Changing camera systems

macmassey

I have a Canon 7D Mark II and assorted lenses. I'm getting older and the camera is beginning to feel too heavy for me and I'd like to switch to a lighter camera that will be used primarily for travel and hobby photography. Mirrorless seems to be the wave of the future and I believe are lighter than traditional DSLRs. I do have big hands so the new camera can't be too small. Plus I'm concerned about the learning curve if I switch to Fujifilm or Sony, but I do love the retro look of some of the Fujifilm cameras. Looking for suggestions. Price range would need to be $2500 or less including a lens or two. Hopefully the camera would have a decent travel lens available. Thank you all in advance.

ziggy53

Lenses are still a major concern of weight. It's hard to beat the physics of light-gathering large-aperture lenses and their weight.

Since you have Canon equipment, I have to mention that I use a pair of Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless bodies and a mix of lenses, including adapted EF and EF-S lenses mounted via 2-adapters:

• Canon EF-EOS M Mount Adapter (refurbished)
• Viltrox EF-EOS M2 0.71x Mount Adapter, adapts FF lenses and increases FOV while also increases effective aperture (similar to Speed-Booster adapter)

The lenses I typically carry include:

• Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM (my only EF-M-native lens)
• Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (Nano), a really excellent "kit" lens for the M50.
• Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM, a super-wide zoom for stills and full-HD video plus a wide zoom for 4k. Balances nicely on an older Zhiyun Crane (not sure which model).
• Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, a great standard/normal zoom for Canon APS-C.
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, cheap and lightweight, but consistently pleasing images used properly.
• Sometimes - EF 70-200mm f4L IS USM, not cheap and not too light, but much lighter than the 70-200mm f2.8 lenses I have. The Viltrox adapter makes it similar to an f3 lens for exposure.

macmassey

Thanks so much. This is very helpful. It's great that my current lenses could still be used! I'll check out the M50 soon.

sapphire73

@macmassey, curious what you decided to do? Hope you found something that works for you!

I was a Canon shooter for a long time, then Canon and Fuji, and now mostly Fuji. But I am still interested in hearing about other mirrorless systems, like what @ziggy53 is using. I upgraded to the Fuji X-T4 a year ago and then hurt my shoulder so that delayed putting it to good use. I find the Fuji menu less intuitive than Canon but find a lot to love about the Fuji system.

e6filmuser

I just drifted in here. I normally live the the Holy Macro world.

My history is that, back in the 1980s I bought a brand new Canon A1. Within a few years, I had moved to Olympus OM, for e.g. TTL OTF flash.

When digital started to match film quality I moved to Olympus 4/3 mirror, to which I adapt many legacy lenses. An adapted Olympus 4/3 50mm macro lens, often with its matched x 2TC is my go-to macro lens. I use The Leica Lumix 100-400 mainly for dragonflies. Those are my only AF lenses, all the many others being fully manual* (for both cameras, see below).

• I find Nikon F/AI mounts (not necessarily on Nikon lenses) can be readily adapted plus the aperture selection works when they are reversed for macro.

Being frustrated at not getting my previously accustomed use for my old WA and UWA lenses I bought a used Sony A7r. Issues with mirror bounce and limited IS persuaded me to invest in the A7r3.

I now mostly used my m4/3 because most of my work is macro/close-ups but the A7r3 is for wise angle and where I want that extra detail. I have been known to carry both bodies and lenses for them but my body is getting a bit old for that.

My general approach now is stick with what I have unless something really useful justifies a spend. (In the early OM years I collected all the Tamron SP lenses).

Harold