Is it a good idea to invest a lot in dslr atm?

[413x]

Keep reading that mirror less is the way forward and it might not be long before it is overall better.

For someone starting out is it pouring money down the drain to go too crazy on dslr kit seeing as it is often more expensive and weighty

I must admit I no almost nothing about mirror less

 

[buzzlightweight]

personal preference, if you have already invested stay with it

 

[Nexus]

For professionals, I don't see mirrorless replacing single lens reflex anytime soon. Thats because of numerous factors, but the range of lenses and accessories is a key one.

Mirorrless' advantage is also its disadvantage. They can be small, which is great for your average shooter, perhaps street photographers and likely any pro that wants to carry a smaller camera sometimes. The negative is that they are too small, many pros will want something they can hold properly, especially if you are going to stick a big heavy lens on the end of it. There is also the fact that no matter what happens, I can't see people taking you seriously if you turned up to shoot a wedding or commercial studio work if all you had was something the size of a compact! In other words, big camera = pro!

Spending money on things in Photography really comes down to a couple of factors....

- If you are a Pro and know that by spending money on the kit it will earn you money, you need it.
- You are somewhere inbetween and take a lot of photos, and can easily afford to spend money on kit because its something you enjoy doing.

If you don't fall into either, then spending a lot of money on photography gear probably isn't worth it. As for mirrorless, it entirely depends on what and how you shoot as to whether its a worthwhile investment for yourself.

 

[413x]

Got a macro lens and ordering a body this week, that's all

 

[413x]

For professionals, I don't see mirrorless replacing single lens reflex anytime soon. Thats because of numerous factors, but the range of lenses and accessories is a key one.

Mirorrless' advantage is also its disadvantage. They can be small, which is great for your average shooter, perhaps street photographers and likely any pro that wants to carry a smaller camera sometimes. The negative is that they are too small, many pros will want something they can hold properly, especially if you are going to stick a big heavy lens on the end of it. There is also the fact that no matter what happens, I can't see people taking you seriously if you turned up to shoot a wedding or commercial studio work if all you had was something the size of a compact! In other words, big camera = pro!

Spending money on things in Photography really comes down to a couple of factors....

- If you are a Pro and know that by spending money on the kit it will earn you money, you need it.
- You are somewhere inbetween and take a lot of photos, and can easily afford to spend money on kit because its something you enjoy doing.

If you don't fall into either, then spending a lot of money on photography gear probably isn't worth it. As for mirrorless, it entirely depends on what and how you shoot as to whether its a worthwhile investment for yourself.

I had problems with the nikon cameras as opposed to the canon because the grip was too small, my hands are not big but I have quite long fingers. I found I needed a grip with a large circumference

 

[Raymond Lin]

For me, I wouldn't get a Mirrorless because:-

No optical view finder.
It will take them decades to build up a lens lineup as strong as DSLR (which carried over from SLR). If the body can take DSLR lenses, ala Canon M, then it is out of balance, and if they make the body bigger then that defeats its original purpose.

Also, the way technology goes, it will take a few generations for them to trickle down/implement the top of the line 1D/5D techonology into a mirrorless camera.

 

[413x]

So at the moment is it more of a size/convenience thing than anything?

I would miss the optical viewfinder myself

 

[D.P.]

Removing the mirror makes the body smaller which has some advantages and some disadvantages. That lane doesn't really change the size of the lens. A FF mirror less with a big telephoto will just be horrible to use. So you really need to look at smaller sensors to get smaller lenses and have a nice compact package which is good for certain types of photography but will limit others.

The M43 and Nikon1 systems are really the sweet spot with small bodies, small lenses and good IQ. M43 has a good lens line up now and the anioon1 is the not mirror less to have the speed and AF of a DSLR.


As an next,net for the future I would actually be far more cautious investing in any of the mirror less lines. Canon have basically abandoned their M line, some cameras and lenses want be released n the US. Panasonic and Olympus are struggling to get profitable despite have the best system out there and sales don't reach their expectations. Nikon 1 sales are a small fraction of what Nikon wanted. Sony's camera division is still not profitable.

Really, buy a Nikon or Canon DSLR, enjoy the lenses and the most secure future of any serious camera.

Eventually all mirrors will be removed and optical VF replaced with electronic, but the technology isn't there yet. Most pros still want an optical V, only when that changes will we see large scale changed.

 

[D.P.]

So at the moment is it more of a size/convenience thing than anything?

I would miss the optical viewfinder myself

There are other advantages, no moving parts make them more reliable, cheaper to produce and less vibration. Also can allow AF for video etc.

 

[413x]

Thanks everyone, think I am just getting a bit twitchy as I'm about to buy my first body

I'll stick with the established system

 

[D.P.]

Mirror less camera make a nie addition to a full DSLR setup. Something smaller and lighter to fall back on, I use an Olympus em-2 as a (jacket) pocket camera. The image quality is as good as modern crop DSLRs (about the smae as my D90 and a bit ahead of the canon sensors).it is very small, very light, lenses are also small but high quality. But it isn't a DSLR! Much harder to handhold, especially with long lenses. No OVF can get tiring.