TOP 5 advanced mirrorless cameras

Together with the EOS M5 camera, Canon finally managed to take a worthy place in the mirrorless squad, because the previous generations of this family did not reach the rank of serious photography tools in a number of parameters.

There are a great many controls scattered around the perimeter of the soundly knocked-down camera body: a drum for selecting shooting modes, a trio of scroll discs (one of them can be used both to change ISO parameters and to adjust white balance), as well as numerous programmable buttons. To top it off, there is a 3.2-inch touchscreen display on the back of the camera that reclines to the selfie position. You can be seen in the process of shooting not only on the screen — in the arsenal of Canon EOS M5 there is a viewfinder with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels.

The camera uses an image sensor with a resolution of 24 MP, which is found in the design of the Canon EOS 77D and Canon EOS 80D mid-range mirrors. The model is also related to its mirrored counterparts by the implemented Dual Pixel AF focus system, which provides quick focus on sharpness in Live View and video shooting. In the video recording mode (FullHD, 60 fps), a 5-axis electronic image stabilization is available to the user, working in conjunction with an optical stub on board a small fleet of objects for the Canon EF-M system.

The camera "shoots" a series of 25 frames in JPEG or 15 RAW images at a speed of up to 9 fps (with the focus locked), which is quite enough for shooting dynamic scenes. Canon EOS M5 deserves special praise for being equipped with a full range of wireless data transfer modules (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC). In the dry balance, the model combines high-quality images (like the vaunted mirrors) and compact body dimensions, which elevates it to the rank of suitable solutions for every day for advanced amateur photographers.

A simplified version of the flagship Fujifilm X-T2 mirrorless camera is made to match the compact film rangefinder. This design is appreciated by many adherents of the brand, besides, in addition to the vintage style, the camera is notable for the presence of convenient mechanical settings.

For the sake of maintaining compactness, the built-in flash disappeared from the upper edge of the camera. You should not be upset about this, since the manufacturer provided a miniature external "puff" in the delivery package. It is installed on a hot shoe, which is accompanied by two scroll discs (shutter speed and exposure correction) along with a shutter release button. Also, Fujifilm FinePix X-E3 got an OLED viewfinder — the philosophy of the camera involves shooting by sighting through it. An alternative to the EVF is a 3-inch display — albeit non-rotating, but with support for touch input.

All the most interesting things are hidden in the bowels of the camera body, in particular, X-Trans CMOS III matrix of APS-C format with a resolution of 24 MP. The newly-made image sensor helps to get a high-quality result when shooting in a wide variety of conditions, including at high ISO (up to 12800 units, which is the upper limit of the standard range of photosensitivity). The advanced matrix is complemented by a nimble and tenacious 325-point autofocus system, through which the camera is aimed at the target in a matter of fractions of a second. Autofocus suffers from thoughtfulness only when shooting videos, which has never been the skate of Fuji mirrorless cameras. Nevertheless, in the characteristics of the video recording, support for shooting videos in 4K format is stated.

For the first time among the brothers on the conveyor, the camera has acquired an energy-efficient Bluetooth module. It allows you to link photos to geolocation data obtained from a connected smartphone with minimal energy consumption, as well as transmit images reduced to 2 MP to a mobile gadget. In general, the mirrorless camera is both a powerful creative tool and a beautiful image device that combines retro style and the characteristics of an advanced modern camera in one bottle.

Externally, the mirrorless A6300 from Sony is almost a complete copy of the hit Sony A6000 camera. But with a more detailed study of the model, it becomes clear that it surpasses its predecessor in many aspects.

The updated 24.2 MP image sensor on board the camera demonstrates confident operation at high ISO (up to 6400-12800 units). But the main innovation that has found implementation in the Sony A6300 is the best-in-class autofocus system, which includes 425 phase-type and 169 contrast points. It provides instant sharpness (in just 0.05 seconds) and tenaciously keeps the object in focus even at the maximum speed of serial shooting (11 fps). A few units of both mirrorless and mirrorless competitors can compete with the camera in terms of the speed of the autofocus system.

Many Sony cameras rely on advanced video capabilities. Sony A6300 was no exception and got support for recording videos in 4K resolution (3840x2160 pixels) with a frequency of 30 fps and a bitrate of 100 Mbit/s. Added to this is working with the XAVC S format and using S-Log 3 profiles with 14 exposure steps. In FullHD, the video is written at a speed of up to 120 fps, which allows you to freeze the motion in the frame. To use the camera in the role of a pro tool, there is no output for connecting headphones among its interface connectors.

The body of the former form factor is made of magnesium alloy, which is why the mirrorless camera has slightly gained weight (up to 404 g). On its back part there is an electronic viewfinder and an inclined screen without touch control support. The prerogative of choosing the focus point and changing the shooting parameters by tapping on the display was left to the next generation of the camera in the person of Sony A6500, which in addition got a matrix image stabilization system (see the article"Everything you need to know about image stabilization systems." However, even without this, the model in question is ranked among the leaders in the league of APS-C cameras, capable of coping with any photographic tasks.

The Japanese company Panasonic has timed the announcement of a mirrorless camera with the name GX9 to an outstanding date — the 100th anniversary of its founding. The model is aimed at advanced amateur photographers and she is ready to provide really a lot for her money.

Inside the camera, the same matrix is installed as in the flagship Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 — 20 MP Micro 4/3 sensor without an antimuar filter. Its absence has a positive effect on increasing the level of sharpness of the image, but moire as a phenomenon has not been canceled. From there, the model borrowed a nimble Depth from Defocus autofocus system, which catches the object of shooting in just 0.04 seconds and reliably guides it in tracking mode.

The photosensitivity of the camera matrix varies in the range from 200 to 25600 ISO units (expandable to ISO 100). By the way, the camera sensor is fixed on a movable stabilizing platform, thanks to the displacement of which along 5 axes, vibration and hand shaking are suppressed, and up to 4 exposure stops are compensated. Matrix stabilization can work in tandem with optical on board a wide fleet of compatible objects, which allows you to achieve an even smoother picture when recording videos (in resolution up to 4K with a frame rate of 30 fps) and eliminates image smudging when taking photos.

The "trick" of the model in appearance is a rotary viewfinder with a resolution of 1024x900 pixels. Also, a 3-inch display is mounted on a flexible hinge, although it can only tilt up and down in a small range. In addition, the Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9 boasts some interesting software features: Auto Marking (detecting movement in a clip and setting a marker for a quick transition to its beginning) and Sequence Composition (in-camera gluing of several frames with movement into one shot). The only thing that can slightly overshadow a pleasant impression about the model is the lack of a microphone connection and short battery life — one battery charge is enough to "shoot" about 260 shots, which is partially compensated by the ability to charge the camera "on the go" via Power Bank.

Reference. Visually, the moire effect is an undulating pattern that manifests itself on objects with a small structure (a brick wall taken from afar, clothes in a small cage, etc.).

The flagship mirrorless mirror in dust- and moisture-proof design got all the best. Actually, that's why it is one of the most expensive solutions among cameras with a cropped matrix.

In Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, almost any parameter can be configured and adjusted, the main thing is just to sort out a slightly confusing menu. By the convenience of the grip in the hand, the mirrorless camera leaves far behind other rivals, although you can not call the camera particularly compact. The magnesium alloy "carcass" shows 574 g on the scales, which roughly corresponds to the weight of entry-level mirrors. The camera is equipped with a dual memory card slot, one of which supports a high-speed UHS-II interface(guarantees stable data recording speed at a speed of at least 30 Mbps).

The mirrorless camera is equipped with a 20 MP Micro 3/4 matrix with a light sensitivity range of 100-25600 ISO. Working ISO values are up to 3200-6400 units, at higher numbers the picture may be too "blurred". Also, "under the hood" of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II there is a 5-axis matrix stub (allows you to compensate for 5.5 stops of exposure, another step is added when working in conjunction with Olympus Pro series objects).

Perhaps the camera is the No. 1 contender among mirrorless cameras for use as a serious reporting tool. With a mechanical shutter, the speed of serial shooting reaches 15 fps, and with an electronic camera, the rate of fire increases to an impressive 60 fps, which is already comparable to the parameters of video shooting. Such a large acceleration is achieved in the Pro Capture mode, designed for shooting fleeting plots and events, the beginning of which is difficult to accurately predict.

A 3-inch rotary display with touch input support or a large OLED viewfinder with a high refresh rate (120 fps) is used for sighting in the process of taking pictures and when shooting videos at a resolution up to 4096x2160 pixels (Cinema 4K). An important argument "for" when choosing a camera is also a wide fleet of interchangeable optics for the Micro 4/3 system, which presents objects for all possible shooting scenes.