Wingpilot wrote:
It's been said a number of times here on UHH that a mirrorless camera just can't take images equal to those taken with a DSLR. I'm wonder how that is a valid supposition. It seems to me that once the image hits the sensor, the rest is up to the electronics to process that image, and it makes no difference how it got into the camera at that point.
So how is it that having a mirror and pentaprism in a camera makes its images superior to those taken with a mirrorless camera?
Lack of a mirror is not necessarily a disadvantage. Having a mirror can be!
Mirrors: always add vibration, can cause focus errors, add mechanical complexity that can lead to break-downs, require a thicker body to accommodate the mirror box, and black out the viewfinder at the moment of exposure. They also obscure the viewfinder when recording video. If you record a blend of stills and video, as I do, that’s a show-stopper.
The dSLR still has two very important slight advantages in certain situations: autofocus speed and a zero latency viewfinder. If you record sports, fast wildlife action, or birds in flight, the dSLR may be a better choice.
Mirrorless camera manufacturers are closing the speed gaps rapidly, though. Faster processors are reducing latency — the time between real time action and the electronic image of it that you see in an electronic viewfinder. And electronic shutter processing has enabled some cameras to continuously “pre-buffer” the last half-second or so of images. When you press the shutter button, you have already captured 12 to 15 images at a high frame rate. They are then saved, along with those you get by holding the button down.
A side effect of electronic shutters is the “rolling shutter effect.” But faster processors and new processing schemes are about to make that insignificant for most imaging purposes. In most situations, rolling shutter isn’t a factor.
There are plenty of reasons to keep using dSLRs, if they work for you. But if you study what’s available from the various “big four” mirrorless manufacturers (Fujifilm, Olympus, Panasonic, and Sony), you may find yourself in a new world of possibilities. I did, after 44 years of using various Canons, Nikons, and more.
However, it’s worth remembering that the most significant factors in imaging are not in the camera technology, but about six inches BEHIND it.
As an editor once told me, “I don’t care about the pen you use, or the camera gear you use. I care about the stories you tell with them.”