Mirrorless Madness … sounds a bit harsh maybe, but in my case it could be appropriate. So where do I begin. First, let me set your mind at ease. I don’t plan to talk about “every” mirrorless camera I’ve used, but rather I’ll try to just touch on the high points.
It all began in late 2011. Sony announced the A77 and it looked very interesting with it’s “translucent mirror” technology and a blistering 12fps frame rate (I like speed). However, coming from a Nikon DSLR, I thought it best to start with a cheaper model first to make sure I liked the EVF before I jumped in with both feet, so I bought the A55. Sure enough I liked it and got the A77 just a couple of months later. Then I was enjoying the Sonys so much I decided to go really small and picked up a Nex-5N.
Well, after a couple of months I felt a bit guilty about spending so much that I decided to sell the A77 and buy a cheaper A65. So far, so good … until the Nex-7 was announced and I just had to have one! 🙂 Now, at this point, you can see how my rationale was working: Try to start cheap and then spend the money when I was sure I would like the new system. After blowing the budget, guilt would start weighing on me and I would sell the stuff I could live without … and then with money in the bank, I’d start shopping …… yep, a vicious circle.
For what it’s worth, I really liked the Nex-7 and the whole mirrorless concept of smaller, lighter, and the EVF. So it should come as no surprise that before long I grabbed a Fuji X100 (very nice camera). But then Olympus turned my world upside down with the announcement of the OM-D E-M5 and its 5-axis stabilization (IBIS). I preordered the camera just as soon as it was available and then waited an agonizing two months before it was finally delivered. Once it was in my hot little hands, I “knew” it was the one for me.
Until fate, or luck, or providence stepped in and I became acquainted with +Gary Friedman. You know … Gary of www.FriedmanArchives.com where you can pick up great ebooks about cameras (mostly Sony but also some Fuji and Olympus), and he agreed to let me help him by writing the ebook about the new Sony Nex-6 (and 5R/5T). By now, of course, you can probably see what’s coming next. Yes you’re right, to write that book I had to buy several Sony cameras, lenses, flashes, etc.
It actually became so easy … buy a camera and a lens (or two), and sell some stuff. I did this so often, that over the course of about three and a half years I’ve now used no less that 30 different mirrorless cameras, including some from Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Fuji, and Nikon. “Most of the time”, I had a fairly good reason like working on a new book or even providing support for someone else’s efforts. But still, I overdid it and am currently looking for a local support chapter of others who have also been afflicted with G.A.S. 🙂
I was making good progress, too, getting down to only a Sony a6000 and a couple of lenses, just last December. That short period of time was known as “Temporary Sanity”! Unfortunately though, I follow a bunch of photography blogs on the internet, some of which deal heavily in the rumor mill, and saw the news of the upcoming Olympus OM-D E-M5II. Maybe another project in the offing? Who knows. But, to be better prepared (just in case), I got an E-M10 to help me get back into the OM-D paradigm, and I plan to order the E-M5II as soon as it’s available. Good sound thinking … don’t you agree?
But here’s the thing. With the exception of some Olympus PEN cameras with no EVF, I would like to have been able to keep all of those cameras because I liked them a lot. I still have nostalgic feelings for the Nex-7, the X100, the OM-D E-M1, Fuji X-T1, and so many more. My point is they are all great cameras and can (mostly) do what we need them to do which is to take nice photos and be reasonably easy and fun to use. On the other hand, since I obviously couldn’t keep them all, the other thing is that I could be happy with almost any one of them as a single camera system.
I don’t know what the future holds for me regarding cameras, but I have learned some things about what I like. I love the small size of mirrorless cameras and lenses (especially micro four thirds and APS-C), and I’m finding I have an increased dependence on good image stabilization … All of the time. It’s also becoming clear that, while some cameras do have an edge when it comes to ultimate image quality, virtually all of these modern cameras can turn out beautiful photos. And while the “sensor size wars” rage on, I believe we’ve found a sweet spot right here between 12Mp and 24Mp, a size that can produce files fit for any purpose except maybe very large prints.
How about you? What are your thoughts on mirrorless cameras, G.A.S., and which one(s) you could live with as a sole companion?
Mirrorless Madness 