Mirrorless camera advice

[CatBoy]

Recently had my point-and-shoot stolen out of my car. Looking to invest in a new hobby. Ideally want to use for hiking in the woods, hunting, skiing, or other outdoorsy things. Would really like to get into bird photography, so being able to capture things in motion is somewhat important. I'm leaning towards mirrorless cameras for their size and portability. I'm pretty much a camera newbie.

These are options I'm leaning towards:

Fujifilm XT2- weather-sealed. I like the idea of physical dials. Great intro lens kit. Little worried about stabilization, video performance, and battery life.

Sony A6300- Great video quality. Tried and true from what I have read. Not quite the image quality of the XT2 right out, but the autofocus is very good.

Perhaps you guys totally disagree with my synopsis of the cameras above, so please let me know. My price range is around $800 and am open to used gear. Feel free to point me towards other options as well or if someone is trying to unload their current camera let me know. Thanks NS

 

[JAHpow]

I have a A6500 and love love love it!

I know two other people with the 6300 and they love it as well. (One is not a good photographer tho, and the other is fairly amateur)

 

[Lemuel]

Check out media & arts. It's not popping off as much as it used to, but there is some good info in there.

 

[CatBoy]

Check out media & arts. It's not popping off as much as it used to, but there is some good info in there.

Honestly wasn't even aware of that forum, thanks much!

 

[GilsonSkis]

Get a g9! Or gh5. I'm a big fan of the all of the Panasonic cameras. They feel way better in the hand to use then any of the sony a6300 or 6500 models. I had both and I couldn't stand using the Sony controls/platforms. Plus they were really uncomfortable to hold

 

[a_pla5tic_bag]

Fujifilm XT2

I used to only shoot film, had an EOS 1N, and a bronica. I have an XT2 now and I do like it. The dials are ok I guess, theres a reason all other cameras now use something else. I never use the shutter speed one because it's faster to change using one of the wheels, unless I'm using a flash then I put it on the sync speed. Plus if you have exposure preview on then it's annoying to spin the dial while looking through the finder. I rarely change ISO, or at least I set one I'll need for the conditions and that's it. I always shoot manual so I never use the exposure comp dial. The dials are definitely more fashion than function so long as whatever system you use doesn't have stupid menus. Everything could be handled with wheels and the little LCD on the ops of most cameras that shows vital settings.

That said, I do like the camera. It's small and the f/2 series of primes pair perfectly. I'm completely happy with the performance. The only thing I would jump ship for is the nikon Z series if they made smaller lenses. I like to keep the 23 f/2 on my XT2 but Nikons 35mm for the Z is fucking huge.

Birding, you're boned unless you spend a shit ton of money. Perhaps try to adapt a 500mm reflex lens.

 

[CatBoy]

I used to only shoot film, had an EOS 1N, and a bronica. I have an XT2 now and I do like it. The dials are ok I guess, theres a reason all other cameras now use something else. I never use the shutter speed one because it's faster to change using one of the wheels, unless I'm using a flash then I put it on the sync speed. Plus if you have exposure preview on then it's annoying to spin the dial while looking through the finder. I rarely change ISO, or at least I set one I'll need for the conditions and that's it. I always shoot manual so I never use the exposure comp dial. The dials are definitely more fashion than function so long as whatever system you use doesn't have stupid menus. Everything could be handled with wheels and the little LCD on the ops of most cameras that shows vital settings.

That said, I do like the camera. It's small and the f/2 series of primes pair perfectly. I'm completely happy with the performance. The only thing I would jump ship for is the nikon Z series if they made smaller lenses. I like to keep the 23 f/2 on my XT2 but Nikons 35mm for the Z is fucking huge.

Birding, you're boned unless you spend a shit ton of money. Perhaps try to adapt a 500mm reflex lens.

If you were to choose between the XT2 and XH-1 would you consider the IBIS worth the extra weight and bulk? How effective are the lens image stabilizers that are typically used with the XT series? Thanks for your advice.

 

[a_pla5tic_bag]

If you were to choose between the XT2 and XH-1 would you consider the IBIS worth the extra weight and bulk? How effective are the lens image stabilizers that are typically used with the XT series? Thanks for your advice.

No idea because I've never used an XH1. The IS on my 18-55 seems ok but I've never formally tested it, others have, search around.