At NikonGear, it is clear that the vast majority - it seems to me all the participants - consider the relative distribution and sales of Nikon and Canon DSLR systems when system camera sales and use is discussed.
This is much different from other fora.
A foremost example is dpreview.com, where one gets the impression that in particular Sony is about to overtake and dominate the whole camera market. Mirrorless cameras are touted as "the future" by people who seem to disregard or forget about the reality that mirrorless constructions who have electronic viewfinders and a sensor that is constantly on and exposed invariably means vastly increased battery power consumption and a correspondingly vastly reduced number of possible shots pr. mAh of battery power. Yes, one can carry a large number of batteries, and one can also carry a power bank, but the fact still remains - mirrorless consume much more energy and reduces the number of shots relative to a DSLR. Those who insist that mirrorless is the future and that optical viewfinders are obsolete and on their way out generally have no other answer than the statement that "most people will be fine with the capacity of mirrorless."
However, such statements do not change reality. The fact is still that for any given capacity of a battery you can get many more shots from a system with an optical viewfinder than what is possible from a mirrorless system.
Nor does anyone at dpreview or similar fora seem to consider the fact that mirrorless cameras with EVFs will have even more severe problems in low temperatures, since battery capacity will be even more drastically reduced - and how does an electronic viewfinder perform in -20, -30 and -40C?
That is why I ask:
- How and why is it that at dpreview.com and also other photo related discussion fora one gets the impression that mirrorless is the only thing and that DSLR syatems and glass viewfinders with no power consumption and sensors that are blacked out and protected between shots will soon be history?
- How representative are those who give that abovementioned impression?
- Who, and how many, are those who are ready to dump functional, reliable and capable systems from Nikon, Canon and Pentax in favor of the Sony system which seems to be mysteriously popular with hobbyist photographers?
- What are, in your opinion, the relative merits of DSLRs and mirrorless, and what is the future of these systems?