I think it’s important to see in those figures what portion of that is the compact camera market, I can’t see DSLR or Mirrorless bring hugely affected in that.
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Yeah, the real discussion here is ‘smartphone vs compact (point/shoot) cameras’ although that’s still from a profit view I guess.
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I won’t be moving away from Mirrorless anytime soon. Think Sony is making some of the best sensors on the market right now.
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So am I right in thinking a mirrorless approach gives you all the benefits of lense variety, with the sensory capabilities of current DSLRs (not sure on that point?) but wiht a much smaller body form factor, or is there something else?
- Smaller form factor
- What you see through the viewfinder is what you shoot (DSLR viewfinders are slightly offset)
- No shutter = one less potential failure point
- More discreet due to lack of noisy shutter!
There may be more, that’s just off the top of my head.
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It’s size and weight without the mirror box, so when I look at an image in my electronic view finder I’m seeing what the sensor is processing, with exposure ect.
On a DSLR you are looking through mirror box and seeing a reflected imagine off the mirror so you can’t see how the image will look until after you take the pic (most top range DSLRs now give you the choice of both views)
Also without the mirror box the lens can be closer to the sensor saving more weight which is why you see new lenses for Mirrorless.
There are various other differences but in terms of image quality there are the same.
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That’s wrong they do have shutters, but you also have the option to turn it off and use the electronic shutter. Most DSLR’s have this setting as well.
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Thanks for the correction. The one I used must’ve been set to shutterless by the owner. I didn’t know DSLRs had shutterless options too, is that a new thing? (Or maybe I did know once, but there were drawbacks meaning I decided to never use it and so forgot over time…)
To be fair nick there may be Mirrorless options that are sold without a shutter 
so you are probably right as well.
I keep my shutter on for the most part because it’s quicker than the electronic one.
As far as I’m aware there are a few new DSLR’s at the top end where you can lock the mirror in the up position and use live view and electronic shutter.
I’m not pro so not sure what models they are.
I had a Canon 6D some years ago which had this facility. It was a right PITA to be honest, other than for those occasions when using a tripod.
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It is very plain that the market for all types of camera is declining, DSLR continue to fall.
High end DSLR makers are suffering financially.
" As per their newly released financial reports covering sales for the first quarter of 2019, both Canon and Nikon suffered a decline in imaging business sales of around 17% when compared with 2018. Canon’s report shows they were 17% down on last year, meanwhile Nikon’s results reveal a marginally worse decline of 17.9%.13 May 2019”
It is plain that makers will need to increase prices of products dramatically or cease production.
Canon and Nikkons problems stem from increased competition from Sony and just how many people jumped ship from DSLR to Sony Mirrorless. Canon have a history of getting the market wrong, hence why it took them to late 2018 to launch a Mirrorless camera.
They are losing market share to Sony hence lost sales to Sony who last year invested 9 Billion into Sensor research.
Whilst I realise the knock-on effect of a company folding isn’t great, it’s not like this hasn’t been an issue for some years now, Canon/Nikon need to have pivoted on this sooner than they have IMO.
Mirrorless models won’t save manufacturers from having to increase prices or cease production.
Sony are not immune from the downward trend.
So what? Things change.
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Again that includes compact camera’s, also Sony only had one product launch in 2019 which was the A7R IV.
Prices won’t increase and they aren’t going anywhere, DSLR’s / mirrorless aren’t going anywhere. The technology gains will push the industry further and smartphone cameras will follow because of the progress traditional cameras make.
2020 / 22 will probably see Sony as no.1 camera manufacturer in market share.
Of course things change. The only point I am making, which it seems some resolutely dismiss, is that the smart phone camera may have dealt a fatal blow to conventional cameras. The graphs plainly show a downward trend which is unlikely to be reversed.
Asked to invest in conventional or smartphone technology I would opt for the smartphone,
One big thing that hasn’t been address is product retention.
The peak came at around 2010 because that’s was the peak that most people ditched film and went fully digital and a lot of the cameras from that period are still in professional use now and still have better sensors than smart phones.
It takes a lot to get professional photographers to swap bodies.
Most of Game of Thrones and the large format posters that featured around Times Square for the final season where shot on a Nikkon D800 which was released in 2012. Still in use today.
Yes and I can remember a time when professional photographers shooting large format 4/5 minimum for poster work etc told us that 35 mm would not be used on such an assignment. At the same time they debated the merits of the film stock like Kodak or Fuji and so on.
Many couldn’t afford to upgrade their equipment, ask a jobbing wedding photographer.