The Strange Mis-Branding Of Mirrorless Cameras

I recently wrote about how I made my decision on whether or not to switch to a mirrorless camera. While writing the article I was struck by the strange mis-branding of mirrorless cameras. I find it very strange that the manufacturers market the camera using the term “mirrorless” as the defining nomenclature. They’ve chosen to emphasize what the camera doesn’t have rather than what it does have. It’s emphasizing the negatives (not having a mirror) rather than the positives (having an electronic view finder). Because of this,  I think mirrorless cameras are mis-branded.

Why is the positive form so important? Consider a simple example. Which of the two statements below would you prefer as your personal brand?

1. Riley is a good photographer.
2. Riley is not a bad photographer.

Both of these options mean the same thing. However, the second options sounds, well, underwhelming and like it is damning with faint praise. As a result, I believe the first approach is a much better way of expressing a brand. It’s really not helpful to have a pejorative adjective associated with what you are branding. Accentuate the positive!

The Right Way To Brand A New Product

This strange mis-branding of mirrorless camera is clearly out of sync with how cameras have been branded in the past. Wikipedia has a great list of the various types of cameras (e.g., SLR, Point and Shoot, DSLR, Mirrorless). In nearly all cases the cameras are named in a positive sense describing what significant feature or primary use is. The notable exception is mirrorless which is named in a negative sense indicating what it doesn’t have. Strange.

There are a lot of nice features and advantages with mirrorless cameras but instead, the industry for some strange reason has decided to focus the brand on a insignificant aspect; the mirror. As I pointed out in the earlier post has no effect on image quality or anything else for that matter. The mirror’s sole purpose is to allow you to view the scene through the lens by intercepting the light before it hits the sensor. The mirror redirects the light through a prism and to the viewfinder. That’s it.

“Burying The Lede”

You could use your DSLR in live view mode and in effect it becomes a mirrorless camera. With live view, the mirror is moved out of the way and the scene and your settings are presented on the camera’s LCD screen. The downsides to doing this is that the LCD can be difficult to see in some situations e.g., direct sunlight, and what you see does not necessarily reflect the true exposure. The electronic view finder (EVF) in mirrorless cameras overcomes those disadvantages and makes it practical to completely remove the mirror and prism from the camera.

The term mirrorless isn’t about the innovative change it’s about the minor result of the innovation. It’s the EVF that’s innovative. Referring to the camera as “mirrorless” is a very indirect way to highlight that innovation and resulting advantages. Newspaper journalists refer to that as “burying the lede!” It’s like calling a camera a “not-film SLR” instead of a DSLR. It’s ridiculous.

What They Should Have Called It

My suggestion is simple. The manufacturers should have highlighted the major innovation and its advantages when naming the camera. Specifically, the camera should have been named an “EVF camera”‘ rather than a “Mirrorless camera”.  Remember, you saw it here first!

Well, that’s my rant. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I feel better now. At this point I’ll sit back and wait for the camera manufacturers to send me a big fat check in gratitude for this wonderful suggestion. Hmmm, how long do you think I’ll have to wait?

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