TIP: Begin Christmas shopping as early as NOW. And one of the best gifts you can ever give your loved ones, especially those who love taking photos (who doesn’t?), is a new camera with the latest technology that they can bring with them everywhere. While we’re at it, you deserve it as a gift to self, too!

Any photography expert and enthusiast will tell you that the best camera is the one you have with you. Bringing around a big and bulky DSLR is no longer practical and simply does not suit our daily lifestyle. But imagine shrinking a DSLR while retaining, even improving its most viable features—high resolution, color accuracy, and advanced auto-focus technology: That’s reportedly what you’ll get with a mirrorless camera.

More compact, capable, and user-friendly, mirrorless cameras are said to be the future of photography. A mirrorless camera does not have the mirror-reflex found inside DSLRs, which reflects light into the viewfinder—and in turn makes DSLRs bulky. By removing this mirror, light travels directly into the camera’s sensor, allowing for a lighter and quieter camera, while still giving users the option of changing and choosing from a variety of lenses. It gives great image quality that could rival that of full-sized DSLRs—without the back strain.

Why we must make the switch and go mirrorless

Besides the weight and size advantage, that is, I also learned that:

1. It’s so quiet and discreet
A loud shutter can ruin the perfect moment; all it takes is one loud “thwack” to alarm your subject, which typically happens when the mirror inside the DSRL swings up. With a mirrorless camera, we can supposedly shoot candid and intimate photos of babies, pets, friends, objects of affection, or even our favorite celebrities without being noticed!

2. It reduces the camera shake caused by the mirror in DSLRs
Not only does removing the mirror get rid of the noise from the flipping motion, it also reportedly minimizes the vibrations that cause blurred images—yes, it’s not always us. Photos are said to be sharper, crisper, and uncompromised.

3. It allows more accurate focusing
DSLRs tend to miss the focus on subjects because of the separate autofocus sensor. With the mirrorless camera’s sensor-embedded focus pixels, autofocus is supposed to be more accurate, reliable, and fast.

4. What you see is what you get
The Electronic View Finder (EVF) of mirrorless cameras is said to provide better control than the Optical View Finder (OVF) in DSLR, which only shows the image after we click. With the EVF, we get a live preview of what we’re about to capture, allowing us to make the necessary adjustments before pressing the shutter button—less failed shots!

What’s a good mirrorless camera to switch to?

A lot of us used to bring DSLRs to reunions, vacations, and even concerts, enduring the weight for the desire to take professional-looking photos of life’s milestones. But the camera world and even the most pro-DSLR skeptics are already switching to Fujifilm X Series Mirrorless Cameras (click here to shop them in Lazada). And we non-photography folk must follow suit.

I haven’t reviewed the cameras myself, but from what I saw at their event last Monday, Sept. 14, the X Series cameras are easy to carry around. Those controls that let photographers create the best shots (shutter speed, exposure, ISO, and all that jazz)? They’re placed in such a way that’s much easier for us regular users to find them, in simple, back-to-basic dial operations. No more puzzling over complicated menus found on other models.

For the social media maven: Fujifilm X-A2 (MY favorite from the series)

If you like documenting everything around and about you, from selfies of your makeup look of the day and family get-togethers to mouth-watering food photos and scenic locations, this stylish camera is for you.

It’s the first X Series model to feature an LCD screen that flips up 175 degrees, making it easier to take a selfie, with a wide-angle kit lens that allows you to include your surroundings. Its eye detection AF automatically focuses on the eyes, while the Portrait Enhancer mode makes skin look brighter and smoother. And when you’re ready to share your photos, you can easily highlight up to 30 images in your camera and wirelessly transfer them to your smartphone to post immediately!

2. For the globe-trotting shutterbug: Fujifilm X-T10

The Fujifilm X-T10 helps turn any trip, whether in everyday life or another part of the world, into the ultimate photo opportunity. With its new autofocus system, it has modes for high speed and precision, as well as for capturing moving subjects. This is actually great for parents who want to document memories of their kids—from sleep to play—as well as for pet owners.

3. For the adventure-seeker: Fujifilm X-T1

Individuals who take their photography as seriously as their adrenaline fix deserve the X Series camera that boasts the world’s highest viewfinder magnification ratio of 0.77x and fastest display with a lag-time of just 0.005 sec., packaged in a compact, weather-resistant statement-making black or graphite silver body. The weather-resistant structure is sealed in approximately 80 places and is both dust and water resistant, and can cope in temperatures as low as -10°C. It’s ideal for composing expansive landscapes, as well as sports and action photography.

4. For every group’s designated documenter: Fujifilm X-E2

There’s always one person in the family, at work, or among a group of friends who’s the designated photographer and videographer during trips, gatherings, and pretty much every photo opportunity there is. If that person is you, this camera might be your best bet. You can capture everything, from panorama shots in stunning large-size prints to time-lapse photography, as well as HD Movies with the combination of Fujifilm X-E2’s large sensor and bright XF/XC lenses.

The X-E2 is equipped with all the fancy functions you want in a high-performing camera, like an enhanced Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) that includes the world’s fastest display lag-time of 0.005 sec. and firmware upgrades that will shorten the display lag for Fujifilm X-E2’s EVF to less than 1/10 that of the current firmware to the world’s fastest, invented as Real Time Viewfinder in Fujifilm X-T1. It also boasts the world’s fastest auto focus speed of 0.08 sec., achieved by Fujifilm’s evolved AF system that tracks the subject with precision even in high-speed continuous shooting, ideal for photographing children, pets, and other subjects that seem to be constantly on the go.

PROMO: Fujifilm has an ongoing promo from September to December (perfect for Christmas, I tell you), where X Series cameras are available with as much as P12,000 discount, and lenses with as much as 50% off!

To get the best deals on Fujifilm cameras, click this link to go to Lazada.