You may or may not have heard about Mirrorless cameras and how they're the future of the Photography industry and taking the market by storm. With Nikon and Canon also now fully invested in the Mirrorless market and playing catch up to Sony's highly impressive range of Mirrorless bodies there's no question we're only going to hear more and more about these new types of cameras. But what exactly are the benefits of making the switch to a mirrorless camera? Here are five benefits we've highlighted to shed some light for you.
Lightweight, Smaller Camera Bodies One thing you may have noticed if you've seen a mirrorless camera body is just how much smaller and more compact they are to a DSLR.
The mirror system inside a DSLR is responsible for reflecting the light that enters your camera lens up to the Optical Viewfinder so that we can see the composition of the photo we are taking. It then flips up when we take a photo to expose the sensor. These mechanics add a lot of bulk and weight to the DSLR design. A Mirrorless system completely does away with these mechanics and instead, exposes the light straight on to the camera sensor which we preview through the Electronic Viewfinder or EVF.
As a result of losing the mirror system – mirrorless cameras are significantly lighter and smaller. Perfect for travelling with and remaining a little more inconspicuous when out shooting.
Live Exposure Preview As we're now using an Electronic Viewfinder with a Mirrorless camera and our image is being exposed straight to the sensor, we get to see a live preview of what our exposure will look like. What you see through the viewfinder is what you get, even the depth of field is previewed for you. This makes it so much easier to focus on the shot you're taking and spot any errors with your exposure before you take the photo.
Extra Features, New Technology The new technology and lack of mirror in these cameras allow us to take advantage of plenty of new features that we don't necessarily have access to with a DSLR. Live effect previews, complete button remapping, Eye AF, AF tracking, enhanced video capabilities, image preview in the EVF, manual focus peaking and the ability to shoot without using the mechanical shutter at all are just some of the new features you're able to utilise with these cameras.
There's no doubt that more and more features will be added as Nikon and Canon have now entered the mirrorless market and are playing catch up to the much more established mirrorless system that Sony has been putting out for years.
True Silent shooting We now can truly shoot without making any noise whatsoever. Instead of using the cameras mechanical shutter, you're able to switch to the cameras Electronic Shutter which takes the photo without making any noise. Many photographers prefer to shoot with the Electronic Shutter over the Mechanical Shutter in all shooting conditions, whereas others switch to this mode when the situation calls for it. Perfect for keeping the noise down in the ceremony of a wedding or when out shooting wildlife.
Better Auto Focus
A mirrorless camera is also able to utilise the entire camera's sensor to focus instead of using the limited set of focus points that most DSLR cameras tend to offer. This gives you a lot more flexibility to focus when shooting.
Depending on the mirrorless system you're using you can also take advantage of Eye Tracking Auto Focus. This is where the camera can lock on to a subjects eye and track them for pinpoint accurate focus for as long as they are in the frame. This is a huge benefit especially for when it comes to shooting fast-moving subjects or if you're shooting at low apertures that require your focus to be spot on.
These are a few of the benefits we've seen when shooting with Mirrorless cameras, you may have some of your own. Let us know what how you've found shooting Mirrorless by getting in touch at info@bsophoto.co.uk. We'd love to hear what your experience has been.