I've never gotten any problems with my A77's EVF.

why not swap to Fuji XT

this isn't true at all, you can get a lot of controls with a mirrorless also.

In terms of autofocus lenses, a DSLR is a better bet.

Yes, mirrorless can give you equally good pictures. I am more familiar with Sony NEX and Fujifilm's cameras, and I don't think they have good macro lenses. Do take a look into Panasonic and Olympus' m43rds line up to see if there are lenses that suit your needs. If they do, then great but be aware that the sensor size is smaller.

Many macro users like manual focus lenses, so it's possible that you might get an adapter to use it on your Sony, Fuji, Panasonic or Olympus bodies. That way, you can retain the weight advantage of mirrorless.

Zeiss 50mm F2.8 macro lens? haha

mirrorless camera have full manual control too

You're right. Don't poison the newbie ok?

USD999 from BHPhoto & Video. This is REAL Zeiss man!

even micro 4/3 macro lenses not cheap either...

zeiss is nothing, some sigma art lens can perform equal to zeiss with cheaper a lot, but not all sigma lenses, unless if u looking for weather seal lens

Before understanding what is a mirrorless camera, you must understand what does the mirror in a DSLR do.
Basically the mirror does nothing but reflect the image from the lens to an optical viewfinder so you can see exactly what the lens see.
Because of this mirror and the pentaprism needed, the body of DSLR is bigger in size. Take a look at this diagram -



Now another byproduct of the mirror system is that a faster auto focusing system called phase detection.

So the two main advantages of a DSLR is that you get an optical viewfinder and faster auto focus system. The third advantage is that the DSLR system has been around for ages and their lens and equipment are more matured and maybe even cheaper.

Okay now lets see what mirrorless cameras are. Like the name suggest, there is no mirror. That means no optical viewfinder. How we see the image is thru the LCD screen or in higher end mirrorless cameras, there is an electronic viewfinder. The advantage is, because there is no mirror, the camera body can be made smaller. Thats it.

Now how about auto focus system for the mirrorless cameras? Without going thru too much details, currently some of the contrast focusing system is pretty fast and decent. And recently came something called hybrid focusing which mixed contrast detection and phase detection like those seen in the Sony Nex system (take a look at the new Sony A6000)

The lenses and accessories for mirrorless cameras can cost a bit more than those from DSLR and not all mirrorless camera makers have a good range of lenses so compare first.

Another thing to put into your deciding equation is the sensor. DSLR has basically two sensor sizes - Full Frame and APS-C
Mirrorless has quite a huge range from M4/3, 1in, APS-C and even Full Frame. The bigger the better.


These are the three basic differences. As for a great picture, that really depends on you

The vertigo problem only becomes apparent (to me) when I use super tele like 450mm or longer.. but I was just only being picky with what I own and my biological limitations. Not a lens you go lugging around doing street shoot.

This post has been edited by ChinWY: Mar 30 2014, 07:34 PM

I'm using both mirrorless and DSLRs.

And I'm still looking for a flashgun that is well made for mirrorless. And No sticking a big high end flash to a mirrorless defeats the purpose of size.

Basically a Flashguns Infra-red AF beams only work with DSLR's phase detection AF. And that beam helps so much in difficult situations especially low light events. A flash gun makes a big difference.

If you don't plan to use flash or shoot indoor events. You can surely go ahead with a mirrorless. Its so much more smaller and convenient. EVen if you decide not to take photography seriously anymore it can still be a great travel camera. A big problem I can see with mirrorless is that there are less shops selling their lenses in Malaysia so you'll have a hard time getting good prices on them. But in terms of lenses selection for the mirrorless I would say the m43 seems to have wider choices.

This post has been edited by Rice_Owl84: Mar 31 2014, 12:54 AM

Hi all,
I am a current APS-C dslr owner shooting mainly landscape.
If i were to switch to mirrorless, what camera and UWA lenses will be suitable for me with on par quality with DSLR.
And also I have a whole range of P-series filter system, can this be used with mirrorless?

All the new mirrorless models have similar image quality with APSC DSLR. You might as well look at the lenses of the systems to decide what brand you want to invest in.

If you're already with Canon you can go for EOS-M. It has the cheapest native UWA lens with the EF-M 11-22mm.

m43 and Nex have native lenses but quite pricey. Olympus 9-18, Sony 10-18, Panasonic 7-14.

Fujifilm is seen as a quality mirrorless but for the UWA it only have 14mm (21mm FF equivalent) which might not be wide enough to your liking.

As for filters you better check if the lenses can take filters then find if it has an adapter to take it. Some UWA lenses can't take any filters.

that is correct.. not many will take filters.. I have the SONY SEL1018 and it takes filters.. Most UWA adapter/ add on will not take filters.

If you like to play with long exposure then Variable ND will be part of your needs and you have to make sure it can take filters. Initially, I thought I could live without the filter option when I get the adapter.. It was a compromise in many ways..

Thanks for the advise

Fuji 10-24 F4 UWA zoom has been release and will be in Malaysia market probably next week.
The price is will over rm3.5k. *ouch*

that's one of the weak points of mirrorless.

because most of the lenses are still new, so the company will price it higher to cover the R&D cost compared to DSLR lenses which a lot are older and have dropped to a lower price.

Been looking at mirrorless since the beginningl but still couldnt get myself to switch. I like the optical viewfinder too much.

how is that a weak point?

you see how much a Nikon 16-35 F4 VR costs.