Should I go for mirrorless or dslr?

[uzman1243]

I am planning on buying a camera. Not sure which one to go for.
Either the Samsung NX30 (mirrorless) or Cannon eos 700D or Nikon D5300?

I am not a professional photographer. Just looking for a camera for my traveling. Can you guys help me?

 

[JustJazzie]

I've owned both dslr's and a mirrorless camera.

Mirrorless seems to shine in portability. I don't know the specifics of the mirrorless you are looking at, but some have a less user friendly interface than a dlsr and you'll have to "menu dive" for some settings.

Dslrs shine in the auto focus and lens availability department. So if you plan on shooting sports or wildlife, or find the mirrorless lens selection lacking, then a dslr is the way to go.

I made a swap to mirrorless for almost 2 years and ended up running back into the dslr world because it couldn't keep up with my quick kiddos! If I didn't need that speedy AF though, I would have favored my mirrorless forever!

 

[jaomul]

Do you shoot a lot of moving objects. Generally (not always) Dslrs are better at this. If travelling mirrorless can be smaller, but m4/3 systems are smaller than Dslrs or the Samsung.

Going by the 3 you mentioned and assumed budget I would go for the d5300 if you shoot moving stuff, or the Olympus omd e10 if you want a portable and good imager

 

[The_Traveler]

A lot depends, as they said, on what you shoot.
If you are considering a dslr for the focus on moving objects, I suggest you rent an Olympus OMD EM 1 (and lens of course) and try the focus out.
It is fast enough for many people and, at your level of experience, probably fast enough for you.

I switched from Nikon Full Frame for m4/3 mirrorless because of the weight when traveling.
I loved my Nikon stuff but would never give up the M 4/3 to go back.
All of my m4/3 kit - 2 bodies 4 lenses extra batteries, charger etc, weigh less than the body and one lens of my Nikon.
That weight is crucial when traveling.

L

 

[uzman1243]

A lot depends, as they said, on what you shoot.
If you are considering a dslr for the focus on moving objects, I suggest you rent an Olympus OMD EM 1 (and lens of course) and try the focus out.
It is fast enough for many people and, at your level of experience, probably fast enough for you.

I switched from Nikon Full Frame for m4/3 mirrorless because of the weight when traveling.
I loved my Nikon stuff but would never give up the M 4/3 to go back.
All of my m4/3 kit - 2 bodies 4 lenses extra batteries, charger etc, weigh less than the body and one lens of my Nikon.
That weight is crucial when traveling.

L

So do you think the Samsung NX30 is a good choice?

 

[uzman1243]

Do you shoot a lot of moving objects. Generally (not always) Dslrs are better at this. If travelling mirrorless can be smaller, but m4/3 systems are smaller than Dslrs or the Samsung.

Going by the 3 you mentioned and assumed budget I would go for the d5300 if you shoot moving stuff, or the Olympus omd e10 if you want a portable and good imager

I'll probably be taking more static images like landscapes and buildings.
Video is really important too. It's in the top of my priority. I'm guessing all the cameras are equally good in terms of video?

 

[The_Traveler]

NX 30 is a crop frame camera so the resolution might be slightly better than the m 4-3 better but the body and lenses will be larger.
Almost certainly no-one here has used both so you should read reviews like Samsung NX30 Review: Digital Photography Review
and handle the cameras.

 

[Gary A.]

For travel video I strongly recommend the Panasonic GH4.

Gary

 

[jaomul]

To OP. I'd say you would get better advise if you state a budget. I recommended based on approx budget on the 3 models you suggested.

The GH4 mentioned above is one of the top models for still and video but I Imagine it's out of budget, but maybe not.

From what you say, video and mainly still, a mirrorless seems to fit better. For portability the m4/3 system has benefits over ff or aps-c . Video specs vary from camera to camera and I know nothing about it.

If you narrow down your system to dslr or mirrorless you can get more specific information on the section relevant

 

[rudimaes]

The Sony A6000 is a fast focussing mirrorless with a good video mode.
Rudi

 

[uzman1243]

Yes I'm look at the a6000 now. It looks like an awesome option.
My budget range is around $800 (aud).

The only problem i have is, is there any significant differences between dslr and mirrorless? Say nikon d5300 vs sony a6000

 

[jaomul]

Image quality should be similar between same generation Dslrs and mirrorless with the same size sensors. Sony make some Nikon sensors, the a6000 and d5300 should in theory perform similar, but there will be differences depending on each maker preferences

 

[Solarflare]

Well, the main issue of Sony is really the lenses. Both in number of choices available and in quality available.

And yes, Sony is a huge company. Thats why, among other things, they make sensors. Since they can afford the initial investment of creating own sensor factories in the first place. And they make them for everybody, by the way, not just for themselves and Nikon. However, that doesnt mean their cameras are as good as Nikon when it comes to sensors. Ironically Nikon somehow seems to have the better Knowhow to get the maximum out of Sony sensors. They also seem to get the better sensors, despite Sony making them. The new D810 sensor, for example, is probably again a Sony - but Sony doesnt offer it in any of their own cameras.

And the autofocus of a good DSLR, such as a Nikon D7100, is of course still superior to what mirrorless offers.

However, the A6000 indeed isnt a bad offer.

 

[uzman1243]

Well, the main issue of Sony is really the lenses. Both in number of choices available and in quality available.

And yes, Sony is a huge company. Thats why, among other things, they make sensors. Since they can afford the initial investment of creating own sensor factories in the first place. And they make them for everybody, by the way, not just for themselves and Nikon. However, that doesnt mean their cameras are as good as Nikon when it comes to sensors. Ironically Nikon somehow seems to have the better Knowhow to get the maximum out of Sony sensors. They also seem to get the better sensors, despite Sony making them. The new D810 sensor, for example, is probably again a Sony - but Sony doesnt offer it in any of their own cameras.

And the autofocus of a good DSLR, such as a Nikon D7100, is of course still superior to what mirrorless offers.

However, the A6000 indeed isnt a bad offer.

Well I am not planning on going pro so I wouldn't be needing many specialised lenses.

As long as the image quality of the a6000 is the same as or quite similar to the d5300 I'm satisfied.

I'd definitely go for Nikon but it's annoying to carry a huge camera around. And after posting on some other forums too, I'm in the view that a6000 has better video capabilities? (which is quite important to me)

I just bought the a6000 online. Let's see how it is when it arrives. Hopefully the evf isn't too annoying.

 

[Derrel]

Check out Thom Hogan's excellent sansmirror.com web site for lots of reviews and commentary and insights on mirrorless cameras and lenses. As with so many things, mirrorless or d-slr? is not a simple, single answer question! There are some nifty products in both categories, and what you want from a camera is something that only you can determine.