For All of You That Have, or Want to...
As a wildlife picture taker I can see several reasons to use mirrorless cameras. First of course is frame rate. Then comes the super focus lock features, followed by silent operation, no mirror slap. I wonder how I ever got good shots with my manual focus, manual film advance and noisy mirror of my Nikon F.
Would I buy a Z9? Of course I would, just like I would have bought an F5 or a D6. All things equal, the likelihood of good wildlife pictures is directly proportional to the number of shots taken. Why don't I get one? 5,300 reasons.
I've never had a DSLR. I had a couple SLRs. When it came time to finally buy into digital, the best choices were smaller, lighter and quieter with good video capabilities.
rehess
Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA
rehess wrote:
I am in my mid-70’s. A photo l take is better than than one I didn’t take take because my DSLR kit is too heavy to lug.That of course may not apply to telephoto, which would argue for a smaller sensor also.
I am using a Pentax Q-7 right now; an adapter + legacy lens weighs about 600g; I just checked - a 18-150mm Canon EOS-R lens weighs something like 510g, a Canon R10 camera weighs very little. I guess that combination is worth looking into.
For many as we get older, or even young photographers who have a lot of gear, the main draw is the smaller size and lighter weight of both the body and lenses. All the other valid things are important to different groups/types of photographers, but the size/weight thing appeals to more. For sports and wildlife photographers, the fact that the smaller bodies and lenses can be made sturdier and weatherproof with less of an increase in size and weight becomes even more appealing.
And perhaps the designers are running out of ideas for new cameras and lenses (New sales!) that don't involve bodies getting bigger, heavier and more expensive.
I should add that many of the mirrorless cameras gave better automatic settings. That may not appeal to UHH traditionalists, but "Auto" is a very handy setting at times. It might have something to do with why iPhones work so well. Cameras should do it too.
jcboy3 wrote:
…and one can access menus and review images through the viewfinder.
This is a major plus for me - after having cataract surgery, which left me with excellent distance vision, but needing readers for, well, reading, the LCD screens are pretty much useless to me unless I want to be constantly putting on and taking off my glasses. Being able to do everything through the viewfinder is great - not to mention the fact that I don’t have to wear glasses to shoot anymore.
My reason was eye tracking and IBIS. There are other advantages mentioned above as well as a few disadvantages.
My camera,with the battery grip, and 18-200 weighs 3 Lbs, 1 oz.
That's what it is.....
I carry it.
In which way are the lenses better?
--Bob
Quote:
Better lenses is a photographic reason.
For those mentioning weight, size, and quiet, those aren't photographic qualities.
I've had one since the late 90s. I agree with you and your opinion of EVFs.
--Bob
BebuLamar wrote:
I personally do not want one but I believe those who like the EVF want them for the EVF. I don't want them because I do not like the EVF. I think it's the EVF vs the reflex viewfinder.
rmalarz wrote:
For those mentioning weight, size, and quiet, those aren't photographic qualities.
Not directly, of course.
But if those attributes make your camera more pleasurable to use, with the result that you then use it more, the outcome will surely be positive to your photography.
That’s certainly the progression I found myself on when I moved to mirrorless over 10 years ago.
kpmac wrote:
I think eventually cameras won't need photographers. What's the fun in that?
If I get the result Im after, I dont need to feel needed.
rehess
Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA
rmalarz wrote:
For those mentioning weight, size, and quiet, those aren't photographic qualities.
but you can’t exclude weight - it truly is an issue for some of us.
We live within something like four blocks of the entrance to the parking area of the county fair grounds.
Last year we walked there, then around the Fair, with me lugging my Pentax DSLR KP; I just barely made it back home. This year my Wife suggested that we drive there, but I took my MILC Pentax Q-7 instead, and I made it the whole way, with my Wife agreeing that this was much better. I had realized that I take most photos before sundown, so even my small-sensored Q-7 should be OK. Missing photos because I didn’t want to lug a DSLR is a “photographic quality” to me.
Likewise, I’ve been taking the Q-7 when we walk around State and County parks. It is “only ’recording my life’ ”, but I would feel undressed without a camera {with a telephoto lens - my iPhone wouldn’t count}
Last year, these guys were there - the only time I've seen them in the nine years we have lived here.
I know it is not great art, but if I hadn't photographed them, I feel our visit would have been incomplete.
rmalarz wrote:
What is the photographic reason for the desire to have a mirrorless camera? I'm just curious as to what is the attraction. I'm looking at the photographic draw for these cameras.
--Bob
Would you please explain or define "photographic draw". Its clear that lack of same is unraveling the "discussion".
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