The move to

It’s hard to think of anything that has characterised the past decade in photography more than the rise of the mirrorless camera. What essentially began as a compact alternative to Four Thirds DSLRs has flourished into a raft of different systems, spanning a range of sensor sizes and camera styles, all arriving along with the next generation of lenses.

Starting from scratch has somehow rebalanced the landscape. Manufacturers whose roots may have existed in electronics rather than photography have had the opportunity to challenge the dominant DSLR players, and it’s now in mirrorless camera systems where we see many innovations first appear. Not all the systems that have been introduced have survived, of course, and those that have become established face constant challenges from newer ones.

Even so, rather than simply more convenient alternatives to DSLRs for the everyday user, today’s mirrorless systems are capable enough to be relied upon by many professionals. The earliest models were easily adopted by those whose preference was portraiture, landscape and arguably less-demanding genres, although video capabilities have grown more prominent and stronger autofocus systems now make these models more adept for sports and action. DSLRs are still highly relevant to many professional users, but with a wider range of mirrorless manufacturers and more prolific output, it’s difficult to ignore how bright the future looks for the format.

So what cameras are the professionals using? And what has their experience been using them? We speak to eight photographers using cameras across a range of formats to understand how today’s mirrorless systems help them with their craft.

Micro Four Thirds

Dirk Weber

Dirk Weber is a photographer based near Frankfurt, Germany, where he lives with his wife (a wedding photographer), a dog and two cats. He has captured over 300 weddings in Germany, Ireland and other European locations. www.brautrausch.de

Olympus PEN-F

I’VE BEEN using Olympus cameras for years. I started out with larger cameras, such as the Minolta Dynax 7, and then I used the Olympus E-5 DSLR. Now I use the PEN-F body – two, actually, with one being a back-up body.

When I started using the Olympus OM-D E-M5 in 2012, it was my third camera on an Irish wedding. At the end of the evening, I noticed I had ended up taking most pictures with this over the others. I love how small it is, and people don’t notice they’re being