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cherylynne1
ty so much for your through input. I do have photoshop installed on my computer and I plan to use it to do some editing.
so what would be your recommedation as far as camera body and lenses goes? buy a high end crop sensor camera with the kit lense in a package deal? i know many have stated that it shouldn't matter, but I am not familiar with much of the camera's technical terms. I just need a camera to do what i need, which I provided above. certainly the equipments and lighting i got down. also, weight aside, what do i lose out from going mirrorless instead of a dslr?
Honestly, from what you've said so far, pretty much any basic (not even high end) camera will work for you. The lighting will be much more important for the bulk of your work, which is merchandise.
The first prime lens you choose should probably be for that purpose, the merchandise. Which means what you need to do is take your camera into your studio and take some photos of typical merchandise. Take note of what focal length feels the most comfortable and can fit everything you need into the shot. That's the focal length you need to purchase. You'll be able to figure out that purchase within a few days of buying the camera, since those are controlled conditions where you'll pretty much always need to stand the same distance away and have a subject that's roughly the same size.
However, finding a lens that works for your other needs (portraits, landscapes, architecture) will take more time and practice, getting a feel for what you like best. I prefer portraits with long focal lengths, almost the longer the better. Other people max out at around 50mm. It's a personal style thing.
If you really don't want to stick with the kit lens, you could start out with a good mid range zoom to learn on, something like a 24-70. But it'll cost a lot of extra money for a good one (not all zooms are built equally) and it'll mostly be serving the same purpose as the kit zoom for the first year or so.
As for mirrorless vs. DSLR...well, that's a can of worms.
For the most part, it's personal preference. The high end mirrorless have caught up or surpassed similarly-priced DSLRs. Mirrorless cameras that are a few years old have definite compromises, but most of those have been overcome.
Mirrorless is smaller and lighter, but that also means smaller grips, buttons, and often more plastic pieces. For some men with large hands, this is a major issue. Mirrorless also has a screen inside the viewfinder, while DSLRs have an exact representation of what's coming through the lens, like looking through a window. I prefer the screen, because it shows the exposure and colors that I'll see when I get to the computer and helps prevent me from accidentally hitting a button and changing a major setting but not realizing it until I get to a computer. Others prefer the optical viewfinder of DSLRs because it feels more accurate than looking at a screen.
Another issue with mirrorless is battery life. I always bring an extra battery with me (even though I almost never need it unless I forgot to charge the battery in the camera.) I've never had a problem with going about 4-5 hours on a single charge, but for people that need to go 8-12 hours, it can be an issue.
The other issue with mirrorless is lenses. Because Fuji and Sony are new systems, they've had to build up their lens systems from scratch. By now they have most focal lengths covered, apart from the very extreme, niche lenses. But since all of their lenses are new, they're more expensive than DSLR lenses that are 5-10 years old. You can adapt virtually any lens to mirrorless (which you can't with DSLRs) but there are disadvantages to that, like not having autofocus or autofocus being slower.
Image quality for both is excellent, so if you're just looking at the final product, there's no disadvantages. It's just down to how you prefer to get to that final product.
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