Photography News Issue 66

Photography News | Issue 66 | photographynews.co.uk

15 Techniques

Mirrorless ismore New series! The mirrorless revolution is in full swing. Are you part of it? Here, in the first part

of a new series we look at some of the undeniable advantages of mirrorless bodies over DSLRs. Give it a read and, if you haven’t been already, you might be tempted to make the switch...

Mirrorless cameras have been advancing on the DSLR kingdom for a long time. Over ten years in fact, as the first consumer mirrorless camera to market was Panasonic’s G1 micro four-thirds CSC launched way back in 2008. But now more than ever before it feels like mirrorless is really ‘here’. In part that’s due to Canon and Nikon finally waking up to the idea, and throwing their weight behind new full-frame systems. And of course Sony, Olympus, Fujifilm and Panasonic have been producing

superb mirrorless cameras in the last few years. So there’s no denying them any more. They’re not a gimmick or a fad. And they’re not going away. And in many ways, mirrorless cameras are actually the future of photography. Lots of amateurs have already embraced them and their undeniable benefits. But if you’re not aware of them, or not convinced, what are those advantages? In this series we’ll look at them all, starting withageneral lookat the claims about why mirrorless cameras are great.

Weight for it

Going steady

In-body image stabilisation can improve almost any picture

Though good photographers know what it takes to keep a picture sharp, there’s no denying the value of image stabilisation. IS has been around for years, both in camera bodies and in lenses, but the latest systems in mirrorless models are more powerful than ever – and increasingly important when using high-res sensors that are more likely to show

micro blur. Mirrorless cameras are also more likely to have IS in the body, so lenses can be lighter, and the feature can be used with older glass. And when you combine in-body stabilisation with in-lens technology, you can get even more benefit. For instance, Olympus’s OM-D E-M1 Mark II can hit 6.5EV of correction when used with ED 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO lens.

The size of mirrorless bodies and lenses means you can pack more – and shoot more

Okay, let’s take this one with a pinch of salt. Many mirrorless cameras and lenses aren’t exactly ‘small’, but most are smaller and lighter than equivalent-spec DSLRs. For instance, Nikon’s Z 7 is around 350g lower in weight than the similarly spec’d D850,

and a fair amount smaller in terms of footprint, too. Practically, smaller and lighter means more freedom: for instance shooting one-handed, overhead or at arms length more comfortably, if required. And if you regularly take lots of gear on a trip,

you can theoretically get the same versatility and quality from a much smaller kit, save worry when boarding aircraft with carry on luggage restrictions, or, if you’re like most photographers, take more stuff with you at the same heft.

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