To participate in first-year photo courses within SAIT’s journalism program, you must outfit yourself with camera equipment suited to the shooting of news, sports and journalistic portraits at an introductory level.

This page outlines the recommended gear, along with the computer, computer accessories and software licenses that you will use throughout your SAIT journalism coursework. It's divided into the following sections:

Photo course equipment summary

The following photo course equipment, at minimum, is required. Specific model suggestions and software license purchasing tips follow after that.

• Week 1 One mirrorless or digital SLR interchangeable-lens camera with a resolution of 18 megapixels or higher, decent image quality at higher ISO (light sensitivity) settings, a frame rate of at least 3.5 frames per second (fps), superior autofocus tracking of moving subjects (mirrorless or digital SLR), eye-detect autofocus capability when tracking moving subjects (mirrorless), support for high speed flash sync, 1080p video capture and built-in Wi-Fi
• Week 1 One wide angle-to-telephoto zoom lens
• Week 1 Two 16GB or larger memory cards
• Week 1 One Mac laptop computer (a Mac is required for all SAIT journalism coursework, including photo) with Camera Bits Photo Mechanic, Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and Microsoft 365 apps installed
• Week 2 One portable hard drive or SSD with a capacity of at least 2TB
• Week 2 One USB multi-port adapter with memory card reader (if the Mac laptop you select lacks a built-in card reader for your camera’s card type)
• Approx. Week 8 One fixed focal length (non-zoom) lens with a maximum aperture between f/1.2 and f/2.8
• Approx. Week 12 One fully compatible flash with a tilt/swivel head and through-the-lens (TTL) flash exposure support plus one set of AA batteries (if the selected flash model requires AAs)

<aside> 👉 The labels indicate the point in the semester when you will first need the items listed above, either in your photo coursework, another SAIT journalism course or both.

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Choose either mirrorless or digital SLR

This section provides more information about the camera, lenses and some of the accessories you’ll find indispensable for journalism’s first-year photo courses.

You have the option of either a mirrorless or digital SLR camera. It’s recommended that you choose mirrorless, for the significant advantages this type of camera offers. Go with a digital SLR only if spending as little as possible is your main priority.

Your two camera-type options break down this way:

The best option: a mirrorless camera body made by Canon or Sony, plus compatible lenses and flash

Mirrorless is the future of professional photography. The option to shoot pictures without making any noise, as well as tremendous advances in autofocus, are among the key potential benefits of mirrorless. The capture of fleeting moments is what photojournalism is all about, and the better mirrorless cameras enhance a photographer’s ability to do just that.