Recommendations for First Mirrorless Camera


Jason Lee

New Member
Jun 11, 2014
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Hey everyone, I would like to get my first camera, and have decided to get a mirrorless due to its portability and flexibility in lenses. However, I am unsure about which camera to get as there are way too many brands and models out there! My budget is between $500-700, and have found these so far:

- Samsung NX2000/ NX300
- Olympus E-PL5
- Sony NEX 3/ NEX 5

I'm open to other brand or models too. Hope you guys can help me in my decision making process! Thanks! :)
 

Hey everyone, I would like to get my first camera, and have decided to get a mirrorless due to its portability and flexibility in lenses. However, I am unsure about which camera to get as there are way too many brands and models out there! My budget is between $500-700, and have found these so far:

- Samsung NX2000/ NX300
- Olympus E-PL5
- Sony NEX 3/ NEX 5

I'm open to other brand or models too. Hope you guys can help me in my decision making process! Thanks! :)

All of them are good, the main thing is... go to the store, pick up those camera that you have shortlisted and give it a test, see which one you like best in your hand... and there you have it, that is the camera for you.

If size is the main thing, do look at the Nikon 1 series, they are small, gave excellent IQ and have enough lenses for you to start out. Or look at fix lens camera like that Sony RX100... or the new Panasonic FX1000 (that is coming out soon - but I think these will be over your budget).
 

I moved from Nikon D90 to Olympus Epl-6. Now I found that I use it more than my Nikon because of the smaller in size. That's the whole intention of having a camera..... To take more pictures than leaving it in the dry cabinet.
 

So all these cameras are equally good? Guess I'll head down to a store to try them out! But I'm afraid they might recommend only what they want to sell, rather than whats best for me..

Yeah, convenience is an important factor. No point getting a high end dslr but leaving it at home lol.. Thats why I decided on a mirrorless instead
 

So all these cameras are equally good? Guess I'll head down to a store to try them out! But I'm afraid they might recommend only what they want to sell, rather than whats best for me..

Yeah, convenience is an important factor. No point getting a high end dslr but leaving it at home lol.. Thats why I decided on a mirrorless instead

You may be able to get up to a used NEX6 with kit lens with ur budget if u are lucky. You probably can't get a camera better than that at ur specified budget
 

So all these cameras are equally good? Guess I'll head down to a store to try them out! But I'm afraid they might recommend only what they want to sell, rather than whats best for me..

Yeah, convenience is an important factor. No point getting a high end dslr but leaving it at home lol.. Thats why I decided on a mirrorless instead

All the listed camera did what they are designed to do. Of course there are pros and cons for each camera, no biggie there. You could go to the megastores such as Courts, Best Denki and Harvey Norman, there might have display set laying around or you request the sales person to take out cameras for you to try, no need to listen to any of what they say, just ask them to take out cameras for you to test. After testing, go to the recommended stores such as John, Cathay Photo, TKfoto, etc and get the one that you like.

And don't go thinking too deeply which camera is better. My first mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is a Olympus EPL1 that my dad bought many years ago. He left it in my dry cabinet after his interest in photography died off. And I used it and having lots of fun with it... even when it was not the 'best' camera out there in terms of IQ. My point is... there really is no point getting a camera that produced the sharpest image, and offered to give you the best IQ among the rest of the competitors... if using the camera make your brain bleed, you are better off with a camera phone. So just get a camera that you enjoyed most and you know you would want to bring the camera around everywhere.
 

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If you can foresee that you will not be changing bodies for a long time, that list is fine. If you might be changing bodies, then I won't go for the samsungs due to their resale limitations.

However, I'd say if you intend to go for the Olympus, maybe you can throw in $100 more to get the EPL6 with the new kit lens. It's a smaller footprint and the lens doesn't have the double-lock thing which I find annoying.
 

Thanks everyone! I'm thinking of going with the Samsung Nx300M, but it seems like the popular stores like Cathay Photo and TK Photo don't stock Samsung cameras.. Does it mean Samsung is not that good as a camera brand? Would the price at Harvey Norman be one of the best?
 

Thanks everyone! I'm thinking of going with the Samsung Nx300M, but it seems like the popular stores like Cathay Photo and TK Photo don't stock Samsung cameras.. Does it mean Samsung is not that good as a camera brand? Would the price at Harvey Norman be one of the best?

No. It is not because Samsung is not a good camera brand. It is merely because Cathay Photo and TK Photo might not find Samsung as good selling as the rest of the camera brands that they are selling (according to the market that they are selling to).

And Harvey Norman, Best Denki, Courts, etc all sell Samsung at the SRP price. Which means, the price should be very close to each other. You might still be able to get cheaper deal if you know how to bargain in Challenger and Harvey Norman (I think, but frankly I have never try).
 

how about Fujifilm mirrorless? I have a Sony NEX 5 currently but I'm keeping a lookout for new mirrorless. I have difficulty deciding if I should stick with Sony or should I try Fujifilm..
 

how about Fujifilm mirrorless? I have a Sony NEX 5 currently but I'm keeping a lookout for new mirrorless. I have difficulty deciding if I should stick with Sony or should I try Fujifilm..

The A6000 is as capable, if not better, than fuji's flagship XT1 at a fraction of its cost (thou some might disagree), and if u already have lenses beyond the kit, then no point changing to fuji unless u are convinced you need/want the things that fuji has over the sony.
 

how about Fujifilm mirrorless? I have a Sony NEX 5 currently but I'm keeping a lookout for new mirrorless. I have difficulty deciding if I should stick with Sony or should I try Fujifilm..
You might find as you get more into photography, its all about the lens. Hence why many ppl choose a system based on the lens available (or likely to be available very soon) rather than a particular camera.
 

You might find as you get more into photography, its all about the lens. Hence why many ppl choose a system based on the lens available (or likely to be available very soon) rather than a particular camera.
And a bit later you will find out that camera and lens together only make maybe 20% of any picture. The rest are soft skills (knowledge, experience, patience, intuition, anticipation..) Suddenly all this fretting about cameras and lenses looks .. somewhat weird...
 

Hey everyone, I would like to get my first camera, and have decided to get a mirrorless due to its portability and flexibility in lenses. However, I am unsure about which camera to get as there are way too many brands and models out there! My budget is between $500-700, and have found these so far: - Samsung NX2000/ NX300 - Olympus E-PL5 - Sony NEX 3/ NEX 5 I'm open to other brand or models too. Hope you guys can help me in my decision making process! Thanks! :)

Have you considered the Cannon EOS M?? It takes all the EF lens range and the third party like Sigma with cannon mounts.
 

Have you considered the Cannon EOS M?? It takes all the EF lens range and the third party like Sigma with cannon mounts.
We shoot pictures, but that camera brand is still Canon.
 

Have you considered the Cannon EOS M?? It takes all the EF lens range and the third party like Sigma with cannon mounts.

Yes. But it is fair and more accurate to advise that EF lens mount is not the native mount for EOS-M. And if you want to mount EF lenses to the EOS-M, you need an extra adapter which might not be cheap. And also, the EOS-M even with its latest firmware is still not as fast as other mirrorless interchangeable lens camera when it come to AF, with adapter, the AF is going to be much much slower.

And if TS can get pass all these, the EOS-M is an excellent camera - small and very compact.
 

Yes the EOS M with its second software update is still not as fast as the other mirror less out there. Then again if it was then it won't be priced as wat it is now. However the pic quality is not bad for its price now. And if you can get pass the AF speed part. It will offer a camera sys that offers access to a large range of lens. Or you can wait for the next ver which you will find it priced at a much higher range.
 

Yes the EOS M with its second software update is still not as fast as the other mirror less out there. Then again if it was then it won't be priced as wat it is now. However the pic quality is not bad for its price now. And if you can get pass the AF speed part. It will offer a camera sys that offers access to a large range of lens. Or you can wait for the next ver which you will find it priced at a much higher range.

What I am saying is that TS is getting his/her first camera and I would assume that he/she doesn't has much experience with cameras and stuff like that. When it came to advises, do be more accurate. When a camera cannot AF fast, state that in your proposition. Sure, the EOS M is cheap nowadays, so was the EPM2 which also had a large selection of lenses from both Panasonic and Olympus (and they would focus much faster than EOS M) and if you throw in an adapter, you have assess to old 4/3 mount lenses too (just that these would be slow)...

However, I am also not saying that EOS-M is bad or anything like that, far from it. EOS-M had excellent IQ, it is basically a Canon 650D in a smaller, more compact and mirrorless body. They shared the same processor and sensor.
 

This is why it's sometimes important to try the camera in large stores or showroom, so one can asses the relative features first hand.

For example, weight, ergononics, and AF speed. AF speed, even if it's measurable, it still depends on the user as well. Some people can live with slow AF, some simply cannot.
 

This is why it's sometimes important to try the camera in large stores or showroom, so one can asses the relative features first hand.

For example, weight, ergononics, and AF speed. AF speed, even if it's measurable, it still depends on the user as well. Some people can live with slow AF, some simply cannot.

Thats true. It all depends on the person.