Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

That thing you call stupid, is what helps makes our mirrorless cameras stupidly thin and lightwight :-)

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

You all are welcome to your shirt pocket toys, i want a mirrorless D800 with electronic shutter and viewfinder.

amehta Loc: Boston

I'm having a really hard time figuring out how to respond to this. Do you really think making the distance between the sensor and lens mount smaller is stupid? I think it is one of the biggest advantages of a MILC.

What you call "spacer plates" are called "lens adapters" which allow lenses of different brands to work on a single camera.

amehta Loc: Boston

You get close to that in a Sony A7R.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

next gen stuff...not so far off...a lot of cool rumors out there. In the meantime, I'll keep my EM1 and enjoy the benefits of the current MILC

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Withe em1 in my pocket, I'm sure I'd get quite a few questions like...
"Is that camera in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

The EM1 is not pocketable...even with a pancake lens :-)

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

yeh, we tease each other but actually i hope they develope the mirrorless in both small and full frame.

I think there is both market interest and purpose in both.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

It's only a matter of time...
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new-sony-a7s-reviews-you-knew-a7s-dynamic-range-is-damn-close-to-the-40000-arri-amira/

MtnMan Loc: ID

There are adapters that will let me mount any of my Nikon lenses onto my mirrorless Sony NEX-7. It happens to have a 24MB APS-C sensor.

The problem is that none of them work the lens electrical functions and most of my lenses do not have an aperture ring. Some of the more expensive adapters include an aperture adjuster but none enable autofocus or VR.

troutisme

i guess most folks here are fixated on canon and nikon and they are not in this game so far. fuji and olympus are in the game. i will comment on fuji lenses. from their kit lens to fixed lenses all of them are top notch and the price is about half of price of pro lenses from nikon and canon. i own 2 zeiss fixed lenses that i got at 800 dollar off in a recent sale. i think if you go out and rent the fuji xt1 and a few lenses you will see for yourself and can then make an informed decision on what masterpieces these lenses are.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Mirrorless cameras are nothing new. These are the rangefinder cameras we knew from the past but with lots of innovations due to modern technologies.
When the mirror chamber is removed the lenses are much closer to the sensor, like they were to the focal plane when using film and that implies an improvement in the quality of the images. The revolving mirror can cause blur although their mechanisms have improved to the point that blur is not a common problem any more.
Can the lenses be made inexpensively and be good? Inexpensively I do not think so but the quality of the lenses are superb as has been well illustrated here and in other forums.
Do not say that Nikon or Canon are using lenses from the past because that is not necessarily true. Full frame cameras can use those old lenses which by the way are of high quality but both companies have worked and keep on working in new lenses for their cameras.
I do not understand very well your comments on the "speed" of EVFs. Take a good look at modern EVFs by Olympus just to mention one company and you will see that they are superb.
I am convinced that in the near future many if not all dSLR cameras will be mirrorless. They have many advantages and the technology is not standing still with lots of research and development going on right now. These future cameras will have an excellent AF for action, sports and wildlife photography and their shooting power will be much faster than the cameras we are using today.
The future of photography looks brilliant!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I had a chance to preview the new A7, A7R and can report that the electronic viewfinder is fine - feels like looking through a lens - very fast.

Bigger issue is focusing performance.

So far, the lenses I have seen for micro four thirds are generally outstanding - and not that expensive. As the lenses get bigger to accommodate larger sensors, the cost increases and performance diminishes on the less costly lenses.

With the smaller formats, diffraction enters sooner - sharpness usually peaks around F5.6 and starts to diminish with diffraction effects beginning to cause image softness by F8.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

hahah....you go with that.

Me?

I'll take my pocket toy.

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

Another problem with the mirror system occurs to me, one I recall giving me a lot of trouble with an OM-1 I used many years ago. The problem was that unless my face was pushed right up tight against the view-port, light would enter there and confuse the metering inside the camera.

Dale40203 Loc: Louisville, KY

Here is an article listing some of the shortcomings according to one reviewer. I have not been able to find one in my area, so I have no first hand experience.

http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/34193/disadvantages-of-electronic-viewfinders

For those who are already invested in 35mm type DSLRs, moving to newer mirror less interchangeable lens digital cameras from their chosen brand will be a relatively easy transition because they will be able to use their existing lenses. Those of us looking to enter the mirror less field without a DSLR collection of older lenses will be forced to buy older lenses and use adapters or make do with the limited offering of built-from-scratch lenses made especially for mirror less cameras.

Nikon and Canon have a considerable collection of glass for their existing mirrored DSLRs. I don't think it's as easy as putting old lens elements into a shorter barrel because the back focusing characteristics will most like require total redesigning. I'm not an optics expert, but the transition to mirror less could be slow and expensive for manufacturers.