CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The sales team at Best Buy should have referred you to: Myths about mirrorless cameras

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Read reviews and comparisons before you spend your money. A smaller camera has the buttons and switches closer together, and that's a real concern.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

Professional and advanced amateur Canon and Nikon DSLR photographers likely have many thousands of dollars invested in glass - multiples of the cost of their camera bodies. It is unlikely many will switch to the Sony system unless the Sony adapters will provide exactly the same functionality as when the lens is used on their DSLR bodies. For those who are not heavily invested in C/N glass, the decision to go mirrorless might make more sense, for the experienced C/N shooter, mirrorless might make sense as a secondary kit. I’m not about to abandon the $10,000 or more that I have invested in my Canon “L” glass.

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

Buy what you need, not what some salesman tells you to buy. The first thing you need is your requirements. What are you going to photograph? Landscapes? Children in motion? Animals in motion? Sports? Friends? Yourself? Landscapes and cityscapes? Daytime only? Indoors? Outdoors? Subjects close up? Subjects in the distance? Birds in flight? Wildlife? And how important is weight? Will you be hiking or camping with your photography gear? Will you be taking pictures in the rain? Will you be printing photos? If so, how large? Will you be posting photos on-line? What is your budget? Would a tripod be inconvenient?

Once you have answers to those questions, you are ready to start looking for a camera system and people who are knowledgeable about cameras and photography will be able to help you. Anyone who recommends a camera without knowing the above is wasting your time.

Bike guy Loc: Atlanta

Sony FE lenses are expensive
Battery life is horrible
Other positive comments are correct

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

I don't care - I take great pics with whatever.
BUT
I just like EVFs.
I like bright, large viewfinders.
I like 100% view.
I like rangefinder styling.
I like Panny - and my GX8.
I like M43 format.
And that is what I have - aren't I lucky?
I hope you all have what you like.
Del

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

Upgrade from what? What camera and lenses do you currently own? This could have an impact on your decision.

Low Budget Dave

As a long-term Sony user, I am happy to give you a definitive answer: Depends.

The eye-autofocus on the new Sony cameras really is better than the competition. By a lot. So if you shoot a bunch of portraits of subjects that might be moving, like kids, special needs, and certain kinds of events, then the new Sony A7Riv and the Sony A9 are going to do eye-autofocus better than the comparably priced Nikon, Canon, and Fuji.

Similarly, if you are looking for a good camera in the "sub-$500" price range, I can certainly recommend the Sony a6000. It is older than most current camera models, but for the price, it is a solid competitor.

But for every price point in between $500 and $3500, Sony has some serious competition. The (bigger) DSLRs from Canon and Nikon offer a different set of compromises, but it just depends what feature is most important to you. Do you want low cost? Great color? Great lenses? Great weatherproofing? Smaller total size? Sports focus tracking? Eye-Autofocus? In-body stabilization? Video resolution? Video color log? Uncropped video? On-board fill flash?

Because how you rank those features on 1 to 10 will give you a different camera choice. If you couldn't care less until 5,6, 7, and 8, then you might want a Sony A9. If 1, 2 and 4 are the only ones that interest you, then maybe the new Canon M6ii...

etc...

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

As far as I am concerned if you want good advise you cannot buy your camera at Best Buy. Sony is a very good mirrorless camera from what I know since my favorite mirrorless is made by Olympus and I am implying I have not used Sony cameras before.
The salesman is wrong stating that AF is better with mirrorless cameras. Camera manufacturers are making new mirrorless cameras because they have been selling very well compared to dSLR bodies. Those cameras have better technologies than dSLR bodies but AF is not one of them.
Yes, since they do not have a mirror those cameras can shoot faster but do not expect them to be better than a dSLR body for action or wildlife photography, at least for the time being.

I do not know where is your location but if you are close to a camera store known to be reputable that is the place where I would go to buy my camera and for sound advise.

khorinek

I use the EOS RP. I switched from the Mark III and Mark IV. I do use my Mark IV for some sports as it is faster fps than the EOS RP but the image quality is as good as the Mark IV and the camera weighs half as much. I use my 70-200 f/4 and 70-200 f/2.8 on it with great results. I believe Canon has made a big statement with the mirrorless R and RP cameras. My experience with Best Buy is they hire high school kids to sell their products and the kids are not that familiar with the real world products, just what they are told in the store. IMHO.

Canisdirus

Is the future of the DSLR a dead end? You betcha ....

Will manufacturers ever tell you that? Uhhhh .... no .... never.

Mirrorless have cleared every hurdle as of today, and have advantages the DSLR simply cannot achieve.

Toment Loc: FL, IL

The DSLR is dead...Long live the DSLR!
I guess there will always be an England, so I guess that’s where you’ll
be able to get one 😄😄😄

markwilliam1

Really? I think Not!

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

Odd that no one has mentioned Fuji, although they are crop frame they too are excellent cameras, when I got the Canon R I let go of my Fuji X-T2 simply because I have quite a stable of fine lenses for my Canon bodies and I wanted a mirrorless camera to be able to use native lenses instead of relying on an adapter to make them work on a body that they were not manufactured for use on. I have to say that were I starting from scratch I would purchase the Fuji over the Canon R.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

We live today in a world driven by "what I think" and marketing to shape what each person thinks. Then folks in the world divide up into groups that think alike in order to validate and reinforce their choices.

The sad truth is that the market for photographic equipment is shrinking. As has been mentioned, the low end has been siphoned off by cell phones, and the market for higher end products is also shrinking because fewer people care about learning about and pursuing much of anything seriously today.

The result is that those makers of serious photographic equipment have had to take three steps to preserve their business:
-Reignite some interest
-Drastically reduce production costs.
-Significantly raise prices.
Introduction of a new technology is how they're doing this. It's been done before in many markets. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

I have definite preferences around both brand and technology. These have come from experience, research, and personal preference. I will not share them with you, because my preferences and choices should have no bearing on what you choose in this situation.

I do believe that discussion of both the intrinsic benefits of mirrorless cameras and the impending death of digital single lens reflex cameras are grossly exaggerated.

I suggest that after you read responses here, you visit a camera store and do a comparison of several models that YOU drive, not the sales person. Look particularly at the negative things that have been pointed out here. Decide if they even matter to you. Then make a choice based on YOUR preferences. Be cautioned that it can be easy to find yourself making your choice on what might seem an unfair or uneven basis. That might not be a bad thing, since intangible factors can have a real and meaningful influence on your choice. But do be aware of it.

Good luck as you choose, and have fun, both choosing and shooting.