DPS - Mirrorless Users Will Switch Back to DSLRs, Ricoh Executive Claims

[DPS]

Mirrorless Users Will Switch Back to DSLRs, Ricoh Executive Claims

The post https://digital-photography-school.com/mirrorless-users-will-switch-back-to-dslrs-ricoh-executive-claims/

Source: Mirrorless Users Will Switch Back to DSLRs, Ricoh Executive Claims

[anglefire]

I have DSLR's and have no plans to change to mirrorless - I have tried a couple and yes the viewfinder is a massive improvement on what it was like when they first came out, both for time lag and resolution. But it's not there yet (for me) and the photography that I tend to do - which is a lot of motorsport as well as a bit of portraiture, wildlife etc. So the size is irrelevant most of the time as I have a 300mm f2.8 (with or without 2x converter) or 100-400 or 70-200 on the front most of the time and a larger body helps with the balance - plus I have fairly large hands and just prefer the ergonomics of the button layout.

[jinky]

I`ve had a couple of Fujis now and have to say I love them. The xt10 I had wasn`t quite there in terms of coping with speed/ fast moving toddlers but having upgraded to the xt30 fairly recently I look forward to really testing that as there have been so many improvements. The Fuji lenses are superb and match my Nikon output in terms of quality. I`ve not got rid of the Nikon d700 and lenses yet but feel guilty that they are unused in a cupboard. The Fuji jpegs / simulations straight out of camera leave me minimal editing tweaks to do in photoshop / nik effex and I save so much time over the old raw conversion days. I do think they are the future with each development.

[StephenBatey]

I'd still describe myself as a film rather than digital photographer - I've never bought a digital camera, although I have used Sue's and currently have her cast off Sony a7rii (she now uses a Sony a7riii). My main problem with digital has been the autofocus, which has never worked properly on any autofocus camera I've used, out of the box, and for the way I work. So that rather prejudices me from the outset.

In terms of difference in handling, we had a holiday on the Norfolk Broads a few years ago, and I was using both an Olympus E3 and a Sony a7r (the original one - still have it). In both cases, I was using manual focus lenses. The big differences that were obvious to me were that the Olympus viewfinder was far superior, but the Olympus weight was also far greater. It made the Sony much more manageable.

Since those days, the electronic viewfinders have continued to improve, and the a7riii is more than acceptable to me - but note also that my subjects are mainly static. I did years ago test lag on an EVF by panning a camera in a camera shop, and found it very noticeable; these days, it isn't on the cameras I've tried. So the big difference between mirrorless and DLSR - the viewfinder - doesn't bother me. Except that with an EVF I've been able to take photographs in areas where I couldn't see with my eyes what I was pointing the camera at, but could see clearly in the EVF. Plus an EVF gives me instant feedback on under/overexposure. I've never acquired the habit of checking the rear screen post exposure to see that all went well.

What does bother me - immensely - is the immensity of DSLRs. Given that I don't want autofocus, there is a massive penalty to be paid in size and weight of lenses to have it, and, if a DLSR, a massive penalty in the size and weight of the camera. Using a Sony a7rii with OM lenses gives a combination very like using my OM1. I would be prepared to sacrifice an optical viewfinder just for that.

So if DSLR development contines along the same lines, there won't be anything to tempt me to move to DSLR. I cannot see any maker producing a small, light, manual focus DSLR; it's more likely that an independent maker would produce the equivalent of a Leitz Visoflex to convert a mirrorless to a DSLR! Any takers on that idea? 

[anglefire]

There is no chance of a manual focus dslr by design.
You are, I'm afraid, very much in the minority.
Personally I couldn't do the photography I do without autofocus- not saying it can't be done - a friend of mine could manual focus stooping falcons - but it's not something I can do these days.

[StephenBatey]

Which simply means that we do different kinds of photography. For mine, autofocus actually positively gets in the way rather than helps me; and if I have to pay a heavy size and weight penalty to have a feature that hinders rather than helps me, I won't do it if there's an alternative.

It seems to boil down to personal preference and way of working, and perhaps a little bit of prejudice. I am a large format film photographer by preference, as much as anything because it fits my way of working best, and produces better results (in my hands at least) than a digital camera does anyway.

[jinky]

I must admit when I bought my Fuji xt10 the thing that made me keep my Nikon d700 was the xt10s poor cf performance and shooting speedy stuff. decided to give  the xt30 a try and upgraded and had my first efforts of speedy shots the other day at a wetland site near North cave. It performed very swell even allowing for the fact I came with nothing more than a 90mm lens. These are thus cropped but I think captured a speeding bird well.Especially pleased with the first one shot at f2

[SimonW]

Fuji X-T30 v Pentax KS2

I was tempted to change my Pentax for the Fuji, thinking it would give me several advantages even though I never shoot video. Comparing the bodies with 18-135 lens (my most usually fitted lens) the Fuji kit would be a bit less weight to carry, the WYSIWYG display in the EVF would certainly reduce my need for "chimping" (I very seldom use the Pentax live view option even though it can give similar information), the better noise/ISO performance would be handy, and the considerably better straight-out-of-camera JPGs would probably save a lot of editing of RAW files.

However, I've just had a couple of days on the west coast, during which I shot several photos in heavy rain, and Morar Sands with near gale force winds blowing the incredibly fine sand everywhere. The Pentax is weather sealed. Could I have risked a new and much more expensive camera which is not sealed in these conditions?

Simon