CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The EOS R5 has changed how we think about mirrorless, how we think about photography, how we think about life.

ChrisRL

Probably true, for some of us.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Chris, if you use Quote Reply we will know who you are responding to.
I don’t know if Canon is the sole manufacturer of SLRs or not, but Nikon has just recently stopped making them.

ChrisRL

Agreed. But the OP's question was:

"Will the current crop of high end Mirrorless cameras make the SLR obsolete."

Undeniably this response:

For the MANUFACTURERS, probably true.

For the USERS, probably not true.

Fair enough?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

We imagine improving our photography, but we cling to our old DSLRs.

ChrisRL

And further to that,

"Will the current crop of high end Mirrorless cameras make the SLR obsolete. It seems that the mirrorless does everything the SLR does and more."

Just because one camera does more, that doesn't make another camera that does less obsolete TO THE USER.

Unless and until that new camera can set off from home on its own, pick the user's desired subject matter straight out of his or her mind's eye, take that precise photo for them, and then beam the result back to the user's social media - without the user's active participation.

That would make the photographer the camera and not the user.

And then the user too would be obsolete.

Until that time, it's the photographer taking the picture, not the camera.

And there are plenty of cameras, new and old, obsolete and modern, that are capable of being used by that photographer to take the required shot.

SLRs and DSLRs may well, like the Leica IIIf, become "obsolete" with respect to the camera manufacturing, sales, and marketing industries.

However, go into a modern Leica store today, and see the I, II and IIIs still on the shelf, and maybe a different opinion might well rise to the surface.

Maybe it's the buyers, not the sellers, who should be motivating opinions?

Heck, anyone can put out an ad now, for zero dollars.

ChrisRL

As you said, it's all in our imagination.

We could buy the latest and greatest, and maybe we'd still be there, imagining improving our photography.

Then we'd be "clinging to our old non-DSLRs that take only 2-D and 3-D imagery...."

But it's the imagination and the mindset that counts here, way more than the machinery, at this point.



In the field of 2-D imagery, the next best thing is? That yields a 2-D image that's the next generation away?
Analog to digital to ???
When that step comes, then all of these will be obsolete.

Right now we've had one step only - analog to digital.
And that progress has been mainly in the delivery, not as much in the capture side of things.

Prove it? Easy.
Imagine a digital mirrorless image, flawless 600MB, any generation camera you want to.
And no Internet, just prints only.
Done.

So it's the delivery that's been the real game-changer here.

And the biggest population on the planet doesn't seem to want to go there. For political reasons, not technical ones. For them, for personal reasons, analog photography is still king.

Now the camera industry will say different things, mainly to sell cameras.

But as everybody here says, quite rightly, that the buyers have shrunk to insignificant amounts, to go further than that would be to say that in our future everybody will have a smart phone with a camera and be able to take gallery quality photos with those cameras.

Probably true.

But will that be the only camera they own and maintain and use?

That's like saying all music will be electronic and digital.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Things work out best for those who shed their mirror.

ChrisRL

LOL!!
Agreed. People shouldn't be looking at the mirror so much in any event!

John Hicks Loc: Sible Hedinham North Essex England

I believe that one reason Canon will still make DSLR is that a lot of photographers like to use them especially with long lenses there is more of a balance when using them on a dslr.

Some photographers that know would have no hesitation spending thirty thousand pounds or more if they really wanted mirrored cameras but they have mostly have 1d's mark 3 as their main camera and a Canon 50 megapixel DSLR as as a second one. The other thing is they very rarely shoot video mainly photographs

gwilliams6

John, as a pro for over 44 years in the business that used those heavy Canon brick EOS 1Ds and Nikon D4s with long lenses for pro sports and wildlife and news, I can tell you I miss NOTHING about carrying around those DSLR bricks. My pro mirrorless gear (SONY) , with or without a battery grip ,do balance just fine with my long mirrorless lenses and my back and neck appreciate the overall less weight .

More and more pros are moving to mirrorless for all its distinct advantages. Associated Press, the worldwide news organization just dumped their Canon DSLRs and went exclusively to Sony mirrorless gear for their hundreds of staff photographers and videographers worldwide. Those shooters will be using long lenses with their mirrorless gear in all situations and for all subjects. Cheers

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Don't let the photographer you were yesterday stop you from buying a mirrorless camera tomorrow.

petrochemist Loc: UK

Not Me.
Some may only think Canon, others of us are happy using any manufacturer's gear.
The R5 has changed nothing at all for me.

Nickaroo

I seriously doubt your statement Paul. It should be a Canon R5-R6 instead. But, I will patiently await the next version of Canon mirrorless to come out. I find it funny that I will still be using my D850 and using Canon at the same time. Canon mirrorless blows Sony and Nikon out of the water.

jcraigtexas Loc: Des Moines, IA

Funny you should say that. I've been looking into the feasibility of going back to medium or large format, also Speed Graphic. No decision, but if I can get processing and printing done economically I'll probably give it a try.
Don't want to get back into the dark room. I now have a wife I'm not trying to hide from!