What Mirrorless model do you recommend?

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Bill16

Senior Member
I'm sorta interested in trying a mirrorless Nikon sometime and was wondering what would be a good model to get with two lenses that inexpensive? Is the J1 worth getting, or do I need to look at a different model? I'm not looking to replace my DSLRs so low price is a must. I'm not sure when I'd be able to buy one, but I wanted to see if it was worth doing on a low budget.

Thanks for any advice you have to offer! :D
 
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DraganDL

Senior Member
Take it from the fool who knows: I simply ADORE Nikon, but it goes for the two good things that Nikon makes - (D)SLR cameras and their lenses. Every other thing Nikon produces is either overpriced or worse than competition. Nikon's flash units are overpriced. Nikon's batteries and battery grips are overpriced etc..
Nikon's mirrorless cameras are worse than competition - much smaller sensor, which Nikon tries to "excuse" by claiming their goal is/was to produce the cameras smaller than competition's. Smaller size cameras they are, but their IQ is smaller too. Nikon1 cameras are not smaller enough, in my opinion, to justify the (negative) difference in quality of photos, compared to Olympus PEN system, not to mention Canon's M, Fuji XE/XM and Sony NEX systems...

Bottom line is: 1) get yourself a PEN, models like E-PM2 or E-PL5, if you want it to be SMALL and not too expensive (can be easily put into the raincoat's pocket, kit lens 14-42mm included). With the adapter, it is possible to use Nikon's lenses in manual focus mode - the beautiful thing being in-camera optical stabilization that works even with non-olympus lenses (though the original, kit lens will do in most situations); 2) if you can invest some more $ , go for Fuji's mirrorless APSC sensor models (e.g. X-E1).
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
I think it depends on what you want to shoot with it. If you are looking for a P&S with the ability to shoot RAW, they are nice. I'm on the fence which way I'm going to go with N1 in the future. I like the look and specs of the OLY EM?10, but they have no quality birding lenses. I'm beginning to wonder if the rumored D9300 might actually be a mirrorless Dx. The problem with Dx mirrorless is you've completely lost the size battle. The only thing keeping me attached to the N1 system is the upcoming 70-300 (810mm), no one has anything to match it.
 
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randyspann

Senior Member
- If you're looking to get into a Nikon mirrorless on the cheap, the v1 can be had for peanuts. And having the advantage of EVF over the J1 is important to me.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
I think sometimes we get to embroiled with what is as close to perfection as possible (I certainly do). I have a D600 and great glass for the "important" stuff. The N1 stuff is nice for casual and moderately advanced shooting. I have sold prints taken with my J3, it is that good (or the buyers had poor taste). Fits in the pocket nicely and I'm not afraid to take it places I'd be paranoid about with the D600. As Randy said, the V1's are very reasonable now. If you want to spend a bit more, the V2 or J3 has the 14mp sensor.
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
Hmmm I will have to think about it for awhile. But that's OK since it will take some time if I decide to buy one to save up the money anyway. Lol :D

Thanks guys for the advice! I'm finding it very helpful! :D
 
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mathom33

Senior Member
Having just moved from a mirrorless system I would recommend that you get either a Panasonic or Olympus. Their lenses are interchangeable with each other. You can buy adapters to use legacy lenses, but it gets trickier with panasonic because most of their cameras have the image stabilization in the lens whereas Olympus has them in body. If I had to do it over I would go with in body image stabilization. Panasonic does have the GX7 which to my understanding is a great camera, but the Olympus omd em10's reviews on the mu43 forum seems to be the favorite.

Any other models like Nikon and Sony will be limited to the number of electronic lenses.

Something else to consider is if you want to have a viewfinder or not. The newer (high end) models for Oly and Panny were coming out with them. Otherwise you'll be using the screen for all of your shots. Panny did have an electronic viewfinder that mounts directly to the shoe mount, but you'll lose the ability to use a shoe mount flash.

The GX1 I had was a great camera. If you decided to go with Olympus or Panasonic and are looking for a zoom lens, the panasonic 45-150 is a bit sharper than the 45-200. I had the power zoom lens which was neat at first, but I realized that using an electronic switch to zoom and focus was more annoying than it was helpful. Where it made up for the price was the compactness of the lens.
 
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John P

Senior Member
I have shot with a X100s, that would be my dream street photography camera.
I also got to take an XE-2 for a test drive.
If I wasn't so invested in Nikon I would switch over!
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
I think you have to decide if you want small and compact or you are really looking for just a mirrorless Dx camera. The Fuji is awesome, but much larger than Nikon 1 with lenses considered. If I were starting out all over again, I may have went with something in the middle like the fuji, although it's fps is nowhere near Nikon 1. I think Nikon will come out with a Dx mirrorless soon, but a bit late in the game.
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
Yup and I have a habit of wanting things way way way above my budget! Lol And that has already got my dumb butt in trouble buying the ARCA SWISS ball head using bill money! Lol :p

Rick M said:
We have a bad habit of recommending the best and most expensive :)
Click to expand...
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
You picked the wrong person to ask that question, since I'm a huge macro fan! Lol But I'll try to answer unbiasedly anyway! I would suggest buying the lens that suited your favorite subject matter. If you love wide shots and scenery, I'd go with the 11-16mm lens you mentioned! I've heard it's an awesome lens!
But if your interested in macro photography, I would recommend the Nikkor 105mm micro f/2.8! It's an awesome lens and you can get the AF-D version used fairly reasonable it priced! That is the lens I bought, and is why I just bought a new ball head for my tripod Glenn gave me! Lol :D
Also there is one on for sale here in the market, that a friend of mine is selling! :)

But you should get the lens that would help you shoot what you enjoy to shoot most! :D

sonicbuffalo said:
Yep...my wife is gonna kill me....but I simply have to get a 11-16 lens....or should I get a micro?
Click to expand...
 
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wornish

Senior Member
The interesting thing about the mirrorless camera world is the rate of introduction of new models, they don't hold their 2nd hand price anything like the Nikon DSLR's.
Each iteration gets closer to the capabilities of a DSLR some can match DSLRs in certain areas but are weak in others.

Also a lot of people who criticise the Nikon 1 series do so without actually trying one out, instead they just say its a small sensor so thats bad. It is tiny and light so carrying it is not a problem.

If you are a birder or shoot fast moving action then the N1 series give you amazing reach 2.7X crop and the ability to use your existing Nikon DX or FF lenses with full aperture control and AF.

You can get a second user V1 for peanuts including a kit lens and even the V2 is not that much more expensive.

I got a 2nd user V1 and was blown away with the quality if you don't plan on producing huge prints then its fine.
 
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