Over the past six years we’ve spent more than 100 hours researching and testing mirrorless cameras and we think the Fujifilm X-A5 is the best mirrorless camera for beginners. Its image quality rivals similar entry-level DSLRs and its auto mode adjusts settings to produce better images than you’d get from a point-and-shoot camera, a smartphone, and most other mirrorless cameras. The X-A5 is lightweight, has a touchscreen that can flip 180 degrees, and it offers long-lasting battery life.
While the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX85 has an electronic viewfinder and better 4K video, its battery life and image quality doesn’t beat our top pick’s. It’s great to use primarily for video and if you prefer to frame shots by holding your camera up to your eye instead of using an LCD screen. We like that the GX85’s menus offer information that’s helpful to beginners and that it’s compatible with a library of more than 70 lenses. It’s a great option for those who want one camera that will continue to offer versatility as your photography skills improve.
Who should buy this
The image quality of a point-and-shoot camera or smartphone can feel limiting—especially when you’re photographing moving subjects, or subjects in low light environments. Mirrorless cameras are an improvement and in comparison to DSLR cameras, they aren’t as bulky. They don’t have the mirror system that DSLRs use to allow you to look through the lens. Instead, a mirrorless camera displays a live feed from the image sensor. Although you can swap and upgrade lenses on mirrorless cameras, they’re much lighter than DSLRs and in comparison to point-and-shoot cameras, they offer more optical versatility.
Since many mirrorless cameras have touchscreen controls, filters, and selfie-capturing features, you’ll still get the familiar functionality that a smartphone offers. However, using a mirrorless camera is a better option for building photography skills and for snapping pictures of higher quality.
How we picked and tested
Before testing we made a list of important features that a mirrorless camera should have. Even if you’re a beginner you can expect a lot—including great performance—from an entry-level mirrorless camera. The noted features that we looked for included: size, lens availability, photo quality, price, ease of use, smartphone connectivity, battery life, and extras.
A mirrorless camera should be light, compact, and substantially smaller than a DSLR camera. Its photo quality should be good and you should be able to shoot clear, sharp photos in low light. As your photography skills progress, you’ll want to add lenses to your equipment collection. You want to make sure than the camera’s manufacturer will produce new lenses that are compatible with your camera’s format.
Beginners should be able to easily operate an entry-level mirrorless camera when it comes out of the box and its settings should be intuitive. It’s ideal for the camera to be able to connect to your smartphone for easy photo sharing and have battery life that lasts a full day (300-400 shots on one charge). A good entry-level mirrorless camera should come with all of these features for around $600 or less. Additional features like panorama and high dynamic range (HDR) are nice extras but they aren’t necessary.
We tested four models in various shooting scenarios and lighting conditions to evaluate how each camera performed in situations that most beginners would find challenging. We tested the low-light, flash, and autofocus capabilities of each camera and compared downloaded images. We looked closely at the differences in resolution, sharpness, and color accuracy.
Photographing dimly lit corridors in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, we tested how well the auto modes of each camera corrected poor backlighting. In addition to evaluating how intuitive the physical controls felt, we considered the presentation of on-screen instructions and how easy they were to follow. During testing we looked at the design of each camera and evaluated how easy it was to grip. We also considered how easy it would be to view the LCD screen of each camera in various conditions.
Our pick: Fujifilm X-A5
The Fujifilm X-A5’s combination of user-friendly controls and menus, simple smartphone connectivity, and easy capture capabilities—through its Scene Recognition (SR+) Auto mode)— make it the best entry-level mirrorless camera for beginners. It has a responsive touchscreen that flips up to 180 degrees that makes taking selfies much easier than with similar models. You can share photos to your smartphone by connecting via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Fujifilm’s Camera Remote app displays a live view of what the camera sees and allows you to shoot video or photos remotely using your phone. Its battery life is long-lasting and it has a lightweight and attractive retro-style design. Ultimately, the X-A5 best serves the needs of beginner photographers.
Its 24-megapixel sensor is the same size as sensors found in basic DSLRs and it captures images that show finer detail, less low-light noise than most Micro Four Thirds cameras, and a wider dynamic range of highlights and shadows. Though its ISO settings can extend up to 51,200—at 6,400, the X-A5 captured high quality images during our nighttime testing. This means you can count on being able to take clean images at a late night concert or campfire.
The Fujifilm X-A5 has a Micro Four Thirds system and helpful features that are better than some entry-level DSLR cameras. It uses a hybrid autofocus (AF) system with a combination of 91 contrast- and phase-detection points. This means that the X-A5’s AF system covers a larger area of the frame than the AF system in some entry-level DSLR cameras and it’s able to quickly find focus to effectively capture moving subjects. When set to its top burst rate of 6fps during testing, the camera’s continuous AF performed well enough to keep subjects in focus. This burst rate is fast enough to take sharp, focused photos of sporting events.
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The X-A5’s battery life offers 450 shots per charge, so in most cases you’ll be able to shoot and sightsee for a full day. We like that the camera’s dual dial controls and simplistic menus make navigating settings and functionality easy. If you prefer to shoot in manual mode, you’ll have no problem adjusting settings such as shutter speed and aperture. Its pop-up flash mode is easy to access from the on-screen quick menu, but the switch is awkwardly placed on the side of the camera body which can take some getting used to.
If you’re looking for a camera that can shoot and has extensive 4K video capabilities, our also-great pick, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX85, is a better option. The X-A5 can record 4K video, just not as smoothly as we’d like. It’s capable of shooting high quality 1080p HD video and if you prefer, you can bypass edits by layering photos with filters and effects such as fish-eye distortion, Pop color, Sunset, and soft focus.
This guide may have been updated. To see the current recommendations or availability updates, you can read the full mirrorless camera for beginners guide here.
