A world without a mirror: 5 system cameras with interchangeable lenses

The mirrorless camera for beginners in the world of photography from the famous Japanese brand Canon is made in the simplest style and equipped with a minimal set of keys on its body to change the shooting parameters. In return, novice amateur photographers are invited to use a 3-inch touch screen, with which you can make out, set the focus point or control the camera settings.

The display is mounted on a swivel hinge, so that it easily reclines to the "selfie" position. At the same time, the self-portrait mode is automatically turned on and the software "improvers" of the facial skin are activated. It is supposed to be aimed at sharpness exclusively through the screen, since neither the built—in viewfinder nor the ability to connect an external camera has — there was no place for a hot shoe on its compact board.

In the heart of the mirrorless camera, the same matrix is installed as on Canon DSLR cameras (APS-C format). Therefore, it is expected to produce a high-quality picture and handles well with the transfer of details in the pictures when shooting at high ISO values (3200-6400 units). And the built-in folding flash will help to highlight the frame in case of a lack of light.

The camera's autofocus system has 49 points that cover about 70% of the frame area. The continuous operation of autofocus during video shooting deserves special praise. It is unlikely to become a professional operator paired with Canon EOS M10 — neither the battery life of the camera on a single battery charge, nor the lack of a port for connecting headphones and a microphone contributes to this. But with the shooting of a matinee in kindergarten or an amateur video recording for the family archive, the mirrorless camera will cope "with a bang".

The transfer of the footage to the smartphone can be carried out over wireless networks using Wi-Fi and NFC modules. Novice photographers also have access to a number of pre-installed shooting programs. The limiting factor in the acquisition of a mirrorless camera is only an undeveloped fleet of optics for the Canon EF-M system. Otherwise, the camera is a pretty good option for undemanding amateur photographers who have set foot on a long and winding path into the world of photography.

The youngest model in the top line of OM-D mirrorless mirrors from the Japanese company Olympus is also the most compact representative of the series. Nevertheless, it was possible to place a sufficient number of keys on its body for quick access to most of the shooting parameters.

Almost all the important controls are assembled under the right hand: three scroll discs are located on the upper edge, and near the screen there is a navigation key framed by four more buttons. In addition to using analogue controls, the user can change the settings by touch input. For these purposes, a 3-inch screen with a resolution of 720x480 pixels is allocated. The screen can rise by 90° and fall by 45°, providing a more convenient sight from non-standard camera angles.

The camera is positioned as a slightly stripped-down version of the flagship Olympus OM-D E-M5 II body . By analogy with the older brother, mirrorless uses a 5-axis matrix image stabilization system, which allows you to gain up to 4 exposure levels when shooting with your hands in low light conditions. In tandem with the complete object Olympus 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ ED M.Zuiko Digital , equipped with an electric lens, you can try to get a clear picture at the maximum focal length at shutter speeds up to 1/4 s.

The camera's autofocus system works in single, constant, single with manual adjustment and in tracking modes. The focus zone can be selected either automatically or manually between 35 and 81 zones. With a sufficient amount of light, there are no complaints about the operation of autofocus, but in conditions of poor illumination, it tends to slow down.

The camera has a full set of equipment that an advanced amateur photographer will need: an effective matrix stub, a touch screen, an electronic viewfinder with high detail, and most importantly, a rich fleet of optics is compatible with it. Olympus OM-D E-M10 II is less suitable for video shooting, since there are no outputs for connecting a microphone and headphones among the interface ports. And in general, Olympus equipment is more focused on the photo segment, unlike the products of a colleague in the Micro 4/3 system — Panasonic.

When ordering a camera from Panasonic from other countries, care must be taken, since the same mirrorless camera has different indexes in different regions: in the east european market it is widely known as the GX80, in Japan the camera is sold as the GX7 Mark II, and in the USA it is worth looking for under the GX85 index.

On the one hand, mirrorless is a stripped-down version of the flagship Panasonic DMC-GX8 body , and on the other — an improved version of the previous camera line in the face of Panasonic DMC-GX7 kit 14-42 . It has a traditional Micro 4/3 matrix with a resolution of 16 MP, which has lost the antimuar filter. In fact, its absence has a positive effect on the sharpness of the resulting images.

The camera sensor is mounted on a special movable platform capable of compensating for camera displacements in five planes (up-down, right-left and along its own axis). Thus, we can talk about the presence of a 5-axis matrix image stabilization system on board the mirrorless. In conjunction with the stabilized optics, it allows you to win up to 4.5 exposure steps and completely forget about the need to use a tripod. A wide fleet of objects for the Micro 4/3 system is designed to help turn around during photo and video shooting.

Panasonic cameras are famous for their video capabilities. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80 records videos in resolution up to 4K with a frequency of 30 fps. Videographers only lack ports for connecting a microphone and headphones, which is why the camera cannot be recommended for serious video production. The 4K photo function allows you to extract individual 8-megapixel photos from the video sequence. And another useful function is called "postfocus" — the choice of the sharpness zone can be made directly on the finished photograph.

With the battery life of the mirrorless, everything is not very smooth — one charge of its battery is enough for less than 300 pictures. A spare battery or an external battery can help solve the problem, since the camera supports charging via a microUSB slot. But still, this drawback pales against the background of high image quality, fast autofocus and excellent rate of fire of the camera.

The Japanese company Sony presented to the public the heir of the popular mirrorless Sony A6000 kit 16-50 at the beginning of 2016 Although it would be more correct to call it not a new model, but an update — the camera received a minimal package of improvements and did not change at all externally.

The main changes affected the autofocus system, which got 425 phase-type and 169 contrast points at its disposal. It is the best among mirrorless cameras both in terms of focus speed and focus accuracy. Moreover, full-frame mirrored flagships are also mostly lagging behind the advanced autofocus system Sony A6300. The shooting object clings to the camera for a record 0.05 seconds and is not lost sight of even at the maximum speed of serial shooting — 11 fps.

The high rate of fire hints at the good reporter qualities of the mirrorless, which rest only on the capacity of the memory buffer. When shooting in RAW format, the buffer will begin to choke after a series of 25-30 frames, and in JPEG it will be enough for 50-60 continuous shots. In the process of taking pictures, you can be seen both on a 3-inch display and with a large viewfinder with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels and a high refresh rate (120 fps).

The camera screen can tilt back and forth within 45°, but for some reason the manufacturer did not provide the possibility of touch input. Such appeared only six months after the announcement of the camera — on board the camera Sony A6500 body . In addition, the older brother of the model was equipped with a matrix image stabilization system (see the article"Everything you need to know about image stabilization systems").

The updated camera matrix has a resolution of 24.2 MP and boasts excellent performance at high ISO (up to 6400-12800 units). Finally, another innovation that has found application in the Sony A6300 relates to 4K video shooting. Mirrorless writes videos in a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels at a speed of 30/24 fps and a bitrate of up to 100 Mbit/s. The operator can work with the XAVC S codec and is given the opportunity to use S-Log 3 profiles with 14 exposure levels that expand the dynamic range. The maximum duration of continuous video recording is limited to half an hour.

The camera is separated from the pro segment only by the absence of an output for connecting headphones and a non-touch screen. And in her middle class, she is one of the undisputed leaders, which becomes a priority choice for many photo enthusiasts.

In the hierarchy of mirrorless cameras of the Japanese brand Fujifilm, the camera with the X-T2 index occupies an honorable second place, second only to the medium-format "monster" Fujifilm GFX50S. The camera is also endowed with almost equal abilities Fujifilm X-Pro2 kit , but it is still somewhat behind the X-T2 in terms of equipment.

The inner "filling" of the camera is reliably protected from external influences by a dust- and moisture-proof housing. It has a row of wheels and control keys, a high-resolution electronic viewfinder, a hot shoe and a rotary screen. The latter, unfortunately, is non-sensory, so you will have to set the focus point or shooting parameters in the traditional push-button way. In addition, the lack of a built-in "puff" hints at the need to attend to the purchase of an external flash.

The camera provides truly flagship features. This is especially true of autofocus operation in tracking mode — the 325-point system handles with face recognition in the frame in almost any conditions, including serial shooting at maximum speed (8 fps in normal mode and 11 fps when installing the battery handle). The camera booster significantly increases the operating time on a single charge, and also allows you to extend the continuous recording of 4K video from a modest 10 minutes. up to half an hour. By the way, the ability to record video in UltraHD format among Fujifilm cameras was implemented for the first time on board the X-T2.

The low-noise 24-megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor produces a high-quality result with a wide dynamic range in most of the scenes being shot. It handles well with work at high ISO, and the result of the shooting is recorded on one of two SD memory cards.The dual slot can be configured for both sequential and parallel operation (for example, one flash drive is allocated for recording RAW files, and the second is JPEG). Plus, both slots support the installation of high-speed memory cards of the UHS-II Class 3 version.

Fujifilm X-T2 is one of the most high-tech products in the family of mirrorless cameras. Therefore, it is not surprising that not everyone can afford the cost of the model. The camera is designed to perform serious tasks and is not suitable for beginners, because the lack of automatic presets requires skills in handling photographic equipment and understanding the principles of setting the necessary parameters for shooting a particular scene.