10 Best Mirrorless Cameras in the Philippines 2024 | Buying Guide Reviewed by Photographer and Graphic Artist

ISO is one of the elements in the exposure triangle of photography. You would want a camera that can shoot at a high ISO, especially if you'll need to shoot in a dark environment, you need to shoot at a high shutter speed, and/or if you're shooting with a large aperture lens. 

Take into account that a higher ISO produces more noise and grain. A full frame camera is a lot less noisy at a higher ISO compared to crop sensors.

The higher the pixels, the more details a camera can capture. However, you must also consider where you'll be placing the images. For print, whether in magazines or billboards, you'll benefit from high-quality images taken from a camera with high megapixels since the details will be preserved.

However, if you're shooting mostly for web photos, you won't be able to benefit so much since images tend to get compressed on the web. As said, 10-20 megapixels is already enough for the average photographer.

Definitely invest in a good lens! A good camera can underperform with a bad and cheap lens. There are different lenses with different apertures and focal lengths tailored for different purposes. 50mm and 35mm lenses are classic prime lenses, perfect for portraits and everyday use. 

The kit lens that usually comes with new cameras is an all-around lens that produces decent photos but gives bad distortion and decent to bad low-light performance. Also, consider the sensor of your camera. Full frame lens will work on crop sensors but not the other way around.

This depends on the preference of the user. A viewfinder will definitely give you a more precise view and conserve more battery than an LCD. On the other hand, an LCD will give you a bigger viewing area but consumes more battery, and it will be harder to look at under the sun. In addition, shooting through the viewfinder is more stable than holding your camera at arm's length.

You need a good autofocus feature since most of the time, you'll depend on it more than manual focusing, especially during quick shoots. Choose a camera with a fast and sharp autofocus to get high-quality photos. If you have the extra funds for a hybrid autofocus system, invest in it.

Mirrorless cameras are becoming more and more popular with filmmakers and videographers because of their video quality. Cameras that can shoot in 4K and those with other extra features such as slow-motion tend to be more expensive. When deciding, analyze your needs to the get the most out of your camera investmentーwill you just focus on shooting photos or will you be utilizing it for videos as well?

Wi-Fi connection is probably one of the most useful features for cameras nowadays. The ability to instantly transfer photos to your phone is very useful whether you're an occasional traveler wanting to post your pictures immediately or you're a content creator who needs to send photos for checking. As a freelance photographer, this helped me greatly during live events where I needed to send photos for immediate posting.

Image stabilization is something that we tend to overlook when considering a camera. Aside from getting better photos when capturing moving objects, IS greatly helps in mirrorless cameras since we tend to hold it at arm's length where it is prone to shaking. Yes, there are lenses that have IS, but you won't really need it that much if your camera itself has a great IS system.