First impression : Moving from DSLR to Mirrorless

[manindra_m]

Thought of sharing my personal experience as I shifted from DSLR to mirrorless. Would be keen to hear from fellow members on their experience as well who have transitioned or plan to. For simplicity and quick overview , will try to keep it short and crisp.

Q : How long have you been a DSLR user ?
A : Over a decade. Started with a humble Nikon D5100 , moved to D7000 , D7200 and finally D500. Mostly into wildlife , birding. Ocassionaly used for travel & landsape. Most used lens with D500 was Nikon 200-500.

Q : What triggered this move from DSLR to mirrorless ?
A : Had a wrist injury and was finding it diffuclt to carry DSLR kit with other lenses specially during travel. Wanted to move to something light weight

Q : If weight was a key factor why not micro 4/3 ?
A : APSC seems to be a prefect balance between weight , IQ , price and reach . Lens selection , price , availbility and servicebility were also key factors in deciding to move to APSC.

Q : Which brand did you move to and why ?
A : Sony A6400 with Sony 200-600 and a few other primes . Surprisingly Sony worked out to be the best price to performance as compared to Nikon / Canon mirrorless. Coming from D500 , wanted something at par if not better AF camera body. A6400 fulfills most of my requirement while still having a few drawbacks. The other important factor was the telephoto lens which I had decided has to be Sony 200-600. Been using it for over a month now and I can confidently say that its way better than Nikon 200-500 and justifies the premium you pay over Nikon . Apart from extra 100mm reach , IQ is better at all FL wide open , internal zoom is great and slightly lighter as well. Works great when paired with A6400.

Q : Any cons now that you have moved to mirrorless ?
A : Yes. To begin with is poor ergonomics . A6400 being a tiny camera doesnot balance well with the large telephoto lens. Grip is poor compared to DSLR. Battery drain is fast. Delay in EVF during continuous shooting could be irritating at times. Slow memory card in A6400 limits buffer capacity (camera specific). AF is extremely fast but equally fast in getting confused in busy background. Tripod foot of Sony 200-600 is not great to carry along for long time. Sony's camera menu is vast and confusing and UI is laggy. Transition from EVF to Liveview is slow.

Q: With so many cons , do you think you made the right decision ?
A: For me I wanted to get rid of additional weight which thankfully I have achieved. I have able to shed over 1.5kg from my previous camera bag (Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-500 , Tokia 11-16 , Nikon 50mm ) to (Sony A6400 + Sony 200-600 , Sony 50mm , Rokinon 12mm) and my arms and wrist tell me that. The next prioirty for me was fast AF and IQ which I feel my current gear suffices most of the times. So yes ....I feel I have transtioned for good.

Q : What's your suggestion to people planning to make a move to mirrorless ?
A : That depends on use case. Unless there is a compelling use case , whatever you have and if that meets most of your expectation , you will see little value in shifting to mirrorless. If you are scared that DSLR will be obsolete (which it will one day) , there's still a lot left in DSLR specially in used market. Since I have extensively used camera gear for wildlife , I can still vouch for D500 + Nikon 200-500 as the best bang for buck ! I am told that Sony is miles ahead in video and that could also be one reason to shift . Since I am not into video , I will refrain from commenting on this further.

[Hankosaurus]

Thanks for explaining your experience and thought processes in this, Manindra.  The technology has come a long way since digital got its foothold in about 2000.  One of the early concerns was the quality of the EVF, as compared to optical finders.  I take it that such is no longer an issue.  I hope your A6400 system helps make your photography experience more rewarding than ever.

[sujoyp]

Thanks for sharing your experience.
I moved from nikon d3100 to D7000 to Fuji XT3.
I have used nikon D7000 almost 10 years for macro and birding. I truly loved it.
Since the birth of my son, my d7000 is sitting idle as I no more go for birding . I take lot of portraits and video of my kid and even in general while travelling like to keep a light combo.
I found Fuji XT3 + viltrox 23mm 1.4 + fuji 60mm macro to be perfect sharp and fast..it's video quality and slo-mo is equally good. Ability to transfer photo via Bluetooth to mobile is a boon.

The only negative I found is cost of lens is too much..and body weight of my D7000+35mm and XT3+ 23mm is almost same.

[Nishit Dave]

Quite an informative and crisp piece, Manindra! It will be helpful for many who want to consider moving on from DSLRs.

One thing specific to the menus of the a6400 is the My Menu option. You can add your most used options to it and never be frustrated again trying to find them in the regular menu.

For example, I have set up the first page on my camera's My Menu to include options like Image Format, Zoom, Video File Format, etc.

Similarly, the customisable Function Menu also allows you to bring options up with fewer keys to press, such as setting up Human / Animal Eye Detect, Silent Shutter, White Balance options, etc. Once the camera is set up to taste, it doesn't really get in the way too much.

[manindra_m]

Quite an informative and crisp piece, Manindra! It will be helpful for many who want to consider moving on from DSLRs.

One thing specific to the menus of the a6400 is the My Menu option. You can add your most used options to it and never be frustrated again trying to find them in the regular menu.

For example, I have set up the first page on my camera's My Menu to include options like Image Format, Zoom, Video File Format, etc.

Similarly, the customisable Function Menu also allows you to bring options up with fewer keys to press, such as setting up Human / Animal Eye Detect, Silent Shutter, White Balance options, etc. Once the camera is set up to taste, it doesn't really get in the way too much.

Agree Nishit....customized buttons (both on lens and camera) have made life much easier.