The best 4k 60 fps cameras combine the ability to shoot stunning high resolution video footage at a super fast frame rate with an array of other pro-level camera features. And although the number of cameras offering 4K 60 fps capabilities still remain relatively few today, there’s thankfully at least one truly good option at every price point – from enthusiast through to fully professional. Read our guide to the best 4K 60 fps cameras for 2024 to get the full lowdown on these exciting new tools for videographers and photographers alike.
A Guide to the Best 4k 60 fps Cameras for 2024
What the best 4k 60 fps cameras for 2024 all have in common is a winning combination of videomaking features, while providing excellent value for money at their particular price point. Nonetheless, some 4K 60 fps cameras will be better suited to certain styles of shooting than others. So here we offer a number of different recommended products according to usage.
Overall Best 4K 60 fps Camera – Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
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Overview
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K is undoubtedly one of the most talked-about moviemaking releases of the last few years. And rightly so: this is a serious tool, for serious videographers. However, this last line should be taken both as praise and as a word of warning; the BPCC4 is undoubtedly an incredible camera, but in order to get the most out of it, you really need to know what you are doing.
To be sure, you’ll find no beginner’s auto modes here. Still, for those with a modicum of technical knowledge and experience, operation is extremely straightforward and intuitive. And of course, the advantage of all-manual operation is that the user retains full control over the final results. Which, it must be said, are totally stunning when the camera is placed in the right hands.
The only major drawbacks to the BPCC4 are its autofocus system – which is not truly continuous, but tap-only, via the LCD – and shockingly poor battery performance; expect around 30-40 mins of shooting time from a full charge. Oh, and of course, the fact that the sensor is not quite full frame. Nonetheless, image quality is stunning, and shallow depth of field can still be achieved by using fast lenses.
Combining superb dynamic range, excellent low-light performance, and fantastic image quality, not only is the BPCC4 our choice as the overall best 4k 60 fps camera currently available, but easily one of the best cameras for cinematography out there right now. Period.
Pros
+ Great dynamic range
+ Good low-light performance
+ Beautiful sharp 5 inch 1920 x 1080 full-HD touch display
+ Amazing price
+ Highly responsive LCD controls
+ Full-size HDMI port
+ Very good internal mics
+ Mic In and Headphone Monitoring jacks
+ Offers an incredible range of supported codecs and formats, including RAW, 12-bit video
Cons
– Poor battery life, so you’ll need to stock up on a lot of spares or invest in the separately available Battery Grip
– Non-tilt LCD that can sometimes be difficult to view in bright sunlight
– No viewfinder
– Body design and layout is less well-suited to those with small hands
– No built-in image stabilization, although can be used with stabilized lenses
– 4/3 sensor, slightly smaller than a full-frame camera
– Some users have reported loose battery doors as being a design issue
– Not great for taking still photos.
– Lackluster autofocus performance
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Best Small Format 4K 60 fps Camera – Panasonic Lumix GH5S
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Overview
Those in need of small, compact camera that punches well above its weight in terms of video quality need look no further than the Panasonic Lumix DC GH5S. A high-bitrate and high bit-depth camera capable of producing 4K video at 60 fps. The result is probably the nicest looking footage of any similarly-specced camera available right now.
Not only this, but the GH5S is undoubtedly one of the most video-oriented photo cameras on the market. In part this is because Panasonic has evidently put a lot of thought and effort into designing a camera that’s supremely well-suited to shooting video. However, if we’re totally honest, it’s also because certain limitations make the camera a particularly bad choice for shooting stills.
Indeed, anyone hoping that this would be their go-to camera for both movie and stills shooting would likely do better to consider the GH5S’s predecessor, the GH5 (see below), with its higher pixel count and built-in image stabilization. For the most part, though, the GH5S improves on the already great performance of the GH5, offering much better low light capabilities and reduced noise at higher ISOs.
Pros
+ Best video quality from a small format camera
+ Excellent low-light performance (improved over the GH5)
+ Impressive dynamic range
+ Full HD 240 fps for incredible slo-mo (not available for 4K)
+ Big, high resolution viewfinder
Cons
– Worse stills resolution than the GH5
– No image stabilization
– Poor AF
– Inconveneient joystick controls
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Best 4K 60 fps Camera for Professional Photographers – Canon EOS-1DX Mark III
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Canon’s EOS-1DX Mark III is undoubtedly the best 4K 60 fps camera out there for those who need both top quality stills and video performance in a single pro-level DSLR. Physically, the 1DX Mk III is a big, heavy tank of a camera; attesting to the wealth of power and features this formidable machine packs inside. Nonetheless, despite the brawny mass, for those who enjoy the SLR format it’s a highly usable film making tool.
Battery life is extremely impressive, and twin SD card slots mean you can keep on shooting for even longer without interruption. Face- and eye-detect autofocus work really well, and overall it offers the best focusing chops of any Canon camera out there – both through the optical viewfinder and on the LCD – making it a great tool for action stills photography.
For those who frequently shoot both movies and photographs, there’s the additional advantage that the video and stills functions are kept totally separate; meaning that you can quickly switch between the two without losing your exposure settings each time. Internal RAW recording ups the appeal for filmmakers, as does the fact that the Mk III’s audio preamps are much better than on Canon’s older cameras.
Of course, the big news here is that although the 1DX Mk III offers the same high pixel-count as its predecessor, it comes with a new processor; allowing for 4K video at 60 fps using the whole sensor. The only caveat here being that 4K 60 fps works only with manual focus, as dual pixel focusing is available only up to 30 fps.
True, some will complain about the lack of an articulating LCD. And there’s no optical in-body stabilization either (there’s electronic stabilization, but as this comes with a major loss in image quality due to cropping, you would do better to use a gimbal instead). For most photographers and film makers though, these will be no more than minor irritants that do little to detract from the 1DX Mk III’s main selling points: amazing 4K 60 fps image quality; truly great low light performance; and unparalleled autofocus for stills shooting.
One of the very latest additions to the Canon line-up, the EOS-1DX Mark III will be released mid-February 2024 and is currently on pre-order.
Pros
+ 20MP full-frame sensor
+ Amazing 191-point face and eye AF
+ Dual Pixel AF in live view mode
+ Backlit buttons
+ High-res touchscreen
+ Ruggedly built and weather sealed
+ Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS
+ Dual SD card slots
+ Great in low light
Cons
– LCD non-articulating
– 4k 60 fps is manual focus only
– No optical image stabilization
– Very expensive
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Other Recommended Camera Options for 60 fps 4K Video
Fujifilm X-T3
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Fuji’s X-T2 was already something of a cult camera among street photographers and hipsters alike, so there was little surprise at the degree of excitement that greeted the announcement of the X-T3’s arrival in mid 2018. But beyond the pretty retro exterior, does the X-T3 actually live up to the hype?
Well, in certain respects (that we’ll get to in a second), the X-T3 actually performs worse than the X-T2. However, these minor issues aside, the real draw here for videographers is that the X-T3 trumps its predecessor’s 4K capabilities by upping the maximum frame rate from 30 to 60 fps.
What else is on offer here? For a start there’s incredible autofocus, with eye detect AF working particularly well – even on very fast moving subjects. Also, rolling shutter is barely detectable, making it a great for handheld work and panning shots. And there’s a top quality onboard pre-amp, which means that recording audio direct to camera is very satisfying indeed. You also benefit from Fuji’s famous color rendering, meaning that images tend to look great straight out of camera.
What’s more, the X-T3’s EVF is absolutely fantastic. And with the 60 fps 4K, the Fuji is capable of very impressive slo-mo sequences at an incredible resolution. Additionally, one very handy feature is the ability to set up your video exposure settings (for example, a nice slow shutter speed) via the touch screen without changing your stills shooting settings o the dials. This makes it very quick and easy to switch between shooting movies and stills.
Of course, while the X-T3 easily ranks among the best 4K 60 fps cameras available right now, it needs to be remembered that it comes with an APS-C sensor, not a full frame one. Bear in mind, too, that there’s no in-body image stabilization on offer here.
And how does the X-T3 compare to its predecessor? Well, while the X-T3’s dynamic range somewhat outdoes the X-T2 at lower ISOs, performance is actually slightly less impressive than the X-T2 when the camera is used at higher ISO settings. Nonetheless, the X-T3’s hybrid AF phase detect system means that autofocus performs much better in low light than on the X-T2. And this, coupled with the touch of extra resolution offered by the newer model, ultimately makes for a pretty good trade off.
Finally, with the X-T4 rumored to be on its way very shortly, prices for the X-T3 are likely to fall soon, which would only make it even more of a bargain.
Pros
+ Amazing eye-detect autofocus
+ AF performs very well in low light
+ 26MP CMOS sensor
+ Great hands-on controls
+ Fast burst rate
+ Good battery performance
+ Very nice viewfinder
+ Good onboard audio preamps
+ Fuji color profiles
Cons
– Not full frame
– No onboard optical image stabilization
– Lacks non-face subject tracking when shooting video
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Panasonic Lumix GH5
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Overview
For those in need of a small, lightweight camera for shooting both movies and stills – and who are discouraged by the GH5S’s emphasis on the former to the detriment of the latter – the only marginally older Lumix GH5 might be just what you’re looking for.
As an early adopter of 4K 60 fps, Panasonic’s GH5 already came with this capability back in early 2017. What’s more, it offers both higher image resolution than the GH5S and the onboard image stabilization that is so inexplicably missing from the newer camera.
As mentioned above though, the GH5S does offer certain improvements over the GH5; most notably improved performance when working in low-light situations. However, if videography is only one element of your repertoire, and alongside 4K 60 fps abilities you also need to deliver high quality stills, the fact that high resolution 18 megapixel still images can be extracted from the GH5’s video footage makes this camera a very persuasive option indeed.
Monitoring and composition is done either via the GH5’s articulating touchscreen or using the truly beautiful high-res electronic viewfinder. Meanwhile image stabilization works so exceedingly well it really is difficult to understand why Panasonic opted to remove this feature from the GH5S. All in all, then, the GH5 is a fantastic portable hybrid camera for video-making and photography on-the-fly.
Pros
+ 4K video at 60 fps
+ Dual SD card slots
+ Big, bright, high-resolution EVF
+ 3.2 inch articulating touchscreen
+ WiFi, NFC, and Bluetooth
+ Weather sealed
+ Good dynamic range
+ Great in-body stabilization
Cons
– Not full-frame
Final Thoughts
While 60 fps 4K is becoming increasingly common in modern cameras, often these much fanfared credentials turn out to be somewhat misleading, For example, when you dig a little deeper it’s not uncommon to discover that, yes, there’s 4K, and yes the camera can shoot at 60 fps; but not these two things at the same time. Or alternatively, perhaps the camera can combine 4K with 60 fps, but in order to do so it will only use a portion of the sensor, leading to a drop in image quality.
In short, while the 4K 60 fps club is set to steadily grow in the coming months and years, for now the best 4K 60 fps cameras are relatively few in number. Nonetheless, those that do truly fit the bill are invariably of excellent quality and come with a wide range of other state-of-the-art features. Hopefully, among those featured in our guide to the best 4K 60 fps cameras for 2024, you’ve found a model that meets your needs.
First, though, in order to help you decide whether 60 fps is really for you, we start by clarifying any uncertainties you may have around the topic, taking a look at the pros and cons of shooting at high speed. This way you’ll be in a much better position to choose which is the best 4K 60 fps camera for your own needs, should you ultimately decide that this is the way forward for your videography.
What is Video Frame Rate?
Movies – moving images – are actually made up of a series of still images shown in quick succession. Precisely how many still images appear in a given second of moving image is what we mean by frame rate, usually expressed as fps (frames per second). Traditionally cinema has always used a relatively slow frame rate of 24 fps (i.e. 24 frames per second of moving image), whereas the standard for television in the Unites States has long been 30 fps. 30 fps is now also the frame rate used by most smartphones when capturing video.
You will likely have noticed that cinema and video look very different from one another. This is because a faster frame rate makes for smoother movement, whereas less frames per second produce jerkier movement; like a lo-fi cartoon or a flip book. This being the case, you might expect 30 fps video to look more realistic, and therefore be thought of as superior to 24 fps cinema. In practice, though, many people consider the look of cinema to be far more attractive than video.
What Isn’t Video Frame Rate?
Although the concept of video frame rate is not too complicated to understand once explained, it nonetheless appears similar to a couple of other concepts and functions that you’ll commonly find on most cameras; particularly on cameras that are also designed for stills photography. This often causes people to confuse these 3 separate concepts.
Shutter Speed
Above all, it’s important to understand that frame rate is not the same as shutter speed. Again, frame rate refers to the number of still images that are used to create a second of moving image – typically expressed as fps – meanwhile shutter speed is the length of time the camera’s shutter remains open in order to capture each of those images. Shutter speed is usually expressed as a fraction of a second, such as 1/60, 1/30, or 1/15 of a second and therefore is easy to differentiate from frame rate once you are familiar with the terminology.
With this said, there is an important relationship between frame rate and shutter speed. In fact, for achieving “natural” looking footage, choosing a certain frame rate has traditionally meant also needing to shoot at a specific shutter speed. The general rule being that you should use a shutter speed of about twice your frame rate; i.e. shoot at 1/50 at 24 fps, or 1/60 at 30 fps, and so on. For more information about the relationship between shutter speed and frame rate, this article on the 180 degree rule in video is very informative.
Burst Shooting Rate
An even more similar looking concept to the frames per second of video is the speed in which a stills camera can capture single photos in rapid succession. This is often referred to as a camera’s “burst shooting” or “continuous shooting” rate (and back in the days of analog film cameras was known as “motordrive speed”).
To get a clear idea of what is meant by this, imagine a paparazzo shooting a burst of photos of someone coming out of an apartment building; if you were to look at all the photos in order, they would have been shot so close together in time that the sequence would actually look like a series of images taken from a movie.
And in reality, there is no real difference between a still camera’s burst shooting rate and the frame rate of video, other than the way in which the two types of image are ultimately viewed (one as single images, the other as video footage). Indeed, if the burst shooting rate of a stills camera is fast enough, you could easily turn the sequence of photographs into a video by putting them on the timeline of video editing software such as Final Cut Pro. Conversely, many cameras allow you to shoot video and then extract high resolution stills from the video sequence. To make matters even more confusing, a still camera’s burst shooting rate is also referred to using the abbreviation fps (frames per second).
The reason it’s important to understand the difference between the frames per second of a video and the burst shooting rate of a stills camera is that generally burst shooting rates tend to be slower than video frame rates (although several modern professional-level stills cameras can now achieve burst shooting rates of 30 fps) and secondly a stills camera will typically only be able to maintain its maximum burst shooting rate for a couple of seconds before the memory buffer overloads and the camera must process all the images it has captured.
In short, be sure to look at the correct spec of any camera models you are considering purchasing, paying particular attention not to confuse concepts such as video frame rate, shutter speed, and burst shooting rate. As an example, a camera that can only manage a stills burst shooting rate of 12 fps might be perfectly capable of shooting 4K video at 60 fps, so it’s clearly very important not to confuse these two concepts.
Why 60 fps?
Having gained a clear understanding of what video frame rate is – and isn’t – there nonetheless remains the question as to why you would want a camera capable of shooting 60 fps in the first place. As we’ve already mentioned, TV and video tend to use a frame rate of 30 fps. Meanwhile, cinema is even slower at 24 fps, and yet still manages to look great. That being the case, what’s the advantage of shooting at 60 fps?
Compatibility with Viewing Devices
The fact is that most devices we now watch moving images on – smartphones, tablets, computer screens – have a refresh rate of 60 Hz. In practice this means that a new image appears on your screen at a rate of 60 fps.
If you watch regular 30 fps video on a 60 Hz device, effectively each frame is viewed twice. Not a major problem. But with 24 fps cinema footage, things are a little less straightforward. Clearly 60 doesn’t neatly divide by 24, meaning that your device will need to show some images for longer than others in order to make up the shortfall. This leads to once smooth and fluid 24 fps movement becoming jumpy and jerky when viewed on a 60 Hz device.
Smoother Slo-Mo
Another reason why you might want to shoot at a higher frame rate than normal is in order to slow down the footage at the editing stage without a loss in quality. For example, imagine you shoot at 30 fps, and later decide that you want to use a portion of the video in slo-mo. Even just at half-speed, you’re now viewing the sequence at 15 fps. When you consider that individual frames start to become noticeable to the human brain at any frame rate much slower than about 18 fps. it’s obvious that your half-speed footage is going to look very jerky. And unfortunately there’s no way of filling in the gaps other than using software to merge frames, which rarely produces satisfactory results.
But while you can’t turn video shot at a slow frame rate into a fast frame rate (where are all those extra frames going to come from?), downgrading footage shot at 60 fps to 30 fps is very simple and results in no loss in video quality when compared with footage shot directly at 30 fps. Clearly then, if you regularly make use of slo-mo effects, shooting at 60 fps gives you total flexibility to slow down your footage whenever you want, without collateral damage.
Better 4K Compatability
4K video means ultra-detailed video. And even at 24 fps you will see an enormous difference in quality when shooting 4K rather than 1080p, especially when viewed on a larger screen. However, if the footage is shot at a slow shutter speed of, say, 1/50 of a second – as would generally be recommended for a frame rate of 24 fps (see above) – this advantage in resolution will be offset by blurry images whenever the subject moves. I.e. fairly static scenes shot on 4K at 24 fps will look really detailed and impressive, but any action footage will lose most of the advantage in resolution offered by 4K due to motion blur.
The advantage of shooting at 60 fps, then, is that you get to use a much faster shutter speed (i.e. 1/125), thus eliminating most motion blur and producing super sharp and detailed video. This makes 60 fps particularly suitable for using with 4K.
Reasons Not to Shoot at 60 fps
Ultimately though, like most things in cinematography, whether you will want to shoot at 60 fps is largely a subjective artistic choice. In fact, there are almost as many arguments against shooting at 60 fps as there are for it. Which side you align yourself with will depend on your own personal needs and tastes as a film maker, with neither argument being either objectively right or wrong. What’s important is to fully understand all the differences that 4K 60 fps shooting would make to your cinematography should you to decide to go with it.
60 fps Is Too Realistic
For many people, the main objection to shooting at 60 fps is simply how it looks. Personal taste often just comes down to what we are most used to. And for anyone who grew up watching a lot of classic cinema, 60 fps is just too smooth; making it look more like banal real life than an aesthetic art-form.
Storage and Processing Times
Aside from personal taste, though, there’s also a very practical reason why some people don’t want to switch to shooting at 60 fps: disk space. Shooting 4K video already results in files that are several times bigger than with HD. Now move from 30 fps to 60 fps and those files will double in size again.
While the price of disk storage has dropped significantly in recent years, these savings are quickly cancelled out by today’s enormous media files. Shoot a weekly vlog in 4K at 60 fps, and you’ll soon need to move into a bigger apartment just to house all your backup disks.
Also keep in mind that working with bigger files will put more strain on your editing software and hardware, potentially slowing down your workflow. If shooting in 4K at 60 fps genuinely brings you advantages that you are sure you will make full use of, then additional processing times are likely to be a minor consideration. But for those who don’t particuarly need any of the benefits offered by 60 fps in the first place, the extra memory required to store and process bigger files might literally make shooting at 60 fps a waste of your time.
Spec List
– Camera system (DSLR, Mirrorless, Cinema Camera?)
– Size
– Weight
– Sensor size (full frame or not)
– Sensor type and number of megapixels
– Video resolution (e.g. full-HD, 4K, RAW etc.)
– Video frame rates (fps)
– Available video formats and codecs
– ISO range (from-to)
– LCD size and resolution
– LCD articulating, folding, or fixed
– LCD touch-sensitive, yes/no
– Electronic viewfinder, yes/no
– Viewfinder coverage (%)
– Exposure latitude (in f/stops)
– Audio inputs (stereo mic in?)
– Audio outputs (headphone monitoring jack?)
– Can also shoot stills, yes/no
– Autofocus type and number of AF points (crosshair, dual pixel etc.)
– Facial recognition AF, yes/no
– Battery performance (how long can film with a single charge)
– HDMI port, yes/no
– Image stabilization, yes/no
– Weather sealed, yes/no
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