I’ve been using mirrorless cameras for a while, a mirrorless camera is a camera with no mirror, so nothing other than the shutter has to move out of the way for an exposure. This makes the camera smaller and lighter but doesn’t effect the quality of the images produced. I just did a google for any professional photographers using a Sony A6000, and found a website which had 13 pros who had made the switch, however, most of these were not photojournalists.
Heres what I wrote;
Since the Panasonic GF1, I have been using mirrorless cameras, alongside DSLR and Rangefinders. In 2012 I consolidated everything into two Fuji X Pro-1 bodies and two lenses, a 28mm and a 50mm. Since then I’ve added two tiny Sony cameras; NEX 5n and recently an A6000. I still shoot some projects with film, using a Hasselblad X-Pan and a Leica M6.
It’s really just a matter of trust and knowing how the camera will perform in the environment. I took the two Fuji’s to India last year and shot about 100,000 exposures in pretty extremely climates, and my backup was an Olympus TG-1 a Sony Action Cam and the X Pan with 500 rolls of slide film.
The web chatter complaints about the Fuji X Pro-1 was that they had slow responsiveness and slow focus, however a little dedicated time in hand and practice, you will get to know any camera, and its strengths and weaknesses, and I bet you I am as fast with my X Pro-1 as you are with your DSLR. I was fast with my Leica M6 too.
The Fuji’s never gave me any trouble. I had them exposes to 54c temperatures 98% humidity, extreme dust, floods, and baking in the direct sunlight. For a 1.0 camera system (at the time), that is pretty damn solid trust building stuff. I have my complaints about them, but I’ve never had the perfect camera, there is no such thing. It just takes daily care and cleaning, your gear theoretically should not give you any problems.
I am a documentary reportage photographer and sound person. I spent most of my time out of the tourist areas, Chattisgarrgh, Bhopal, Bombay Slums etc. The cameras where amazing, I wont be moving back to reflex cameras at all. I like the form-factor of the X Pro-1 and the A6000 where the VF is et the edge of the camera. They are small, light and you can have three cameras in a bag each with a different job for half the weight of two DSLRs.
I’m testing out this A6000 right now, as I’ve been blown away by the NEX5n for its size and burs rate. The A6000 is a nudge bigger, but has a viewfinder and 11fps, plus when connected to a wifi signal can upload directly to FB or Flickr- that right there is immense, a complete game changer for me. No more laptops no more extra stuff. Sony have taken the camera to where it needed to go: against the cellphone, which will never give you the same control or ergonomics a camera can.
This year, I’ve been doing video, press photography, spot news, product, portraiture, architecture all the stuff I ever did with SLR cameras and even with large and medium format cameras. Adapted lenses like my collection of Pentax, Leica-R and others, on tilt-shift, and Speedbooster’s have opened up so many other possibilities on these cameras too. Anyone still shooting on a DSLR either doesn’t know, or doesn’t want to know. Having legacy fast lenses with fast AF is about the only excuse for still using a DSLR.
A picture of my well used and loved Fuji X Pro-1 with a brass thumb grip and accessory hand grip.
My well loved camera. This has come with me daily everywhere since February 2012.