I have to look for a used mirrorless camera, what should I note & check ?

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kl122002

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I know it sounds hilarious but actually I still have no digital cameras on my hand other than my phone . I never owned one since the promotion from shop changed so quick, almost every new models per 2-3 years and so I am not confident to give it a try. And then once I am ready the news says another model is coming out next half year. 🥺

This why I whish to look for a used one. I wish a recent model , just basic with RAW output and enough adapters allow me to play with my old manual lens collection. I have seen many used are selling on internet and even local, but what else should I check other than checking the shutter count? 🤔

Thank you,
 

Sirius Glass

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I recently purchased the Nikon Z7ii which uses the older Nikon F lenses as well as the new Nikon Z lenses. I am still learning about all the features.
 
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kl122002

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I recently purchased the Nikon Z7ii which uses the older Nikon F lenses as well as the new Nikon Z lenses. I am still learning about all the features.

I am thinking about Sony A7 something , but they have many models and I can't tell which is better for me .
Canon mirorrless seems fine either just not very sure about stability in comapring to Sony or other. Some models they just dropped almost silently and I am wondering what was that behind.
 

MurrayMinchin

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Some Fujifilm X series cameras have external ISO and shutter speed dials as well as aperture rings on some lenses, so they sort of feel like an older 35mm camera in the hands when in manual mode. No fiddling about on a screen searching for functions (!!!!) unless you want to.

The EVF is a little weird at first, but comes with the benefit of showing what exposure adjustments are doing in real time, even when using neutral density filters and time exposures...very handy.

RAW photos are pretty grim, but that's to be expected because they haven't been jazzed up with a punchy image enhancing cocktail decided upon by some unseen engineer. The fact that they are bland shouldn't be surprising as they hold as much information as possible...think of them as a B&W negative printed on normal contrast paper with normal development & agitation at the negatives max black time with no dodging or burning.

I use Capture One for post processing. They signed a partnership agreement with Fujifilm, so figure they have access to Fujifilm's secret sauce in their X series sensors.
 
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Sirius Glass

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I am thinking about Sony A7 something , but they have many models and I can't tell which is better for me .
Canon mirrorless seems fine either just not very sure about stability in comparing to Sony or other. Some models they just dropped almost silently and I am wondering what was that behind.

What I learned so far:
  • Leica has the highest resolution: 80megapixels
  • Sony is the next in line with a lot of options and features
  • Canon and Nikon seem to be about equal. I chose Nikon to have access to the collection of Nikon F lenses from AI-S to AF-D lenses. But this gets to religious discussion of which is better, which lenses you have and want to use, . . . Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
All full size sensors.
 
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xkaes

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Mirrorless? I hope you either live in a dust free area or never plan on changing lenses. Otherwise, plan on spending a lot of time getting the dust of your sensor.
 

MurrayMinchin

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Mirrorless? I hope you either live in a dust free area or never plan on changing lenses. Otherwise, plan on spending a lot of time getting the dust of your sensor.
Hold the camera horizontally with lens pointing down...remove lens vertically downward while keeping camera in same position with back facing up...raise new lens to camera.

Seems to do the trick.
 

MattKing

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You probably have already realized this, but if you wish to make similar use of your existing full frame 35mm film camera lenses on the digital camera, you need to choose a camera with a sensor size that is the same size as the film cameras.
To illustrate, my Olympus OM film lenses work fine on my wife's Olympus OM 4/3 camera, but the 50mm lens performs like a 100mm lens, and I have difficulty achieving anything close to the wider angle lenses without buying either a shorter lens designed for M4/3, or acquiring something like a 15mm film lens - not practical or even particular good for the application.
 
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