Mirror or mirrorless? T5s v. G3X v. A6000

I'm moving up from my trusty Canon T3 and have had my heart set on the T6s with an 18-115 mm lens. I shoot cars and motorcycles as part of my work, outside and inside, dynamic and static, as well as landscapes for fun.

Now, a friend is telling me I should go for the smaller Canon G3X, and I admit the idea of a smaller camera is appealing - I travel a lot and my camera equipment takes up carry-on-bag space I'd like to reclaim. As well, the salespeople at my local camera store are suggesting I'd be better off with a Sony A6000. It's about the same price as the T6s bundle with an extra 55-210mm lens.

I owned a Sony once and it broke on me, and I've been reading complaints of reliability about the A6000, but others think it's wonderful.

Can anyone offer some impartial advice as to which is the better camera and the better choice among these three?

I was very excited by the design of Canon G3x.....until I finally got my hands on one.  On paper, G3X seem like a winning design.  IRL, this camera feel very BULKY to me.  Another annoyance is the slow power-zoom over the speedy mechanical.  When you want to zoom in, it take some time.  This just killed the camera for me.  If you shoot MotoSports, this is NOT your camera.  If you shoot lazy birds eating (not moving), G3X might be your tools.  Anyhow, YMMV, please go to a camera store and try it out yourself.  I strongly advice you avoid listening to other people and go for a hands-on experience.

All I can say is once I got my hands on one, I'll take your lowly ancient Rebel T3 with 18-135mm STM over G3X any days of the week.

On the other hand, Canon G9X and G5X feel amazing.  G5X is so small and quick I'm amazing how much I like this camera.  Lesson here is that you can't judge a camera over internet, you must get your HANDS ON experience to see the difference.  Hands on, any Canon DSLR wins by miles.

WheelsMark wrote:

I'm moving up from my trusty Canon T3 and have had my heart set on the T6s with an 18-115 mm lens. I shoot cars and motorcycles as part of my work, outside and inside, dynamic and static, as well as landscapes for fun.

Big welcome to the forum!

Of the threee cameras you list, absolutely the T6s. It's the only one with true phase detect autofocus, and since you will be shooting vehicles on the move, it's the natural choice (aka the only sane choice IMHO). It's hard enough to do everything You need to do correctly. Struggling with balky equipment is the last thing you want.

And mebbe pair it with that brand new lightning-fast 18-135 USM while you're at it.

R2

I have both the t5i and the a5100 which are pretty close to your two choices.

When I am shooting action I always go for the Canon - part of that is for the optical viewfinder, part because I can get better, faster telephoto lenses within my budget for the Canon and partly because the DSLR just feels more comfortable for that sort of photography.

If I could afford the Sony a6300 and a decent telephoto zoom I might reconsider for the autofocus, the faster burst rate and (maybe) use of my Canon lenses.

For travel I take the Sony (or maybe the iPhone depending how light I want to be) - the size difference is enough to make the mirrorless camera easier to carry around - especially with the very small kit zoom.

As far as IQ goes - with the right lens there isn't much in it - both give plenty of detail and I find the autofocus fast and accurate as long as the subject isn't too difficult. High ISO on both cameras is much improved over the older Rebels as well.

Going small has its limitations as well as advanatges. Having lots of mirrorles camera experience, I would normally recommend an Oly OM10ii or a Pana GX85 if you want a small highly versitile camera at prices comparable to those you list. But there is the matter of how you want to use it. The Pana is probably the most well rounded in terms of focussing ability when you factor in continuous auto focus, but for your purpose I agree that the Canon Rebel 6s is the better choice. It also has many of the advantages that mirrorless cameras have in terms of the touch screen and focus options. The new sensor is a bonus too.

007peter wrote:

... If you shoot lazy birds eating (not moving), G3X might be your tools. ..

well, did you try the Zoom in/out function to follow a fast subject e.g. fast flying Seaguls etc ?

You just set the Zoom to e.g. 400mm FF, press the Zoom in and it moves to wide angle indicating the area of the 400mm image and release the button and press shutter in one go...

I have never missed so few flying birds doing that compared to a tradition approach...

Just don't zoom and use JPEG....(using RAW on the G3X for fast shooting is a pain)

tjobbe2 wrote:

007peter wrote:

... If you shoot lazy birds eating (not moving), G3X might be your tools. ..

well, did you try the Zoom in/out function to follow a fast subject e.g. fast flying Seaguls etc ?

You just set the Zoom to e.g. 400mm FF, press the Zoom in and it moves to wide angle indicating the area of the 400mm image and release the button and press shutter in one go...

I have never missed so few flying birds doing that compared to a tradition approach...

Just don't zoom and use JPEG....(using RAW on the G3X for fast shooting is a pain)

I got terrific images of Pelicans with my G3X at full zoom.  Flying birds.

I would go with the a6000 and one of the wider angle lens like the 35mm oss.