Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yes, when one switches.
(For whatever reason(s).)

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

To burkphoto: An excellent summary of why a mirrorless. but those of us who don't do photography everyday all day, well maybe sticking with what we have is sensible.

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

When I moved to my first changeable lens digital camera, it was my Sony A6000. It had good reviews and was cheaper than most DSLRs, and for the past four and a half years, it has served me well..

However, as I have read some of the reasons given for moving to mirrorless, my reaction has been that we are comparing apples and oranges. If camera makers and their engineers and designers put as much time, energy and creativity into improving DSLRs to solve the problem of weight, the speed of viewfinders, etc., we would have DSLRs that have these good characteristics, too. The mirror and its associated mechanism do not add a lot of weight to the camera body. Most of the weight is in the lens. To reduce the lens, one needs to reduce the physical size of the sensor, and that technology was always on the way. Each generation of cameras has a better sensor or sensor series.

So, to me comparing DSLR and changeable lens mirrorless cameras is just the wrong question. --Richard

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Pentax has stuck with DSLR, and have basically followed the same path Nikon was on {except they have had IBIS for over ten years}.
I’m not sure if they could have done more if their owners would have given them more resources.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I doubt it.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Then you really don’t understand. Many of these characteristics are only possible because of the lack of a mirror.

uhaas2009

I’m noisy and wanting to try one before I decide if I need more camera than I already have……..

bebop22 Loc: New York City

I get along just fine with my Sony RX10MK3. It does all I need. And inexpensive; one lens and that's it. Simplify. I get nice 16 x 20 out of.

lmTrying Loc: WV Northern Panhandle

I've read all 11 pages for the laughs and to see how far off track it would go.

I will try to answer your post as you asked.

As for me:
When I bought my 12 MP Canon XSi in 2008, I said I would upgrade when the cameras got to 24 MP. Ok, I went past.

I had figured out that the focus on the screen was not the same as in the viewfinder. I learned that a lot of cameras could correct this problem, but not mine. Time to move on.

Studying Canon's websight, and reading the Hog, I was looking at the very popular 80D when the 90D and the R arrived on the scene. I liked what Rockwell said about the R. Considered the price, but found it capable of things I did not understand. Enter the RP. Priced and featured considerably similar to the 90D. Okey. Then the price dropped. I bought.

The advantages of increased ISO and faster shutter speeds I understand. No lens to camera focus problems I like. And I think these three items fit your terms of photographic reason or draw (ISO, shutter speed, f/stop). You can stop reading here.

The following items are the added selling points for me that don't fall into the above: 26 MP. Silent. Electronic View Finder meant WYSIWYG, kind of like the view screens on the point n shoots I have. Articulated view screen, means I can shoot over my 5'6" head and see what I'm shooting, and I can shoot down low without getting down on the ground, nice as you get older and less flexible. Menus on the touch screen means faster and easier changes. Also, full frame.

Also, mirrorless cameras is taking the lead into the future, just as digital cameras did to SLR, just as SLR did to matched needle and TLR. Do you have to move up? That's up to you. Will DSLR stick around? Yes. But don't be looking for new features. They will all be adapted to the mirrorless models.

And, I was pleased with all the other features on the camera that I didn't realize would be included.

I think this is what you wanted know.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

Bob, although I now have nothing but a couple of mirrorless bodies, for me the point is not DSLR versus mirrorless. I love shooting the Fuji X series. Put the same controls on a DSLR and I would be just as happy, I think, as I am with my current favorite, the X-T3.

Ben

User ID

Yup. Theres no reason to compare SLRs to ANYthing at all. Whatz the point ? They are what they were and evermore will be so. Stick a fork in it.

pendennis

My own experience mirrors that of others. I've been curious more than anything else. I've used SLR/DSLR cameras for nearly 60 years, from the mid-60's, through today. My first was a Petri FT, which I deigned to be heaven-sent, after using an Argus C-3. I've gone through most products from Pentax Spotmatic, Nikon F, F2..., the middle Nikon's such as FM2, FE, FG, Minolta, Canon, you name it. My foray into autofocus was with the Pentax SF-1 and PZ-1, but retroed back to Nikon F3. Eventually I used all the Nikon Pro models through F6.

My foray into digital came in the form of a Nikon Cool Pix 4300, and I still have it, getting great pictures with it. The viewfinder/rangefinder is handy, and performs much like a mirrorless.

I went through the D200, D500, D610, D750, D810, and D850, and I've now settled on the D810 and D850. They're indeed bulkier with the battery grips, but they perform admirably for me.

Since July, I've bought into mirrorless, albeit at the used level, with a Z5 and a Z7. With all the AF-x lenses that work with both, I've been able to compare both DSLR and mirrorless side-by-side but I haven't discerned any appreciable differences in image quality. I do have two dedicated Z lenses, 24-50 and 24-200 zooms, and I use FTZ adapters for my F-mount lenses.

The images in the EVF at first, were a bit off-putting, considering the live image in the DSLR's. That change is more one of "getting used to", than revolutionary. The brightness of the EVF is something that can't be replicated in the D810/D850 cameras, although there's the thought in the back of my mind, "What if the EVF goes?". I'm not going to ditch the DSLR's any time soon, but I now have the cameras paired. I use the Z5/D810, and the Z7/D850 in "kits".

The simplicity of mechanics gives the Z's the edge in weight, and image view. But I still like the sound of the DSLR and its familiar mechanism.

It's horses for courses, as a friend of mine who raises thoroughbreds in Lexington, put it so eloquently.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

Bill,
But why do you like ILM cameras?

EJMcD

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

Bob: Good Question.

For me, I grew tired of lugging around the weight and bulk of my (and sometimes my wife's) DSLR gear. Went to the camera shop and the clerk handed me an Olympus OM-D EM-1. It was love at 1st sight. Photography became much more fun, and the quality of my output improved since I'm inclined to get out and shoot more frequently. P.S. I'm 85 years old.

Mark