Mirrorless Cameras, Worth The Switch?

When talking about mirrorless cameras, facts and hype often get intertwined and confused. It reminds me of the early days of the iPhone. A cult of “fan boys” developed that gushed exuberantly about the iPhone. The cult exclaimed how it changed their life and whenever a new model came out, they dutifully lined up, money in hand, eager to be the first to get the latest model. It’s considered a mystical and spiritual event. In the end it was just a phone with a camera. Mirrorless cameras are now experiencing a somewhat similar phenomenon for photographers.

A lot of people may assume that as a seasoned (that sounds better than “old”) photographer that grew up with manual film cameras and has now used a DSLR for quite a while that I might be anti-mirrorless. I’m not. I believe that mirrorless is the future of photography and is the next logical step in the progression of photography. It seems that we are in the transition zone between DSLR development and performance holding steady while mirrorless development and performance is rapidly increasing. This makes for some difficult choices. If I’m starting in photography which route should I go, DSLR or mirrorless? If I’m established in the DSLR world should I make the switch to mirrorless?

The Easier Decision

If you find yourself in the situation of needing to buy a new camera because your gear was lost, stolen, destroyed etc., deciding to go mirrorless is a fairly easy decision. Likewise, if you are changing from different types of cameras, such as SLRs or Point and Shoot cameras, to go a “real” camera as some would call it, the decision is also fairly easy. In these cases, you are starting fresh or starting over. This was the situation I was in 8 years ago when I decided to get my DSLR.

In these scenarios I would generally recommend going mirrorless. This is based on my assessment that:

1. Mirrorless cameras have developed to the point of being equivalent in terms of quality to DSLR
2. Mirrorless cameras are in the Growth stage of their product life cycle – The manufacturers will increase spending in R&D and product development for mirrorless
3. DSLRs are in the Maturity stage of their product life cycle and may be approaching the Decline stage – The manufacturers will decrease spending in R&D and product development for DSLR over time as the shift to mirrorless occurs

Being in the Maturity or Decline stage doesn’t mean your DSLR won’t work or won’t take good pictures. It simply means the technology of that product line will stagnate and support will diminish. If you are starting fresh or starting over doesn’t it make sense to go with the technology on the rise?

The Impact of Not Having A Mirror On Image Quality

Having or not having a mirror in the camera has no effect on the quality of the picture. When you take a photo with your DSLR the mirror is moved out of the way before that image is actually captured. If you shoot in live view on a DSLR, the mirror is moved out of the way and you only preview the image on the LCD screen. There are basically only 4 factors involved in determining the image quality and none of them involve the mirror:

1. The skill of the photographer
2. The quality of the lens
3. The quality of sensor
4. Secondary elements such as image stabilization, auto-focusing

All things being equal (which can be true for DSLR vs. Mirrorless) and especially with the first 3 items you would expect the quality to be the same between the two cameras. For the items I’ve called “secondary” it depends on the type of photography you are doing. Mirrorless cameras may have better image stabilization but this may not be significant if you are primarily a landscape photographer but could be significant if you are a sports photographer. It is important to note that these secondary elements may be better on mirrorless just because it is newer technology, the lack of a mirror has no influence on them.

The Advantages Of A Mirrorless Camera

Not having a mirror does have advantages. The biggest advantage and the one that made it possible to lose the mirror is the development of the electronic view finder (EVF). The EVF gives us a preview of the image directly from the sensor. This allows us to get a more accurate histogram, to get a better idea of our focus (focus peaking), and, it gives an accurate rendering of any exposure, color balance, or other camera-setting adjustments prior to shooting. Although it may not produce better quality images it may make us more efficient in that we don’t need as many shots to get things just right.

The other significant advantage of mirrorless camera is the smaller form factor. Not having a mirror allows for a smaller and lighter camera. While not always a critical consideration it is certainly a very nice feature.

The Harder Decision

I currently use a camera that I bought just over 8 years ago. Before I purchased it, I did my research and compared many options. Ultimately, I narrowed my choices down to the Canon 5D Mark III. I believe that I chose well. This camera has met my needs the entire time I’ve owned it and continues to do so.

The “buzz” around mirrorless has grown louder and the mirrorless acolytes would argue that now is the time to switch to mirrorless. But is it really? This is the harder decision.

My selection was based on achieving three main goals. First, I wanted to make a quantum leap in capability to give myself the best possible opportunity to get great photos. The cost/benefit ratio for making small incremental equipment upgrades was simply just not appealing. Second, I wanted to have equipment I could use for the foreseeable future. I want to concentrate on making photos and not constantly looking for new gear. Third, I wanted to “kick away the crutches”. I wanted to challenge myself to be as good a photographer as I could be. I didn’t want my gear to be the limiting factor. If I couldn’t get the shot or if the shot wasn’t very good, I no longer had the camera capability as an excuse for failure. Getting the shot and getting it right was all on me, no excuses. Period!

My primary objective is on getting the best image quality I can. Things that make life easier and improve my efficiency are great but these are secondary in my decision process. I recognize others may not have the same priorities. That’s okay. We all have to make our choices on what works best for us.

The Search For Better Image Quality

About a year and a half ago, Canon released the Canon 5D Mark IV. While it would have been nice to get the newest toy, the improvements seemed to be merely an incremental upgrade. I think the three goals still ring true for me. As my Mark III still meets goals 2 and 3 deciding on going to the Mark IV all came down to whether or not the incremental improvements were significant and worth the costs. These improvements were nice but certainly no quantum leap and I simply couldn’t justify spending roughly another $2,500 for them.

The remainder of my discussion is based on my situation. Namely, having a high-end Canon DSLR and wanting to continue to use my existing lenses. My investment in lenses is about 4.5 time what the camera body cost so this is significant. If you use a different brand or have an entry-level DSLR and are considering an high-level mirrorless the factors may be different but the process of analyzing the situation is the same.

My impression so far, is that the Canon R5 and R6 (mirrorless) would like the 5D Mark IV (DSLR) meet goals 2 and 3 which brings us back to the same fundamental question that I had when considering moving to the 5D Mark IV. Will I get a dramatic increase in image technical quality sufficient to warrant the cost. Let’s look as some of the specs.

Field Test

I previously indicated that I didn’t think upgrading to a Canon 5D Mark IV was justified for me. This comparison would seem to indicate that switching to a Canon R6 would give me fewer megapixels than both my current camera and the Mark IV and cost more than the Mark IV. This makes it seem pretty obvious that it wouldn’t make sense to the “upgrade” to the R6. But what about the R5? The R5 has double the megapixels of my Mark III but it comes at a cost of $4,100. That is a bit hard to swallow on my budget.

As luck would have it, while researching and writing this post I came across a YouTube video by Gary Gough.  Gough is a UK-based professional photographer specializing in landscape, commercial, wedding, portrait and training photography. His YouTube video is CANON R6 WORTH BUYING? Canon R6 versus Canon 5D MK III. It’s exactly one of the same comparisons I was making. His conclusion based on side-by-side testing validated my theoretical conclusion.

Gough’s video got me thinking. There may also be side-by-side comparison for the R5. I didn’t see and R5 versus Mark III but there were a number of YouTube videos of the R5 versus Mark IV. These all came to a similar conclusion. The R5 has great features but I wasn’t going to get a significant increase in image quality.

My Decision

Since I’m evaluating getting a new camera body, I have to recognize that going to a non-Canon brand that will accept my Canon lenses could also be an option. The Sony Alpha a7R IV at 61 megapixels could be a contender. For a true quantum leap there is the FUJIFILM GFX 100S Medium Format Mirrorless with 102 megapixels (and a $6.000 price tag).

The bottom line for me is that I will switch to mirrorless, just not now. My Canon 5D Mark III still meets my needs and I can wait for higher quality mirrorless cameras to be developed at more reasonable prices. I like all the improved features that come with the newer technology in the mirrorless cameras. But, for me it’s all about the outcome, the image quality. I feel that image quality is more important than ease of use or efficiency. I’ll spend money to improve image quality more readily than I will for ease of use and efficiency.

I’m comfortable with my decision. That doesn’t mean it the right decision for everyone. You have to understand what your needs and priorities are and decide on that basis. Go through a similar analysis to what I did and find a solution that will satisfy your needs and priorities.

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