DSLR vs. Mirrorless vs. Micro 4/3 Cameras

From my other blog http://www.thephotographytipsblog.com/dslr-vs-mirrorless-vs-micro-43-cameras/

In this article, we are going to briefly go over DSLR vs. Mirrorless vs. Micro Four Thirds Cameras. We will go over some the differences with each of them. Here are some links to some cameras of each type DSLR, Mirrorless, Micro four thirds.

DSLR Cameras

A common DSLR is different than the Mirrorless and Micro four thirds cameras due to it having a mirror inside (See image below). The reason DSLR's have mirrors is to reflect what the lens is seeing up to the viewfinder that you are looking through. When you take a picture the mirror flips up and exposes the sensor that catches the image. One of the issues with a mirror is that it can cause camera shake from the mirror flipping up that could possibly make the picture blurry (see video at the end of the post to see the mirror slap). I own two DLSR's the Nikon D800 and Nikon D5200. Both are great cameras and the D800 is my workhorse.

 

Nikon D800 Mirror

 

Advantages:

  1. If you get a Nikon or Canon interchangeable lens kit you have access to tons of lenses to choose from
  2. Battery life is much better than in Mirrorless cameras (as of right now)

Disadvantages:

  1. Heavy. The weight of a DSLR compared to Mirrorless or Micro Four Thirds is noticeable
  2. The lenses can also add to the weight of the camera
  3. Camera shake due to mirror "slap"
  4. Noisy from the mirror slap

Mirrorless Cameras

Mirrorless cameras are just that, mirrorless. Unlike the DSLR they do not have a mirror inside the camera which eliminates the mirror slap and makes the camera much quieter. The only issue with no mirror is that it has nothing to reflect what your lens sees to your eye. This is why you see most mirrorless cameras without the viewfinder. You can find some with the viewfinder though they usually cost more. The upside is that it seems that people want viewfinders on mirrorless cameras so companies are putting out more with viewfinders like the Sony A6300.

The downside with the viewfinders is it is digital. They are awesome and I love them but they do eat batteries. Though the ones without the viewfinders also do that since you have to use the screen on the back to see what you are taking a picture of.

Another issue is if you get a mirrorless camera that has interchangeable lenses there are not many options at the moment compared to DSLR cameras. I own the Sony A7R with only one lens at the moment the 50mm f/1.8 FE. I hope to get some more lenses later and be able to make this one of my main cameras.

Sony A7R Sensor

Advantages:

  1. Lightweight
  2. Smaller than a DSLR
  3. No mirror slap
  4. Quieter

Disadvantages:

  1. Battery life
  2. Fewer lenses available
  3. Slower start up time

Micro Four Thirds Cameras

Micro Four Thirds are cameras with a really small sensor. The image sizes are smaller than a DSLR or Mirrorless camera but still come out looking great. Some of the best (IMO) companies making Micro Four Thirds are FujiFilm and Olympus. I personally own an Olympus Pen E-P1 and love it. I do not use it as much as I use to, though, but I always have it on standby. Most Micro Four Thirds cameras are smaller than both the DSLR and Mirrorless which make it nice for travel of family gatherings. Some of the Fuji cameras also have a retro style like the Fujifilm X-T10 giving it an old film camera look.

The battery life is usually pretty decent at least it is on my Olympus Pen E-P1. Also, it has interchangeable lenses, though not a ton of options, but still not bad.

 

Olympus Pen E-P1 Sensor

 

Advantages:

  1. Small size
  2. Interchangeable lenses
  3. Classic looks on some models

Disadvantages:

  1. Small sensor size means smaller picture files
  2. Small selection of lenses
  3. Start up time

This is a quick video I made showing a DSLR, Mirrorless, and Micro Four Thirds shutters in action.

If I missed anything that you think I should have added please leave a comment and let me know!

Primes and Zoom Lenses what are they?

Primes

A prime lens has a fixed focal length. The common ones are 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm. There are also some longer ones like 300mm and higher. Primes are usually sharper than a zoom due to less moving parts. Another advantage to a prime is the aperture. Where "professional" glass is normally a f/2.8, a prime can go wide open to f/1.8 or even lower f/1.4.

I personally own the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 which was my first full frame lens, I love it and it has a home in my camera bag at all times. I also just bought a Sony A7R and the only lens I have for it at the moment is a 50mm f/1.8 and it's pretty awesome too.

Read More

GoPro Hero 4 Night Time Lapse Test

This video was a test go the night-lapse feature on the GoPro Hero4 Silver Edition. As you can see in the video not everything came out good, but it was not to bad for the first attempt. I'll have another video out soon with the second attempt at getting the night-lapse feature to work.

GoPro Hero4 Silver Edition: Amazon - Rent

My new toy the Rode Podcaster USB Microphone

This video is to show off my new microphone, the Rode Podcaster USB Microphone. I will be using this to do videos while I am at home as well as voice over to some other videos I have in the works. I must say it is a ver nice microphone for the price and look forward to using it more in the future.

See the links below to check out the items talked about in the video.

PSA1 Studio Arm: http://bap.pics/RodePSA1StudioArm
PSM1 Shock Mount: http://bap.pics/RodePSM1ShockMount
Podcaster USB Microphone: http://bap.pics/RodePodcasterMicrophone

Nikon D5200 Time-Lapse Test Decision

I just got my Nikon D5200 back from a friend that was borrowing it. I decided to take it out and shoot some time-lapse to see what the quality was like. I am trying to decide if I want to make this my time-lapse work horse to keep the shutter actuations down on my D800.

Take a look and let me know what you think. Thumbs Up to keep going with the D5200 or Thumbs Down to go with the D800. If you want to see a time-lapse from the D800 to compare let me know in the comments below.

Nikon D5200: Amazon - Rent

Nikon D800 : Amazon - Rent

Review of Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens

This is my first attempt at a gear review. I recently bought a Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens to replace my Nikon 55-300 DX lens.
I bought it due to upgrading to a Nikon D800 FX camera. The DX lens works on it but the results are not as good on that type of body.
So this is a real world testing of the Tamron lens. I have some pictures in the video but here is a link to them on my website so you can see them better due to YouTube compressing them in the video. http://bit.ly/Tamron70-300TestImages

I like the lens so far and its a good "upgrade" from the DX lens if your on a budget. So until I get the money for a better lens this will do for me. I paid under $150 for the lens which I didn't think was to bad. You can check it out here http://bit.ly/Tamron70-300Amazon



New Lens

So last night I decided to get a new 300mm lens. I had to choose between the Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6G AF Nikkor Lens and the Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens. This is for my Nikon D800 which is a full frame camera. The lens I had been using up to this point was the Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Len which I bought with my Nikon D5200. The price of the Tamron was a little more ($10) but one feature it has over the Nikon was a macro feature which I am interested in seeing how that works.

This will be the first time I have used a third party lens and I will post a review about it after I get to field test it. Its suppose to arrive on Wednesday 12/3/14 which is tomorrow and I hope for good weather the next day so I can go out and use it.

Below I have provided links to the items I talked about for you to so you can check them out. If you decide to purchase them please do so through those links it will help me keep the site running for another year thank you!