The Best Mirrorless Cameras for Filmmaking

Now that you're primed, let's dive into the top 10 best mirrorless cameras that you should look into!

The Sony A7 iii sits at the top of the list for good reason. It is the ultimate video machine in the mirrorless camera world. 

Pros: The Sony a7 iii is the Cadillac of mirrorless cameras as far as video is concerned. Sony took everything that makes a good mirrorless video camera and got it as close to perfection as possible. 

The 693 auto focus points comes in at the top of its class. Same lock-on AF with face detection, and improved battery life as the a7R iii, and it can use that battery life more efficiently because the megapixel count on the sensor is nearly half.

It is funny to think that we live in a world where a lower megapixel count is the exciting feature between cameras, but that is the paradoxical nature of digital video, and Sony understands that providing these options is helpful to their brand and their filmmaking customers.

The a7 iii has the same great internal stabilization feature. Combine with a lens that has its own internal stabilization, and a properly balanced gimbal to achieve unbelievable results.

It also comes in at $2000, which is cheaper than the brand new Nikon Z6 and Z7, the brand new Canon EOS R, and the very unique Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5s.

This camera could have been $3000, and we still would have put it at the top of the list. That is crazy good pricing.

Cons: Unfortunately there's a 1.2x crop in 4K when at 30fps. The LCD screen isn’t as good as the a7r iii, but the battery lasts longer because of that so... your call.

Many photographers and filmmakers take issue with Sony when it comes to lenses, and they aren’t wrong, but the price and capabilities of this camera way outweigh any lens limitation that Sony may have. You can always take the money you save and put it toward an adapter as well as a semi-serious set of cine lenses (say that 5x fast).

The Sony A7r iii is a really great camera, and if you are both a photographer and cinematographer you should consider this over the A7 iii. 

Pros: The Sony a7R iii is the newest hybrid video/still camera, and that is sort of how you have to look at it. It captures absolutely fantastic video, and improved on many of the features from the earlier models, but the a7R iii is more designed for those who want to get high resolution photography, time lapse capability, and some great video as a cherry on top.

Sony stripped the AA filter off of the a7R iii, and this is a missing feature that a lot of photographers were looking forward to. The 425 autofocus points is better than most mirrorless cameras, and it also features an AF with face detection.

Cons: 425 auto-focus points is absolutely great, but it provides less coverage than the Sony a7 iii, and the higher megapixel count takes away some of the low light capabilities and shallow depth of field accomplished by the a7 iii.

It also costs $1000 more than the a7 iii, and while price is probably the least important criterion on this list, it still matters. More money = more accessories.

The DC-GH5s was so close to perfection for a micro-four thirds camera. They boosted the max frame rate to 240fps, but removed internal stabilization.

Sony has made improvements with their new models, but this was the camera that catapulted them to the top of the mirrorless game. 

Nikon created a video centric mirrorless camera that shoots 4K in 10-bit.

Pros: You may be asking yourself why the Z6 is above the Z7, and we were asking ourselves the same thing, but alas here we are.  

This full-frame camera can shoot 4K at 10-bit, and it comes in $1,600 lower than its bigger brother, the Nikon Z7. That is $1,600 you can invest in lenses, adapters, batteries, monitors, cables, an external recorder, or your kid’s college fund (kidding - go with the recorder).

Its very attractive, because many cinema cameras that have similar abilities can MSRP at $6,000 - $100,000. The Nikon Z6 comes in at $2,200…

Now to capture this video appropriately, you’ll most likely want to get an additional battery pack and an external recorder, but those are relatively necessary for any mirrorless camera.

The Nikon Z6 has a 12mm flange distance which is one of the shortest ever, and this will give the Z6 better options as far as adapters go.

Also, the lens mount has a really big diameter when compared to the other mirrorless options, and bigger lenses allow for some really cinematic looks that most filmmakers like to achieve with their images.

Once someone creates an adapter, you’ll be able to put you S-Mount lenses from the 1940’s and 1950’s, but they won't have AF capabilities.

Cons: The Auto-Focus isn’t as impressive as the Sony cameras, and the Z6 has 273 AF points, and doesn’t operate as well as the Z7 which has 493 AF Points.

There is no 4K above 24/30 fps, and that is disappointing. The camera only has a single memory card slot, and has “upgraded” to an XQD. These are relatively expensive cards, but you'll want a nice card to record video regardless.

You’ll need to buy the F/Z mount adapter if you want to use your old lenses, but this runs around $150 if you buy it in a bundle. This isn’t limited to the Z6. The FTZ adapter autofocuses with F-mount lenses with a built-in AF motor, but not older models.

The DC-GH5 has the best internal stabilization of any camera on this list. Pair this with a stabilized lens, and a 3-Axis gimbal for super smooth video. 

The Nikon Z7 is the big brother of the Z6, but it costs more and is truly built for photography. If you shoot weddings, meet the camera made for you. 

The X-T3 give you a really good camera at a nice price, and you get Fujifilm's famous picture profiles. Skin tones have never looked better on mirrorless.

Pros: The Fujifilm X-T3 is a really nice mirrorless camera, and you cannot beat certain aspects of what Fujifilm has done with their picture quality. This model boasts the Eterna picture setting, which gives you really nice skin tones for cinematic filmmaking.

The X-T3 performs better in low light, and the face detection AF on the Fujifilm is quite fantastic when compared to the Panasonic GH5 but comparable to the Sony a6500.

You get some really impressive slow motion at 1080p at 100/120 fps, which is one of the reasons the X-T3 made the list along with its AF and APS-C sensor.

It can film 10-bit 4K at 50/60fps with a bit of an additional crop. This is a pretty great feature that the Panasonics and Sony a6500 doesn’t have, and the ability to have a camera that takes really good 4K slow motion is important.

The Fujifilm X-T3 combines a great AF, high resolution recording with slow motion capabilities, decent stabilization, and a powerful APS-C sensor for low light that pushes it above the Sony a6500 by a very, very small margin.

It is also $200 cheaper than the GH5, which means you can invest that $200 on a really nice external recorder or some other useful accessories.  

Cons: The footage you get out of the camera won’t be as easy to grade as some of the other mirrorless options. Fujifilm does use H.265 compression, which makes the files much larger, and harder to deal with when cutting together footage.

Not as stable as the GH5s, and can’t go as high as 240 fps.

Canon throws its hat into the mirrorless ring with the EOS R. Get ready to shell out some money for the new line of super expensive lenses. Great auto-focus. 

Sony's Alpha a6500 is so reasonably priced it is almost criminal. You can get some seriously cinematic footage for next to nothing. 

Pros: The a6500 is the top APS-C format mirrorless Sony has to offer, and with the modest price tag peeking just over the $1000 mark, this camera is worth serious consideration.

This mirrorless camera can shoot in 4k, has the ability to shoot1080 at  100/120 fps for really nice slow-motion video. It has some superb picture profiles and additional settings inside the camera.

The body is more solid, and the construction of the lens mount and stabilization are superior to the lower end Sony models such as the a6000 ($500).

Some people love how small this mirrorless camera is when compared to some other, but going smaller isn’t always better.

This camera also has a really impressive Auto-Focus.

It isn’t as impressive in low light, which is a hallmark of many mirrorless cameras, but still much better than other models and manufacturers.

The main difference between these easy to use point-and-shoot models and the mirrorless cameras we're discussing today, is that they are not ILCs (interchangeable lens cameras), and therefore have a built-in zoom lens that allows the user to capture a variety of images with relative ease, but drastically limits your capability as a filmmaker.

Here is an advertisement that illustrates an ILC...

And it totally holds up 28 years later.

The article is also a buy/rent guide, and not a product review page. The intention of this list is to create a guide for those who are looking into mirrorless cameras to use on their next project, not which cameras have performed best in the past.

Every camera on this list is a truly wonderful piece of technology, and the hard working professional who developed these dream machines deserve our sincerest respect.

Get started on your next project with a mirrorless camera.

This article will break down the key components of depth of field to help you gain more precision over your images. Learn everything about shallow depth of field, deep depth of field, and a lot more.

The filmmakers toolkit should consist of more than just a handful of shots since every scene may call for something a bit different. So how do you take your visual storytelling to the next level? Our guide will walk you through every camera angle and shot to master.

Being a talented and working cinematographer requires more than just technical lighting knowledge. Our latest guide will break down the top cinematography techniques that you need to know to get to the next level.