Slr v Mirrorless

Nothing much between SLRs and mirrorless for hircine photography.
 
timetraveller said:
iIf I want to be taking pics of my kid would a dslr be better than a mirrorless speed wise?
My only consearn is size as naturally the best camera is the one we have on us.
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I think that top end DSLR's are still thought to have the edge for focus tracking but some of the latest and smaller than a top end DSLR mirrorless cameras are lightening fast in single shot and/or bust mode.

What are you looking at and how much do you want to spend? Do you want a camera and a zoom lens? A prime? Could shooting vid and grabbing a frame be an option?
 
woof woof said:
I think that top end DSLR's are still thought to have the edge for focus tracking but some of the latest and smaller than a top end DSLR mirrorless cameras are lightening fast in single shot and/or bust mode.

What are you looking at and how much do you want to spend? Do you want a camera and a zoom lens? A prime? Could shooting vid and grabbing a frame be an option?
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I was looking at something like the Sony a6000 and perhaps adding a prime when more funds allow.
 
The choice is not just DSLR or mirrorless. There's also the hybrid DSLT, the Sony A-mount, with some features of each.
 
The Sony A6000 is a great all round camera. It's small, light and delivers excellent results.
 
What's your budget?
 
timetraveller said:
I was looking at something like the Sony a6000 and perhaps adding a prime when more funds allow.
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There are a few videos on YouTube comparing af tracking on various models. I'm sure I've seen one featuring the a6000.

Fwi I haven't used a mirrorless camera yet that works as well as a typical dslr for tracking a moving subject but I've heard promising things about the xt2 and em1 mk2. I hope they've closed the gap.
 
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The A6000 is perfectly capable of tracking children. Unless your child is Usain Bolt I'd be pretty surprised if you couldn't get good results with most mirrorless systems (assuming you're using the correct settings for the scene).
 
timetraveller said:
The only thing that worries me about this camera is the need to use adapters, would I be able to use a canon lens and still get all the auto focus features that make this camera great or am I stuck with Sony lenses.
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For me the main point of mirrorless over DSLR is the weight/convenience factor so I wouldn't buy the A6000 and then stick large lenses on it, better going with a DSLR....I own a Nikon D800 & the Sony A6000, the Sony and it's associated lenses makes a great travel option.. not up to the IQ of the D800 but you're carrying around substantially more weight

Simon
 
I think for the sort of speed they show its Sony lenses,
 
simonkit said:
For me the main point of mirrorless over DSLR is the weight/convenience factor so I wouldn't buy the A6000 and then stick large lenses on it, better going with a DSLR....I own a Nikon D800 & the Sony A6000, the Sony and it's associated lenses makes a great travel option.. not up to the IQ of the D800 but you're carrying around substantially more weight

Simon
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That's the problem I simply won't use a dslr as it's just too big and inconvenient to carry around, I have a d750 before and I hardly used it so sold it.
 
timetraveller said:
I've just seen this http://briansmith.com/canon-ef-to-sony-e-mount-smart-adapter-compatibility-guide/ so I'm kind of put off already and the need to use a large adapter kind of puts me off.
This is sooo frustrating.
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What Canon lens/es are you thinking of using?

If they're rather ordinary Canon lenses then there'd be no point using them as there'll be better options (but these may blow the budget) and of course they'll add to weight, bulk and expenses as you'll need the adapter.

If they're very good Canon lenses they'll still add to weight, bulk and expense.

Overall the idea of using something like a Canon zoom on a mirrorless camera just doesn't appeal to me one bit.
 
If you dont want bulk and weight and you only want family images to print up to say A3, it may be worth you looking at the Panasonic m4/3 range,some have a 4k photo mode that gives 8mp images and give you 30 frames before you press the shutter (not really but the end result is the same) so your chances of catching the action improve.
The latest mirrorless cameras are very quick on single AF.
 
timetraveller said:
That's the problem I simply won't use a dslr as it's just too big and inconvenient to carry around, I have a d750 before and I hardly used it so sold it.
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So if you're going smaller camera then I'd go with the one with the best noise handling, likely the larger sensor like in the A6000....you'll inevitably be shooting at high shutter speeds for the motion stuff so you'll be up the iso range, the better the noise handling the better the image quality you'll get... bit more to it than that but generally speaking it's going to make a difference.

Lens wise the Sony 50mm 1.8 is pretty good, the Sigma 60mm F2.8 too albeit a bit slower but slightly longer. "Standard" lenses are a weakness in the Sony lineup, to 16-50 pancake is ok but not great, I'm looking at getting the 16-70 zeiss instead but it is a bit on the dear size and still not a stellar lens

.
 
timetraveller said:
The only thing that worries me about this camera is the need to use adapters, would I be able to use a canon lens and still get all the auto focus features that make this camera great or am I stuck with Sony lenses.
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The main point in using adaptors is to be able to use lenses you already have, or are unavailable natively - if your budget is £550 then you are not in the market for high end glass that is worth buying specifically to adapt; the 'adequate' native lenses will be a better option than getting a Canon kit lens and adapting it.
 
timetraveller said:
I've just seen this http://briansmith.com/canon-ef-to-sony-e-mount-smart-adapter-compatibility-guide/ so I'm kind of put off already and the need to use a large adapter kind of puts me off.
This is sooo frustrating.
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It's a Sony Camera so as well as having to space the lens far enough from the sensor to allow it to focus, (mirrorless bodies are much thinner than DSLR's so Canon/Nikon lenses etc need to spaced away from the sensor) there's also the internal electronics to allow the Sony body to communicate. The fact you can shoot with Canon AF lenses on a Sony body should be seen as a benefit rather than a negative but that doesn't mean you have to use them. For general family photos, the kit 16-50 is a good lens, add the 50mm 1.8 for a fast low light/shallow depth of field portrait lens and you've got a great setup.
 
stevelmx5 said:
It's a Sony Camera so as well as having to space the lens far enough from the sensor to allow it to focus, (mirrorless bodies are much thinner than DSLR's so Canon/Nikon lenses etc need to spaced away from the sensor) there's also the internal electronics to allow the Sony body to communicate. The fact you can shoot with Canon AF lenses on a Sony body should be seen as a benefit rather than a negative but that doesn't mean you have to use them. For general family photos, the kit 16-50 is a good lens, add the 50mm 1.8 for a fast low light/shallow depth of field portrait lens and you've got a great setup.
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Good points thank you.
 
I also use legacy lenses, mainly OM Zuiko, and the results are equally good. I used an OM 50/1.8 for around 12 months before I bought the native AF 50/1.8 and was always happy with the handling. Manual focus is simple with focus peaking.
 
Most modern mirrorless are capable of shooting kids on the move, just some you will get a better 'hit rate' than others. The Fuji XT2, Sony A6300, Olympus EM1 (I & II) and one of the Panasonics (can't remember which) are the cream of the crop in terms of mirrorless AF, but there's plenty of people shoot their kids (not literally of course) with first gen EM5's, EM10's, Sony Nex etc etc. If you're after higher end DSLR like AF-C then you will have to get one of the better ones, and there's still not a mirrorless that can quite compete with the best Pro DSLR sport cams, but can compete with other high end DSLRs.
 
stevelmx5 said:
It's a Sony Camera so as well as having to space the lens far enough from the sensor to allow it to focus, (mirrorless bodies are much thinner than DSLR's so Canon/Nikon lenses etc need to spaced away from the sensor) there's also the internal electronics to allow the Sony body to communicate. The fact you can shoot with Canon AF lenses on a Sony body should be seen as a benefit rather than a negative but that doesn't mean you have to use them. For general family photos, the kit 16-50 is a good lens, add the 50mm 1.8 for a fast low light/shallow depth of field portrait lens and you've got a great setup.
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50mm is going to be a bit long but I hear you advise thank you.
I suppose my other option is old film glass with an adapter for a prime.
I did like the 22mm prime on the canon though but I'm unsure about the eos M3 and how fast it would be with a 22mm prime for a general walk around use.
No viewfinder but has a touch screen hahahaha it's madness trying to buy a camera!
 
timetraveller said:
So how big was the adapter for that and how much including the lens?
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This is an OM Zuiko 50/3.5 Macro fitted to my A6000 with the OM-E adaptor. It's pretty much the same size as the 50/1.8

IMG_1480024884.425980.jpg

This was taken with this lens on my old Nex5 with extension tubes;

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A couple more examples from my Flickr page;

OM 50/1.4

IMG_1480025091.814933.jpg

OM 50/1.8

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IMG_1480025201.644043.jpg
 
The OM 50/1.8 lens was the standard kit lens on most Olympus OM bodies so there are a lot available. I'd generally spend around £20 maximum for the 1.8 and £10-15 for an adaptor.
 
stevelmx5 said:
The OM 50/1.8 lens was the standard kit lens on most Olympus OM bodies so there are a lot available. I'd generally spend around £20 maximum for the 1.8 and £10-15 for an adaptor.
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Excellent stuff, I've ordered the Sony with kit lens and pick it up tomorrow, I shall try and get my hands on some glass now.
Many thanks for your help and to everyone else.
 
Dumb metal adapters cost from under £10 up to... whatever you want to pay.

I have a couple of £10 ones off evil bay and also some branded ones that cost about £90 each. To be honest there's no difference in actual image quality between a well made but cheap £8-£10 adapter and a £90 branded adapter made in Germany.
 
To look for an adapter it's... lens to body... so type in "Olympus OM to Sony adapter" or "Olympus Zuiko to Sony adapter" and either will work.

PS.
I use Olympus Zuiko, Minolta Rokkor and Canon FD and where there's a difference the Minolta lenses are the best however the Zuiko lenses are just gorgeous and the 24, 28 and 50mm f1.8 are very compact.
 
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woof woof said:
To look for an adapter it's... lens to body... so type in "Olympus OM to Sony adapter" or "Olympus Zuiko to Sony adapter" and either will work.

PS.
I use Olympus Zuiko, Minolta Rokkor and Canon FD and where there's a difference the Minolta lenses are the best however the Zuiko lenses are just gorgeous and the 24, 28 and 50mm f1.8 are very compact.
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Many thanks woof woof
 
And a little note applicable to Sony adapters...

Some of them are APS-C adapters and may cause vignetting with wider lenses on an A7 FF camera. I had a cheap adapter which was described as being for "Nex" and it worked fine on my A7 for 28mm and longer lenses but it vignetted badly with my 24mm.

If it's a choice between two adapters at comparable prices, one APS-C and one FF compatible, I'd recommend getting the FF compatible adapter just in case :D
 
timetraveller said:
That's the problem I simply won't use a dslr as it's just too big and inconvenient to carry around, I have a d750 before and I hardly used it so sold it.
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That really makes the title of the thread pretty irrelevant if you already know you don't want a DSLR?

But glad you made a purchase! Thoughts on your new kit once arrived!
 
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