First steps in photography: TOP 5 mirrorless cameras for beginners

In the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX-800 mirrorless camera, much more attention is paid to appearance than functionality. Because of this, there is a clear orientation of the camera to amateur photographers who value the flexibility of the system in terms of choosing optics — Micro 4/3 format cameras have no problems with this.

The amateur orientation of the camera is evidenced by the absence of a viewfinder and a “hot shoe”, as well as a protruding part of the body for the convenience of gripping the “carcass” in the hand. Instead of the first, a 3-inch touch screen is used, in place of the second there is a built-in flash, but the third minus will have to be put up with. In addition, it is necessary to take into account one more drawback of the camera — on a single battery charge, it can only take a little more than 200 shots.

Inside the camera there is a 16 MP matrix typical for the Micro 4/3 family. She draws a juicy and detailed picture, and can also record videos in 4K resolution at a speed of 24/25/30 fps and a bit rate of 100 Mbps. You can focus during the shooting process by tapping on the display, and thanks to the post-focus function, it is possible to select the sharpness zone in the picture after the fact.

Due to the small physical dimensions of the sensor, the image can be spoiled by noise artifacts when shooting at ISO values above 1600 units. The maximum sensitivity threshold of the sensor is limited to ISO 25600, but the minimum is 200 units, which for some cases (for example, shooting in bright light) may be too much.

Out of the box, the camera is equipped with a Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f / 3.5-5.6 ASPH lens, the range of focal lengths of which in a 35mm equivalent corresponds to 24-64mm. For both photography and video shooting at an amateur level, its capabilities are more than enough. And if you want to grow up professionally, then Panasonic's lineup has a couple of older model brothers — one of the best solutions for recording 4K video Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80 and the flagship mirrorless Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.

The style of Olympus products is easily recognized by the combination of retro design and modern touches in the appearance. Thanks to this mirrorless Olympus PEN E-PL8, the role of a kind of stylish accessory with a leather-like finish is assigned, which is not a sin to carry with you on an ongoing basis.

At its core, the camera is “finished” to the perfect mirrorless Olympus PEN E-PL7 with improvements in terms of design and software. Otherwise, it uses the same 16-megapixel Micro 4/3 sensor and the “hardware” similar to its predecessor, as a result of which the characteristics of both cameras often intersect with each other. The main thing is that the camera got the key “chip” of the E-PL7 — a 3-axis matrix image stabilization system, with which you can compensate for up to 3.5 stops of exposure when shooting handheld in low light conditions.

The camera "shoots" a series of 20 frames in RAW format or 44 shots in JPEG resolution at a shooting speed of up to 8 fps. Also, the image processor provides a good result when shooting at high ISO values, although it is still not recommended to turn them up over 3200-6400 units.

The photographer is provided with 25 scene shooting programs and 14 artistic filters that can be applied not only to photographs, but also to videos. However the model does not shine with the quality of video shooting, which is typical of all Olympus cameras. Another minor drawback of the model is the lack of a built-in flash. Instead, a miniature external flash with a guide number of 10 at ISO 200 is carefully stowed in the camera box.

Following the latest trends in the industry, the camera has a tilting touch screen that flips out to the selfie position. You can shoot self-portraits at a wide angle kit lens — Olympus 14-42mm f / 3.5-5.6, which is a universal solution for all occasions. It can be replaced by any lens from the widest fleet of optics for the Micro 4/3 system — the most advanced among other representatives of the class of mirrorless cameras.

The mirrorless A6000 series is one of the best-selling interchangeable lens system cameras in every corner of the globe. Moreover, the demand for it has not fallen much even in the light of the release of two generations of heirs — Sony Alpha A6300 and Sony Alpha A6500.

Incorporating the best features of its predecessor ( Sony NEX-6), the camera also has an advanced focus system (179 phase-type sensors cover about 92% of the frame area), which captures the subject in just 0.06 s. Along with a rate of fire of up to 11 fps, the camera confidently handles any dynamic scenes without losing sight of the target thanks to powerful tracking autofocus algorithms. Thoughtfulness when focus occasionally manifests itself only in low light conditions, but most of the “classmates” of the model sin with this.

A 24-megapixel sensor is installed at the heart of the camera, which produces an excellent picture when shooting at ISO values up to 3200 units. The dynamic range of images is wide enough for subsequent flexible post-processing of photos in the editor (when shooting in the “raw” RAW format). And if the differences between the zones of light and shadow are too large, the automatic HDR shooting function comes to the aid of the photographer.

The aluminium body of the Sony Alpha A6000 fits comfortably in your hand, and the keys and control dials on it are dispersed in such a way that it is convenient to press them with your right hand. You can look at the shooting process both through the electronic viewfinder and with the help of an inclined 3-inch display, which is useful when building a frame from lower or upper angles. But the screen, unfortunately, is deprived of touch input, so you will need to set the focus point by pressing the buttons.

On board the camera there is a folding built-in flash and a "hot shoe" for installing external accessories. It lacks in its equipment only ports for connecting a microphone and headphones, which affects the convenience of video recording. The Sony Alpha A6000 uses a Sony E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS with optical image stabilization as a whale lens. At first, its capabilities will be enough to shoot most everyday scenes. In general, mirrorless is chosen by both amateurs and pros, who assign it the role of a second camera in addition to the main one.

The premiere of the Canon EOS M6 was a step back from its predecessor, the Canon EOS M5. Although, to put it less harshly, the camera has become just a simplified version of the "five" with a more humane price tag, but less rich equipment.

The electronic hardware of the mirrorless is no different from that on board the M5 model. It is based on a 24.2 MP sensor, an advanced Dual Pixel AF focus system, which includes 49 autofocus points, and a fast Digic 7 image processor. The camera also uses a 5-axis stabilization system with slightly reduced functionality — it only comes into play when shooting video. Videos are recorded at a maximum resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and at a rate of up to 60 fps.

The appearance of the model draws attention to the lack of a viewfinder. Instead of a built-in solution, the manufacturer suggests using a detachable viewfinder, which is worn on a “hot shoe”. You can also connect a number of other accessories through the accessory port, for example, a microphone or an external flash in case the power of the built-in "puff" is not enough.

The strengths of the mirrorless are worth recording the equipment with an inclined touch screen and a full range of wireless data transmission modules (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC), as well as an intuitive settings menu. And one of the significant disadvantages of the entire family of Canon mirrorless cameras is the meager choice of optics. The use of an EF optics park adapter can partially correct the situation, however, larger lenses for SLR cameras are unlikely to look harmoniously on a “baby” mirrorless camera.

The camera with interchangeable lenses, devoid of a mirror in its design, is the youngest of the best, which is positioned in the OM-D series of mirrorless cameras from the Japanese brand Olympus.

The camera is housed in a knocked-down magnesium alloy body with right-handed controls. To change the shooting parameters, the mirrorless equipment provides three disks, many keys, a touch screen, and support for remote control from a smartphone(via a Wi-Fi wireless network). The screen occupies most of the area on the back of the camera and can tilt up and down.

As expected, all the fun is hidden inside the camera body. In particular, this is a 16-megapixel sensor, directly into which a 5-axis matrix image stabilization system is built-in, and 81-point autofocus. Focus is almost lightning fast in all shooting conditions, except perhaps in the dark.

A bunch of two whale lenses reveals the limits of what is permitted and allows you to shoot a wide variety of subjects, from architecture to long-range bird hunting. The first whale lens with a set of focal lengths of 14-42 mm (28-84 mm in 35 mm equivalent) is universal, and the "guns" 40-150 mm(80-300 mm in full frame equivalent) lie in the conduct of shooting with a large approximation .

Rich decoration along with high image quality make the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II one of the most balanced mirrorless cameras in its segment. She would have a couple more ports for connecting a microphone and headphones, and more opportunities in terms of video shooting — and the camera would not have had a price at all. But even without this, it is in demand among photographers, who also opt for a mirrorless camera thanks to a developed fleet of interchangeable lenses.