Decent mirrorless camera for £500ish

GavP

Member
I'm after a new camera for around £500. I've done the DSLR thing but just don't have time to spend ages getting the right shot so am looking for a point and click camera but decent enough to go non-auto sometimes.

I've shortlisted these, the Olympus being the favourite....any other ideas?

http://www.jessops.com/online.store...ilver-14-42mm-40-150mm-lenses-99226/show.html
http://www.jessops.com/online.store...grey-16-50mm-power-zoom-lens-109628/show.html
http://www.jessops.com/online.store...mera-in-black-xc16-50mm-lens-100602/show.html
http://www.jessops.com/online.store...amera-in-silver-12-32mm-lens-117161/show.html
 
I have one of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-Compact-System-Camera-Silver/dp/B013QWFKZ8/ref=pd_lpo_421_bs_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=07MARM43PNVEKNJD4SDJ

I can't fault it, has very fast autofocus and loads of quickly selectable programs. Manual and auto modes are easy to use when in the hand and it works very well as a simple point and shoot camera too. Battery life is excellent, viewfinder clear and screen bright. The only downside I can find is its a bit bulky and weighty when walking for several miles, but thats what I bought it for and expected it to be. Its considerably more portable then an SLR.
 
I've got a Panasonic DMC-G7, was a bargain when Panasonic were doing double cashback, think I only paid £280 with a 14-42mm lens.
 
I have the Sony Alpha A55. Couple of years old now but I love it, and it's fast! Paid around £700 for it but they can be picked up for a fair bit less now.

Mike
 
I've been doing an awful lot of reading up and you tubing on Mirrorless cameras and have most likely settled on a Fuji X series, mainly due to the high quality image quality. If I had a few more ££ in my budget I would probably go Sony.

I was in Australia for a couple of weeks in October and had a FUJI X-M1 with the 16-50 to use. Really easy to use, quick to understand and produced some great shots. Also has some good filter modes for some different shots.

However, in the price range you're looking I would go with the Olympus M-10 or X-A3. The M-10 is however known for having very confusing and complicated menus, perhaps something to consider. It does however have a viewfinder as well as a tilting screen, the Fuji I'm sure just has the tilting screen. The Olympus also has image stabilisation which the Fuji doesn't.

If going for the Fuji, the 18-55mm lens is a better option albeit more expensive.

Of your choices, Olympus would be my choice.
 
I have been using the Sony Alpha a5000 for a couple of years - absolutely brilliant little camera. I would expect the a6000 to be just as good, or better :wink: :thumbsup:
 
I have the Sony a6300 which is the next step up from the A6000. The 6000 with 28-70 zoom can be had for about £560. Has great video if you are interested and so well built. Image quality is stellar and focus speed too.
 
markeg said:
I have been using the Sony Alpha a5000 for a couple of years - absolutely brilliant little camera. I would expect the a6000 to be just as good, or better :wink: :thumbsup:

It is!

I chopped in a full frame Nikon because it simply wasn't being used - The novelty soon wears off when your carrying around the body and 3-4 lenses all day. Unless your really serious about your photography an lens interchange mirrorless is the way to go (The Body, 200mm zoom, 30mm prime and the 16-50 kit lens weigh less than my old Nikon 16-85mm lens alone)

Stu.
 
Go for what ever has the largest sensor. All mirrorless are not the same some are crop sensor some are 4/3rds.

Difference in sensor size.

2000px-Sensor_sizes.jpg

I would ignore MP you want a sensor that believe it or not has a lower density of pixels as the more pixels they cram onto a smaller sensor means more noise and worse performance. The larger the sensor the more sensitive it is to light therefore noise is greatly reduced and image quality is high.

Be warey of large mp counts on small sensor cameras. For example (as above) a Full frame sensor is the same size as a 35mm piece of film. An APS-c (or crop sensor) is roughly 1.6 or 1.6 x the size, 4/3rds again is smaller still then compact cameras are pretty much awful, down to even worce... mobiles. You wouldn't believe how small they are.

The advantage you get from using smaller sensor cameras is that A. the camera is smaller B. the lenses can be smaller C. Your focal length is multiplied by the sensor size. For example you put a 100-400mm lens on a 1.6 crop sensor camera is equivalent to 160x640mm. So can be really useful if you like wildlife, sport, motorsport etc etc The problem with smaller sensors is that wide angle lenses are harder to design and expensive, many don't have good wide angle options. A 16-35mm is almost fish eye on a full frame camera but is more like 25mm on crop so is a medium wide length. For a wide angle lens on a crop sensor 10-22mm is normal which is equivalent to a 16-35mm in full frame.

The smaller you go on the sensor size the pros and cons above are multiplied again.

The other thing to bare in mind is the Bokeh, or the nice blur you get with fast lenses. The larger the number F1.4-F2.8 etc the more subject isolation you get which is great for portraits or anything you want to focus the viewers eye on. F8-11 means everything in the scene is in focus back to front which is typical for a landscape.

The size of the sensor effects aperture too in the same way the aperture is also multiplied by the sensor crop, an F2.8 lens for example behaves like an F4 on a crop sensor, F4 is the more standard aperture for most average lenses, on a crop camera it behaves like an F6.4 lens so getting any subject isolation is hard work.

For example:

I generally shoot with full frame on a 5DMKIII but a mirrorless version would be the A7 sony series

F2.8
28122202604_cc7587ce7a_b.jpgJaguar - Art of Performance Tour by Tom Scott, on Flickr

Notice the subject isolation and the blurred background.

29122140016_293333619f_b.jpgNo.27 Nissan R91CK (1991) (Nova Engineering) Silverstone Classics 2016 by Tom Scott, on Flickr

21305519151_15c18a262a_b.jpgTour of Britain 2015 coming through Penrith, Cumbria by Tom Scott, on Flickr

Again same thing.

Somewhere in the middle where you get a little isolation but also a good depth to the image too F4-5.6

15643773090_8645f0b6c7_b.jpgParaty, Brazil by Tom Scott, on Flickr

13062932_962233840541966_8397529504531039833_o.jpg


12801591_929073140524703_101215224170606745_n.jpg


12745500_922632857835398_373546764877153799_n.jpg


On the other side of the scale this is F11 so trying to get everything front to back in focus

19728102150_03be15e5ce_b.jpgPorsche 911 Carrera S, Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy by Tom Scott, on Flickr

19293485784_e24f2110a5_b.jpgStelvio Pass, Italy by Tom Scott, on Flickr

16529633478_dcd39ae7a7_b.jpgMesa Arch, Canyonlands, Utah by Tom Scott, on Flickr

12524363_941610835937600_1081851129034152177_n.jpg


I know a lot to digest but seeing what you like and buying accordingly rather than buying then realising actually I cant achieve this with the camera I own.

IMO the best thing to do is have one of each. I use the Full frame when I need amazing subject isolation, ultimate image quality and the creamy look. I use a crop camera to get extra reach from my lenses and for speed as most crop cameras shoot 8+ frames per second. Or if I want to walk around with a slightly lighter camera.

I shoot with a Canon 7DMKII and a 5DMKIII, big heavy cameras. But I really have my eye on the new Canon M5 as its basically an 80D in a mirroless body and you get the amazing dual pixel focus in video which is the best on the market.

If I was you my choice would be either the A6000 series from sony or push the boat out a little more and get the Canon M5 as you get all the thousands of amazing lens choices from canon and other 3rd parties with an adapter that natively works and the AF isn't compromised. Whereas on all the other cameras you have to use a metabones adapter which isn't particularly brilliant.

The thing is that mirrorless is still in its infancy the 4/3rds cameras from Olympus and Fuji have a great selection of lenses but the sensor is too small IMO. So having the option of putting other lenses on the camera is a staple in the mirrorless world currently.
 
Cheers all..... time to read up more, check a few out in the flesh and pick one, then book a short break to test it out!! :rofl:
 
I'm pretty sure the X- series from Fuji all use the larger (than 4/3rds) APS-C sensor, hence image quality being generally better within the mirrorless category.
 
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