I just read a report on CIPA figures at the Canon Rumos site that included this interesting paragraph:
DSLR shipments over the year have continued to fall, and are now almost a rounding error on the CIPA charts as the camera companies still making DSLRs only shipped out 6 thousand DSLR cameras that had an average value of around 44,000 yen or $283 per unit (this is the export value, the retail price may be 2 times this or more). Comparatively, the mirrorless manufacturers shipped out 6.311 million cameras with an average value of 110 thousand Yen or $712 USD.
(emphasis added.}
The CIPA report does not completely reflect the entire global camera market, but it is clear that the ere of the DSLR is coming to an end and the era of mirrorless cameras is fully here.
(The era of oour and my DSLR[/b[ is not necessarily over, and I continue to use one for half of my photography for now. It still works great… though when it is time to replace it a mirrorless camera will take its place.)]
Sy Sez wrote:
Film SLR's are still used by some, so who knows, but DSLR's certainly less "popular", if not deceased .
DSLRs probably won't have the long tail of SLRs due to the electronics failing and becoming unrepairable over time. Also, older storage media will get harder to find and interface. Will anyone be able to find a CF card and card reader compatible with whatever computing devices we're using 30 years from now? Who knows. But I know I haven't seen a SmartMedia card, what my first digital used, in a long time.
AFAIK, Canon and Nikon have effectively ceased production of DSLRs, even if a few models remain available to purchase. My guess is that they are shipping / selling mostly old stock.
I guess this does raise a question about Pentax. There have been rumors of a K-1 Mark III for some time, but it seems hard to justify bringing out a new DSLR model into this market, stated commitment or no.
Interestingly, I have noticed an uptick in YouTube creators vlogging about using DSLRs instead of mirrorless as an intentional throwback to simpler tech. I guess the good news is that there is no shortage of used DSLR models and lenses to choose from.
They were taken away kinda like people take stuff away from bad children. No way to know what sales would have looked like if they'd continued
No R&D basically, for DSLR'S for years, yet 9 year old 5D4 still one of the top rentals last year. Sony finally managed to get a stills body minimally ahead of it not by much afer all this time
I still can't see where my 5DsR gives up anything in terms of image quality to any newer gear. For 90% of my uses it still does not hold me back. I think this was driven more by the companies forcing a new technology than it was an actual desire from long time shooters. Just my humble opinion.
I continue to use my Canon dslrs for about 75% of my photography. The 5DSR, with Canon EF lenses, is working fine for me at this time.I bought another 5DSR last month.
BUT..I did go mirrorless last year with a Fuji GFX100sii MF. That is medium format and another subject.
Canon has not shown me a mirrorless body (FF) worth my interest at this time.
Images posted here by members shooting with the new Canon mirrorless bodies are excellent in all IQ respects. I have that old "Tim Taylor- the Toolman" mentality that "more", in this case pixels and the info it can pack into 1 pixel, is better ....or "as good".
Other manufacturers do have some very fine mirrorless bodies! But I do not want to switch to another brand when my EF lenses are working just fine for over 25 years. The progression of the FF dslrs then to the 5DSR now was excellent imho.
Just my $.02 And Jim above^^^^^^^ I agree with 100%.
Dan2
addendum...I am NOT a full time photographer, I don't mean 8 hours a day...just out shooting when an idea, or lack thereof, hits me, despite me being retired. Life has dictated other circumstances beyond my control/ That factors into any camera, equipment decision that I make. If I was out and about 75-80% of my free time I might think differently also.
I have a 1Dx and it is most excellent also. I have a 90D APS-C senor for my macro work. The Fuji GFX with an adapter takes my Canon 180mm f3.5 L USM lens fantastic.
I also will add, I have "hand tremors" that can get very difficult when totting a huge zoom lens. "IS" in the lens is a MUST and is better if body has IBIS and both.
The Fuji GFX has IBIS and it is fantastic! No shake on image file at all even down to 1/2 second.
jamesdak wrote:
I still can't see where my 5DsR gives up anything in terms of image quality to any newer gear. For 90% of my uses it still does not hold me back. I think the was driven more by the companies forcing a new technology than it was an actual desire from long time shooters. Just my humble opinion.
It really depends on what you shoot. I just shot rugby on a crazy dark field. I'm talking 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 80-100k dark at mid field and ISO 32-50k in the brighter spots. The R6 is the only camera I've owned that would have had a chance. But for daytime use, studio work, landscape, etc, older cameras still produce excellent results. But there are always environments where you always want more so I'm happy to see tech advance.
There is one specific case were I will use DSLR´s as long as the last one of mine (or I, obviously) will live.
I have a window with unrestricted view of the horizon between about 5° and 45°, or N to NE. Between May 8th and August 3rd this is were the Sun rises and I cant stop myself from having a camera with timer in this direction snapping away once a minute or two from just past midnight, well night it is not ofcourse, to just before five when the Sun leaves the view. For this use it is good to have a mirror in front of the sensor. There are many opinions available on what the Sun does to a sensor. I´m too fond of my mirrorlesses to put anyone of them shooting sunrises every morning for 2.5 months a year. Perhaps it would not impact the sensor, but that is for someone else to try out.
Z250SA wrote:
There is one specific case were I will use DSLR´s as long as the last one of mine (or I, obviously) will live.
...
So, long live my DSLR´s!!
I agree. I bought a D780 after trying to use my mirrorless in San Diego on the daytime beaches. The EVF was worthless.
I actually think good/modern DSLRs will go up in value. Once the D850 stops becoming available at retail, it will shoot up in value like the ol' 28mm 1.4 did.
I expect a NIB D850 (or whatever you consider the "best" DSLR ever made) will be worth a small fortune in the future.
DSLRs make good 2nd or 3rd cameras. The lenses are cheap and they are fun to use and have some obvious benefits (and negatives) to mirrorless.
robsuh wrote:
I agree. I bought a D780 after trying to use my mirrorless in San Diego on the daytime beaches. The EVF was worthless.
You need a good hat. The only thing I miss from my 5D3 is the Hoodman eyecup. It was soft rubber and teardrop shaped to block light, especially from the right. Sadly, they've never made one for any Canon mirrorless cameras.
garyvot wrote:
Interestingly, I have noticed an uptick in YouTube creators vlogging about using DSLRs instead of mirrorless as an intentional throwback to simpler tech. I guess the good news is that there is no shortage of used DSLR models and lenses to choose from.
That’s inevitable… and hilarious.
There is always a continent, with virtually a technology, that believes that the older stuff was better than the newer stuff.
The irony is that when today’s supposed “vintage” gear was new, there was a contingent saying that IT was no good and only older stuff was better. (Remember the film SLR die-hards when DSLRs came out? The MF film shooters who thought that 35mm was not a serious medium?)
So today DSLRs are old enough that they must be better than newer mirrorless models. But wait, in a couple of decades, today’s mirrorless cameras will be the old-school vintage cameras that must be better than whatever is new then! ;-)
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jamesdak wrote:
I still can't see where my 5DsR gives up anything in terms of image quality to any newer gear. For 90% of my uses it still does not hold me back. I think the was driven more by the companies forcing a new technology than it was an actual desire from long time shooters. Just my humble opinion.
I own a mirrorless system (for my street and travel photography))but I’m still using my 5DsR for landscape and it works quite well. When it is time to replace it, I’m sure I’ll get something mirrorless.
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Danpbphoto wrote:
Canon has not shown me a mirrorless body (FF) worth my interest at this time.
I’m in the same boat. I’ve used Canon (though not quite exclusively) for two decades, and my natural inclination would be to continue with the brand. But for my particular purposes, there’s nothing that is as good of a fit as my 5DsR was a decade ago or as options from other brands are today. (I’m leaning toward either a Sony FF system or a GFX system, though the lack of certain lenses I rely on still holds me back on the latter.)
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Mike_5D wrote:
You need a good hat.
. And yes. But in all seriousness, while it used to be hard to see EVFs in bright light, today they are a lot better and this isn’t really an issue at all.
I am just utilitarian. The R6/2 just focuses better than 6D it replaced, and maybe even tad better than higher tier DSLRs which still have the dual optical paths (so BF/FF issues may appear). So far I keep the DSLRs in reserve (or second camera need) I am basically an EF lens shooter of RF cameras.
jamesdak wrote:
I still can't see where my 5DsR gives up anything in terms of image quality to any newer gear. For 90% of my uses it still does not hold me back. I think the was driven more by the companies forcing a new technology than it was an actual desire from long time shooters. Just my humble opinion.
Looking stuff up for another thread recently, the Nikon D800 (which turns 14 shortly) has 50% more pixels and better DR on Bill Claff vs the Z6III. So its not like DSLR'S can't get high iq.
Only 2 FF bodies have more mp than the 5DsR, the A7r4 and A7r5. But even that is only minimally higher at 60mp, Nikon still hasn't gotten to 50mp yet and Canon is 45MP lately as well.
Really didn't like mirrorless as much once I realized we're only getting one or the other. De facto telling me the type of camera I have to use of course DSLR iq is still high.
Mike_5D wrote:
It really depends on what you shoot. I just shot rugby on a crazy dark field. I'm talking 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 80-100k dark at mid field and ISO 32-50k in the brighter spots. The R6 is the only camera I've owned that would have had a chance. But for daytime use, studio work, landscape, etc, older cameras still produce excellent results. But there are always environments where you always want more so I'm happy to see tech advance.
Yeah, I've got nothing against tech advances either. I've added a Leica SL and SL2 to my kit for the wonderful EVF. It lets me compensate for my aging eyes by still allowing me to use all my wonderful old manual focus glass. In fact all my shooting today was with the SL2 using an adapted CY Zeiss 100/2.0 on it.
And I even added a R5 MKII to my setup about a month ago. Still curious to see what all it can give me in increased capability for my wildlife work. Should help with my BIF work more than anything else.
Sure you can still use DSLR's and SLR's to get great shots.
It is also a fact that mirrorless cameras can do many things that the above can't do, including getting shots that are more difficult to capture. Not to mention the video side.
Yeah the Nikon D850 was a great camera for shooting birds. The loud machine-like shutter noise killed many possible shots as the subject fled in panic.
I suggest buying extra port rubber covers for the USB & HDMI ports and other things. These decompose to its base elements in a little over a dozen years due to humidity, temperature, human skin oils and other contaminants.
I'm ordering some for my 2009 1D Mark IV, 2014 7D Mark II, 2015 5Ds R and maybe an extra set so I can use them to the 2050s. I'd get for the 2008 5D Mark II but sadly it's unsupported.
Last month I started shooting again after 7 years with the 1D4 some pickleball under LED lighting and the blackouts from the refresh rate of the image sensor and artificial lighting sucks. Decisive moments messed up. For those wondering the 1st body to resolve this was the 7D Mark II. Canon likely discovered this problem in the early 2010s.
My 2002 EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM cannot be serviced anymore as early as during COVID times. A dozen years ago its USM stopped focusing properly and I forgot to send it in for servicing. Now I have to deal with 3rd party repair people if I want to resurrect it.
dolina wrote:
I suggest buying extra port rubber covers for the USB & HDMI ports and other things. These decompose to its base elements in a little over a dozen years due to humidity, temperature, human skin oils and other contaminants..
That highlights one of the issues with keeping these older cameras running — stuff does simply start to wear and decay eventually, especially if you use the camera a lot. Cameras are surprisingly durable things if you treat them well, but eventually it becomes less worthwhile trying to keep an older camera running.
. And yes. But in all seriousness, while it used to be hard to see EVFs in bright light, today they are a lot better and this isn’t really an issue at all.