Are DSLR's Dying?

[regdawg]

Had a discussion with some friends and a few of them commented that DSLR's are dying because of the innovations of some compact camera's and smartphones. Is this true? I was in the market for an upgrade but they had gotten me thinking. Just some opinions from folks who are in the photography world but may or may not necessarily use DSLR's all the time.

 

[photoguy99]

Yes, definitely.

 

[snerd]

They can have my dslr, when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Had a discussion with some friends and a few of them commented that DSLR's are dying because of the innovations of some compact camera's and smartphones. Is this true? I was in the market for an upgrade but they had gotten me thinking. Just some opinions from folks who are in the photography world but may or may not necessarily use DSLR's all the time.

It all depends on what you are shooting and how you're shooting it. If all you're doing is taking photos of your travels then grab a m4/3 and be happy. If you're shooting events and sports then the SLRs and their systems are still the way to go.

 

[goodguy]

Is DSLR slowly being bested by mirroless ?
Mirrorless is still not there, DSLR are today the best they ever were but sadly it will be replaced by mirrorles once they will find way to make it better then DSLR.
Can P&S and cell phone replace interchangeable lens camera ?
LOL not in a million years, these are good systems for some but definitely not going to give you the flexibility and quality of DLSR and mirrorless.
If you would ask what specific model or camera mirrorless vs DSLR is best for you then we might be able to help but cameras with big sensors and interchangeable lenses are not going away anytime soon.

I think currently if you want the best system the DSLR is still the king of the hill.

 

[rexbobcat]

Until they overcome the technological limitations of mirrorless...

No.

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, don't think I want to replace my Canon rangefinder camera with my phone.

Technological advances ... advance. Don't get too caught up with the present, as it is momentary, and in a second from now it is the past.

 

[Nevermore1]

My understanding from reading articles over the past few months is a lot of vamera companies are going to stop making P&S cameras since cell phone cameras are improving so much. The articles said they were going to put more focus on their DSLR lines in the coming years.

 

[Gary A.]

Yes. I have FF dSLRs, mirrorless MFT and mirrorless APS-C ... my dSLR is collecting dust. Mirrorless does not track action. So at this point a dSLR is still better for action. While a dSLR is still The Camera for fast action, but mirrorless can capture action well enough for most hobbyists. In good light, SAF (single frame auto focusing) is lightening fast and easily equals the focus speed of a dSLR.

Since having migrated/evolved to mirrorless I haven't touched my FF dSLR's.

 

[KmH]

P&S camera sales has decreased the last 3 years as more and more people rely on cell phone cameras.

DSLR camera sales have decreased too, but the world was, and many think still is, in a pretty major economic recession.

Each camera type has technical limitations, but as mentioned some technology will eventually supplant the DSLR.

 

[gsgary]

Yes. I have FF dSLRs, mirrorless MFT and mirrorless APS-C ... my dSLR is collecting dust. Mirrorless does not track action. So at this point a dSLR is still better for action. While a dSLR is still The Camera for fast action, but mirrorless can capture action well enough for most hobbyists. In good light, SAF (single frame auto focusing) is lightening fast and easily equals the focus speed of a dSLR.

Since having migrated/evolved to mirrorless I haven't touched my FF dSLR's.

Ditto my Canon 5D and 1D's have not been used for over a year gone back to film 95% and 5% Sony A7, it was 100% film until I got the A7 but still don't use that much I even sold my 300mmF2.8L which I never thought I would

 

[bratkinson]

Cell phones have indeed sounded the death knell for the lower end point and shoot cameras. They can be found these days for $15-20, last time I looked.

I recently bought a Canon G15 'super P&S' as I think of it, because it can do full manual to full auto and everywhere in between. The IQ is surprisingly good.

But will cell phones or even a potential Canon 'G99' ever replace the IQ and functionality of the 5Diii with L glass I now use, don't hold your breath.

But then, perhaps they'll figure out how to put 17 elements in 14 groups (100-400 L), and combine that with 18 elements in 13 groups (24-70 Lii) and another 14 elements in 11 groups (8-15 L) and do it in less than 8oz weight AND sell it for less than $500, maybe THEN the DSLR will be dead.

But then, the 'market' may decide that 'good enough' is sufficient from their cell phones, so why bother with the added cost/weight/bulk of a DSLR?

 

[cgw119 144]

Yup, your friends are absolutely right. Next?

 

[runnah]

I am going to go with "maybe".

 

[astroNikon]

Yes. I have FF dSLRs, mirrorless MFT and mirrorless APS-C ... my dSLR is collecting dust. Mirrorless does not track action. So at this point a dSLR is still better for action. While a dSLR is still The Camera for fast action, but mirrorless can capture action well enough for most hobbyists. In good light, SAF (single frame auto focusing) is lightening fast and easily equals the focus speed of a dSLR.

Since having migrated/evolved to mirrorless I haven't touched my FF dSLR's.

Please send me all of your dSLR equipment. I'll put good use to them.


My P&S was replaced by my cell phone. The P&S is just not convenient because my iphone takes as good or better pictures than my old P&S and is alot more convenient.

But my iphone cannot compete with my dslr for what I use it for.
There's been other threads recently of "my friend says iphones are better than dslrs".
If you use the tool within the limitation of how it can be used then you are fine.
I still can't figure out how to set up remote flashes, change the aperture, optical zoom, low light, etc on my iphone.