Is DSLR about to die off?

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jonneymendoza

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Now that canikon is in full swing and just announced the cheapest lightest ff mirrorless camera, is it safe to say dlsr will die off soon?
 
jonneymendoza said:
Now that canikon is in full swing and just announced the cheapest lightest ff mirrorless camera, is it safe to say dlsr will die off soon?
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Not for sometime yet.

People that don’t have a clue will still pick up entry level dslrs, they are finished at the top end though. Anyone who is a bit more tech savvy will go mirrorless.

My youngest brother recently wanted to buy a more serious camera. He asked me for some advice which I gave and explained the reasons why he should buy one over another. I have him the details of a couple of mirrorless cameras to go have a look at.

A few days later he rocked up with a Canon 80d after going to a shop and looking at a few cameras he thought that the 80d looked more pro as it was bigger. :LOL:

Your average Joe doesn’t have a clue, does little research and buys on a whim. They base their purchase decision on specs that don’t matter like megapixels etc.
 
f/2.8 said:
Not for sometime yet.

People that don’t have a clue will still pick up entry level dslrs, they are finished at the top end though. Anyone who is a bit more tech savvy will go mirrorless.

My youngest brother recently wanted to buy a more serious camera. He asked me for some advice which I gave and explained the reasons why he should buy one over another. I have him the details of a couple of mirrorless cameras to go have a look at.

A few days later he rocked up with a Canon 80d after going to a shop and looking at a few cameras he thought that the 80d looked more pro as it was bigger. :LOL:

Your average Joe doesn’t have a clue, does little research and buys on a whim. They base their purchase decision on specs that don’t matter like megapixels etc.
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Brand also plays a big part. Its Canon, everyone uses Canon, they must be the best.
 
My mirrorless cameras are all over 5 years old and work very well for most subjects, my DSLR (a similar age) is better for action shots (motorsports & airshows)

There are still loads of photographers who are certain an EVF will not work for them.
Some of these may just have tried the rotten versions in bridge cameras 10+ years ago...

Until these old school photographers stop buying cameras, the DSLR will continue - even if mirrorless systems improve to be functionally indistinguishable from DSLRs.
 
f/2.8 said:
They already have and have surpassed dslrs at the top end.
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In many ways yes, but there will always be more lag to the display, and the knowledge of this will prevent some users wanting to swap even if the lag is measured in picoseconds.
 
Petrochemist said:
In many ways yes, but there will always be more lag to the display, and the knowledge of this will prevent some users wanting to swap even if the lag is measured in picoseconds.
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Have you used any of the newer mirrorless cameras? :LOL:

Sounds like something someone would have said 3-5 years ago.
 
its happened before...fox talbot etc...we are still using tripod mounted plate cameras
my guess is that the price will kill the amateur dead in his tracks..??
DSLR

DSLM ??

wannabees get your chequebooks out and swag around with the new technology hanging round your neck

the mirror was always under scrutiny by Canon...any Pellix owners here?
 
f/2.8 said:
Have you used any of the newer mirrorless cameras? :LOL:

Sounds like something someone would have said 3-5 years ago.
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They did & some of them still are, even though it wasn't much of an issue 5 years ago.
My point was people have heard of the lag early models had & know that getting rid of it completely will be impossible. So they will often assume it's a significant issue, while in reality for most uses even the G1's EVF was perfectly adequate.

Do you know what a pico second is? (1/1000 000 000 000s) I'd be vary surprised if any mirrorless can manage less than a microseconds lag as considerable signal processing is required before it can display an image in the EVF. This sort of time delay is totally irrelevant but will still be enough to make some avoid a mirrorless.

I use a mirrorless most days, getting my first one 6 years ago & currently have 3 of them.
Mine aren't newer models, but for most things I shoot they work better than my DSLR. I often use adapted lenses & shoot IR both things an EVF is a huge advantage for. Not only that none of my most used lenses will actually be usable (other than for macro) on any DSLR they are designed for much shorter registration bodies.

For the times I find my DSLR better it could be partly down to the lenses available (none of my long lenses AF on my mirrorless bodies) partly down to IBIS (something all my DSLRs have had but my mirrorless cameras sadly don't) and possibly partly down to the weather sealing on my DSLR (again lacking on my mirrorless bodies, but not available for most of my DSLR lenses either). My DSLR is part of a system I've been using since the 1980s so it's not surprising my mirrorless systems haven't fully overtaken it yet.
 
DSLR's are in the process of being superceded by mirrorless technology. But just like rangefinder cameras before them, they will probably exist for a faily long time to come.
There is nothing inherent in a reflex mirror system that gives them any actual advantages.
It is only a question of time before the manyfold advantages of mirrorless systems become totaly dominant.
In twenty five years the dslr will be a distant memory for most people, just as film photography has already become.

However film photography will exist in some form for many years yet. But the ability and technology to manufacture the high end Dslr will quickly dissappear.
 
dcash29 said:
Yes and I like my Eos 50E focusing system and the brighter viewfinder :)
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Brighter viewfinder??? Hardly.
Shooting in low light I find my mirrorless cameras viewfinder are dazzling - not something that ever happens with a pentaprism. Fortunately I can turn it down.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
In twenty five years the dslr will be a distant memory for most people, just as film photography has already become.

However film photography will exist in some form for many years yet. But the ability and technology to manufacture the high end Dslr will quickly dissappear.
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Yes, and by the year 2000 we were apparently all going to be living on protein pills, driving airborne hover cars and have a colony on the moon. I seem to recall that was the predicted (to the extent it was almost expected by some people!) course of technology for the 'civilised world' when I was a lad.

The truth... film photography has actually become considerably more popular in recent years, to the extent that film cameras (certainly for higher-spec models of good-quality makes) have doubled or tripled in value over the last 3 years, and stocks held by second-hand retailers seem to be dwindling accordingly.

In reality, I believe mirrorless full frame cameras still have quite a way to go to challenge DSLRs of a similar price. So don't believe the hype, particularly as the results that a high quality DSLR can give are pretty impressive these days. How much better do you think image quality can get? Better low light performance and dynamic range perhaps, but more pixels? I think we've already gone as far as most photographers will realistically need in that respect.

So make those cameras smaller and lighter, what's not to love? If you recall, that was tried with mobile phones and who uses a 'candy bar' sized phone these days? There's a limit to what size and weight is comfortable and usable in the human hand, and that's an upper limit and a lower limit. There's also a size limit to what human eyesight can observe and read on a screen on a hand-held device (particularly as people get older - and potentially better off and more able/likely to buy high-quality cameras). All these things come into play when we use a device such as a camera, phone, tablet/pad, etc.

So what will we be using in 10 years time? I suspect there will still be a market for pro-spec DSLR cameras, or mirrorless versions that are around the same size and weight as the system they've replaced.

You don't believe me? Then have a think on this; a modern full frame mirrorless camera body is smaller and lighter than the equivalent DSLR body... but how big and heavy is the dedicated lens that goes with that FF mirrorless camera body? From what I've seen so far, the lenses are getting considerably bigger and the camera bodies smaller, so I'd give it around 10 years for them to sort that apparent disparity out. I believe that it will take that long for a truly smaller, lighter, and ergonomically pleasant mirrorless full-frame equivalent to today's high-spec DSLR systems to become widely available and comparably affordable.
 
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I think so, I mean who's making dslr right now? Pentax have fallen long ago, only Canon and Nikon still produce them besides and they're obsessed with competing with Sony's FFML atm - no word even from Canon on a 90D, let alone a 5DmkV, the only dslr Nikon are putting out are for the lower end where people are still buying them. Ok the D850 is probably still doing very well, but that's 2 years old and not even a hint of a rumour about an upgrade on that line. No sign of a D6 either or even a D7700 or whatever a follow up to the D7500 would be named - that's a 2 year old camera now also
 
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I'm fascinated by it. I mean it's pretty obvious DSLR days are numbered so there is a day coming where we can declare them obsolete but I don't really know how Canon and Nikon are going to play out the transition. They still have a huge number of pros using their high end bodies and lenses and don't really offer anything yet to replace them. They've introduced mirrorless cameras that are okay-ish and work for some people but have some major limitations at present. So do they just pump all of their R&D into mirrorless and hope that their high end users will be patient and stick with them or do they do something interim with another DSLR or two to try to stop any migration? No idea. Exciting times.
 
Petrochemist said:
They did & some of them still are, even though it wasn't much of an issue 5 years ago.
My point was people have heard of the lag early models had & know that getting rid of it completely will be impossible. So they will often assume it's a significant issue, while in reality for most uses even the G1's EVF was perfectly adequate.

Do you know what a pico second is? (1/1000 000 000 000s) I'd be vary surprised if any mirrorless can manage less than a microseconds lag as considerable signal processing is required before it can display an image in the EVF. This sort of time delay is totally irrelevant but will still be enough to make some avoid a mirrorless.

I use a mirrorless most days, getting my first one 6 years ago & currently have 3 of them.
Mine aren't newer models, but for most things I shoot they work better than my DSLR. I often use adapted lenses & shoot IR both things an EVF is a huge advantage for. Not only that none of my most used lenses will actually be usable (other than for macro) on any DSLR they are designed for much shorter registration bodies.

For the times I find my DSLR better it could be partly down to the lenses available (none of my long lenses AF on my mirrorless bodies) partly down to IBIS (something all my DSLRs have had but my mirrorless cameras sadly don't) and possibly partly down to the weather sealing on my DSLR (again lacking on my mirrorless bodies, but not available for most of my DSLR lenses either). My DSLR is part of a system I've been using since the 1980s so it's not surprising my mirrorless systems haven't fully overtaken it yet.
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I highly doubt you can spot a pipi second or whatever you call it lol [emoji23]
 
I’m not sure we will see any new DSLR from Canon or Nikon but I could be wrong. I was so in the no camp for Mirrorless but now I’m fully invested.

There will always be a strong 2nd hand markek though.
 
When in most practical terms mirrorless is the same as DSLR, will it especially matter if they stop making the latter?
 
simonbarker said:
When in most practical terms mirrorless is the same as DSLR, will it especially matter if they stop making the latter?
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Over time, no, right now I think a lot of the worry from traditional dslr lovers is based on nostalgia. They've known big, bulky camera bodies for so long it's a big adjustment for some. It'll be no worse over time than the change from film to digital. I remember as a kid a photographer uncle of mine ranting that digital cameras were rubbish, the images will never be as clean and crisp as good quality film, it was all mashed together pixels etc ... think he has about 10 digital camera today and his film cameras are basically ornaments.
 
simonbarker said:
When in most practical terms mirrorless is the same as DSLR, will it especially matter if they stop making the latter?
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Conversely, when mirrorless is the same as DSLR, is there any point in switching your system? Surely, it would have to be markedly better to encourage people to part with a considerable sum of money to switch systems? And that's why I'd currently buy a 5D iv if I were going to upgrade my current camera body, and not a FF mirrorless system.
 
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Mr Badger said:
Conversely, when mirrorless is the same as DSLR, is there any point in switching your system? Surely, it would have to be markedly better to encourage people to part with a considerable sum of money to switch systems? And that's why I'd currently buy a 5D iv if I were going to upgrade my current camera, and not a FF mirrorless.
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Umm mirrorless has taken over dslr in every way.
 
DSLRs, especially at the top end will be around for a good while yet. For a start you have handling, while a smaller camera is better for weight and carrying, a DSLR just handles better, especially with big lenses. You also have the vast array of lenses with Nikon and Canon and affordability of things like a 50mm 1.8.

Fuji (who are excellent and have been tempted at times to ditch the X100f and D750 and get a XT setup) have one of the best mirrorless lens lineups but after 200mm there is very little. Just one 100-400 lens. Far more options for wildlife, sports, aircraft, birds for DSLRs. Battery life is improving but I can shoot a whole day at Duxford, get 600 images and still have half a battery left. Flash options are better on DSLRs too.
 
The main differences between them are the evf - which are getting so good it's hard to tell them apart from an OVF, only you're getting more information, constant live preview, much better visibility for composing in darker situations etc - then we have IBIS, much easier to implement without a big clunky mirror in the way, silent modes and of course reduced size and weight. If you don't need these extras then dslr is just fine and dandy. But, like with everything, the masses will decide, best be prepared to go with it.
 
jonneymendoza said:
Umm mirrorless has taken over dslr in every way.
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Battery Life?

Handling (especially with larger lenses)?

Affordability (more mature market means that that its cheaper to pick up used DSLRs compared to mirrorless)
 
cambsno said:
Battery Life?

Handling (especially with larger lenses)?

Affordability (more mature market means that that its cheaper to pick up used DSLRs compared to mirrorless)
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Ok, mine isn't the best example, but one battery will last in my G80 all day, even with some 4K video thrown in. Third party batteries are so cheap there's no reason not to have at least a few in the bag besides. The handling on the larger ML bodies is just fine, and they are still smaller and lighter than mid range APSC dslr. They are also getting cheaper fast, you can buy an A7III for less than a D810, let alone a D850. A Canon M50 can be had new for 2/3 the cost of an 80D, and it does pretty much the same thing just smaller and lighter. Only older dslr can be had much cheaper but that's not going forward - you can buy a film camera for buttons too
 
- EVF
- Full AF through the LCD screen
- Silent Shutter
- Near enough entire frame AF coverage
- No microadjust shennanighans

Size/weight would be waaaay down the list now, and I'm 100% certain that it won't be too long until we start seeing oversized mirrorless bodies to handle the big teles. The additional room can be used for bigger batteries and better heat management for high res video. The a7III already manages a DSLR matching battery life in what is only a slightly larger grip than the a7II.
 
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Snip:
ukaskew said:
Size/weight would be waaaay down the list now, and I'm 100% certain that it won't be too long until we start seeing oversized mirrorless bodies to handle the big teles.
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Judging by the size of the 'standard' zoom-range full frame mirrorless dedicated lenses, a 'big' tele would probably require a small crane or a large gorilla to handle it, let alone an increase in camera body size! Have you seen the size of the standard zooms they're selling for these things? It's like sticking a plastic dustbin on the front of your camera body!
 
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Cagey75 said:
Yeah, I mean why bother have a forum at all, they're only cameras :D
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Perhaps for people who like to use cameras, instead of just talking about how much better a new one might be? :whistle: ;)

And, on that bombshell... :coat:
 
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Mr Badger said:
Perhaps for people who like to use cameras, instead of just talking about how much better a new one might be? :whistle: ;)

And, on that bombshell... :coat:
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We're only allowed one topic? Maybe we should just have one thread where we all agree then? :ROFLMAO:

Note, you're in the Talk equipment section btw, there's a bombshell for ya.
 
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alfbranch said:
I havent used a DSLR since 2014 its been mirrorless or film

This lovely camera has no mirror

Camera and light meter 3 by Alf Branch, on Flickr
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Nothing much wrong with an Ensign Selfix 820 with Ross Xpres lens. :)

However, the Ross Ensign story might be quite prophetic and in context;, from what I've read their demise was probably due to them concentrating on trying to make the best 120 format folding camera on the market. While they were busy achieving that (and I believe they probably did reach their goal), 35mm format film began to become popular. Ross Ensign never made a 35mm camera, and by the late 1950s they'd gone out of camera production altogether.

Who'd be a camera manufacturer? One major wrong decision when it comes to developing and following the market and you may well be done for!
 
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Cagey75 said:
We're only allowed one topic? Maybe we should just have one thread where we all agree then? :ROFLMAO:

Note, you're in the Talk equipment section btw, there's a bombshell for ya.
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You keep a tight hold of those straws if you manage to grab them, Keith! ;)
 
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