New photographer looking for a mirrorless camera

winston1192

winston1192

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lee wright
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Hi all so I'm new to the site and thought I would ask you people what would be the best mirrorless camera to purchase for around the £400 mark.

I will be taking photos of scenery and close ups, plus mountain bike shots and also would eventually like a waterproof case for shooting while In my kayak round Flamborough cliffs .

So what I have seen at the moment is
Sony a600 with kit lens
Olympus m10 with kit lens
Samsung nx500 with kit lens (but unsure due to no evf)

Would like to know what you would recommend obviously there will be other cameras out there so would like to hear your recommendations

Cheers Winston
 
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If you want an interchangeable lens camera then to get the most bang for your buck I would recommend a Canon EOS M2. The lens line up is terrific, with some very decent native lenses (especially to 22mm prime and 11-22mm wide angle zoom - ideal for landscape photography).

The camera body gets slated in reviews, especially compared with the Sony, and performance wise it is lacking in some areas. Nothing to get overly worried about though, it's a very well made camera and performs under most conditions very well indeed.

If you are willing to buy something that is an awful colour, and import from overseas you can get a really great bundle price on the bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANON-EOS...s-Kit-FLASH-/321834493530?hash=item4aeed4a65a

There are other colours available for a few more pounds if it's that much of an issue for you.
You may be missing out on some features, like an electronic viewfinder, or built in flash. For these, and for a bit more cost, check out the EOS M3 and optional EVF bundles. I have the original M and the M3 and love them both. The M2 is a better option on a budget though I reckon, and is the smallest of them all. Water proof casings are also available for it at around £150. I haven't used one though so not sure how good they are.
 
Hi Lee,

Here are some opinions. Keep on checking all the review sites out there and do go in to the shops and have a play, if you have the time and opportunity.
I have only used the Sony (A6000) and Olympus EM10 briefly, although I own a similar EM-1.

The Sony and the Samsung will have a larger sensor than the Olympus, That will mean that the lenses will typically be larger, but you will achieve shallower depth of field at equivalent focal lengths/apertures. The ISO should be cleaner higher up the range on the Sony and Samsung.
The Samsung is meant to be good according to reviews, but i'm not sure how many lenses will be released and the longevity of the system.
The Olympus is an enjoyable camera to operate and very speedy. The VF I think isn't as good as the Sonys.
The Sony is very quick and has a good sensor.
Olympus glass is generally excellent from the midrange up.

But, I'm sure either the Sony or Oly would be a good choice, perhaps the Samsung too. I just don't know much about it!

A very useful post, haha :)
 
You may also want to consider the Panasonic GX7 which has an evf tilting touchscreen and electronic shutter. The GX8 has come out so the price of these should fall.
 
From what I have read the e-m10 is a cracking camera and it looks great. Now bearing mind a lot of the mountain bike shooting will be in forests so will be shooting at a high iso or with a flash sometimes, so am right In thinking the a6000 might be the best option I do like the nx500 but I don't think I would get on without an evf especially when in the middle off the sea with the sun reflecting everywhere but I hear the samsung lenses are quite good and for the Sony lenses you have to go up to the high end lenses to compare. I will have a look at the gx7 and see what prices I can get on these, also would like a fast shooting camera for sequenced images off big mountain bike jumps.
 
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I own the Olympus OMD EM5-II after owning the Olympus EM10, but I'm not afraid to say that the best all round CSC is the Sony A6000 IMO. Has a very good APS-C sensor and probably the best autofocus of any mirrorless. The canon EOS M's are still behind the market in terms of performance. The Olympus are great, but 'only' have the 4/3 sensor and 16MP.

Just remember that there's no such thing as a bad camera really these days, but if I was looking at buying the best interchangeable lens camera in this price range I'd look no further than the Sony A6000.
 
Only problem with the Sony system is the limited lenses - also the kit 16-50 is not great.

The reviews seem to skip by that factor - agree about the A6000 body though
 
Yes I have heard this but what a lot off people say is the lens is as good as any other kit lens, so thought it would do as a starter lens till I get a couple of primes and a nice telephoto zoom
 
I wouldn't agree it was as good as the Fuji kit lens - both the 16-50 and 18-55 are excellent.

Personally I don't like powerzooms either but I'm probably old fashioned !
 
i own the oly em-10 and find it fantastic within its limits, the oly fits my style of shooting and some great glass is available for not much money.
 
justa1972 said:
Only problem with the Sony system is the limited lenses - also the kit 16-50 is not great.

The reviews seem to skip by that factor - agree about the A6000 body though
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Sony e-mount has enough good lenses for everyone IMO, it's the FE mount that's lacking.
 
justa1972 said:
I wouldn't agree it was as good as the Fuji kit lens - both the 16-50 and 18-55 are excellent.

Personally I don't like powerzooms either but I'm probably old fashioned !
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Yes but then I hear they make some of the best lenses on the market so that's understandable
 
The Sony A-mount, both crop and full frame, has plenty of good lenses. Being not exactly either DSLRs or mirrorless they're often omitted from mirrorless vs DSLR debates. The cameras are DSLTs, not DSLRs, which depending on your point of view are a hybrid technology combining the best advantages of DSLR and mirrorless, or combine the worst of both in a monstrous miscegenation.
 
snerkler said:
Sony e-mount has enough good lenses for everyone IMO, it's the FE mount that's lacking.
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Hmmm if you a good kit lens you have to look at the Zeiss 18-70 which is ££££££

Only my opinion of course !
 
justa1972 said:
Hmmm if you a good kit lens you have to look at the Zeiss 18-70 which is ££££££

Only my opinion of course !
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I assume you mean the 28-70mm, which is not wide enough imo on a crop? It depends how picky we are I guess. There's plenty of good lenses as I say which are comparable to similar lenses from Olympus and the like when comparing kit lenses. Obviously if you want to get into the pro section of lenses then of course cost goes up considerably. But good fuji lenses aren't cheap, likewise Olympus lenses. I have the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 pro and whilst an excellent lens I would actually say it's pretty soft wide open, especially considering its price tag, but yet this lens is raved about.
 
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