Mirrorless cameras are a recent developement in photography. I don’t have one, but I’ve read about them. The advanatges seem to be fewer moving parts, better stills and quiter operation. Some makers offer them with interchangable lenses. Do these cameras offer any advantages to railfan photographers? I am a serious ametuer but not an expert so I will defer to those of you who are.
Thanks,
George
The main advantage of mirrorless camera is, in addition to what you mentioned, is the lack of “mirror slap” every time you trip the shutter. This, in theory, prevents a wave of vibration from travelling through the camera, thereby eliminating a source of image degradation (the “better stills” you refered to).
IMHO, the amount of image degradation from mirror-slap is insignificant to other sources of image degradation, such as cheap filters and lens, or not using a weight-dampened tripod.
For those that wish to enlarge images to greater than 16x20, and have top-end other equipment, there might be an improvement in IQ; however, for the rest of us the difference would likely be insignificant.
If you already have a good DSLR, then I would not spend the $ just to get a mirrorless camera; but if I were in the market for a new camera body, I would definitely consider a mirrorless camera (depending on the cost of the feature).
One of frequent contributors to this forum is Chris (CopCarSS); he is gonzo with photography, and I would suggest perhaps contacting him regarding this subject.
Actually, mirrorless cameras were around decades before single lens reflex (mirrored) cameras.
Digital has made it possible to “see through the lens” by using an image display on the back of the camera instead of looking optically through a viewfinder. The disadvantage is that the display uses a lot of electricity and so shortens battery life.
If you are going to buy one of those, shop very carefully. Many of the screens are slow to update and it makes it difficult to shoot moving subjects, It is also difficult to see if the focus is sharp. It leaves you much more dependent on the accuracy of your auto focus. They can be difficult to see in bright sunlight out doors.
If you are worried about vibration from mirror slap, most SLRs have the ability to pre trip the mirror then take the picture.
No mirror slap was why wedding photographers loved twin lens medium format cameras. They were quiet doing existing light work during a wedding ceremony.
When will somebody make a 6X6 digital imaging box that takes Mamiya C series twin lens reflex optics?
Mirrorless cameras are where the industry is headed in a big way, so if you’re comfortable with them, I would definitely go for one. I don’t know how long the traditional DSLR has to live, but honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it gone in 10 years or less.
One of the key advantages of the mirrorless camera is that they are tiny compared to DSLRs. Even small DSLRs seem large compared to some of the newest crop of mirrorless cameras (I’m thinking along the line of the Olympus E-PM1 and such). That camera isn’t much bigger than some point and shoots. It differs from them in two key respects, though.
The Olympus has interchangeable lenses. And what’s really, really cool about this is that the registration distance is so short that you can adapt almost any type of “heritage” glass to it. Because of the crop factor (I’ll talk about this a bit more below), old wide angles aren’t very useful on the Micro 4/3s cameras. Telephotos, on the other hand, are really useful. The 2x crop factor means that if you have, say, a Canon FD 85mm f1.8 (a fairly popular portrait telephoto back in the day), it’ll feel like a 170mm on an m43 body. If you have an FD 300mm f4, you’ve got a 600mm equivalent now. There are adapters for many, many old mounts, so this can be a good option for people with glass that had previously been “orphaned” by the digital revolution (Canon FD, Olympus OM, etc.). Additionally, truly spectacular lenses for Leica rangefinder cameras can be used on mirrorless bodies. If you want sharp roster shots, try a Leica Summicron M 50mm on a Sony NEX-7 in good light. The 'Cron paired up with that 24 MP sensor should deliver incredible amounts of detail.
The sensor on most mirrorless cameras (Nikon 1 and Pentax Q excepted) is much bigger than on point and shoots. This is important because larger sensors are better than smaller sensors in many respects. High ISO shooting, for example, gets better with larger sensors. Amongst the mirrorless market right now, most systems are either m43
Gee, I’ve had mirrorless cameras for years. There’s my Kodak Model 1899 folder, my Argus C-3, My Kodak Pony to name a few. They’ll still really sing if you know how to use them!
Thanks to all for the replies and the good information. I wanted to learn more about these cameras to see if I would want to get one. It looks like the technology needs to progress somemore before I invest in one of these cameras.
Thanks,
George