As mirrorless cameras become more and more advanced, most photographers assume that they are ringing the death knell for the DSLR. But will DSLRs be totally a thing of the past, or will they just take a new position within the photography industry? This thought-provoking video essay explores just that question.
Coming to you from Ted Forbes with The Art of Photography, this interesting video essay explores how the role of DSLRs will evolve in the next decade and if they'll really die out. I think it's important to remember that history has seen a few paradigm shifts in photography gear, and each time, the previous technology didn't just disappear so much as become relegated to either an accompanying role or an alternative that photographers embraced for reasons ranging from nostalgia to retained usefulness. When it comes to DSLRs, there is such an abundance of bodies out there that it seems nigh impossible that they'll just stop being used. Furthermore, unlike some of the previous paradigm shifts, most DSLRs have comparable performance to their mirrorless counterparts. As manufacturers stop servicing them and the electronics eventually break down, we might see DSLRs start to fade out, but I think that won't happen for a lot longer than the prevailing opinion might indicate.
When you prove your expeditions are valid by posting some work outside of your daughter’s soccer field, I might take you up on more conversation.
What? Mountaineering with a power bank?
I have a amatuer photographer's question to all pros.
Since most mirrorless cameras are without optical viewfinders, and their main plus point seems to be smaller size and weight, how do they are better than compact APSC sensors camera like canon 200D? Full frame ( and expensive) is not the biggest and only market which all seem to care about. I am an artist(painter) by profession and used to optical viewfinder since film camera days. I sincerely feel the electronic viewfinder is such a pain ! And Canon seems to understand this when they are bringing these small compact and lightweight cameras.
The main feature isn’t being small and compact anymore. Lenses don’t allow that to be a main feature.
Canon still doesn’t have a pro grade mirrorless camera.
If you want a good APS-C camera you’ll want to get a Sony because they’re the ones with features that exceed the full frame options in almost all categories by the other brands.
I’m not sure how an EVF could be a pain when it shows you exactly what you’re going to get in a photo.
“Full frame and expensive” - you can get a used full frame mirrorless camera pretty cheap and for less than many of the new APS-C cameras that were just released.
"An EVF" shows you exactly what you’re going to get in a photo". No it doesn't, not always. What if I am using flash? And it drains my battery too. I can look through an OVF all day without using a nanoAmp.
If you’re using a flash it’s the same process as you’d use with a ovf; shoot, review, and adjust.
You could also walk everywhere in the world but you use a car daily don’t you? This is no different.
I personally chose to embrace the technology when it wasn’t advantageous and have only seen benefits increase in the recent years. I couldn’t say I had the greatest of times with it in 2012-2015 though. Then was quite painful.
The weight & size difference is pretty much marketing BS as far as mirrorless goes.
It's not the mirror that weighs down a camera; it's the features. My Nikon D850 is built like a tank, has wifi, bluetooth, hdmi, a big frame buffer, a 45.7mp sensor, and a crapload of other features. It weighs 2.22 lbs. without a battery. It is obviously gonna be much heavier than any mirrorless on the planet.
My humble D3200 is lighter than almost every mirrorless camera but is a much simpler camera.
And as Eric mentioned above, lenses can kinda negate the whole "so much lighter and compact" advantage.
And one thing you have to remember about full versus crop frame: It isn't a "size of the image" thing. It's an angle of view thing, a how much the lens can see thing. A 25mp sensor is gonna give a 25mp image regardless of whether it's full or crop frame.
"The weight & size difference is pretty much marketing BS "
Actually all the claimed "advantages" of mirrorless are marketing BS. They are DIFFERENCES that are advantages for some, but irrelevant or even disadvantages for others. One problem with afficionados of mirrorless cameras is that they assume everyone else has the same needs or wants as they do. Another is that they look for the "advantages" of their preferred camera type or make and ignore (or do not even see) their deficiencies and the ways that other types have different advantages. [But maybe Eric Salas is the exception. He is, at least, a very capable photographer, unlike many self-professed experts on the Internet, that talk a good talk, but can't make a good photo to save their lives].
First it was the death of film cameras...now it's the impending death of DSLRs. What's next? The death of mirrorless and then the death of what will replace that? Is it 'planned obsolesence'? Just a thought. Camera manufacturers must stay in business...right? I'm very happy with what I have now.
Before we talk the death of the DSLR, let’s remember that SLR’s were barely bigger than Rangefinders. It’s entirely possible to imagine that we will build smaller SLR’s with pro quality output. Also let’s remember that Mirrorless hasn’t delivered on the idea of lighter / smaller kit (or at very least it’s marginal); unless you go down the crop sensor path — A key reason why I went Fuji and never looked back...
If DSLR fail, it's because the camera companies want them too. Mirrorless come out and they forget about upgrading the older lens, etc.
Do some research before you publish .. Sony the one and only has sales in the top ten.
At present sales levels .. Nikon and Canon might have made a colossal mistake on mirrorless.
Time will tell but don’t be so death prone 💀
Just because drills exist doesn't mean screwdrivers are "dead". Sometimes a drill won't fit in a small gap where a screwdriver can. They are different tools that can do the same job, sometimes you need one over the other. Imagine if contracters and tradespeople acted like photographers do on the topic of dslrs and mirrorless, what if it was "are screwdrivers dead in 2019?". We'd laugh at them. If you suck you suck no matter what you use.