Worth Switching to mirrorless?

[robert blu]

If size and weight are important in my opinion it is worthwhile to go the mirrorless road: I would go m4/3 with Olympus as main interest.
robert

 

[Addy101]

streetshoot, all of the cameras that people have been mentioning are going to be an upgrade vs. your rebel. It's up to you to decide what works for you in an ergonomics / haptics point of view and what lenses you truly want at what size.

This is important! Find a place where you can handle the camera you consider, it would be a bummer if the camera you choose wasn't agreeing with the way you like to use your camera.

 

[jnclde]

I bought a new A7ii almost a year ago and sold it in less than 6 months. What drove me away was the VF refresh rate. If that matters to you then don't buy a mirrors camera.

 

[Spanik]

Any camera can serve any purpose if you adapt to it and know how to use it. I tried mirrorless and went back to slr. User interface isn't up to the point where a slr is. You keep fumbling with a computer that pretends it is a camera.

Like Ko.Fe I put a 24/2.8 stm on my 300d and it is a blast. I have no doubt that on a SL1 it would be a great combo.

 

[MCTuomey]

Key as John and others say is that the choice is highly individual. So, to make a good decision you need mirrorless experience. To get mirrorless experience you need to have made a purchase decision. And so it goes around and around ...

It's helpful to handle the cameras, even a little. If you have a seller in your area that carries some of the candidates, try to spend some time there trying them on.

 

[lawrence]

Key as John and others say is that the choice is highly individual. So, to make a good decision you need mirrorless experience. To get mirrorless experience you need to have made a purchase decision. And so it goes around and around ...

Another approach is to buy a cheap mirrorless or two and see how you get on with it before taking the plunge on something expensive. I recently purchased two Fujis, an x30 and an X-A1, and after some success am now waiting for the release of the X-T2.

 

[jsrockit]

Another approach is to buy a cheap mirrorless or two and see how you get on with it before taking the plunge on something expensive. I recently purchased two Fujis, an x30 and an X-A1, and after some success am now waiting for the release of the X-T2.

This can also backfire...meaning you may have liked the more expensive model ergonomically speaking but the lower end models soured your experience. That said, the X30 actually feels good in the hand and so does something like the X-T10. Quality cameras Fuji makes...

 

[traveler_101]

Appreciate the input guys, any opinions on the olympus om-d e-m5 mark ii? Been looking at it as a plausible option

Nice looking camera with a high quality large built-in viewfinder. 16mp. The only issue is whether you will like using an EVF. This is one of the best, but some complain that EVF have a delay. I go back and forth on the issue. My wife has the E-M10 (down scale from the E-M5-II) and when shooting tele I prefer it.

Otherwise, I use an E-P5 usually with the 17mm (34mm in FF) lens; I shoot off the flip-screen and an attach a "dummy" auxiliary finder for framing in the sun or when I feel like shutting the LCD screen off and just frame and shoot.

 

[guardado1213]

My vote goes for Olympus m4/3 lineup. The pen F and e-m5 are great little cameras for daily photo use. The lens lineup is great and not very expensive to get into. You could also try the Fuji X-E2. I've seen a few used ones go for around the price you mentioned.
But i would go to your local camera shop and ask to use some the cameras people are mentioning...its free and you never know what you will like till you try it

 

[nongfuspring]

Appreciate the input guys, any opinions on the olympus om-d e-m5 mark ii? Been looking at it as a plausible option

Great camera with a nice feature set. Not sure how I feel about M43 as a system to buy into if you haven't already got lenses though. IMO APSC lenses in general are comparable in size and speed, with the exception of telephoto primes which are often significantly smaller. Bodies are very similar is size to Fuji and even Sony A7 series except you'll get slightly better performance from Fuji/Sony; on the times I've used an e-m5 mkII I've noticed noise in low ISO which bothered me a bit (YMMV). There are some nice lenses on the system (I was really impressed by the the oly 75) but keep in mind if you want shallow DOF it's not easy to get with M43. There have also been rumors that Olympus have been designing full frame lenses, which puts into question the future of the format.

If you're serious about the em-5 mkII after doing some research I would definitely go to a store and pick one up first, you'll either love or hate the ergonomics. Personally I found it very fiddly, even with the grip, but for some people it may be fine.

 

[Keith]

Well, and if you are shooting a lot of vampire photos. :angel:

That never occurred to me ... good point! 😀

 

[Luke_Miller]

Nice looking camera with a high quality large built-in viewfinder. 16mp. The only issue is whether you will like using an EVF. This is one of the best, but some complain that EVF have a delay. I go back and forth on the issue.

EVF delay can be an issue depending on the type of photography you enjoy. I use an EVF camera for travel and find the EVF generally works great in that application. It is not great for sports, fast action, or capturing the decisive moment. I suspect it would be fine for most street photography except when one is trying to capture a specific foreground/background composition with a moving subject.

One example - I was trying to photograph a viking castle from across a busy street. I did not want a vehicle in the foreground so I was shooting during gaps in the traffic. After about a dozen exposures with cars in the foreground, but taken with none showing in the EVF, I had my wife tell me when it was clear. That worked. I've since learned that with dynamic subjects I need to use both eyes. One looking through the EVF for composition and the other looking at the subject for determining when to take the shot.

 

[xyz3450]

Appreciate the input guys, any opinions on the olympus om-d e-m5 mark ii? Been looking at it as a plausible option

The EM5-II is an excellent m43 camera. It balances especially well with primes. Its a good update on the original EM5, in terms of controls / ergonomics. The image quality of each is about the same.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

I had the same line of thinking you express.

I took a cheap experiment with the Sony NEX-5n and found it terrific. Tiny. High image quality. Great with manual focus lenses (focus peaking!).

From there to A6000. Fabulous, very light weight camera. Compare A6000 to Nikon D7200 to full frame Nikon D600. Really big differences in size/weight.

Going Sony full frame (A7 or A7II) gives you a full frame system that's about same size as the D7200. My preference at the moment is APS with the A6000/6300.