repleo Loc: Boston

Its worth noting that of the four systems mentioned, Sony is the only one that lets you step up to Full Frame if the urge arises.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

For now. If anyone has the idea of investing in a camera system over the years, lenses etc. - rather than buying a new smartphone every two years by comparison - then the situation WILL be very different one, two, or five years from now. A simple camera is easy, but the investment in a system has longevity. There are reasons why Nikon and Canon have been cautious about the market for mirrorless cameras, they have the most to lose. They can also step back, watch, and let others invest in what makes a successful product and the mistakes that they make.

As I have stated several times, I would not personally buy a Nikon or Canon mirrorless now, despite my investment in Canon gear, but it won't be long before the market landscape changes. This is a well proven pattern with technology products and companies. Sony, Fuji, Panasonic, Olympus are the current leaders in mirrorless for sure. Canon is behind, Nikon is missing in action. However if lenses are part of the puzzle, then moving to full frame system is a big shift unless you already have a stable of full frame lenses. It is much easier to produce a full frame mirrorless camera than a portfolio of lenses. Both Nikon and Canon have those. Apparently Canon has three separate full frame mirrorless development projects in flight. We have to wait and see what comes to fruition, but I am confident that Canon will get it right. I also expect Nikon to do the same, they're just lagging a little bit. Neither Nikon nor Canon are a 'dead end' for mirrorless cameras, they're just slow starters with big budgets and a lot of incentive to get it right.

BebuLamar

Personally if I were to buy a mirrorless it would be a Fuji.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

We often said Pioneers usually take the arrows and Settlers take the land...

krashdragon

Ok, my different .0002 cents worth....
If you thinking about mirrorless just because it's smaller.... How about a "bridge"
camera? . They're a cross between pocket sized, and tbe big guys.
Only one permanently fixed lens, but it's telephoto. So zoom. Or not.
They have some manual controls, so you can learn about focus, light, speed and other stuff.
They're a bit simpler than a full-blown DSLR, that gives you a bit more chance to study composition, light and color.
Don't overlook factory refurbished cameras (or tv's or other electronics), all must be returned to as good or better than new.

An online or community college adult photography course would be helpful, an art design and composition course would be even better.
I drive a truck, my teammate or I would sometimes have to take photos of merchandise or whatever. She would always grumble how my photos of the same thing looked better than hers.
I never mentioned I shot film for over 30 years, or that I had an art degree with an education minor.
Mine only looked better because I took an extra second before I shot to visualize what I wanted the pic to look like, then I moved around to where I usually got that shot.
She would just stick the camera up and shoot. We were both using cell phones.

Hardest part of photography is SEEING.
Then the technical stuff.
Best part is having fun.
Good luck.
Did you notice how much technical info there is in this thread? It's a guy thing.
I had a Canon SX50, wish I'd kept it.
SX60 would also be good.
Shoot what you're interested in, and sometimes what you're not.
And have fun.
(I'm a girl, too. Totally different viewpoint. 😁)

repleo Loc: Boston

"..... the situation WILL be very different one, two, or five years from now..... "

Like I said - the OP's kids will be grown and the dog will be dead by the time Canon or Nikon get a competitive mirrorless system on the market.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Unfortunately, Peter, this tale has been told for eight years. I got tired of waiting, and bought a Panasonic LUMIX system. I’m glad I did, because I shed more than 2/3 of the bulk and weight of my old still and video systems. I don’t regret it. I can’t see myself wanting or needing a full frame system for my work. If I do, I’ll rent for a short while.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Check this out:

https://youtu.be/1M45wuRi_Vs

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Bill, I don't disagree with you. I wouldn't advise someone looking for a mirrorless system currently to choose either Nikon or Canon, unless they had very good reasons to do so. Neither am I suggesting that people wait. However, my main objection which was not from your good self, was that Nikon and Canon are dead ends. That I do feel is a very ill informed and short sighted perspective.

Some people have a big investment in Nikon and Canon system level equipment, are not looking to down size, and are happy to wait until the right product comes along from either of the big two. The main point I am making is that this is a transitional market, so one should expect things to change. Market data is hard to get unless one pays for it, but in Japan (which is not representative of the European or US markets) Canon has pushed Sony into third place, with Olympus still having the lead. Despite the excellence of Panasonic Lumix - I have friends who love them - Panasonic is sliding down the market share statistics. What does this all mean from a longer term perspective?
http://www.canonwatch.com/the-canon-eos-m5-drops-sonys-mirrorless-sales-figures-by-7-in-japan/
http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/2016-companies-market-shares-japan/

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

That's a great video. However, when you consider all of the lighting and other equipment required to get the result which is easily seen in the video, does that make so much difference to the overall experience by simply using a mirrorless system? She didn't carry all of that stuff in her pocket or handbag! I doubt that whether she used a Panasonic Lumix, a Nikon or Canon DSLR, or a Hasselblad it would make that much difference with all of the staging required.

Does it demonstrate that Lumix systems can stand with the best, sure, but it also obfuscates the facts as to what percentage a smaller lighter camera contributes to the entire production. It's clearly good work, but it's a marketing bait and switch pitch, not false, but quite misleading other than showing that Lumix systems can play on the main stage alongside the others.

Haydon

Thanks for passing the stats off Peter. I'd love a lighter and more compact system but I'm enslaved by 9 L lenses and 3 DSLR bodies. I'm not convinced about adapters either. I'm not about to buy more glass to fit a new ML. I was surprised from those stats how Canon took away the share in 2017 for ML over Sony. It wasn't a huge jump over Sony but still surprising. Panny's/Fuji/Olympus have a unique advantage for now. I'm in the category sit and wait because I'm not about to abandon ship. I still maintain that it's hard to buy a bad camera nowadays and what restricts your images getting better mostly is yourself.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Thank you. That exemplifies my point. I don't have a problem lugging a DSLR around - it beats going to the gym - and the majority of the weight is the lenses etc. Changing to a mirrorless body (either APS-C or FF) wouln't move the needle on that. If a mirrorless camera becomes obviously superior then clearly a reconsideration would be appropriate. I have yet to see one that meets my criteria for that assessment. Others' opinions will clearly differ, as they should. This will be an interesting situation to watch over the next few years.

The data clearly shows that the market is in transition. It would be interesting to see US and European data.

bel air bill Loc: Bel Air Maryland

Take a Photography Course at a local Community Collage. It will be of Great Help. Best of Luck.

sujoncps Loc: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Why not think about new Nikon D850? because they redesigned shutter and mirror mechanism, mirror/shutter shock doesn't seem to be much of an issue, even without engaging EFCS.

anotherview Loc: California

To improve photographic results, study composition foremost.