Best Mirrorless Camera 2017

Mirrorless cameras are hugely popular and offer welcome advantages over DSLRs. Not only are they smaller, lighter and more convenient to carry, they allow you to build a compact system that’s tailored to your style of photography. We’ve rounded up the best mirrorless cameras on the market.

The primary difference between a mirrorless camera and a traditional DSLR is that the latter is fitted with an internal mirror that bounces the image acquired through the lens up towards a phase-detection autofocus (AF) module in the ceiling of the camera before exiting through the optical viewfinder. Once focus is acquired and the shutter button is pressed this mirror raises up, exposing the sensor and capturing the image. In a mirrorless camera, however, there is no internal mirror, so light passes straight through the camera and directly onto the sensor.

When mirrorless models first came out this lack of a phase detection meant they had to use contrast-detect technology to acquire focus, which is slower than phase-detect AF. However, these days many mirrorless cameras use on-sensor phase-detection AF, often in combination with contrast-detect AF to produce AF speeds that rival those of DSLRs. In addition, the fact that there’s no mechanical mirror means mirrorless cameras are generally capable of much higher continuous shooting speeds.

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Best mirrorless camera buying guide – EVF and sensor

One further issue with early mirrorless cameras was that the lack of an optical viewfinder meant an electronic one was required in its place. Early EVFs were clunky at best, offering a small and pixelated view. These days, however, that’s simply not the case and the difference in quality between the high-resolution EVFs that many mirrorless cameras are now equipped with and their optical counterparts on a DSLR are much less pronounced.

While the very first mirrorless cameras were fitted with smaller Micro Four Thirds sensors jointly developed by Panasonic and Olympus, these days they’re equipped with a wide range of sensor sizes including APS-C and full-frame. Which of these is right for you will of course depend on your individual requirements and budget.

Below you’ll find a jargon buster that reveals some of the complex terminology associated with mirrorless cameras and our compilation of the finest examples to give you a better idea of which are best to buy.

Mirrorless camera jargon explained

Hybrid AF Systems: There are an increasing number of mirrorless cameras using innovative hybrid AF systems that combine on-sensor phase-detection with traditional contrast-detect AF. And with the new breed of ultra-fast processors dedicated to autofocus duties some mirrorless cameras are now able to outperform DSLRs in terms of AF speed.

Rear display: An increasing number of mirrorless cameras are now adding touchscreen functionality to the rear display, which makes operating the camera much speedier and more intuitive. How the screen is attached to the camera body is another important consideration – some are fixed, some can be tilted, while others use the infinitely more flexible vari-angle design.

Video: More and more new mirrorless cameras are adding 4K video capture. For those serious about video, the Panasonic Lumix GH5 is currently the only mirrorless model to offer broadcast quality 10-bit 10:2:2 4K capture. Be sure to check whether your desired model sports a dedicated microphone and/or headphone input as this does vary between models.

Media slot: All mirrorless cameras come with at least one SD memory card slot, although an increasing number of high-end models sport two. These can usually be configured to record data in a number of ways including using the second slot as an overflow or for raw images, or using one card for stills and the other for video. Support for the even faster UHS-II cards is currently limited to more advanced models.

Design: Broadly speaking, mirrorless cameras tend to fall into one of two camps in terms of their general styling: there are those that take classic rangefinder cameras as their inspiration, while others are designed to mimic the appearance and handling of a DSLR. Which is best for you is all down to personal preference. Just be sure to take build quality into account, as cheaper examples are unlikely to benefit from a tough magnesium alloy chassis and weather-sealed construction.

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