Best Mirrorless Camera under $500

Mirrorless cameras are in vogue right now, and there’s a sensible reason for that. These types of cameras offer most of the advantages that come from more traditional DSLR cameras while being significantly cheaper and more lightweight in design (at least in most instances). That’s not to say that you can’t get taken advantage of. There are a ton of different mirrorless camera models on the market today, and some are quite definitively better than others.

Other mirrorless camera models are more situational and may offer significant value (or lack of) depending on your needs. We’re going to break down the 10 best mirrorless cameras under $500 and give you advice you can use if you want to sensibly evaluate camera models that aren’t presented on our list.

The 10 Best Mirrorless Cameras under $500

Design		Retailer
	Sony a5100 16-50mm Interchangeable Lens Camera	Check Price
	Olympus Pen E-PL9 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera	Check Price
	Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II Compact Digital Camera	Check Price
	Panasonic DMC-G7KS Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera	Check Price
	Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Mirrorless Camera	Check Price
	Samsung NX3300 Mirrorless Digital Camera	Check Price
	Fujifilm X-A5 Mirrorless Digital Camera	Check Price
	Ricoh GR II Mirrorless Digital Camera	Check Price
	Canon EOS M100 Mirrorless Camera	Check Price
	Pentax K-01 Mirrorless Digital Camera	Check Price

Mirrorless Camera Under $500 Buyer’s Guide

Let’s start with a quick and obvious question. What makes a mirrorless camera in the under $500 price range different from mirrorless cameras at any other price point? And while a very specific price point doesn’t necessarily signify completely different categories of cameras (the lines are somewhat blurred), there are quite a few distinct properties and features you can expect to find in these mirrorless cameras.

While we’ll try to cover as much as we can about mirrorless models under $500, we also recommend you read our ultimate guide to mirrorless cameras. We cover all the specs in comprehensive detail and also help you understand how this type of camera works and what advantages it brings over a DSLR camera.

Advantages of a Mirrorless Camera

Before we start talking about how to best compare specs between mirrorless cameras, let’s talk about what makes the mirrorless camers one of the best choices for both new and experienced photographers. When mirrorless cameras first came to market, they offered two distinct advantages over their DSLR contemporaries: a lower weight and a lower price tag. In return, they offer essentially comparable quality in all the important specs like resolution and low lighting quality but a disadvantage in the range of lenses and features eavailable.

But as mirrorless cameras have become more ubiquitous, that gap has begun to narrow. Most mirrorless cameras offer the same range of features as DSLR alternatives, excellent image quality, and general all-purpose functionality. While you still won’t find as many comparable lenses as you would with a DSLR camera, that’s becoming less of an issue, because most mirrorless camera models come with converted mounts that let you use the lenses from DSLR cameras produced by the same manufacturer.

What to Expect From a Mirrorless Camera Under $500

If you’re looking to buy a mirrorless camera just slightly under or over $500, what you’ll find is going to fall squarely into the entry level market. These aren’t the camera models we’d suggest for professional photography, but they should be quite enough for the needs of hobbyist and beginner users. They tend to be small and lightweight, but that lower size means they also don’t come with the most powerful sensor technology you can expect. Most use an APS-C CMOS sensor less than an inch in size, but some are as large as an inch.

A camera body under $500 also often comes with an LCD screen or touchscreen for shooting rather than a more traditional electronic viewfinder. Typically, this will be a tilting touchscreen, but it’s still highly functional and more than enough to meet the needs of more casual photography. The advantage is that these types of mirrorless camera are targeted towards newer photographers, so the features are usually very beginner friendly and come with tutorials that can help you learn about the more complicated features present in a mirrorless camera.

Resolution

There isn’t a mirrorless camera worth your money that doesn’t include the option for shooting video, but the balance between video and still photography can vary from camera to camera. The type of photography you want to practice should be the most determinant factor when looking at mirrorless cameras under $500. At this price range, manufacturers typically need to make sacrifices one way or another.

Image Resolution

If you’re primarily looking to practice still photography, what really matters is going to be the image sensor, and the video resolution is more important if you’re looking to do video photography. In either case, figuring out which models are best are fairly easy, though it may require you to carefully read the specs if you really want the best model around.

When looking for an image sensor, you’re most likely going to find an APS-CMOS sensor. Less common are the four thirds sensor and one inch sensor. The size of the image sensor essentially tells you how big the photo will be, with an APS-CMOS sensor being the smallest and a one inch sensor being the largest (and the one most closely resembling the traditional photograph you’d find in an older DSLR camera).

An APS-C tends to be the cheapest sensor available, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. They can hypothetically have a higher resolution than a larger sensor. That said, larger sensors tend to be better both in terms of overall resolution and in how well they can tolerate low light settings without letting in noise. The resolution of a sensor tells you how many millions of pixels the picture constitutes. That means that two sensors of the same size with higher megapixel counts are going to perform better.

Video Resolution

Any modern camera is going to offer a maximum video resolution of either 1080p or 4K. 1080p used to be the standard version of high definition for most programming, but more and more videographers are gravitating towards cameras that offer shooting in 4K. 4K offers four times the quality of 1080p (measured in the amount of pixels that constitute the surface of the screen), but that might not make a big difference to you if you just plan on shooting family videos around the house. But 6K technology is around the corner. It’s not really affordable to the enthusiast yet, but it will be eventually, in both mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

The other issue to consider is the frame rate your camera features. Video is essentially an enormous amount of still images, but they’re strung together at a rate of multiple frames in a single second. The higher the frame rate, the smoother the movement in your video is going to appear, and a higher frames per rate is especially useful if you’re looking to capture action effectively on video. Fortunately, if your 4K camera doesn’t shoot at the frame rate you want, you can usually downgrade to 1080p to receive a better refresh rate.

Color Quality

Resolution is only one factor when trying to find out the best image quality. The other thing to keep in mind is how well your camera can convey color. While there’s no unified measurement for determining how well a camera delivers color quality, you can generally find examples of the color quality from professional photographers. Richer palettes are often associated with cameras that offer a larger sensor, because they draw in more light and can deliver better color in more dim situations, but adjusting the exposure too high can cause photos to be washed out.

If you want the highest color quality, you’ll want to look for a camera that offers you greater control of your exposure settings. These can include a manual mode, but you’ll also find a lot of beginner and hobbyist camera models that will automatically adjust the color and brightness according to different scenes or even according to the environment in which you’re shooting. Also look for cameras that promise a higher black level. A high black level indicates that a camera can offer a blacker black and a whiter white, and it can be a strong indicator of a more vibrant palette.

Lens

Most mirrorless and DSLR cameras you’ll find offer interchangeable lenses, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only option on the market. Some models out there come without a detachable lens, and you should scrutinize these models carefully. The ability to swap out a zoom lens, wide angle lens, or whatever you may need in a given situation can have a huge impact on the sort of shooting you can do. That said, the lens on a fixed lens camera tends to be of higher quality than the shooting quality on an interchangeable kit lens. They also tend to be a zoom lens so you have a little more flexibility to work with.

If you do use an interchangeable camera, it’s probably going to come with a kit lens (although there are some interchangeable models that are just the body and don’t come with a designated kit lens). These are typically middle of the road in terms of the type of photos they can shoot, which makes them great for general use but less great when you need more specialized lenses. A kit lens is a great place to start, but you probably won’t want to keep it around once you become more serious. If you want to learn more about how focal length will affect your kit lens, you can check out our ultimate guide to mirrorless cameras.

Build

If you’re a serious enthusiast or a professional, chances are that you’re going to put your camera through no small levels of hell. When looking at the build of your camera, we suggest two things to keep under consideration: build quality and portability.

Build quality is going to be very important if you find yourself traveling regularly. If you’re an urban photographer or a nature photographer, chances are that your camera’s going to acquire some dings over time, but they don’t have to have an impact on the quality of your camera. If you’re going to prioritize build quality, we suggest looking for models that are weatherproof or waterproof, but be careful finding a sense of balance. A camera that weighs too much may be durable, but you’ll probably find yourself tired from lugging it all over the place.

A compact body is one of the major advantage of mirrorless cameras, so you don’t want to sacrifice that if at all possible. Many models can fit comfortably in your pocket, but you also have to take into consideration that there’s going to be a lens strapped to the camera. A model without an interchangeable lens is going to generally offer a more compact body all around than one that lets you swap out the lenses.

Autofocus

The autofocus system helps your camera track a subject and provide you with an in focus image. This makes it an important spec to pay attention to when shooting high videos with a lot of action, but it can also be useful for still photography. A higher amount of autofocus points makes it easier for you to capture multiple subjects and zoom in appropriately on the one you want, and a high speed autofocus system should be one of your top considerations when shopping.

That speed comes in especially useful when looking at continuous shooting. Continuous shooting (also known as burst mode) will capture a huge number of pictures in a small amount of time. That’s measured in frames per second, and it’s a great choice when you’re looking to capture special moments, because you’ll have more options to choose from when trying to pick out the perfect shot (and it doesn’t require you to be as precise).

It used to be that a DSLR camera used phase detection autofocus (which uses a mirror to split up the image and then triangulate them), while mirrorless cameras used contrast detection autofocus (which uses color contrast to focus on subjects). In general terms, phase detection is one of the features that made DSLR cameras so valued, but more and more systems are using a combination of phase detection and contrast autofocus, and the line between mirrorless and DSLR has become significantly blurred.

Viewfinder

Unlike a DSLR, which uses a mirror to reflect an actual image back into a (usually CMOS) sensor, the only way to see a preview of what you’re going to be shooting with a camera is electronically. That’s why a good viewfinder or touchscreen panel is important whether you’re shooting stills or videos. Ideally, you should be looking for a tilting touchscreen. That gives you a lot more flexibility to capture the perfect angle for your shot and provides you the maximum creativity possible.

But the touchscreen is also your main way to reach the interface for a mirrorless model, so you should carefully consider how easy it is to interact with and how clear and bright the screen itself is (so you can read more easily). A good viewfinder or touchscreen should by simple to read but provide you with quick and ready access to all of the important features you’ll be using with your camera on a regular basis.

Brand

Some manufacturers have become household names. If you take a look at the Sony Alpha Mark III, the Panasonic Lumix, or the Fujifilm X-A5 (all featured on our list), you probably have an association with that name. And while we generally recommend that you read reviews and read spec lists more than just making a decision based on brand appeal, there is one thing to consider carefully: which lenses a given model will support.

Camera manufacturers are fiercely proprietary, and that means that you can only use cameras created specifically for their cameras. While that can sometimes be circumvented through the use of a special mount, photographers who want to get creative with their shooting should track down a model that offers the sort of lenses they’ll find themselves using regularly.

Pricing

Mirrorless cameras tend to be significantly more expensive than their DSLR counterparts, but it can still be hard to find a model under $500. In some places, we’ve chosen to opt for models that hover right around the $500 price point we established. That’s because we thought it was more important to highlight quality camera models rather than make sure that the going retail price is always under $500.

For that reason, you may want to exercise a little patience if you want to get some of these cameras under $500. Mirrorless cameras like the Olympus Pen E-PL9 actually retail for a bit over $500, but if you keep a close eye on sales and set alerts for Amazon, you should be able to get a camera that goes well beyond what you should expect from an entry level camera for under $500. Mirrorless cameras hovering around the $500 price range are almost always going to be entry level models, but that’s not a bad thing. They tend to be user friendly but scalable to the needs of more serious photographers, but the best part is the interchangeable lenses that allow you to get more versatile.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Best Camera for 500 Dollars?

The micro four thirds sensor on the Panasonic DMC-G7KS is a significant step up from a more traditional CMOS sensor, but that’s not the only area where this Panasonic Lumix camera excels. A variety of different 4K shooting modes and a high speed autofocus result in a peppy camera that exceeds expectations.

What is the best entry level Mirrorless Camera?

If you’re just getting started with photography, Canon has created a very accessible model with the EOS M100. This entry-level compact camera sports a great battery life and an adjustable shutter life, and it has a relatively robust amount of features given how easy to grasp the interface is. It also offers WiFi, NFC, and Bluetooth for more effectively sharing your photos and video with your friends.

What is the Best Budget Mirrorless Camera?

The Sony Alpha a5100 is a trusty and reliable black camera that’s currently available for an incredible deal. The autofocus on the Sony Alpha a5100 is very fast, and it’s designed in a way that new users can easily read the menus and understand what they’re doing.

Is it Worth Buying a Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless models are more used by hobbyists, but there’s a lot of reasons to invest. A mirrorless camera represents the pinnacle of standard photography in 2022. It features some of the best features of DSLRs with comparably effective performance, and you get access to a lot more functionality (like shutter speed and exposure adjustment) than is typically offered in a point and click, but the average budget mirrorless camera is designed to be accessible to new users thanks to easy to read menus and more slimmed down feature sets.

Final Thoughts

We hope this guide helped you get up to speed on what makes a great entry level mirrorless camera and what sort of settings and features you should pay attention to. Whether you’re looking to shoot video or capture a wedding in photos, there’s something here that should tickle your fancy.

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