Are DSLR's Dying?

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Go on report me someone did this week
Probably because you're a grouchy old ass that contributes nothing to this site. Just my guess.

Now look I'm not going to the basement to get the keys to open the grouchy section - you all have to wait till Christmas for that if you're very very good! So you all behave with each other!
 
Are d-slrs dying? That question doesn't really frame the camera/photography segment very well. What *is* happening is that the explosive growth era for d-slr sales has ended after about 13 consecutive years of straight-up growth. The early d-slr era had very few models to chose from, with a single Canon the D30 for a long time, against the Nikon D1 then D1h and the Fuji S1 Pro, leading to slowly, more models, and then once the Digital Rebel and the Nikon D70 premiered below $1,000 the sales exploded. But those days are long gone. We're now where we were late in the 35mm film era; that is to say, we now have fewer manufacturers, and fewer choices that are "clones" or "near-identicals".

The "other" camera makers that used to be in the d-salr market, like Fuji and Samsung (using Nikon and Pentax body platforms at one time) have dropped the idea of competing against Canon and Nikon directly, and have branched into all-new areas. Kodak is bankrupt and has left the d-slr market. Sigma's d-slr offerings,going back 12 years or so, have fallen flat on their face. Contax, an early d-slr full-frame maker, is out of the camera business.

Now we're seeing the non-Canon, non-Nikon manufacturers trying to differentiate their offerings from those of the competition, struggling to find anything that can set them apart. Pentax has gone to a medium format 645, and still makes some d-slrs. Sony's hedging its bets on multiple camera types. Samsung is going high-MP APS-C. Fuji quit building on Nikon d-slr bodies and went to APS-C mirrorless offerings.

I just got the big B&H Photo catalog a week ago. There are plenty of d-slrs (aps-c,FX,MF) for anybody who needs one, in price ranges from $399 to $50,000. Plus hybrid MILC models that function very much like a d-slr and have most of the advantages of a d-slr. There are PLENTY of d-slr models and price points, but there are also a lot of other types of cameras available too.
 
I dont make money from photography so I dont care what technology makes the pictures as long as the quality is up to my requirements.

Getting a phone with a good camera has only added to my enjoyment of photography as a whole. I even purchased some clip on lenses that work very well.

The consumers like me will always look to lower prices more than a pro. Even 5 years ago the difference between consumer photographic products / results and pro level was huge. The difference is getting smaller on a daily basis due to advances in technology. In general it would take an experienced eye to tell the difference between what my FUJI superzoom produces when compared to a pic produced by the highest level Pro equipment costing 10 or 20 times as much. Small camera's are only going to get better.
 
Smartphone camreas has replaced the basic P&S cameras.
Today cameras makers are less keened to make cheap simple p&S but they do make good and expensive p&s, those are very capable cameras with a much bigger sensor then you are getting in the smartphones.
Smartpone cameras has effected the whole market but the hardest one hit was the cheap p&s
Most people are just fine with this type of photography, owning a good smartphone camera I can see the comfort of it and in good lighting condition you can get nice resutls with it but it is considerably less flexible and really kills creativity for me.
Its ok but nothing more, it will never replace good quality camera unless they will stick bigger sensors and better lenses on these phones
 
Have DSLR's died since the last time this topic was started?

No?

Ok lets move on...
 
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For the record, only US americans are silly enough to drive SUVs.

To the rest of the world, they prefer more reasonable cars that use less gas.

And about the pinnacle of mankinds archievements, well I'm cool with photography taking this place, if we have ruled out oxygen, water, food and clothing as the core basics not eglible for such a spot.

I oppose to single out a specific kind of camera though. Every type of camera is a compromise. DSLRs are, right now, the best general cameras that offer the best bang for the buck and have the least shortcomings. They are also best at quite a number of things, too. Such as prominently autofocus for sports. But if you have special demands, highend large sensor compacts, large format cameras, or mirrorless system cameras all have their advantages. And if stealth is your priority, even the smartphone is best at something.
 
For the record, only US americans are silly enough to drive SUVs.

To the rest of the world, they prefer more reasonable cars that use less gas.
.............
Soooooooo......cars like the Range Rover/Land Rovers are only sold in the U.S.? I think you'd find your perception of "the rest of the world" to be a bit skewed. ;) There are plenty of SUVs and trucks that don't even make it to North America.



As to the O.P. : SLRs aren't dead. Will they ever go away? Maybe. But since large format film is still around, and people are still shooting TLRs, I think SLRs are going to be around for quite a while. Canon has something like 8 SLRs available. If the market is strong enough to support that many different bodies then I'd say we have a ways to go before we can really start calling the segment "dead".
 
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