The best mirrorless camera for you depends on what you want to do with it. Ultimately, there is no such thing as a perfect camera. Each has its limitations, and part of the magic of photography is learning how to work around them. You want to find the camera that is best suited for the type of photos you like to take. This can be a complicated process so we put together a comprehensive guide to choosing the right camera, walking you through all the jargon, acronyms, sensor options, and extra features to help you find the best options.
Here are some factors to keep in mind, depending on the type of photography you’re interested in doing. Although all the cameras below have these features, performance varies and some are better, for example, at taking simple photos than others.
Sensor size: Yes, I said it doesn’t matter and it doesn’t matter, but you have to understand it. For example, if you’re interested in shooting wildlife, a higher resolution sensor, such as Sony’s 60 MP sensor in the A7R V, will allow you to capture more images than a 24 MP sensor. On the other hand, there’s not much reason to spend extra money to get more megapixels if you’re not going to use them.
Auto focus: When I first picked up a camera in the 1980s, autofocus was a brand new thing. The Minolta Maxxum 7000 was the first SLR camera with an integrated autofocus system and completely changed the way photography works. The flip side to this is that every photo taken before the ’80s was manually focused, so no, you don’t need autofocus to make a good photo. Every camera below has incredibly fast autofocus. However, accuracy varies, so if this feature is important to you, pay attention to those notes.
Reinforcement of body image: Commonly called IBIS, stabilization in the camera body helps eliminate handshake, allowing you to shoot at slower shutter speeds and get a sharper image. This is very important for anyone who wants to shoot in low light conditions.
Electronic viewfinder: Often abbreviated EVF, the viewfinder is what you use to compose your photos and there is probably more variation here between cameras than any other feature. The viewfinder has a big impact on how much you’ll enjoy using the camera. This is one area where I suggest you go to your local camera store to try the viewfinder in person and make sure it works for you, especially if, like me, you wear glasses.
Weather closure: An often overlooked feature that is important if you want to shoot in adverse conditions. It’s never 100 percent, keep your gear out of the weather whenever you can no matter how covered it is. A related feature to look for is the sensor cover that protects the sensor from dust and dirt when changing lenses.
Battery life: Battery life is pretty good on all cameras these days, but some are still better than others. For example, my Sony A7RII chews through batteries and I rarely go out with less than 2 spares, which is a pain.
JPEG quality in camera: All cameras here can save your photos as RAW files, JPEG files, or both at the same time. However, some cameras produce better JPEGs than others. Fujifilm is particularly notable for the amount of control it offers to fine-tune the camera’s JPEGs, but these days every manufacturer has adopted this idea, with Nikon offering its own system, Sony also having tools, as does Canon. Panasonic’s Lumix line probably has the best of the bunch with its new ability to use in-camera LUTs.
Once you get your camera, read the manual and learn what it can and can’t do, then use it over and over again until it’s an easy extension of your mind. Once you get comfortable, the gear fades into the background where it belongs, and you can focus on making the photos you’ve always wanted to make.
