Mirrorless Camera Reviews

Fujifilm created quite a buzz in Cologne, Germany at the recent Photokina exposition with the introduction of the distinctive GFX 50S medium format camera, boasting a compact mirrorless design, 51.4MP resolution and attractive retro styling. In the videos below, four top pros discuss what all the fanfare is about.

The hot topic for serious shooters going into the New Year: Should you stick with the traditional DSLR system that has served you splendidly, or opt for one of the latest mirrorless compact system cameras that promises to deliver the full interchangeable lens shooting experience in a smaller, lighter package?

Three of the most talked about full-frame, interchangeable lens cameras of the past year, undoubtedly, have to be the Sony A7R III and A7 III mirrorless cameras, and the Nikon D850 DSLR. While we’ve reviewed all three models at Shutterbug, we haven’t done a direct head-to-head comparison of them.

The new Canon EOS M5 is Canon’s first M-system with an integrated EVF. The new EVF of the EOS M5 is based on OLED technology and offers a bright and brilliant image. With a frame rate of 120 Hertz it can refresh rapidly enough to cover even very fast moving objects. The resolution of 2.36 million RGB dots corresponds to the viewfinder resolution of professional mirrorless cameras like the Sony A7R II. The new Canon also offers helpful EVF functions for manual focusing like “focus peaking” and “magnifier” function.

The Canon M is Canon’s first mirrorless system camera. It uses an APS-C-sized sensor (slightly smaller than APS-C, just like all Canon “APS-C” cameras) with 18MP resolution. The camera doesn’t offer an optical or electronic viewfinder; the photographer has to use the large (3”) LCD screen on the back that offers a remarkably high resolution of 1,040,000 RGB dots. While it offers a very crisp and clear image, an additional viewfinder, for shooting under bright light conditions, would have been welcome. The monitor is “fixed” and does not offer swiveling, or articulation. It is, however, a “touchscreen” type, which is fully integrated into the operational concept of the camera.

The monochrome mode on most digital cameras is a convenience that is best avoided. Conventional wisdom says that it’s far, far better to shoot Raw and convert to monochrome—or at least to start with a color JPEG. But Fujifilm suggests that their ACROS film simulation mode might even top the best Raw converters. Does it? 

If you’re going to test a new camera, I can think of few places better suited than the Big Island of Hawaii. And that’s precisely what I, and a number of my colleagues in the photo press, had a chance to do recently with the new 28-megapixel Samsung NX500 camera. We put Samsung’s newest mirrorless compact system camera (CSC) through its paces in diverse settings on the island, each designed to challenge the NX500 and ourselves.