The
DLSR is everywhere. You see it around the necks of tourists, against
the faces of pro photographers. Since Canon introduced the Digital Rebel
in 2003, the DSLR has come to dominate photography outright. That
ubiquity is about to come to an end so abrupt, you might not even have
time to notice it.
No,
this isn't another smartphone screed. Yes, they're popular, but they're
still not anywhere near winning over the enthusiast demand for more
expensive, higher quality devices like DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.
This is about a turning point in photography, and the relegation of one
of its most popular formats into a purely niche product for pros. It's
already begun.
Back in the DSLR
Digital
SLR has become such a common acronym that most people confuse it for
any camera that has interchangeable lenses. It's actually a very
specific type of camera, with one very specific mechanism: the single
lens reflex. That SLR mechanism dates back almost a century, and it has
dictated many iconic camera attributes such as size, shape, and some
aspects of performance.
The
SLR accounts for what you see when you look through your camera's
viewfinder. When light enters through the camera's lens, it strikes a
little reflex mirror that bounces it up into a prism, then onto ground
glass, which is what you look at when you bring the camera up to your
eye. When you finally press the shutter button, the mirror swings out of
the way so that the light can strike the digital sensor (or film) that
sits behind it.
That's
where the single lens part comes in; it merely distinguishes SLRs from
older twin-lens reflex cameras, which feature an entirely separate lens
solely for delivering light to a viewfinder. The SLR became popular
simply because it was the best way to frame your shots—letting you see
exactly what the lens saw. This was only possible by physically bouncing
the light from the lens into your eye, by way of the reflex mirror.
Room With a Viewfinder
In
the last couple of years a new type of camera has appeared, one that
has interchangeable lenses but ditches the SLR part. These have come to
be known as mirrorless cameras (for want of a snappier name). They
include the Sony NEX, Olympus PEN, and FujiFilm X cameras, among others.
In place of the SLR, these devices make use of a large LCD you hold
away from your face, and/or a tiny LCD you hold up to your eye—the
electronic viewfinder.
Many
enthusiasts love the compact sizes and throwback feel of mirrorless
cameras, but they haven't yet found broad appeal. They're too unfamiliar
and they can seem expensive to a marketplace that equates "quality"
with "big and bulky." Simply put, DSLRs look more professional. They let
the world know that you are doing Serious Photography.
But
despite the sluggish dissemination of mirrorless cameras, changes in
technology are taking place that will threaten the dominance of the DSLR
with brute force, whether the public even knows it or not.
Expand
Electronic
viewfinders are starting to rival or exceed the quality of experience
in optical viewfinders. Where EVFs were once pixelated and laggy, they
are now big, bright, and accurate. Using a great EVF means having access
to features just not possible on a DSLR. Being able to preview exactly
how your photo will be exposed before pressing the shutter is
invaluable. Manual focus aids like image magnification and peaking,
where edges of in-focus objects are highlighted, make it easier to use
vintage lenses successfully.
Focus
systems are also evolving rapidly. The reigning champ of focus systems,
phase-detection, was once dependent on a reflex mirror to bounce light
into a separate sensor in charge of calculating focus. Now, on-sensor
phase detection is replacing the need for mirrors, and
contrast-detection auto focus is improving as well.
The result is a new breed of high-performance interchangeable lens cameras that are smaller, lighter, and more durable.
The New Regime
The
final step for mirrorless hegemony is tackling the high end. Sony will
soon ship its milestone A7 series, two compact mirrorless bodies with
full-frame sensors, the lynchpin of top-tier camera bodies and the
harbingers of the DSLR's doom. They are, simply put, the best of both
worlds.
The 24-megapixel A7 and the 36-megapixel A7r
feature these high-performance sensors, eliminating the gap in image
quality between mirrorless cams and pro DSLRs. The A7 series is priced
at $1700 and $2300 respectively (body-only). That's on par with
entry-level full-frame DSLRs like the Nikon D600 and Canon 6D. But what
you get in return are cameras that are much easier to carry around and
that are less intimidating to subjects, while not sacrificing anything
when it comes to the ability capture pristine images. They aren't
anywhere near perfect cameras, but they are different cameras.
More and
more manufacturers are throwing their weight behind mirrorless cameras,
but it's the big guys, Canon and Nikon, playing catch-up. That makes
sense; they profit heavily from DSLR sales, and have failed to
capitalize on the turning of the tide. Both brands have introduced
limited mirrorless offerings that have failed to live up to the
competition from the likes of Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, and Fujifilm.
It's a sign that they are unwilling to invest heavily in this new
product category, hoping the storm will pass. Nikon just announced the Df,
a slightly smaller full-frame DSLR that borrows the retro stylings of
the most popular mirrorless cameras, but is stubbornly conservative in
its insistence on retaining the mirror and pentaprism.
DSLRs
aren't going to disappear entirely; they still reign supreme in areas
like continuous autofocus, where tracking moving subjects requires the
robustness of traditional phase-detection. And they still are better
suited to carry humongous telephoto lenses. There will always be studio
pros, sports photographers, and others, who have no concern for size and
weight, who just want the most heavy-duty, reliable, speediest beast
they can find. And they will soon make up the brunt of DSLR owners.
But
for most people, there's little reason to own one now. We have
mirrorless cameras that can match or exceed the DSLR in user experience,
image quality, and handling. Why strap an extra pound of glass and
metal around your neck for no reason?
Lighter
and smaller means easier to have with you at all times, and for many
shooters like myself who take pictures on the streets and while
traveling, that is hugely important. Yes, DSLRs will continue to provide
niche benefits. But when it comes to the vast majority of camera users,
the hobbyists, amateurs, and first-timers, the moniker and mechanics
that have been a mainstay of photography for decades—the single lens
reflex—is likely to fade away.
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