DSLR or mirrorless: What should you buy in 2020?
May 7, 2020
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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The mirrorless market is undoubtedly getting stronger and stronger. Some photographers argue that this will soon kill DSLR, while the others claim that DSLR won’t be dead any time soon. If you’re just buying a new camera, or your first one ever, it can be tough to decide. In this video, David Manning discusses whether you should buy a mirrorless or a DSLR in 2020. He believes that “you’d be crazy to buy a DSLR in 2020,” so let’s see if you agree with his arguments.
David starts by explaining the build of DSLR and mirrorless so he can compare OVF to EVF. He discusses that looking through an optical viewfinder on a DSLR doesn’t give you the accurate reading of the exposure since the light doesn’t hit the sensor. You have the exposure meter though, but David says that it helps you “a bit” to get the correct exposure.
Looking through an electronic viewfinder of a mirrorless camera, on the other hand, gives you a direct reading of the exposure. In other words, there’s no mirror between the lens and the sensor, so the light hits the sensor and gives you a direct readout of the image you’re shooting. You have a direct preview of the image you’re taking as you change settings, both through an EVF and on the screen.
Now, I must note that the exposure meter doesn’t really help “a bit,” it’s actually quite accurate and I have a relatively crappy DSLR. Also, you can see all the changes in the exposure as you change settings when you switch to Live View on a DSLR. So I personally wouldn’t take these claims as arguments against DSLR, but David has some more.
He goes on that mirrorless cameras are smaller and lighter than DSLRs, which definitely is true. However, the lenses can be quite bulky, so there’s no really that much difference when you put the lens onto the camera.
IBIS in mirrorless cameras is certainly an advantage, and so is the eye-tracking AF which has almost reached perfection in some mirrorless cameras. The sound is another advantage, considering that mirrorless cameras are much quieter and can be completely silent when shooting.
DSLRs still do have some advantages over mirrorless, as Dave admits. First of all, they still have a longer battery life. Also, they’re more rugged and robust than mirrorless. However, he still claims that it would be “crazy” to buy a DSLR in 2020, and the argument for that is – the future. The thing is, most companies are putting their money and efforts into mirrorless cameras and accompanying lenses. It sure looks like the whole market is slowly turning towards mirrorless systems, and investing in one now is more like investing in the future.
In a nutshell, David advises you to go mirrorless if you’re buying your first camera, or switch systems if you’re a DSLR shooter. Since mirrorless is taking over, he predicts that DSLR will become undervalued and it will be difficult to sell it later.
I think that David gives some good arguments for mirrorless, while I find the others unconvincing. Personally, I wouldn’t switch systems, but most of my reasons are more sentimental than technical. I don’t quite like the “feeling” of watching through an EVF, and I like the robustness of my DSLR. There’s one darn good reason for me to stay with the gear I have: it’s quite expensive to switch systems, especially here in Serbia where mirrorless cameras are still relatively unpopular, hence they’re expensive even used.
But I’m not a professional photographer. I can afford to stick to my old DSLR until it breaks, and even then I’ll probably buy another DSLR. I don’t even think I’ll ever go full-frame. But I’m interested in your thoughts. Professional or not, what do you think: should photographers buy mirrorless or DSLR in 2020?
[DSLR vs MIRRORLESS – What to buy in 2020? via FStoppers]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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18 responses to “DSLR or mirrorless: What should you buy in 2020?”
Already using mirrorless, and in no way am I going back to DSLR’s.
I want a mirroless but the issue is price and what to choose. Before it was only Canon and Nikon but for mirrorless you have now Sony and Fuji as options and honesty all seem good.
Cristiano Diniz da Silva Fuji and Sony are my choices for mirrorless, I have a canon DSLR and a Fuji mirrorless and I don’t think I’ll get another DSLR to replace the canon once it breaks, Fuji’s lens selection aren’t cheap but they’re great quality.
I replaced all my Canon kit and my 2 L lenses for an X-pro3 and a 35/1.4, I would never go back. ?
Snowy Duffield how are the mechanics of Fuji compared to Canon. I always had Canon since film age. I seen a Fuji through videos and it felt like it had too much compared to the Canon T5. The pictures looked awesome.
Cristiano Diniz da Silva they’re certainly more traditional, dials on the top etc and it takes some getting used to but I really like it
Snowy Duffield I have to get my hands in one. I almost got one last month and gave up because I couldn’t feel it just by watching a video.
Mirroless
I bought the 5D mkIV when it launched, if I knew the R5 was in the pipeline, I would have held out for it. I don’t regret my purchase but I do love some of the improvements they made (especially to video) in the R5
The tech is cool but I don’t like EVFs one bit
This is a question someone needs help answering?
Why “should” you buy anything because its year xyzh? Buy when you need a better tool to do your work. Anything else is a waste.
I have both. They each have their advantages and disadvantages. One thing to consider is that DSLRs are a very mature product. There’s little room to grow because they’ve been around for quite a while, now. Adding video features is about all that is left. Mirrorless, on the other hand, is still growing and maturing. There’s still room to grow and room for improvement. Mirrorless cameras are already pretty close to DSLRs in almost every way, negating most advantages that a DSLR has. Battery life will never be able to match a DSLR simply because the DSLR can go to sleep and almost instantly wake from it while a Mirrorless camera needs to turn on the sensor, EVF/display, and circuitry to wake it up. As battery tech improves for the Mirrorless camera it also improves for DSLRs, making them last even longer or going with smaller batteries, making them smaller. We will see how things pan out but I would say that the DSLR isn’t dead. Not yet at least.
A lot depends on what you shoot
Fujifilm
Ventilator & masks stocks. Buy them!
If just starting out, Mirrorless. But no reason to invest in a totally new setup, if not. Other than GAS!
I have Canon 5D Mk4 bodies and Canon EOS R bodies and there are some things I miss on the 5D Mk4 but they could be implemented in the next Canon mirrorless bodies (EOS R5 maybe). I have the lens adapter with control ring so I’m able to use my “old” DSLR lenses and they work great.
My recommendation would be to rent a mirrorless body to see if it works for you. There are lens adapters for Canon and Nikon so you could use your existing lenses if you don’t want to switch to an entirely new system with new lenses.