO), the noisier the image becomes. 

Since the larger sensor can capture more light due to having a larger surface, they don’t need to increase their ISO as often. This means that they can achieve cleaner images in low light.

2) Higher Dynamic Range

More dynamic range will give you more details when your image is too dark or too bright. And it will give you more shades between both sides of the spectrum. 

Here’s a great example by HowToGeek:

Credits to HowToGeek

3) More intense Bokeh effect

Do you know the beautiful “blurry” background effect everybody loves? That’s called Bokeh effect. 

This is more affected by the lens aperture, but larger sensors also give you better, more intense Bokeh effect:

 Clockwise from top-left: Full-frame, APS-C, Micro Four Thirds. Image Credit to BorrowLenses

Disadvantages of Larger Sensors

Even though the advantages of a larger sensor look really good, they also come with big disadvantages:

1. They — and their lenses — are much more expensive.
2. They’re a lot heavier. 

This is why most vloggers will want to look away from full-frame cameras. Even though they look great on paper, they’re not very comfortable for vlogging.

That’s why for vlogging it’s more common to go for smaller sensors.

Vloggers need a portable camera that can record well, but they don’t need a super professional camera that can record inside a cave.

F.A.Q

What is a Full-Frame Sensor?

This is the largest, most expensive sensor size. Most vloggers won’t like to go for one of these because they’re often heavier and more expensive.

If you ever want to get one, make sure you choose a Sony full-frame like the Sony A7 (no flip screen).

They are a lot smaller and lighter than other full-frame cameras.

What is an APS-C Sensor?

These are the most chosen sensor size for beginners. They offer the perfect middle ground between Micro Four Thirds (more on this below) and Full-Frame.

They can record high-quality videos in low light while being also really small. 

If you want one of these, Canon and Sony offer excellent choices for vloggers, and we’ll review some of them below.

What is a Micro Four Thirds Sensor?

These cameras have technically the worst low-light performance of the three, but they make it up by including more useful features for the same — and often lower — price.

I really like these cameras because they’re able to offer amazing stabilization, external mic input, fast and accurate autofocus, and cheaper but fast, high-quality lenses for a better price.

However, this size is not for everybody. 

If this is the first real camera you’re getting, it’s probably safer for you to go for an APS-C sensor camera. 

That will give you a good starting point to compare to. Later on, you can try some Micro 4/3 cameras and see if you like the trade-off between better features and a tiny bit worse low-light performance.

Bear in mind that if you’re recording from home and have your own lighting kit, you won’t run into low light performance problems.

Should I get a Mirrorless, DSLR, or Point & Shoot?

I personally like mirrorless cameras because they’re a lot lighter and smaller, so they’re great for vlogging.

Plus, the only real advantage DSLRs have nowadays is battery life. You can easily fix this by carrying a power bank with you at all times or by having extra spare batteries.

Mirrorless cameras also come with extra features that make everything a lot easier, like electronic viewfinders that offer tons of useful information for photographers.

The truth is that the camera industry is moving away from DSLR because mirrorless is becoming better at a faster pace.

And in regards to Poin& Shoot cameras, I don’t like the idea of investing a few hundred in a camera that is just slightly better than a smartphone’s.

But some people do like them because they don’t want to have their phone available to use for something else — did you know you can also call and send TEXT messages with a smartphone? Crazy, right?

Do I Need In-Body Image Stabilization (IS)

If you want to take the camera out with you and record while moving around, camera stabilization is almost a must — unless you want to make your viewers throw up.

We say almost a must because even if your camera doesn’t have in-body IS, you can still get a lens with optical IS. 

The problem is that this will limit the selection of lenses at your disposal. Also, lenses with OIS are more expensive.

What lens should I get?

For most people, the kit lens is a good starting point. They usually come with stabilization and offer the cheapest price. But if you want to get a good lens from the start, read on.

The first thing you need to know is if your camera comes with in-body stabilization. If it does, you can go for a cheap lens with no optical stabilization. Even though you will get even more stabilization by getting one, you don’t really need it.

And the second thing you want to look at is lens aperture. You want a fast lens. 

A fast lens means that the lens’s diaphragm can open wider, which will let more light in for the sensor to capture.

If you’ve been paying attention to this post, you already know that more light equals better image quality, especially in low-light environments. 

This means that a faster lens means better quality and sharper images in general. That’s why a fast lens will always be more expensive.

In other words, you want the fastest lens that you can afford.

How do you know how fast a lens is?

When you’re looking to purchase a lens, you get two main important pieces of information: the focal length and the aperture.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all that info, but it’s simpler than you think.

For example, let’s look at the Canon M50’s kit lens:

• Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3

The “15-45mm” is the focal length range. It indicates the range of “zoom” the lens has. From 15mm (less zoom) up to 45mm (more zoom).

The f/3.5-6.3 is the lens aperture range. It’s represented by the f/ number. The lower the F/ number is, the faster the lens is.

Bear in mind that sensor size will also affect the final resulting frame. Larger sensors result in a wider frame. Another way of seeing is that smaller sensors will make the image look more “zoomed in”.

For vlogging, while you’re holding your camera in “selfie mode”, you’ll need a lens with less zoom — also commonly known as a wide-angle lens. 

A lens that is between 12-24mm focal length will let you hold your camera close to your face and still capture a lot of your surroundings.

If this is too complicated for you to understand — the first time I learned this I didn’t get it either — you can always simply go for the kit lens the cameras come with. 

They are great to test different focal lengths when you’re starting. Most of them also come with stabilization.

You can find more info about getting the perfect lens for you here.

Will has been a full-time content creator since 2014. He’s an audio, video, and tech hobbyist dedicated to reviewing products and giving you the best tips he knows to grow your audience.