Own story first. I had been in the Nikon camp since the mid 1990’s. I appreciated the lens mount continuity, the bullet proof reliability and overall ‘feel’ of the camera and controls. I honestly can’t remember the model I started with but I progressed through to an F100, which is still a gorgeous camera. Then came the early 2000’s. I got my first digital camera, a D100 in 2002. There was no looking back and I added a D2x and D4 to that collection.
There was one problem, they are HEAVY! From about 2015 I’d been checking out Sony and these “mirrorless” camera designs. By the time they got to the a7iii I decided to jump ship. Any photographers who’ve changed make know the pain. It isn’t the camera body that is the problem, it’s the glass! Anyway, change made. I’m happy with the glass that I have right now and I have a camera that is more capable than the D4 and half the weight.
My story is far from unique. There are many other advantages that a modern mirrorless camera gives, notably focus peeking, exposure zebras and the ability to flip the viewfinder to B&W if that is how the final image is intended.
There is news dribbling out from Nikon and Canon that they hare pretty much finished with DSLR development, the D6 is likely the last flagship DLSR (but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a D7 with slightly upgraded specs). Canon appear to have at least hinted that they also will not be devoting too many development dollars to DSLR’s.
We’re heading for a new mirrorless age! How do you feel about that?
