Which camera to buy?

[Cuppa]

If you haven’t already checked out mirrorless cameras as an alternative to DSLR’s I reckon they are worth a look. Interchangeable lenses, equal image quality to DSLR’s, great in low light but the real advantage is lower weight & bulk if wanting to carry them on bush walks etc.

I’ve only played with one, the now discontinued Sony NEX 7 (which was around $1500 just for the body at the time) & would have to say it was without a doubt the best camera I’ve ever used. They can be picked up second hand in your price range with lenses today. http://www.sony.com.au/product/nex-7



http://www.tomsguide.com/us/dslr-vs-...ews-17736.html

My experience owning a Sony high end compact camera (T1) was that it was a brilliant & dependable bit of gear. Very high quality results from a ‘point & shoot’ smaller than a pack of smokes, mainly a result of the high quality Carl Zeiss lense. It cost around $1000 at a time when you could buy a low end point & shoot from any of the manufacturers, including Sony, for $200 or less. Of course it was relatively limited compared to the professional mirrorless & DSLR cameras, but owning it gave me a great confidence in Sony as a camera maker. It’s portability (shirt pocket) meant that it captured many shots which would have been missed with anything more bulky. Unfortunately my T1 failed to survive being dropped down a Karijini cliff. I would have no concern about buying a used Sony professional camera based upon my previous ownership.

It will be hard to decide what to get when I upgrade my now 6 year old Canon ‘superzoom’ (SX10is) - Mirrorless or DSLR, but knowing that a camera which gets left behind at camp when going bushwalking isn’t going to capture any great shots will have me seriously looking at the mirrorless offerings.

If anyone here has had experience with both (my only SLR experience was with a pre-digital Olympus OM1) I would be interested in your thoughts.