Anyone went from a dSLR to mirrorless for most of your photography?

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rayonline

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#208572 17-Feb-2017 12:49

I am seeing this trend at my camera club and folks who have done some exhibiting of their work also. I don't do events, sports and action, just still subjects, tripod if need be at night and sunsets and street stuff when I travel. dSLRs have gotten larger and larger the once humble 50mm lens now uses a 58mm filter thread.

Thanks.

Krishant007

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#1721859 17-Feb-2017 14:50

Curious to see the opinions of others on this topic as well. I went from a Canon 550D (not really that professional, just amateur stuff) to an Olympus EM10 mirrorless. Only reason I went to this is I had such a massive bag carrying around all my camera gear. Now its a lot more compact. But at the same time, I do feel as if my photos are not similar quality or not as good.

But I could be wrong. Going for a walk-about with the camera tomorrow to give it a shot and see how things go.

timmmay

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#1721860 17-Feb-2017 14:52

I know in the US some wedding professionals are using mirrorless for less demanding parts of the day, but still use DSLR for low light or low depth of field. Probably just the weaklings ;) Mirrorless can be less intimidating to subjects.

Krishant007

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#1721861 17-Feb-2017 14:55

A friend of mine bought a full frame mirrorless (Sony A7 something) and the photos look really good from it.

I stuck with m4/3 because of the number of lenses available. With Sony, you are stuck with Sony and same with Fuji. But I have heard that Fuji is really good and their image quality is top notch.

lomenak

119 posts

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#1721890 17-Feb-2017 15:47

I've switched from dslr and wouldnt ever go back. I believe that the first couple generations of the mirrorless cameras were a bit sluggish to focus but that has improved a lot in the latest generation and it is almost on par these days.

You get so many lens options with Sony alfa line (you can adapt basically any lens on it) which a few years back was completely unbelievable! Then there are the obvious benefits of less bulk/weight etc.

If you shoot crop, I would go with Fuji. If you prefer FF, go with Sony. You can't really go wrong.

Item

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#1721903 17-Feb-2017 16:07

Went from Nikon DSLR to Fujifilm X-T1 and love it.

For me the only real backwards step has been in battery life, which is under half what I would get from my old D90, but is manageable with spare batteries!

Technofreak

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#1721958 17-Feb-2017 18:12

Krishant007:

With Sony, you are stuck with Sony

Don't Pentax lenses fit Sony cameras?

We have a sony A57 which we're pretty happy with. One reason we went mirrorless was for video recording, the mirrorless cameras can keep focusing once you start recording whereas the ones with a mirror cannot change focus once the mirror moves out of the way during recording.

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rayonline

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#1721960 17-Feb-2017 18:23

Technofreak:

Krishant007:

With Sony, you are stuck with Sony

Don't Pentax lenses fit Sony cameras?

We have a sony A57 which we're pretty happy with. One reason we went mirrorless was for video recording, the mirrorless cameras can keep focusing once you start recording whereas the ones with a mirror cannot change focus once the mirror moves out of the way during recording.

dSLR video can refocus but you have to press half way down the shutter to do it. It doesn't continuously focus when the person walks away or places something close to the lens - does mirrorless do this? Just been playing around with video recently. Mostly a stills guy.

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Technofreak

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#1721965 17-Feb-2017 18:45

dSLR video can refocus but you have to press half way down the shutter to do it. It doesn't continuously focus when the person walks away or places something close to the lens - does mirrorless do this? Just been playing around with video recently. Mostly a stills guy.

Yep, mirrorless does continuously refocus when the subject moves.

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Batman

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#1721966 17-Feb-2017 18:48

You shouldn't lose quality unless you're printing life size.

Camden

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#1722052 17-Feb-2017 22:02

Just been through the exercise, did all the research etc but pulled out of the change over at the last minute. Plan was that as I love to travel and take heaps of images I would sell or trade in my Nikon 5100 and Sony DX100 Mk1 and get a Canon M5 that has just recently been released. That would end carrying two cameras with the result of less weight and bulk , quite a consideration when you are out walking around all day.

However I really do like the Nikon's optical v/finder and the way the camera handles and operates and the wee Sony is a great little camera that you can pop in your pocket. So the end result was that I got cold feet on going mirrorless, but traded in both of the above on the latest models, on the Nikon 5600 body ( keeping my three existing lens ) and the Sony DX100 Mk5.

The Nikon body is about 80% of the weight of the old one and is slightly smaller. It has had a major upgrade internally and seems to focus far better when shooting in continuous mode. However the focus in video mode, even though a lot better than before is still not that great and I would concede that is where mirrorless would be far better. Being able to look through the v/finder when shooting video is another plus of mirrorless, but in my case that is of no concern as I have a video camera as well.

The only thing I did not like about the Sony DX100 was that it did not have a viewfinder. I have to wear my reading glasses when useing it to see the screen , that's when the sun is not blanking it out! Bit of a pain. The new Mk5 model has an electronic v/finder and it is good insofar as I don't have to wear glasses to compose and image. The v/finder is good for an electronic one but the Nikon's optical one I still think is far better.

This changeover has been a bit of an expensive exercise but over the last twenty years or so I have accumulated a draw full of mid range cameras belonging to me and the rest of the family that are now so far behind the latest technology and are now worthless, I was spurred to upgrade while the old ones were still worth something.

Technically the end result would have been the same if I had gone with mirrorless but I stuck with what I like to use. Again if you want to choose a smaller light weight mirrorless camera that has the feature you desire, go for it , you won't be disappointed.