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When you buy an interchangeable lens camera, you’ll get the best results if you use the lenses designed for that system. Therefore, it’s important to consider the body and lens variety for each system. The following table lists the most popular mirrorless systems in rough order of popularity, along with the approximate number of camera bodies and lenses designed for the system. The highlighted rows are my most commonly recommended systems.

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Though you’ll no doubt find horror stories about each of them, your odds of getting good prices, support, and accessories are roughly equal. Canon and Nikon are constantly playing catch-up with each other. At times, Nikon has had superior technology. Within six months, though, Canon will release a camera or lens that very slightly surpasses Nikon’s. This is free-market competition at its finest, and it works so well that you can be confident with your purchase from either brand.

I hesitate to recommend many other lens mounts because they have limited lens support or I’m uncertain that the manufacturer will continue making new lenses and cameras in the future. Nonetheless, I have dedicated chapters later in this book to every single major lens mount, so you can explore every manufacturer’s offerings.

Note that Canon, Nikon, and Sony APS-C camera bodies can use same brand’s full-frame lenses, albeit with a drop in image quality. With a few exceptions, I generally recommend upgrading to a full-frame body before investing in full-frame lenses.

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There are currently about 17 different popular lens mounts, which makes camera shopping incredibly complex. For most people, I recommend choosing one of the six most popular lens mounts: Nikon DX (APS-C DSLR), Canon EF-S (APS-C DSLR), Sony E-Mount (APS-C mirrorless), Micro four-thirds (mirrorless), Nikon FX (full-frame DSLR), or Canon EF (full-frame DSLR).

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Note that I’m not listing the number of DSLR lenses that can be connected to the system using adapters; I discourage you from factoring these lenses into your decision-making process because their size defeats the purpose of using a mirrorless system in the first place, and handling and autofocus tend to be clumsy. I do understand that DSLR lens compatibility is an important factor for people with existing equipment, so if you have several Pentax K-Mount lenses that you want to use on a modern, digital, mirrorless camera, you should buy the Pentax K-01. If you want to use your Canon DSLR lenses on a mirrorless body, you should get the Canon EOS M.

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There’s one camera trait you need to choose before thinking about features: lens mount. Lens mount determines the availability of accessories such as add-on lenses and flashes.

Don’t take those comments too seriously; the differences don’t matter too much. There are many amazing wildlife photographers shooting with Nikon gear, Canon cameras have amazing image quality for thousands of pros, and if you have a Sony camera, you’ll probably always be able to find the accessories you need. These camera manufacturers are 99% the same. Plus, they’re constantly releasing new gear to fill in any gaps, so any advantages or disadvantages are temporary.

Do think through this choice carefully, however, because lenses designed for mirrorless systems are much smaller and lighter, and those are the biggest reasons to get a mirrorless system in the first place. If you want to use DSLR lenses, I advise you simply to buy a DSLR. If you don’t want to lose your investment in DSLR lenses but you do want to use a mirrorless body, I advise you to sell your DSLR lenses and put the proceeds towards native lenses.

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