Moving away from Mirrorless

[juggler]

By popular demand, copied & pasted from elsewhere...

In the last few years camera technology has undergone a significant period of development. For a long time digital SLR cameras were exactly that; essentially the same construction as film SLRs but with a digital sensor in place of the film carrier.

Olympus, Panasonic, Fuji and more recently Sony have challenged the core design, doing away with the flappy mirror at the heart of the camera and replacing the optical viewfinder with a full time live view screen. Coupled with improvements in sensor technology it has allowed for much smaller and lighter systems which are still capable of producing high quality results. Consequently many serious photographers are ditching their SLR setups in favour of these new mirrorless systems.

I’m going the other way. I’ve used a mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M5 for the last couple of years but I’ve recently swapped to a Nikon D750. I love my Olympus but I needed to scratch that full frame itch.

There were a number of reasons for thinking a change of system would be a good idea:

• The small sensor in the Olympus means softening due to diffraction is highly noticeable at relatively wide apertures. Combined with a base ISO of 200 it’s a particular irritation in the studio. Studio lights don’t always go that dim and increasing the shutter speed makes no difference with flash. Consequently I’m often pfaffing around with neutral density filters.
• The E-M5 doesn’t shoot tethered (i.e. directly to a laptop). EyeFi cards would appear to offer a workaround but my experience of them has been poor.
• Hugely greater dynamic range and bit depth should mean more room to manipulate images before degradation sets in.
• More pixels offer greater cropping options or the ability to print larger sizes.
• Regardless of the number of pixels, images from a full frame sensor will be sharper - all other things being equal.
• An autofocus system which can actually track moving subjects would be very welcome.
• The minimum depth of field on a small sensor camera will always be limited. To get truly blurry backgrounds you need a bigger sensor or some rather exotic lenses.
• Dual memory card slots – for instant backup – would be a bonus.
• Better support for 3rd party lighting accessories would be very welcome. For instance, there are no good wireless HSS or TTL triggers for the Olympus & Panasonic micro 4/3 system.
• More buttons on the body so it takes fewer presses to change settings, e.g. focus point or ISO.

There are a few features of mirrorless cameras I really like:

• I’m a big fan of electronic viewfinders. They’re not to everyone’s taste but I like the instant live view & histogram.
• The in-body image stabilisation is amazing, allowing me to handhold ridiculously low shutter speeds.
• The bulb mode which updates as long exposure images are captured is a really neat trick.
• High grade lenses tend to be cheaper than their DSLR equivalents. Still expensive but not quite so ridiculous.
• Focus peaking – though not available on the EM-5 – which shows exactly which areas of an image are in focus in the viewfinder has the potential to be very useful, especially with manual focus lenses or when using the ‘focus & recompose’ technique.

There were a few other items on the wish list for a new camera:

• Base ISO of 100 or better
• Max shutter speed of 1/8000 or better
• Choice of 1st or 2nd curtain sync flash
• Back button focusing
• The ability to shoot at 5 frames per second or better

Having decided to change system the next question was whether to go for a APS-C (crop) sensor or a full-frame (35mm) equivalent. This was a no brainer – if I was going to change I didn’t want to find myself wanting to do it all again in a year or so. Full frame it was.

At first sight it appeared that the Sony A7 series would fit the bill nicely. In case you’re not familiar, they’re mirrorless full frame cameras. Not the A7RII – I have no need for 42 mega pixel images nor the desire to store them or upgrade my computer so I can process them. The A7II looked to be an ideal candidate, though, with all the features I liked about my Olympus and all the benefits of a professional full frame system.

I didn’t give Canon much thought – they haven’t updated the 5D MkIII in ages and their other recent cameras have been low light or high pixel count specialist jobs.

The only other serious candidate was the Nikon D750.

I really wanted to love the Sony A7II but I just couldn’t. It had too many problems:

• It’s deeply uncomfortable to hold, especially in one hand, without an expensive grip. I spend a lot of time clutching a camera in one hand while chatting to my subjects in the studio.
• Tethering seems a bit half baked & unreliable, especially wirelessly – though there are people who make it work.
• The range of lenses is limited – though getting better. Good lenses are very expensive and there are few of the high quality bargains which have evolved for the older systems.
• It took too many button presses to change focus points or ISO. This isn’t so much a consequence of being smaller and having fewer buttons as the fact that the UI is slightly odd.
• The A7II is sluggish. It’s slow to start and the EVF goes black for an awfully long time between shots.
• I didn’t like the EVF all that much; it seemed very flickery compared to the Olympus models.
• Battery life is woeful.
• Support for exotic flash setups is better than Oly but still limited.
• A curious hotshoe design seems to cause reliability problems for a good number of people.
• Focus tracking is still way behind what the Nikon can do.
• The automatic sensor cleaning system doesn’t work as well as Olympus’s and the mirrorless design makes it more of an issue.
• The body may be small but lenses aren’t really any smaller than Nikon FF jobbies.
• Sony’s history makes me nervous that they’ll do something completely different again in the future. Is this format a long term one?
• Sony’s customer service reputation is terrible.

If I really wanted the amazing sensor from the A7RII then I could probably live with all of these issues but I just don’t need that many megapixels.

After using the D750 for a few weeks I’m getting on well with it.

• I still miss the EVF and stabilisation – though some lenses have their own vibration reduction features.
• I’ve had a few issues with my old flash triggers not working reliably but upgrading those seems to have solved my problems.
• I’m not yet totally familiar with the user interface and I’m not yet getting the best out of the focusing system.
• It’s also taking me a while to get used to the super-shallow depth of field and learn not to abuse it.
• It took me a while to get tethering working reliably – Nikon’s own software is very expensive. I highly recommendSmartShooter.
• The maximum shutter speed is 1/4000, not 1/8000.
• I usually prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio of the Olympus to the 3:2 of the Nikon

Otherwise there’s no looking back. I don’t even notice the increased size or weight. I’ll hang on to the Olympus for everyday out-and-about photography but for everything else the Nikon fits the bill nicely.

 

[connersz]

I've been asked so many times about why I'm moving from m4/3 to FF that I summarised all my meanderings thoughts into a single article. It's a bit long for TP so I've bunged it on my blog::http://www.simoncarterphotography.com/blog/2016/4/moving-from-mirrorless

Hopefully it'll be of use to anyone else going through the same over-analysis paralysis that I was.

Can you not just copy the text into the thread so we don't have to click out of the forum to read it?

 

[Ed Sutton]

Can you not just copy the text into the thread so we don't have to click out of the forum to read it?

How lazy can you get?

 

[GreenNinja67]

Can't you just phone us so we don't have to hurt our eyes reading it all?

 

[connersz]

How lazy can you get?

Well I was just thinking that it's a forum discussing things like that, if everyone was to just post it on their blog and link it, it would be a total PITA. If it's too long for TP then how does sending people to your website help?

 

[shreds]

Helps Google Analytics.........

 

[woof woof]

I've been asked so many times about why I'm moving from m4/3 to FF that I summarised all my meanderings thoughts into a single article. It's a bit long for TP so I've bunged it on my blog::http://www.simoncarterphotography.com/blog/2016/4/moving-from-mirrorless

Hopefully it'll be of use to anyone else going through the same over-analysis paralysis that I was.

I disagree with some of your comments about the A7 series but some of these things are subjective and personal so disagreeing should come as no surprise I do agree with you about wanting 1/8000 shutter speed and it's something that I do look for in a camera as I hate messing on with ND's but sadly 1/8000 is not always available. I can also relate to your comment about shallow DoF. I went from "FF" 35mm film to APS-C DSLR's and adapted quite quickly but after years with APS-C I went back to FF with a 5D and it took time to adapt back and use smaller apertures and then deal with the rising ISO and falling shutter speed, I've now adapted fully with an A7 It's interesting to note that some people don't adapt well when going to smaller systems and still seem to be stuck in a "f8 and be there" mentality whereas switching to f4 and be there for MFT or f5.6 and be there for APS-C would seem to make sense to me

On the whole though personally I'd only go back to DSLR's with a gun to my head as they offer no advantages for me, just disadvantages. I can just about see the appeal for others though or at least applications when they're a necessary evil

 

[juggler]

Well I was just thinking that it's a forum discussing things like that, if everyone was to just post it on their blog and link it, it would be a total PITA. If it's too long for TP then how does sending people to your website help?

About half of the people who've asked aren't members here. But never mind, I've removed the link. Admin, please delete this thread. I don't want to be accused of posting merely to increase traffic to my website.

 

[woof woof]

About half of the people who've asked aren't members here. But never mind, I've removed the link. Admin, please delete this thread. I don't want to be accused of posting merely to increase traffic to my website.

I think and hope what we see here (whinges about the link) is just light hearted banter????

Personally I think the thread should stay as although I'm now a happy CSC user I still found your views interesting.

PS.
And I liked the picture at the top of your article, worth clicking to see that alone IMO

 

[Ed Sutton]

Shame. It was an interesting read with the pros and cons of each system covered by someone who has used both without any prejudices.

 

[woof woof]

Shame. It was an interesting read with the pros and cons of each system covered by someone who has used both without any prejudices.

I think what happened was someone at Canon hacked Simon's account and deleted the link as it's too Nikon friendly

Maybe when Simon regains control of his account he'll reinstate it?

 

[connersz]

About half of the people who've asked aren't members here. But never mind, I've removed the link. Admin, please delete this thread. I don't want to be accused of posting merely to increase traffic to my website.

Or you could paste in the text from the blog. Would probably take the best part of two seconds.

 

[GreenNinja67]

Don't delete it. I enjoyed your observations as I was thinking of going FF to 4/3 last year.

 

[kendo1]

An interesting spiel

Nice pic too!

 

[Wissel]

It's a good article and an interesting read.

Should put the link back IMO.

 

[jakeblu]

About half of the people who've asked aren't members here. But never mind, I've removed the link. Admin, please delete this thread. I don't want to be accused of posting merely to increase traffic to my website.

There are plenty on here who link to their blogs, one poster in particular seems to use TP just for that. I don't think anyone, knowing your full contribution to this site, would accuse you of posting just to up your traffic to your website.

I enjoyed the read, and appreciate the reasons why your moving, mirrorless is not for everyone, but I bet you'll regret it

 

[juggler]

There are plenty on here who link to their blogs, one poster in particular seems to use TP just for that. I don't think anyone, knowing your full contribution to this site, would accuse you of posting just to up your traffic to your website.

I enjoyed the read, and appreciate the reasons why your moving, mirrorless is not for everyone, but I bet you'll regret it

Thanks.. copied & pasted above.

I'm hoping I won't regret the move; I still wish I'd got on better with the Sony.

 

[jakeblu]

Thanks.. copied & pasted above.

I'm hoping I won't regret the move; I still wish I'd got on better with the Sony.

I never saw the attraction in the sony, for me anyway. I did think about getting one for a short while but stuck with fuji. I understand for those who want ff but the lens sizes especially with those who use their canon lenses, it just defeats the object of what is supposed to be a Compact System Camera. To some extent thats true of the fuji too, some of their lenses are pretty big and it loses some of its appeal when you have one of those. I almost swapped to M4/3 a few months back was looking for a OMD EM5 MkII because I think their system is truly compact and a fantastic IBIS to boot.

 

[Sejanus Aelianus]

I think that your post is very thoughtful, Juggler. I hope you won't mind if I add a few observations.

After many experiments I have now settled on two systems that, between them, meet my needs, which are not commercial in any way.

My every day system is M43: 2 Panasonic GM5s and an Olympus E-PL5. Fitted with a 45~150, 12~32 and 9~18 lens, these fit into a small bag and can cover anything I expect to meet while out and about. I prize the lightness of the kit, the good quality of the images and the ease of use. I think as an amateur, this is an excellent compromise for the committed photographer who wishes to be ready for just about anything. The important thing, to me, is that carried in a Lowepro Sling bag, I don't stand out as a photographer and can get on with my hobby (hopefully) unnoticed.

For more "serious" photography, I have Canon full frame cameras. These are, of course, much heavier and bulkier but, are also much more comfortable to hold and the pentaprism finders give a quite different view of the subject, which I find changes the style of my pictures. You just can't be inconspicuous with a 1Ds, so I have to be that little bit more assertive while remaining as polite as possible. The interesting thing is that when you use a full frame dSLR, provided you're confident, people will often cooperate without you even having to ask them, as here...

So, I guess that what I'm saying is that I agree with you, Juggler. Both types of camera have their place and so I think that, if you can afford it and have the inclination, using each as appropriate is the best approach.

 

[woof woof]

After many experiments I have now settled on two systems that, between them, meet my needs, which are not commercial in any way...

So, I guess that what I'm saying is that I agree with you, Juggler. Both types of camera have their place and so I think that, if you can afford it and have the inclination, using each as appropriate is the best approach.

Similar for me. I value relatively compact and unobtrusive kit and CSC's have the advantage there and I've also come to value the WYSIWYG and in view aids such as the histogram, magnified view etc.

For the most compact quality kit I can get I have a GX7 and a small 17, 25 or 45mm prime, for a day out with my GF or other people I have a G7 and 12-35mm f2.8 and for my luxury kit when I want the best results I can get or for when I get time to myself I have a Sony A7 with 35mm f2.8, 55mm f1.8 and manual lenses

 

[juggler]

So, I guess that what I'm saying is that I agree with you, Juggler. Both types of camera have their place and so I think that, if you can afford it and have the inclination, using each as appropriate is the best approach.

You're quite right. I don't often take a camera out and about with me in the hope that I'll see things to photograph but when I do I'll use my phone or perhaps the E-M5. For premeditated photography the D750 will be the winner 90% of the time.