# What mirrorless should I buy?



## Obama (Nov 14, 2014)

Hi,

I've been in the photo world of DSLRs for over 5 years but I always wanted to shoot videos while taking photos. I currently have a Nikon D90 and the video capabilities are low mainly because it limits the video lenght to 5 minutes. I'd like to buy a mirrorless for two reasons: taking videos while I shoot with the D90 and for photografy on holidays or trips on the mountain where a DSLR is too heavy and big to carry around. My budget is limited so here are my options, I'll have the choose one of this:

Nikon 1-  S1/J2 - low sensor but a preaty good and wide lens
Sony A3000 - very big, dslr like and low quality viewfinder, other than that very good specs.
Samsung NX2000 - large sensor but no image stabilisation at all
Olympus E-PL3 - not tested but looks great on the specs

If you have any other suggestions on this price range I'm all ears. Thanks.


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## Raj_55555 (Nov 14, 2014)

I have no idea about the mirrorless systems, but if the President of the USA has to think about a camera budget, I guess the economy really is in trouble! 

Sorry for trolling, I'm sure someone will come along with a more helpful comment. Oh, and welcome to TPF!


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## Obama (Nov 14, 2014)

Believe me, you're not the first to make fun of my nickname. I have the same nick on other photo forums and was inspired from real life. Thanks for the welcome message.


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## Gary A. (Nov 14, 2014)

Panasonic makes the best mirrorless video around. GH4 if you can afford it. The GH3 was the best in its time.


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## Obama (Nov 14, 2014)

Yes, I know but Panasonic is out of budget.


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## Gary A. (Nov 14, 2014)

I don't shoot video ... so I can't speak to that aspect. One of the pluses for the Oly is the wide spectrum of very very good native glass that is available. But for video I suspect you're thinking legacy ... hence the mirrorless. If you were in SoCal I'd let you play with a P3 ... I have one laying around somewhere.


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## SnappingShark (Nov 14, 2014)

I've not heard good reviews about Olympus video.
I have an E-M1 and would never even try video with it (I'm not into video, and didn't buy it for its video capabilities).


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## Obama (Nov 14, 2014)

Gary, thanks again. I'm overseas unfortunatelly. I'm shooting with manual focus, on tripod and in decent light, mainly school events but not as a paid professional, more as an enthusiast amateur. This is the reason I'm not eager to invest a large amount of money in this. I also do  a lot of video editing in Premier. I want a mirrorless so I can also use it as a photocamera on holidays and sport trips like mount climbs, cicling, maybe skiing. I've looked at action cameras but are very limited in so many ways, can't use them on events at all. Bright, thanks for the notice. I'm excluding Oly. Just read an interested review on Nikon: Best Mirrorless Camera on the Market ? Yes: Nikon 1 System Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review


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## Holejee (Nov 16, 2014)

Fuji has awesome lenses and image quality.


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## DorkSterr (Nov 16, 2014)

Just ditched all my Nikon gear for the Fuji X T1 and first impression, Fuji's equipment feels a lot more sturdy better build overall. As for image quality I like how my RAW's look coming straight out of the camera from my Fuji X T1 much better vs the Nikon D4's RAW.


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## Obama (Nov 17, 2014)

Fuji is over the budget. What do you think about Sony A3000?


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## curtyoungblood (Nov 17, 2014)

FWIW, almost no one says anything positive about mirrorless video capability.

What is your budget?


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## Gary A. (Nov 17, 2014)

Yes, define budget. When I was into MFT, there was always a debate of how good Oly video was to Panasonic. Nobody argued that Panasonic had the best video, the argument was how close was Oly to Panasonic. Most felt that Oly was pretty good video wise. I read over and over that Fuji video sucks. Fuji is a still camera, a damn good film camera, but not for the videographer.


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## Obama (Nov 17, 2014)

Budget is around $450; as you can see from my wishlist in the first post, all models are around $450.


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## RichieTang (Nov 17, 2014)

I recently purchased the Olympus e-m10, and I really like everything about it. The lenses are great, and I'm having a lot of fun messing with the custom settings on it so it's easier to use (for me). +1 for the Olympus.


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## davdenic (Nov 18, 2014)

I have olympus em5 but for video i suggest an used pana gh2 and optionally there are firmware hacks to improve video settings. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Obama (Nov 22, 2014)

Ended up with the samsung nx2000 bought for $230


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## Yuvraj Thapa (Nov 22, 2014)

Just recently i purchased Sony Alpha 3500 which is similar to old Alpha 3000. As far as i am concerned, I am a beginner in photography and with the help of this camera i am quite satisfied. The Still Picture and Video capturing is sufficient for me. 
anyways you can google it.


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## Tinderbox (UK) (Nov 23, 2014)

The Samsung NX2000 has a lot of lens noise while it is focusing, so unless it takes an external mic it`s not any good for video, it takes excellent pictures and you can set a minimum shutter speed say 1/125 which is fast enough to capture most photo`s sharp, but the touchscreen can be not very sensitive at times. 

The Nikon S1 takes some very nice photo`s but it`s only 10mp and IS depends on the lens, the build quality is not so good, but the built in flash can be bounced.

I have not tried the other two,

John.


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## Obama (Nov 23, 2014)

Thanks.


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## Paul Josaph (Nov 24, 2014)

Raj_55555 said:


> I have no idea about the mirrorless systems, but if the President of the USA has to think about a camera budget, I guess the economy really is in trouble!
> 
> Sorry for trolling, I'm sure someone will come along with a more helpful comment. Oh, and welcome to TPF!



what is a mirrorless systems? tell something more about it.


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## Raj_55555 (Nov 24, 2014)

Paul Josaph said:


> Raj_55555 said:
> 
> 
> > I have no idea about the mirrorless systems, but if the President of the USA has to think about a camera budget, I guess the economy really is in trouble!
> ...


 
 I did mention that I don't have any idea about them, right? 
Here, this is all the help I can give you for now.


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## FArrival (Nov 24, 2014)

I'm in the same boat as you. I also have a D90 (horrible video quality IMO, so much that I bought a P&S with HD video just because of that) but I find the bulk more and more annoying when traveling. I would like to be able to use the Nikon lenses I have, but from what I hear Nikon mirrorless are not good?


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## Obama (Nov 24, 2014)

Focus system, the compactness, image quality against the small sensor - nikon's strengths 
If you have enough money go for Panasonic if you need good video quality. I didn't afford it so I got the best deal I found on Black Friday. D90 is pretty good on video if you have patience. read this article and you'll learn to take better video with d90: Nikon D90 Video Review


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