best entry-level mirrorless camera

jamiebonline

jamiebonline

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Hi !

I'd like some advice on an entry-level mirrorless camera. It can be any of the main companies, sony, fujifim, panasonic and so on. ideally it needs to be a camera that has prime lenses at reasonable prices especially ones around 50 mm (35mm equiv) it can also be a few years old. i want to get it with a kit lens.
 
What's your budget
You can get a second hand EM5/10 lumix g6 for around £200 though I'd go with the G6 unless your used to Olympus menus
 
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They all have primes in the range. You really need to go to shop and have a look at them. The Olympus/Panasonic will have more compact lenses if thats a priority.
 
As above we need a budget to be able to recommend a camera unfortunately as there are so many out there. Also will you be buying new or used?

I'm not sure what focal length you need. 50mm would not give 35mm eq on any system. 50mm on FF is 50mm, 50mm on APS is 75/80mm Nikon/Canon and 50mm on m4/3 is 100mm. I assume you want 50mm equivalent FOV in which case 35mm on Nikon APS would be 52.5mm equivalent and so would be close? However, if you were to look at m4/3 and want 50mm eq then you'd need a 25mm lens as they have a 2x crop.
 
snerkler said:
As above we need a budget to be able to recommend a camera unfortunately as there are so many out there. Also will you be buying new or used?

I'm not sure what focal length you need. 50mm would not give 35mm eq on any system. 50mm on FF is 50mm, 50mm on APS is 75/80mm Nikon/Canon and 50mm on m4/3 is 100mm. I assume you want 50mm equivalent FOV in which case 35mm on Nikon APS would be 52.5mm equivalent and so would be close? However, if you were to look at m4/3 and want 50mm eq then you'd need a 25mm lens as they have a 2x crop.
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Yes I should have mentioned budget. It's around 250 pounds. I can buy secondhand.
 
What I suggested is probably your best option or go for a g5 if that budget is to include a lens
 
I think £250 would get you an Olympus OMD E-M5 or E-M10, both first gen but I doubt there would be change left over for a prime lens. The M4/3 system is well worth thinking about generally though. A panasonic 20mm 1.7 lens is a lovely little thing for about £150. £100 would get you a Panasonic G3 or similar. Would make for a nice little combination. I prefer the OMD cameras personally but you'd likely be looking at some sort of kit lens to stay in budget. The prime would have to wait.
 
Olympus EM5/EM10 if you want a superb camera with great image quality in a very small package. Or even the Panny GX7.

Fuji if you want ultimate IQ (contentious statement ;) :p), but lenses can be pricey.

Sony A5100/6000 if the come in budget if you're going to be taking moving objects.
 
snerkler said:
Olympus EM5/EM10 if you want a superb camera with great image quality in a very small package. Or even the Panny GX7.

Fuji if you want ultimate IQ (contentious statement ;) :p), but lenses can be pricey.

Sony A5100/6000 if the come in budget if you're going to be taking moving objects.
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Quality always comes at a price!;):)
 
Do you want mirrorless because of the size or the technology? If it's the technology then consider a Sony SLT like the alpha 57/58 - better image quality than the M43 types (we have both here) and relatively cheap lenses available through older Minolta AF lenses. The bodies are fairly light too.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Do you want mirrorless because of the size or the technology? If it's the technology then consider a Sony SLT like the alpha 57/58 - better image quality than the M43 types (we have both here) and relatively cheap lenses available through older Minolta AF lenses. The bodies are fairly light too.
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That's debatable, I had the Sony A77 and A77-II and often preferred shots from the Olympus EM10 and then the EM5-II. Noise performance was about on par too.

The larger sensor on the Sony has the advantage of shallower DOF though all things considered equal and without getting into the equivalence/field of view/distance debate :p
 
I got a used Sony NEX 5N as a £100 intro to mirrorless - great sensor and old film-era lenses work well with cheap <£10 adapters readily available.

The user controls can be well annoying but the quality of the output makes it worthwhile and the camera can be relegated to reserve camera when I upgrade.
 
snerkler said:
That's debatable, I had the Sony A77 and A77-II and often preferred shots from the Olympus EM10 and then the EM5-II. Noise performance was about on par too.

The larger sensor on the Sony has the advantage of shallower DOF though all things considered equal and without getting into the equivalence/field of view/distance debate :p
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Yes, it is debatable, but for me, I find better image quality in terms of lower noise, dynamic range and tonal range. A key point was also the cheaply available used lenses.
 
macvisual said:
You can pick up a used X-E1 body for around £135 ish....
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Yes, but unless you want to stick to XC zooms, the lenses will set you back a lot more. A 50mm equivalent prime was mentioned - that's another £300 for the Fuji 35mm and if it's the 1.4 on the X-E1 it's a marriage made in hell as far as ease if use goes, would put anyone off the X series for life!

(My X-E1 is an Infra Red conversion sub to my X-T1 which is my favourite camera of all time)
 
jamiebonline said:
Hi !

I'd like some advice on an entry-level mirrorless camera. It can be any of the main companies, sony, fujifim, panasonic and so on. ideally it needs to be a camera that has prime lenses at reasonable prices especially ones around 50 mm (35mm equiv) it can also be a few years old. i want to get it with a kit lens.
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I'd go for a "So On" with double kit zoom and one of the four good and affordable 20mm-to-25mm primes.
 
gad-westy said:
A panasonic 20mm 1.7 lens is a lovely little thing for about £150. £100 would get you a Panasonic G3 or similar.
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^ This. For a general purpose camera that's all you need, and it's nice and compact. Great quality, especially if you delve into processing the Raw files. At a later date, add the Olympus 45mm for a fast portrait lens, and maybe the amazing 8mm fisheye, and then you're set for pretty much everything.
 
I just sold an immaculate omd em10 for £170 and it was fantastic. Keep an eye out for one of these. Only sold as had to switch back to canon.
 
A Sony A6000 with 16-50 kit lens. Go for less than £300 on here. Fantastic camera and, once set up, you never need to go into the menus, everything is but a button away. The Sigma range provides high quality, inexpensive glass to complement the camera.
 
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