Opinions on swapping out DSLR kit for mirrorless...

Hi all,

Just wondering what the opinion was of the new crop of mirrorless cameras?
I currently have a canon 350D with a 24-105 f/4, 70-200 f/4 and 300 f/4. Whilst these are smaller lenses compared to their f/2.8 versions, they're still pretty heavy, and I'm finding I rarely use my camera as I don't want to lug it around.

For a while I've been thinking a need a new body to rekindle my love of photography, but on second thoughts I think I need a new system.

I really like the look of the NEX series (probably the NEX 5N with 16+18-55 kit), mainly due to the aps-c format. I have a nikon FE2 slr so the ability to use F mount lenses (and many others) on a NEX without having unusable focal lengths is appealing (Nikon 1 series is pretty useless in this department).

The main thing I am worried about is the usability, I haven't been able to get my hands on a NEX yet. How are the functions laid out? If It had a shooting mode dial I'd get one on a flash but I'm worried I'll have to dig around a load of touch screen menus to change from Av to Tv for example.

Anyone have any real world experience with this? What else should I be looking at? The Fuji X10 looks appealing but I feel its more of a retro toy than a serious tool.

Thanks

I know very little about this. The only things I have read about is the EV sucks and they have not really solved shutter lag yet. I would not go with what I just said as I am not putting in any effort into researching this tech yet. I just get bits and pieces of info. Maybe someone else can add to this. I will wait until the tech matures before I look into it.

Actually the EVF is excellent in the NEX-5N - it is probably the best one in the market place right now. Using manual focus lenses with the NEX system is a breeze due to the focus peeking feature. The Image Quality of the 5N is very good and comparable to the Canon 7D. Actually high ISO shots are even better with the Sony.

I could never live with only the Sony system though. I love it for my legacy lenses. The lenses will still be huge for that system (unless you stick with the slow Sony E-lenses).

If you're not using your current camera because of size/inconvenience, I would say to go for it. I've heard a lot of good stuff about the NEX cameras (although I do not own one). You're far better off having a camera that you'll actually use rather than one that sits around collecting dust.

These threads always make me feel buff

stupot wrote in post #13380292
...The Fuji X10 looks appealing but I feel its more of a retro toy than a serious tool.

I'm enjoying using my X10 as my ultra-portable 7D alternative. Here's a pretty good review at Luminous Landscape.

There are times when the best "snapshot" camera is more useful than the best "planned session" camera.

I would also second the opinion on the X10. Having just bought one, i was blown away by the quality of pictures it produced, the build quality of the camera and overall ease of use. It will not replace my 5D2, but has certainly made it a little redundant. My 5D is seeing far less use at the moment, and for 95% of situations the X10 does the job. Of course the limitations on the sensor and lens will be there, and this will be vey obvious when doing anything more specialist, such as wildlife, sport, fashion etc. For taking great pictures on the go, or as a good travel companion, with the ability to get great lanscape and capture any scenario with such ease, this is hard to beat and will match many DSLRs. What you might lose in a smaller sensor, you gain in the fact that you actually had a camera with you, and this is a camera you can easily take with you anywhere.

I would do it primarily for the portability, EV or no EV. Personally I don't like using EV; I'm OK composing with the LCD. I also dig how tiny some of the bodies are. Thus, the Olympus E-PM1 is probably the one I'd go with.