Ask HN: DSLR vs. MirrorLess cameras. Best resources for learning photography?

Biggest con these days on mirrorless is they tend to run through a battery charge about twice as fast as a DSLR equivalent.

For materials.. as much as I've not been fond of youtube in the past for whatever reason I find it extremely valuable today. Peter McKinnon is pretty great or if you want to start with landscapes maybe check out Thomas Heaton.

I also wouldn’t focus on getting the latest tech. I have a Nikon D80 from 2006 that, although it has a 10MP CCD sensor, which has a high noise floor and a low top ISO, is a perfectly functional camera that I use all the time.

If you have a camera store in your area, ask to see their used DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. You’re much better off spending less on the camera body and getting a few more lenses than you would be getting a top-of-the-line body and a junky kit lens. For three- to five-year-old cameras, DSLRs might be a better deal, and the standard SLR mount lenses are much more common and should be cheaper.

While there are generally less "native" camera lenses for mirrorless systems, one less well known/publicized advantage of using them is that you can use film camera lenses. While you do not get autofocus and there might be vignetting at the corners (which I personally like anyway), you can get a good quality lens for a good price by doing this. It also can be cool if you are trying to recreate a "vintage" look, or just going for something weird or unusual. All that is required is a cheap adapter that you costs around $5 on ebay. Two of my personal favorite lenses to use are the Jupiter 9 (the whole Jupiter series are Soviet copies of Carl Zeiss lenses) that I got for $175, and the SLR magic 3517E which I got for $37. This video has a general overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQLi4g-wyDA

I would go for second hand set, either canon or nikon, whatever model!, with the stock zoom lens (18-55) and get a fixie (not zoom lens, 50mm works great for lots of conditions and most of them are fast). This should cover you for a while, maybe even years. When you literally run the thing down and think you can't progress anymore, you will most likely have a clear idea what you want from a camera.

Don't get bogged down by all the awesome new things cameras can do, to learn you need aperture priority and shutter priority. You will find that all decent cameras have that. Probably, pretty quickly you will need manual iso and white balance settings, but again, most cameras have that too.

So, go on, buy the cheapest set you can find, that' still a dslr with changeable lenses, get the two lenses I recommended and start shooting. After you figure out what you like to shoot, because you will never be able to shoot everything at the same level, focus on that.

I've never used a camera this good before, and I've been happy with the quality of every photo I've taken, even if the subject and framing isn't right. Yes, it's a bit bulky, but I don't mind. I haven't looked around at other cameras since, and I plan on using it as long as I can.

My advice: get a camera that gives you the quality you're looking for, take some good shots, and don't look back!