@robot zombie There is no practical use for having a6300 now, it is few bucks cheaper than the superior a6400. It is a fantastic travel camera, I own the a6500 for like almost 2 years. I chuckle at all my DSLR friends, doesn't your neck hurt with that weight? Yet I manage to deliver exactly the same results, just a matter of technique and getting used to.
I actually ended up grabbing an M5. It basically came down to mirrorless vs DSLR... the 80D was tempting until I saw what is pretty much a mirrorless 80D with even better usability thanks to the controls and EVF. Just a simple matter of it being the right thing right now, for very little money. I spent just over $500 on the body and adapter, you know? That's nothing for what is actually a very good entry-level all-rounder. I can see they didn't go over well when they were launched at what... over $1000? Hehe. Fine by me... the value now is very good for people like me. Sometimes I think that price point was the only reason they didn't take off. They wanted the mirrorless enthusiast sector (whereas before they were more selling smartphone upgrades,) but they didn't fully realize where it was already at in 2016... or they did, but started too late.
Coming from a t3i it is a huge, huge jump. Just the dual-pixel AF is huge in itself... touch and drag on the screen while looking through the VF... motion/face tracking that really works. That was big. It is magnificent.
But honestly, the main reason I bought it was the dial layout and control customization. I shoot in aperture priority, so having the exposure compensation dial right there is a big deal. You almost never see it... one of those things I'd have thought would be more widely implemented with most people using some sort of 'assisted' mode these days. Right next to it is an ISO dial. Then you press the button inside of it and get WB on the dial, as well as being able to add things that you can cycle through and also change via that one dial, such as metering and AF modes. Between that and having almost every button be user-assignable, I have the ability to set up the perfect camera... when shooting with the M5 I never need to go into menus... everything has a physical control - and I mean everything. They do let you operate the full menus via touch, too though... something many still don't do. Making everything assignable was brilliant. It means the camera doesn't have to have a confusing/uncomfortable amount of buttons/knobs in order to mold completely to every facet of your shooting style. You configure it precisely to how you want it to operate with no compromises. And you can really refine it. And then on top of that, the positioning of the buttons and dials feels great to use.
Honestly, it's more comfortable to operate than most DSLRs for that reason. I can do more because of it. Even being as small as it is, the grip is comfortable and everything is well-placed. The utility and functionality is pretty up there. Once you set it up how you want it, using it is a joy. It makes it easy to just grab and take pictures any time, anywhere. And as you said, the results aren't below similar DSLR's with a mirrorless
Usability and ergonomics are big for me. I'm OCD about refining my process as much as possible and the Canon actually has the best tools for it in that bracket.. more than a lot of the direct competition. That's something Canon has always had me for. And then on top of that I'm still getting a sensor with IQ and AF performance on par with an 80D, which is exactly what I wanted. For less than the DSLR, even! Mostly I just lose out on video and the rotating screen of the 80D. The screen made me sad, but I can live with it. Video isn't even on my radar... I actually got frustrated at all of the reviews going on and on about video on what is clearly not a vlogger camera but simply an all-rounder mainly for everyday stills. The video is a tack-on, and for a lot of people that is fine. There's that and the fact that the screen flips down... which I get it, it's annoying... but seriously? Between that and people bitching about how it's made out of plastic I was pulling my hair out. Is polycarbonate even bad? I'd think the stuff used in cameras would be at least as strong as magnesium and probably wayyy better for shock absorption. It's still high-tech plastic... good stuff.
Eh, whatever... that is a thing I noticed pursuing reviews for mirrorless cameras. Most of the big ones have decent delivery, but you also get a lot of people mouthing-off about things they clearly haven't looked into, griping about things that would've been fixed if they bothered to familiarize themselves and actually set-up the camera fully, or just straight-up spouting gatekeeping nonsense. Like, there was a guy complaining about the smaller strap loops... saying how you wouldn't be able to find straps, clearly not knowing that the majority of crop and 4/3 mirrorless cameras have been using them for a long time, meaning there are many options lol. But he made a big thing out of it. Same with all of the dudes complaining about accidentally pressing the record button while shooting stills, when you can very easily disable or reassign it (a major perk imo.) And then there was the guy who claimed 'terrible' image quality and used what were actually just bad photographs to back up still unsubstantiated arguments for why nobody could ever conceivably take good pictures with it... eg "I don't know what it is... but it is BAD." All I could think was "maybe it's you...?" And then it's like everyone who reviews on youtube thinks everyone wants to vlog and needs 4k for cropping or fast frame rates for slow-mo or something. I don't get this shit, man. It's like these people don't get how to review things as what they're meant to be. It's like writing a review for a crop sensor and putting down 5 paragraphs to how not being FF is a con. Like, what? How is this happening?
I think I get it. The smaller reviewers want to add a perception of integrity and in order to do that, you need to list negatives. When it succeeds for what it is, you knock it for what you want it to be, but just isn't and doesn't pretend to be. I swear, it's like they operate on a quota system lol.
EVF is friggen sweet. I have the record button assigned to DOF preview for easy, realistic exposure and focus simulation right in the VF. Got focus peaking in there, too. With the performance of the AF and all of these assists, no more reasons to miss focus. That's one thing I hated about that old DSLR. It's a digital camera, sure, but it's still almost as hard to gauge what you're capturing as it was with film. SO much focus-recompose, too. The only difference from film is you can view the image immediately after. I feel like I can save a lot of time and nail more shots being able to really check focus/DOF/exposure before I press the shutter... like actually see it well. Really it all comes down to visibility through the EVF vs optical. Dude, it's like a dream with those systems backing you. It frees me up to focus more on things like light and composition.
Which... isn't that what its all about? I mean, people still shoot in JPEG for this reason. What if you could have that simpler, streamlined experience of nailing the shot in-camera with fewer downsides? To me that's coming up in the form EVFs and all of the assistance they offer, in conjunction with control systems that greatly enhance and accelerate the process of dialing in. Easy as JPEG/auto/semi-auto shooting, with the granularity of full-manual shooting, coupled with the added foresight enabled by the same capabilities.
Just wish the lens lineup was better. Hopefully as they get further into the aps-c mirrorless market we'll see that M line expand into something more diverse. I see a couple I will buy just to have a couple of compact native lenses. They have a couple that I could probably take with me in a small day bag and shoot all day while carrying next to nothing. I'm looking over at my hulking 'medium' shoulder bag with it's 5 compartments thinking something has to change.
For now, the adapter works great with ef-s lenses. Some of them start getting big, but the balance is still good because they're mostly light plastic.
My rationale is that this is great as a main camera right now, even if there winds up being nowhere to go from here in the big picture. As in it is something I will always want to use, will be easy to grab, and still more than get the job done taking good pictures or handling more challenging shots. Superior to my DSLR in every way, aside from no phase-detect... but then the t3i only has 5 points for that anyway lol. When I upgrade it will continue to be great as my grab-and-go. a7r has my attention... I'd love to own one of those eventually. Sony is just killing it in the mirrorless game and the FF options are great, if not pricey. I'll be really curious to see what Canon does, though. I think they have the capability to become a major player in the mirrorless world... but what I also see is them throwing darts, trying to figure out what their market actually is. Slowly, they're getting that people want serious mirrorless cameras. I think once they fully embrace that we'll see some good stuff from them... and maybe they'll actually fill out the M and R lens lines. Between Canon and Nikon making real entries among the likes of Sony, Fuji, and Panasonic, my bets on Canon being the one to actually pull it off. Looking at everything the have in their tech as a whole, they're pretty much already there... just need to string it all together.
I also gotta say, totally understand the mirrorless thing now. Just looking at the M5 next to my t3i, I can't believe I dealt with it. It's not even big or heavy for a DSLR... just clunky and awkward to me now. Can't imagine what these magnesium body FF folks go through. If you're a pro, I get it... but otherwise they are no longer the best option for your average enthusiast trying to get good results. No reason to do that to yourself. Not when you can have a truly serious camera that's less than half of the size yet still packing all of your major modern features.
Even the strap is smaller and less cumbersome. Don't think I'm looking back. Got a little bag that holds the camera w/lens, two other lenses, some batteries and necessities, and nothing more. 90% of situations are covered for me. Even better, this setup is inconspicuous. So many places, you wander around with a DSLR and a ballistic nylon bag, it draws eyes. The little mirrorless in the unassuming belt pouch or small messenger bag blends in better no matter where you go. I'm also thinking about my hikes. Way easier to carry around a small bag slung over shoulder or more likely on side of belt and a tripod strap than a big shoulder bag. The former allows me to carry a backpack with hiking necessities and still stay very light. Big deal in south FL summers. It's the difference between staying out from sunrise to sunset and going late afternoon to sunset or morning to early afternoon... for me, anyway.
Canon made a statement with the looks on the M5 and M50 that speaks to something important. It looks like a mini-DSLR crossed with a point-and-shoot crossed with a rangefinder 35mm. Not only does it look awesome, but that's literally what I think a lot of mirrorless users want. They want a smaller camera that is fun/versatile/easy to use, customizable, and capable of doing the same work as a DSLR while also having the technical benefits of a mirrorless such as EVF and sophisticated sensor-driven AF.
Even with a oil spot or 2 I can use it 
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