What mirrorless should I buy?

[Obama]

Hi,

I've been in the photo world of DSLRs for over 5 years but I always wanted to shoot videos while taking photos. I currently have a Nikon D90 and the video capabilities are low mainly because it limits the video lenght to 5 minutes. I'd like to buy a mirrorless for two reasons: taking videos while I shoot with the D90 and for photografy on holidays or trips on the mountain where a DSLR is too heavy and big to carry around. My budget is limited so here are my options, I'll have the choose one of this:

Nikon 1- S1/J2 - low sensor but a preaty good and wide lens
Sony A3000 - very big, dslr like and low quality viewfinder, other than that very good specs.
Samsung NX2000 - large sensor but no image stabilisation at all
Olympus E-PL3 - not tested but looks great on the specs

If you have any other suggestions on this price range I'm all ears. Thanks.

 

[Raj_55555]

I have no idea about the mirrorless systems, but if the President of the USA has to think about a camera budget, I guess the economy really is in trouble!

Sorry for trolling, I'm sure someone will come along with a more helpful comment. Oh, and welcome to TPF!

 

[Obama]

Believe me, you're not the first to make fun of my nickname. I have the same nick on other photo forums and was inspired from real life. Thanks for the welcome message.

 

[Gary A.]

Panasonic makes the best mirrorless video around. GH4 if you can afford it. The GH3 was the best in its time.

 

[Obama]

Yes, I know but Panasonic is out of budget.

 

[Gary A.]

I don't shoot video ... so I can't speak to that aspect. One of the pluses for the Oly is the wide spectrum of very very good native glass that is available. But for video I suspect you're thinking legacy ... hence the mirrorless. If you were in SoCal I'd let you play with a P3 ... I have one laying around somewhere.

 

[SnappingShark]

I've not heard good reviews about Olympus video.
I have an E-M1 and would never even try video with it (I'm not into video, and didn't buy it for its video capabilities).

 

[Obama]

Gary, thanks again. I'm overseas unfortunatelly. I'm shooting with manual focus, on tripod and in decent light, mainly school events but not as a paid professional, more as an enthusiast amateur. This is the reason I'm not eager to invest a large amount of money in this. I also do a lot of video editing in Premier. I want a mirrorless so I can also use it as a photocamera on holidays and sport trips like mount climbs, cicling, maybe skiing. I've looked at action cameras but are very limited in so many ways, can't use them on events at all. Bright, thanks for the notice. I'm excluding Oly. Just read an interested review on Nikon: Best Mirrorless Camera on the Market ? Yes: Nikon 1 System Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

 

[Holejee]

Fuji has awesome lenses and image quality.

 

[DorkSterr]

Just ditched all my Nikon gear for the Fuji X T1 and first impression, Fuji's equipment feels a lot more sturdy better build overall. As for image quality I like how my RAW's look coming straight out of the camera from my Fuji X T1 much better vs the Nikon D4's RAW.

 

[Obama]

Fuji is over the budget. What do you think about Sony A3000?

 

[curtyoungblood]

FWIW, almost no one says anything positive about mirrorless video capability.

What is your budget?

 

[Gary A.]

Yes, define budget. When I was into MFT, there was always a debate of how good Oly video was to Panasonic. Nobody argued that Panasonic had the best video, the argument was how close was Oly to Panasonic. Most felt that Oly was pretty good video wise. I read over and over that Fuji video sucks. Fuji is a still camera, a damn good film camera, but not for the videographer.

 

[Obama]

Budget is around $450; as you can see from my wishlist in the first post, all models are around $450.

 

[RichieTang]

I recently purchased the Olympus e-m10, and I really like everything about it. The lenses are great, and I'm having a lot of fun messing with the custom settings on it so it's easier to use (for me). +1 for the Olympus.