Amazon Prime Day is nearly here and, as TechRadar's cameras editor, that means one thing – locking my credit card in a safe to protect it from a barrage of impulse buys I'll be tempted to make when the event kicks off on July 12.
The Prime Day deals are tough to resist at the best of times. But when your job is to scour Amazon's vast shelves throughout the shopping event, it's hard not to act when your eye catches the twinkle of a genuine bargain.
If history is any guide, there will indeed be bargains. Worryingly, there will also likely be sizable discounts or Lightning deals on lenses, camera bags and SD cards. All of which means I'll be giving that credit card a good rest this weekend to prepare it for the week ahead.
But which Prime Day camera deals will I be looking out for? I may not be in the market for several cameras, but there are a few models that I think are hot favorites for discounts. If any of the ones below hit their lowest-ever prices during the event, I'm fully expecting my brain's financial planning department to be granted an unexpected day off.
Prime Day is also traditionally a fine time to pick up camera accessories – so the list below includes a couple of those to keep an eye on, too. Last year, we did see discounts on pricier full-frame cameras like the Nikon Z6 and Panasonic Lumix S5. But given we're in challenging financial times, I've focused on more affordable cameras and accessories in the list below – this is where I reckon the best value could lie...
Fujifilm Instax Mini 40
- Recent price: $99 / £89
- Record-low price: $89 / £79
An instant camera is the ideal Prime Day purchase – not too expensive, and different enough from your existing camera or phone to justify the impulse buy. The Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 may top our guide to the best instant cameras, but this is the one I have my eye on.
Why? Firstly, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 40 the coolest-looking instant camera around, outside of the unbearably cute Polaroid Go. Also, it's been around just long enough (just over a year) for it to be in Prime Day discount territory. Hopefully it'll dip under that $89 / £79 record-low price – if not, I'll settle for a discount on the new Instax Link Wide printer instead.
- Also look out for deals on: Polaroid Go, Polaroid Now+
DJI Pocket 2
- Recent price: $349 / £339
- Record-low price: $329 / £283
The Pocket 2 reminds me of a prosperous time when cameras were more daring and eccentric – and fortunately, it's also really good at what it does. The key to its charm is its tiny, 3-axis gimbal, which allows to follow you around as you talk, and also pull off some pretty impressive camera moves.
This makes it a far better tool than my iPhone for video, without demanding any of the hotly-contested space in my camera bag. During Black Friday last year, it dropped below the £299 mark in the UK – if it does something similar (or better) during Prime Day, I could well be tempted.
- Also look out for deals on: DJI Osmo Pocket
GoPro Hero 8 Black
- Recent price: $299 / £279
- Record-low price: $279 / £249
Prime Day and GoPro deals go together like mango and hot sauce (try it), so I'm fully expecting there to be some zingers again this time around. Last year, the best GoPro deal in the US and UK was a Hero 8 Black Bundle (including a tripod, headstrap, 32GB microSD card and two batteries) for only $279 / £249.
With the Hero 10 Black now topping GoPro's lineup, I think the Hero 8 Black now offers the sweet spot for value – for a supposedly entry-level model, it offers a lot including 4K/60p video recording, excellent stabilization, a built-in mount and compatibility with GoPro's Mod accessories. If you need a stunt double for your smartphone camera, another sizable Prime Day discount would make the Hero 8 Black a good buy.
- Also look out for deals on: DJI Action 2
Ricoh GR IIIx
- Recent price: $997 / £882
- Record-low price: $997 / £847
If you want a powerful compact camera for street photography, there are currently two great options: the Fujifilm X100V and the Ricoh GR III. Stock of the X100V is currently hard to find and a recent opinion feature from TechRadar contributor Tim Coleman (which you should definitely read) convinced me that I need Ricoh's cult classic in my life, at some point.
I'll be looking out for discounts on the GR IIIx version, because its 40mm lens is more my kind of focal length than the 28mm one you get on the standard GR III. But the latter is perhaps more likely to be discounted, given it age. Either way, a price cut could make it a tempting buy for those who want pro-level, smartphone-beating power in their pocket.
- Also look out for deals on: Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VI
Nikon Z fc
- Recent price: $957 / £879
- Record-low price: $957 / £800
If you like your cameras to be as charming as they are powerful, then the Nikon Zfc might just be your ideal mirrorless camera. It's a real beauty, looking like the 30-year-old Nikon FM2 your grandfather once used on holiday, but packing a large 20.9MP APS-C sensor and compatibility with Nikon's excellent Z-mount lenses.
Given it launched almost exactly a year ago, the Nikon Zfc is an outside bet for a Prime Day discount. But it's such a desirable camera, even a small price drop could be worth snapping up.
- Also look out for deals on: Canon EOS M50
DJI Mini 2
- Recent price: $957 / £879
- Record-low price: $957 / £800
Yes, the new DJI Mini 3 Pro is dangerously tempting, but it's also super-expensive for a compact flying camera. Also, until that drone flew into my peripheral vision, I was perfectly happy daydreaming about the DJI Mini 2 – an equally small drone that's surely about to fly into serious bargain territory.
In theory, the stars are aligning for a big Prime Day discount on the Mini 2. It's now 18 months old, recently been succeeded by a new model, and already shown a propensity for price drops this year. My money is on a discount to the Fly More Combo bundle, which includes accessories like spare batteries. But given our advice is typically to buy DJI drones with those pricier bundles, that certainly wouldn't be a bad thing.
- Also look out for deals on: DJI Mavic Mini
Lexar Professional 2000x
- Recent price (64GB version): $80 / £80
- Record-low price: $59 / £54 (Lightning deal)
Not everyone can afford to splash out a new camera during Prime Day, particularly in these tricky financial times. But one thing all photographers and content creators should look out for are memory card discounts, which are something of a tradition for Amazon shopping events.
You can use our guide to the best SD cards to formulate a battle plan, but my current favorite is the Lexar Professional 2000x. Its 260MB/s write speeds are fast enough for burst-shooting sessions and 4K video, and I've found them to be reliable out in the field – if the 64GB version gets a generous price slash or a Lightning Deal, I'll snap them up like toffee popcorn.
- Also look out for deals on: Transcend SDXC UHS-II U3SD card
Early Amazon Prime Day deals
- Amazon devices: up to 65% off Echo Dot, Fire TV Cube, more
- Coffee machines: save £40 on the Philips Espresso Machine
- Earbuds: Google Pixel Buds for a record low price
- Fashion: up to 27% off men's and women's clothing
- Groceries: £10 off your first three grocery shops
- Health: 55% off Philips Sonicare 3100 electric toothbrush
- Household: up to 31% off soap, batteries, razors, more
- Kindle: ebooks from 99p
- Laptops: Chromebooks, laptops and MacBooks from £129.99
- Phones: save on Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and Xiaomi
- PS5: 35% off F1 2022 and Logitech G29 racing wheel bundle
- Robot vacuum: £139.99 for eufy BoostIQ RoboVac
- Routers: up to £224 off Amazon eero Mesh Wi-Fi Routers
- Security: Ring Home Security bundles up to £180 off
- Smart home: up to £144 off Ring and Echo bundles
- Smartwatch: Huawei Band 7 for £48.99
- Tablets: Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 for £179
- Tools: up to 49% off Bosch tools and garden equipment
- TVs: Samsung, LG and Hisense Smart TVs from £159
- Vaccums: Vax Blade 4 for £189
- Xbox: Xbox Series X in stock for £449
