I'm a beginner and I need advice on what mirrorless camera I should get

I want a mirrorless camera because it's light and cheap and has a good image quality. My budget is around $400. I almost got a Fujifilm XA-3, but I'm not sure if it's still worth it in 2020? Are there others around the same price range but have better specs? Thank you!!!

 

Good choice

 

I'm considering ff too. I'm looking at the Canon RP. It's more than your budget tho, so really no help to you but worth the mention I thought.

 

Does it really have to be mirrorless? For $450 you could pick up a 50mm 1.8 @ $125 new and a full frame Canon 6D used with the balance. I like mirrorless but you will likely stretch your investment further with the older tried and true technology until mirrorless prices come down.

 

Most, if not all modern cameras have good image quality, and so much of that depends on the lens, at least as much if not more so than the camera body.

So now the real reasons are light weight and cheap.

Be mindful that your "viewfinder" is now going to be an electronic image on the back. This uses a fair amount of battery power, which runs as long as you have the thing turned on. Having a second battery may be important.

Also, strong light on the back and glare can make it difficult to see the image. I would get a camera with an optical viewfinder for backup.

Good luck!

 

My first mirrorless camera was a Panasonic, it was a great camera, although now after having used Olympus for a long time I see lots of things I DON'T like with it - most of these are probably solved with modern versions of Panasonic cameras. I paid about 5000 SEK for it, say roughly 500 dollars.
To me it was a good beginner camera because it's quite simple in its interface (and looks quite much like Canon, that I used before) and the lack of auto ISO forced me to play around with the exposure triangle a lot more than I probably would have otherwise.

If for some reason you would want to spend more, there are rumours about a new Olympus Pen-F coming. They are very nice cameras. I almost bought one when I upgraded from the Panasonic but my husband talked me into upgrading "bigger" to what was then the newest OM-D.

I love my Olympus but I really like the size and weight of that old Panasonic! My Olympus is slightly chubbier but it's a great camera. For something cheap I'd probably choose Panasonic. I'm only familiar with micro four thirds brands myself. Many praise Sony mirrorless cameras but I know nothing about them.

 

Panasonic do an excellent range.....

 

I honestly don't think you can make a bad choice these days, cameras over the past few years have reached a level where the only bad image is one due to user error rather than the hardware. Mirrorless is a great choice for weight and size, the bigger question is what you think you want to do down the road and if you think you will want multiple lenses.

Then the discussion becomes what brand you want to buy into as often once people have a range of lenses made by a particular manufacturer then they tend to stick with that brand.

Just my thoughts.

 

Maybe turn the question around. What lenses will I use? Then buy the camera that works with them.

 

I use Canon 6D and I'm beginner and can recommended it

 

When someone makes a specific request with a price and type of camera, I do my best to answer. I had for several years a Sony A6000 with 16-50. that I used as my travel rig. They are small but accept Sony E mount lenses. They have a 24mp sensor and all in all, it did a pretty good job. I sold it to get my Nikon Z-50 which I do like better but it costs twice as much. I know you can get a used Sony A6000 from MPB with warrantee for $359.00 and a 16-50 lens for $74 so that will put you just barely over your range. I have been both buying from and selling to MPB for the past several years and I have never had any issues.

Used Sony Alpha A6000 Compact System Camera - mpb.com
Used Sony 16-50mm PZ f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens - mpb.com

 

Very fine camera and very fine retailer.

Graphite
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens and Accessory Kit (Silver)

Black
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 14-42mm Lens (Black)

Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 Review