Is there a future for DSLR?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

A side-line anecdote is in order. I once did a lot of studies on water film structures using only an 8x10" sheet of photo paper in an 8x10" holder and a [mouth-held] flash as my "photo" gear. A very cold and wet experience, but I got my images. No camera, no lens.

[BW]

The effort and challenge is sometimes more fun than the outcome. I have some beer can/m photos to prove it

[Almass]

I have tried a few mirrorless cameras during my photographic life, but for my kind of photography there is nothing that can come close to the DSLR when it comes to cold weather, battery life and durability. This picture took me two weeks to get. The D3s was standing on a tripod with a SB 910 attached in fluctuating temperatures ranging between -27 degrees celsius and +1 degrees celsius, snow and sleet, without changing batteries. Show me a mirrorless that could do something like this?

WoW. That is some picture.

[PeterN]

WoW. That is some picture.

+1

[Erik Lund]

Fantastic shot Børge!

[Jakov Minić]

May I join the crowd and say WOW, what a photo Børge!

[BW]

Thanks guys! Out of 20 shots that night, 18 was with the marten looking away from the camera, two with the marten looking towards the camera but only one with ok aurora.

[Frank Fremerey]

Thanks guys! Out of 20 shots that night, 18 was with the marten looking away from the camera, two with the marten looking towards the camera but only one with ok aurora.

Certainly worth the wait and effort. A result to be proud of. Very good planning and trapping.

[Anthony]

I am late to the party, but what a great shot, Børge!

[Jan Anne]

Sony seemed to have cracked the viewfinder blackout and slow AF with slow lenses most of the older mirrorless cameras are known for.

The A6300 can do 11 fps but at 8 fps the viewfinder blackout is comparable to a DSLR. The whopping 425 phase detect AF sensors are spread out over the entire screen, its very quick, tracks well en focusses even in the outer corners of the image. The A6300 is an APS-C camera priced around $1000 and I expect the a7 MKIII later this year with the same or better capabilities.

Here's a test with a preproduction model and a adapted A mount Sony 70-400/4.5-5.6 SSM II. In the first half he uses the auto playback feature, around 13:20 he talks about this and turns this off and uses the 11fps and 8fps modes.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

A little off tangent and absolutely not connected to the last post, I more and more often think the problem is rather the serious and knowledgeable photographers are becoming the endangered species, not their gear.

[Jan Anne]

Good point, with the over simplification of everything technological in the last couple of years camera gear also becomes more commoditised.

So more people are taking up photography with much lower skill levels, from this group talent will arise and become the new professional photogs. These guys and galls have never seen the inside of an art school, etc. Their work will be good but they are mostly known due to their social media and marketing skills.

Btw, I am one of those fully autodidact photogs, though far from professional 

[PeterN]

I do not think there is anything wrong with that. The same has been said about cars, planes, and other other technologies that evolved and became more user friendly over time. I don't believe that one should be an engineer or an artist to hold and use a camera.  I like simplicity as a design principle.

It might even be liberating to be unaware of conventions and rules and just experiment with whatever camera one has (those awful stand-with-your-back-to-something-interesting-selfies may one day been seen as a sign of our time and at display in museums). Many great photographers, who broke rules, are auto-didacts, I've been told.

On the other hand, it is also good that there are people who understand photography and the gear: they can transfer their knowledge to the new generation.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Mankind advances because knowledge accumulates. That assumes each generation builds on the insights of their predecessors not that they start inventing the wheel every time.

I don't doubt for a second that some persons intuitively "know" and can use new technology to its advantage in a very short time, but that does not alter the fact that professional results come from a lot of work, not serendipity. And understanding what and why.

[Jan Anne]

I am not sure the new generation cares all that much....

Look at NG where the technical knowledge is of a pretty high standard, I just turned 41 and am one of the youngest guys around.....