linkadv5

I have a nikon DSLR camera. I have bought a few lenes for the camera. I really have to save up to buy this stuff. Is this mirrorless technology a step up in, quality, or is it like TVs, a new gimick every 6 months ? A previous article stated that this mirrorless wave of technology will hit us this summer, with many more cameras and lenes. Are we going to eventually get rid of DSLR technology? Should we continue to buy DSLR technology? Any thoughts from folks with limited budgets.

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

I moved from Nikon DSLR to Fujifilm mirrorless and am not sorry Fujifilm XT-2

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Mirrorless just means that instead of a flip up mirror sending an image to the view finder it has a small electronic image in the view finder, like the back panel only smaller.

This allows a smaller/lighter body, no mirror going up and down (no/less vibration on really critical focus images) etc.
Both types of viewfinders have strengths and weaknesses, and of course there is plain old personal preference in the mix.

However if the camera has the same size sensor as a dslr (many mirrorless have much smaller sensors) the smaller size and weight of the body is pretty much unnoticeable when you get to really long bulky lenses for sports, wildlife, birds etc because the lens far out weighs the camera body.

If you only shoot things with relatively small light lenses than the size and weight savings can be very noticeable.

Both Canon and Nikon are said to be designing mirrorless bodies for their top of the line APS-C and FF sensor series. And at least in the case of Canon they are said to be working on bodies that will use their large stable of EF and EF-S lenses. I would assume Nikon is trying the same. Otherwise they have to design and build a whole new family of lenses.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

Mirrorless camera are not going to replace DSLR's. Mirrorless cameras are have no mirror therefore can be smaller than DSLR's. Mirrorless camera companies like Fuji, Olympus and Panasonic have advanced their technology and their frames per second, dynamic range, view finder and other advances has generally equaled the playing field between DSLR's and mirrorless camera. At the same time as the advances in mirrorless the DSLR companies also have made advances. Finally, if you have an investment in DSLR lenses and are happy with your camera you probably should remain shooting your DSLR. In the future if you require a travel camera you may want to dip your toes in to the mirrorless world.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

It's a sideways shuffle. If the sensors are the same size, there is no real difference in image quality. If the sensors are smaller, they are typically noisier at high ISO, and both cameras and lenses are more compact. Depth of field is different, and softness due to diffraction becomes more prevalent at larger apertures than a APS-C or full frame camera. You should buy what you need/want for the present and not worry about the future. One thing is certain. As soon as you buy any technology-heavy product, it will be superseded by something better, cheaper, lighter, smaller etc in a relatively short period of time.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Mirrorless works much the same way your cell phone takes pictures. It has no mirror, so the camera can be lighter and smaller. The mirror on a DSLR has to be flipped up and out of the way every time you snap the shutter. That's the noise you hear every time you take a shot. The mirrorless doesn't have a mirror, fewer moving parts, and when you look through the viewfinder of a DSLR, you are actually looking at the mirror and then through the lens and this keeps the picture oriented correctly. Have you ever looked through some of the old time telescopes where the view is upside down and/or backwards? The mirror corrects this as you are looking through a lens like a telescope.

The drawback is that the mirrorless cameras use a small LCD type of viewfinder that isn't actually seeing the subject but a representation of the subject and sometimes are known to have a slight hesitation when shooting during certain conditions where you need the picture taken quickly with no hesitation or the subject will have moved and you miss the shot. This has been my experience with mirrorless in the first cameras offered. I think this has been somewhat corrected in some of the high end models but I'm not sure. Also, it's very difficult to track a moving subject such as a small bird etc because you are not actually viewing the animal through the lens in real time, you are looking at a tiny view through a digital representation of the subject. I may have some or even most of the terms wrong and I'm sure someone will jump down my throat for this but you get the idea. Also, it's my opinion that they go through batteries much faster than most DSLR's. This is because a lot of people tend to use them by viewing the subject on the large LCD on the back of the camera and this consumes a lot of battery power + the batteries have to be smaller to fit inside a smaller camera.

As far as using this kind of camera for landscapes, portraits or anything still, I wouldn't hesitate to say that the mirrorless are at least as good if not better in some ways than a DSLR. But I don't really like having something that small in my hands. Also, now a lot of companies are starting to make newer smaller lenses to fit these small cameras but when it comes to f/2.8 or faster lenses, they will still have to be quite large and heavy defeating the small and light bodies reason for being. Of course, this is my humble opinion.

MW

As already stated in earlier replies mirrorless means they don’t have a mirror. Not having a mirror has some advantages such as quieter operation and smaller bodies. Some day but not yet they may cost less and be more reliable do yo feweoving parts. Recent disadvantages in the recent past but mostly overcome in the latest models was slower auto focus and slow responding electronic view finders.

One clear advantage mirrorless have for some users is accuracy of focus when using very wide aperture (f/1.2 for example) and hence a narrow depth of field. All DLSR have a potential problem with this although there are fixes and work around. If you are and f8 photographer this is all irrelevant.

In some previous responses the issues are conflated a bit by mixing sensor sizes. There is no point in comparing a Four-Thirds of APS-C mirrorless to a FF DLSR. Any comparison needs to assume equal sized sensors to be useful. BTW there are mirrorless cameras with sensors ranging from very small P&S althea way through medium format.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Nobody who is allowed to comment here knows what the next year or two will bring, but that is not really relevant to your question. Perhaps some day you will want to replace this gear. That is when the questions being asked today about Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras will be relevant to you, and by then we should know the answers. According to another post, you currently use a D3200 - nothing fancy there - most likely, there will be adapters allowing you to use your current lenses on a MILC, if you still want to. In the meantime, your D3200 and lenses should continue to serve you just as they are right now.

repleo Loc: Boston

I am a mirrorless devotee and for me, budget is a matter of self imposed restraint, not financial necessity. Much as I prefer mirrorless, I would not suggest changing from your DSLR is you are happy with it. If and when Nikon comes out with a competitive mirrorless body it will most likely be usable with our current Nikon lenses so don't panic.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

https://www.dpreview.com/interviews/5014039475/cp-2018-interviews-the-reign-of-the-dslr-is-almost-over

I kissed my DSLR goodbye in 2013...been loving the lighter and technologically advanced mirrorless equipment. Are they perfect, no, but I like it much better than a DSLR.

futchd

I feel like I was in your situation or year or so ago. I shot with my Nikon D90 for many years and then moved to a Nikon 7200. My small collection of lens moved to the new model with me and all was well. As I explored different areas of photography I became very interested in Astro photography and found that the 7200 would not produce an image I was happy with at extremely high ISO.

I chose to buy the Sony a7R2 after the a9 was released. Now Sony has released the a7R3 which improves on the model I purchased. To answer your question. Yes, camera technology will continue to improve. Is it a gimmick? Maybe!

I still have both cameras and will most likely not be purchasing any more lens for the 7200. Now I’m exploring adapters so I can use the Nikon lens on the Sony. It’s not a perfect solution but I’m very happy with the decision I made given my budget at the time. I have slowly started building a collection of lens for my Sony. My first purchase was a 14 mm to start shooting the Milkway and Auroras. Good luck in your decision and I would recommend waiting to see what the new crop of mirrorless cameras bring in the near future.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

I don't know where you've been but mirrorless cameras have been around for many years, in fact l have owned one for six years.
I currently use an Olympus EM 10 and it produces excellent images and no they are not a gimmick.
Why not go ahead and buy one, you won't regret it.

Largobob

Hummmm....."Mirrorless is the new wave in technology?"

My old Speed Graphic was mirrorless.....most of the older "bellows" type cameras were mirrorless...and I had a great "rangefinder" 35mm camera that was mirrorless.... All took great images.

New technology?

Jeffcs Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina

I’m not going to put the op down but with all of the info, articles, adds etc. why is this question posed time and time again?
I went Olympus for travel, I started using it more than my FF Nikon stuff, my OMDem1mk2 with pro glass is so sharp. My photo club members can’t tell my images are shot with Mu-43 body. So many reasons to go that rout slowly I’m selling off all Nikon gear in favor of my Olympus system.

radiojohn

"Mirrorless" digital SLRs is an evolutionary step away from the complex optical reflex viewing system that has been around for many, many years. The optical system has been replaced by a high quality miniature electronic viewfinder in the eyepiece. This is not a new concept, as every point and shoot made was mirrorless, allowing viewing via the big screen on the back. My Minolta D'Image from15 years ago was a bridge camera with an electronic viewfinder. What has changed is that EVFs have gotten much better, giving a viewing experience approaching that of a very high quality optical finders (and better than many miserable ones from the 1960's!).

As always, there are strong proponents for both optical and electronic finders. I'm sure you will read many comments.