Is DSLR about to die off?

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It is "Trends" that users and manufacturers see, when they are planning for the future.
You don't make many plans for a falling product market.
What you plan for is how to get out of it.
The Cycle of development plans for Dslr's was probably pencilled in for the next ten years. The relative success of the mirrorless has almost certainly cut those, to cover only those products that were already in and advanced stage of development, or those that could be adjusted to a much shorter time scale, and at the same time still be profitable in the much shortened production life, and for which a ready market and profitable sales could still be forecast.

Electric cars are not yet a viable mass market product, but Honda has already made a production plan, that entails the closing of conventional car factories.
They have done it at "this time" partly because Brexit has forced a slightly premature decision on to them. But it is mainly a decision based on pollution legislation and the inevitable trend for clean energy. And also with their own upcoming zero duty trade agreement with the EU in mind.
None of which contradicts my point - the future is definitely mirrorless, and it is definitely in the near future, but to suggest DSLRs will cease to exist in 2-3 years is :thinking:
 
None of which contradicts my point - the future is definitely mirrorless, and it is definitely in the near future, but to suggest DSLRs will cease to exist in 2-3 years is :thinking:

I was not contradicting you I was "Expending" on the reasoning.(y)

They will never cease to exist.... I had a working 1/4 plate Slr for many many years after they were last manufactured or sold. It is now probably in someone else's collection.
Old cameras, eventually turn into collectors items. that is the eventual fate of the DSLR.
 
For Canon though...
‘More rugged’ means a metal top plate so no wifi, and no articulating screen.
2 cards - well it’s Canon.

I know you always say they know what they're doing best, but can't help thinking it doesn't take much for them to have a win on both fronts on their hands. Combine the features of both of their flagship APSC Dslr - they could find a work-around or wi-fi, maybe just omit the top alloy plate so long as it's WR most won't mind, keep the articulating screen of the 80D and the same 2 slots the from the 7DII - and more importantly IMO, the fully functional excellent touch screen also from the 80D. We know they can already do this.

On the ML side, if they had put the RP out as their new flagship M series, body as is but with IBIS, fully compatible with the M series lenses and both EF and EFS via an included adapter I know I'd be very tempted. The IBIS doesn't even have to be insane, combined 5-axis with OIS lenses, 3-axis for non OIS even - and price it to compete with the XT30 and A6400 .. how could it not be a win? They could suck in the current M owners and retreive those who jumped ship to other APSC formats.

I'm sure it's not as simple as all that, but I feel like they'd have a much stronger hold on the market.
 
One of the beauties of (D)SLR is the ability to keep and use lenses and decades old, even if just in manual mode if the camera doesn't support AF on some of the old ones (plus still able to use some old manual focus lenses), particularly with Nikon F mount.

Mirrorless Z series Nikon is forcing a rebuy of lenses. Okay there is an adapter but it's a bulky beast and as I understand it you're losing the wider mount (more light?) and slim body advantages of the Z. To make the most of it, you need new lenses. I'm not ready to rebuy lenses for mirrorless and I don't see much advantage in mirrorless unless I do.

The flexibility with old lenses is the main reason I got a mirrorless to go with my DSLR 5 years ago. My Pentax DSLRs were better than Nikons from the point of view of old lenses (working with ALL K-mount & M42 lenses and getting AF from any of these that originally had AF), but it doesn't have anywhere near the flexibility of mirrorless models. My mirrorless cameras allow use of rangefinder lenses, which don't need big adapters.

Most of mt SLR lenses can now be attached to my cameras via specialist EOS adapters that increase their flexibility. I can regain part of the FOV lost by cropping & get an extra stop of light, of have closer focusing (0 to 12mm extension), or apply tilt...

On sunday I took my NEX6 out with 7 lenses (3 different mounts with their adapters), yet the entire bag weighed under 2.5 kg. Not much more than a APSC DSLR. Any of those 7 lenses could also be used with MFT for an alternate FOV if desired, and some of them would also be fully usable on FF (not all have enough coverage).
 
If nikon bring out a apsc mirrorless, do you think it will come with a new mount? Like I said earlier, mirrorless works better in the cheaper APSC ranges. Z mount is bigger so expensive.
 
I’m fortunate to use Nikon and also Fuji as a second system. I’ve just replaced my nearly 4 year old XT-10 with a used XT2, and it’s light years better in terms of well, pretty much everything. Battery life is still a bit disappointing though compared to an SLR but the image quality is excellent. I’ve yet to see how it handles higher ISO’s and persuading it to fire a flashgun is as traumatic as it was on the XT10, but I’m maybe one step closer to flogging my D810. I’m normally at least one iteration behind the drag curve of any technology, so it will be interesting to see if the future developments can close the gap and persuade me to sell the Nikon gear.
 
I’m normally at least one iteration behind the drag curve of any technology, so it will be interesting to see if the future developments can close the gap and persuade me to sell the Nikon gear.

I honestly believe it's the better spot to be in. trying to keep up with the earlier adopters or just those with bigger pockets in general, is a mug's game for the most part. Being one gen behind means much more choice within your budget, the older gear was good enough 1-2 or even 3 years ago for those same early adopters [only in photography gear circles is 2 years a long time!] , they can make anything sound very old very fast.
 
The numbers above show it’ll take another 2-3 years before mirrorless sales outstrip dslr.
At that point DSLR sales will be roughly what mirrorless sales are now. Would you describe that as ‘dead’.
I’m not suggesting DSLRs will carry on forever, but they’re still outselling mirrorless 1.5:1 and some people are ‘dancing on their graves’.
Get a grip, these things take time.

I agree, like I mentioned before, I think it'll be a good 2-3 years before DSLR's phase out slowly but you will always have the people who prefer optical viewfinders etc and who will cling onto the DSLR's for as long as possible.
Just because something out sells something else, doesn't mean its better or appropriate for individuals uses etc
 
Having thought about this a bit more, I'm quite happy with the pictures my dslr and lenses take.
Unless canon/Nikon/sony/................... come up with something that truly sets mirrorless on a plane higher than dslr, I'll stick with what I have.

At the moment I see no compelling reason to switch.
 
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