Mirrorless Cameras

Hi, Jim,
I had a discussion thread on mirrorless cameras a few days ago at http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1835511.

Although I am mulling over purchasing one, the general tone of the discussion is that they still have a way to go to reach professional quality. It made me decide to wait a bit, until the technology improves.

If you decide to go ahead an buy one, let us know what you think.

Can't beat the size for travel. Everything is smaller and lighter. Unfortunately the sensor is also smaller.

Some pluses are lens are less expensive (smaller glass is easier to manufacturer) and the depth of field is longer which is nice for landscapes.

Minuses is the smaller file size and less usable ISO range.

I am currently renting a Sony A7. I love it! If you are considering a new camera, you should rent one from http://www.borrowlenses.com/. It's a great way to test the equipment before buying.

I bought a Sony NEX 6 with the kit lens plus a 200mm zoom. I love the size and it takes nice photos in good light but it doesn't handle low light as well as I would like, focusing can be a bit quirky and it has an EVF (electronic viewfinder). The EVF is probably the thing that bothers me most as there is a distinct lag between clicking the shutter, the return of vision through the viewfinder and the camera being ready to take another shot. If you are shooting a moving object it's problematic. I keep the camera for those times when I can't carry my full frame DSLR but I like the results from my Canon 5DM2 much, much better.

You could also look at the companies that originated the mirrorless camera movement, Olympus and Panasonic.

I ended up buying the a6000 and am greatly enjoying it. Easy to carry and I've already gotten a few pictures that I'm really happy about.

I just started using the Canon EOS M mirrorless camera in Feb 2014. Its 18 Megapixel sensor is the same physical size as the typical SLR camera counterpart and has almost all the same features. It is half the price and 1/3 the weight without any significant loss of quality. I and my back got tired of hefting the big camera bag around the world.

The quality of the stock lenses that come with it are very good. I can also use my high quality glass L 70 - 200 mm Canon lens on that tiny camera with an adapter ring (which has a tripod mounting screw) so it looks like an elephant on a ant but it works really really well. It is compatible with all the fancy Canon flash gear as well. I bought the adapter ring on eBay for

Bought a Sony A7r as a lightweight alternative to my D800e. Thoroughly love it. Neat, compact, lightweight and easy to use. Same resolution as my Nikon and, with an M adapter I can use my Leica lenses on it.

Whoever said mirror-less cameras have a way to go to reach professional quality clearly hasn't looked at current offerings!

I went with a Panasonic GH2 - haven't regretted the decision. The camera and 6 lenses fit in a pretty small bag.

I'm sure the 'kit' lens that came with the a6000 doesn't compare with my Nikon SLR lenses but for most shots it's plenty good enough.

There are some fantastic lenses available for the Sony mirror less line. Some are made by Sony and some are licensed Zeiss lenses. The biggest thing to be careful of is damaging the sensor. (Many if not all the Nikon DSLR sensors are made by Sony) With no mirror in fornt, this can happen easily. There are a lot of lenses available. This used to be called the "NEX" series. There are also adapters that will allow you to use other mount lenses ans "A" series lenses too. If you get the Sony adapter for "A" series lenses, get the second (third if one is out) version as it allows for really good AF. This would also allow you to use all Minolta Maxxum mt. lenses. They are completely compatible with (it is) the "A" mount.