DSLR or mirrorless - I thought and decided!
Those who follow me on social networks could already see that I had some kind of a revolution in my consciousness and I switched to a mirrorless camera. It was the Sony Alpha a6000. Unfortunately, the post was not paid for, since they did not answer me anything about my letter of cooperation, so I had to buy with my own money. But now the post is not about the camera, but the sensations after the transition, so Sony still has time to change its mind :)
Also, the post will not contain test comparative pictures, because I do not have a DSLR with me now, I did not take it to Warsaw. After all, initially everything was started in order to reduce weight, otherwise nothing fits into my hand luggage. In short, the mirrorless is a salvation.!
The content of the article
Doubts
Previously, I was completely skeptical about mirrorless cameras, they did not suit me in various ways. But time passed, and now mirrorless cameras are technically not inferior to their mirror counterparts. It seems to me that a little more and from the class of amateur DSLRs there may be nothing left at all, there will be no sense in them. Although so far they are a good alternative because of the price, as mirrorless cameras are more expensive. Actually, therefore, for beginners, I would still advise choose the simplest DSLR, just because of the savings. But, if the question of price is not worth it, then you can safely take something Nex-o-like from Sony or other brands.
What to choose a DSLR or mirrorless
After I realized that technically I get almost the same camera (corresponding to my needs), the first place was taken by such a minus as ergonomics. Although I am not a reporter, you get used to the ease of control very quickly. Looking through the viewfinder, you can change settings in a split second by turning the various wheels blindly. Also, the Canon 7d camera focuses very quickly (and almost does not smear), instantly ready to work after turning on. It seems, you think, a split second, but it is difficult to abandon the usual, especially since the new camera is of a similar price category. It's like a phone, if it starts to slow down, and you wait for a few seconds to download an application, then such a phone starts quickly getting annoying. I was afraid of the similar here.
About six months ago, I played with the Nex-5 and Nex-6 (previous models) and I liked everything. Lightweight, compact, and good shots too. The A6000 is even better, with faster focus, easier controls and better menus. Therefore, before the next trip, I made a sharp decision (one day) and bought it, having received the box the day before before leaving. In fact, it was only at the airport that I used the camera for the first time..
Reasons for the transition
The main reason for the transition was that I was tired of carrying weights with me, and there was no way to take something of a large volume with me. Even though I only have a Canon 7d carcass and two lenses 24-105 and 11-16 for it, I still came out with 2 kg. Plus, additional batteries, chargers, remote control, filters, tripod (1kg), that is, in total somewhere 3-4 kg minimum. My hand luggage on the plane usually weighed under 10 kg, along with a laptop and other things. In general, all this has ceased to fit normally in city backpack, which I usually travel with.
In the end, I just looked the truth in the eye and realized that I had not taken the whole set with me for a long time, since most often we all go somewhere together, and I also have Yegor's toys in my backpack, some kind of food, his clothes and etc. Or even, if I take a DSLR with me, then it is inconvenient for me to dig it out of my backpack, and I take pictures with my phone. This is no good at all.
The second reason for the transition is that I mostly have photos for my blog, and this is only 900px wide, sometimes more. For two years, I also printed a couple of times in total, and the size 15x20 does not require much. Thus, it is quite possible to reduce your requirements for a camera for every day (for a travel camera), not a wedding.
First impressions of the mirrorless
- Delighted with lightness and compactness. You don't notice it in your backpack, you don't notice it on your neck. If not for the lens, it would be possible to put in a belt bag.
- Swivel screen thing! It is much easier to remove from the belly, from above, or from the ground. Previously, for example, you had to lie down on the asphalt.
- It's unusual to frame a frame on the screen, you feel somehow awkward. And the viewfinder is electronic, somehow it is also not right.
- Slowly. Much more time passes from pressing the button to the frame, it is necessary to shoot ahead of time. But much faster than a soap dish. I couldn’t take pictures of the peacock eating from his hand, he did it very abruptly, the camera down didn’t have time, my 7D would have had time, there the frame is taken immediately after pressing without a pause. And after releasing the shutter, you need to wait again for a while.
- Unusual menu and settings. Although this would be relevant when switching, for example, to a Nikon DSLR.
- You do not change the settings so quickly, in the DSLR everything is already by touch and you do it automatically, looking through the viewfinder and controlling the subject. Here you put the settings on the screen and distract from the object.
- People around, it seems to me, pay less attention, a soap dish and a soap dish. Although the lens is of course large and betrays me.
- From the camera, you can upload a photo via wifi-direct to your smartphone and post it to the social network. A trifle, but convenient when you want to share something urgently. Especially important for night photos, which you can only take on the camera, on the phone in any way.
Long exposure night photos
High ISO night photos
90mm background and F5.6
Backlit
Cloudy landscape with a littered sky
What did I get
The weight of the Sony a6000 camera with 18-105 lens is about 0.9 kg. It seems, too, not a little, but still unusually easy. In addition, you can put a smaller lens, up to a small pancake, and you can even put the camera in your pocket. But while I am not planning anything else, one lens is enough as a universal one. In fact, it covers almost all the focal lengths I need when traveling, only the width of 10-18 is sometimes not enough. Also, I will not buy any additional filters, remotes yet, and I will change my tripod to something completely miniature and lightweight. In general, it turned out very compactly, I am satisfied, the main task is completed. It remains to sell a DSLR with accessories and just all purchases will pay off.
Camera crop 1.5, that is, the matrix is the same size as I had. Shoots in RAW, then everything lends itself well to processing in Lightroom. The dynamic range seems to be good too, I will not say that I see a direct noticeable difference, to be honest, I do not see it at all. ISO working up to 1600-3200, but 3200 is already noisy for me. The picture is nice, but different, the color rendition is different. Bokeh changed.
In general, if not for the speed, then there are no complaints at all, even to ergonomics, because it is still rarely needed. But the speed is also solvable, you just have to remember to set the burst mode, as the machine gun scribbles then.
P.S. The post is not informational, just impressions and emotions. I wanted to share. Do you need some information or not? If anything, then I did not make much comparison between different cameras and I can only tell you about this camera..