Originally posted by lesmore49 Well....this past week at Photokina has certainly been an interesting one with all the additional release of more Full frame and other format size... Mirrorless cameras.
I originally asked in this thread if they're (mirrorless) going to dominate the market ? I know just because a bunch of anything has been released doesn't necessarily mean they are going to be the dominant product in the marketplace...but...I guess we will see.
Who will buy? Not an old timer like me...I'm too firmly ensconced in th world of DSLR and SLRdom to be a typical candidate for the new technology (to me) mirrorless. But the marketplace isn't interested in my demographics...old, set in my ways...old.
But for those just coming into the marketplace..whether potential enthusiast or just a guy who wants to get a basic but good camera to record family events...mirrorless will tempt them...probably to the point do I get a mirrorless or a DSLR.
Also I wonder how the Leica L lens mount in partnership with Panasonic and is it Fuji (?) is going to affect the mirrorless and general camera market(s) ?
I too am an old guy set in his ways. But an interesting thought has struck me. Asahi were one of the first to put a mirror in a camera. Until then, there hadn't been a need for them. Thinking back, the original Optio's has a viewfinder but they went out years ago. TLR's went a long time ago. So a whole generation of people has become used to taking photos without a finder. It was the Asahi "Optical" Company who put a mirror in a camera. And for a while even after that, most of the players were about mechanical perfection and glass design. In reality very few or perhaps none of those original companies really had any "expertise" or the ability to produce electronics. Nor have they now. Leica source in their sensors (as do many others). They have been in partnership with the likes of Panasonic for a long time. What has happened and is happening is that there is a coming together of the electronics Industry with the optical one. A mirror was needed with film to compose and focus a camera with interchangeable lenses above about 90mm (35mm equivalent), Below that, you could use a mirror or a rangefinder/viewfinder. That is no longer the case.
Electronics have progressed to a stage where a mirror is no longer needed. If you like it has gone full circle. Pentax dropped the finder from the Optio's a long time ago. Fuji had an optical finder in the X10 and X20 with an electronic overlay. That went fully electronic with the X30. Long before digital, Pentax started going away from dials etc with the Z1. True there is a market for "retro". Fuji exploit it with some of their designs and use dials and aperture rings. Many of the Leica's have very simple menus. But then they don't need AF ones etc.
APS and the other smaller sensors have been without a mirror for a while Even in MF, there is ML. So in reality, I think the mirror will die. If it is not needed, it adds complexity and therefore cost to the design. Another advantage is that with a new mount, you can have a clean slate and design for operation rather than be constrained by compatibility. Nor do you have to rely on menus. As Fuji have shown, you can produce an ML camera with a shutter speed dial and aperture ring, ie traditional controls. So really the only thing you need a mirror for in any format is if you want an optical finder. And in the "overall" imaging market, there is really only a small proportion of those. So yes, I don't think it will happen overnight but I do believe to days of the SLR are numbered. And when it happens there will be some who will continue to use their "old" gear for a long time. Just as a few now still enjoy using film rather tha digital sensors.