Hi all, Dave here, and if you didn’t notice already, it’s #TravelTuesday! And, that means I’m here for the weekly takeover on ScottKelby.com.
Today, I wanted to share an update with you from the world of mirrorless, and it was prompted by this: –
CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) reported 2019 to be the worst year of the past decade for camera sales and shipping. Japanese camera companies reported 24% fewer cameras sold versus 2018. An interesting part of the report is this: –
DSLR sales dropped 33.6%, with a loss in value of 27.5%, whereas mirrorless sales only dropped 10%, with an increase in value of 5.6%.
The key point is that mirrorless cameras made the manufacturers, as a whole, an extra 5.6%. Plenty of camera and tech blogs have reported on mirrorless, with a huge range of views being put out there. Some say DSLR is here to stay, and others report that mirrorless is the future. But why are sales at a 10-year low? Are we just not sure where to put our money right now? And, if not, why not?
This video is my favourite explanation of the DSLR versus mirrorless situation, put out in September by Jared Polin. In it Jared, AKA FroKnowsPhoto, makes a comparison of what happened to film cameras when DSLR launched, and predicts the same in this case. But what is actually happening with mirrorless now that it has settled down?
All the big players, namely Canon, Nikon, and Sony, have released pro and consumer versions of their first mirrorless cameras now, and the market has had a while to get used to the idea of what’s happening. Lens companies, such as Tamron, Sigma, and Zeiss have been able to properly assess the lens mounts on these new cameras.
One thing mirrorless makes easier for us all is the ability to switch. The Nikon vs Canon vs Sony warriors are out there, true to their brand, but let me very quickly explain my take on this. Basically, your allegiance lies with the brand you first chose to invest in. Rarely do people switch brands and the reason is simple: it’s too expensive! If the first camera you invested in was Canon, you’re likely to stick with Canon because you invested in glass that goes on a Canon camera. The camera itself can be upgraded once in a while, but nobody can really afford to switch their camera and their lenses to another brand, and therefore we join in the argument of “my Sony is better than your Nikon,” simply because that’s the camera we own. Get it? So, back on point. When we switch from DSLR to mirrorless we are now looking at news lenses to work natively with the new camera, unless we’re happy to have an adaptor until the end of time to retrofit our DLSR lenses. Upgrading to mirrorless is an opportunity to explore other brands, seeing as we’ll end up having to spend that cash anyway. But who’s out there and what are they doing?
Leaks are doing the rounds right now that Canon will be launching the EOS R5/R6/RX/RS, Nikon will be launching the Z8 and Z9, Sony will be launching the A5 and A7S III, and Fuji, Olympus, and Panasonic all also have new gear coming for us to get our mitts on. With having their other products out in the real world for some time now, let’s hope we’ll see some real advances in tech, as well as simply uprated megapixels.
Personally, I just hope Nikon has addressed the issue of having a sensor bare and exposed to the elements when chaining lenses, or I’ll be switching brands for sure. I have my eye on Sony right now, and I know Glyn Dewis made a successful switch to Sony already.
Conversely to expectations, and perhaps to hold a little nostalgia for now, there are leaked reports of a new Nikon DSLR to hit the market—the D6. Perhaps it’s a clue to the future of DSLR, though. The Nikon F6 is the last film SLR made (which is still in production), so will the D6 be the last DSLR off the line? We’ll see—that’s pure speculation on my part based on the model number!
With mirrorless clearly being marked up as the future of our industry, we just need to get ourselves used to electronic viewfinders and we’re more or less onto a winner.
Feel free to throw your thoughts into the comments here, or reach out to me if you still just don’t know!
Much love
Dave
