TWENTY-TWENTY VISION
In the good old days – and, in fact, up until quite recently really – you decided on a camera system and stuck with it, upgrading bodies when needed and adding new lenses when needed. Once in a while, the camera-maker would spring a change of lens mount on you, but it was rare for this to be a completely new fitting. Canon’s switch from the manual-focus FD to the autofocus and fully-electronic EF in 1987 was probably one of the most momentous, but Nikon made the same transition essentially by stealth so there was much more time to adjust, especially financially.
Now, if you’re still shooting with D-SLRs – and lots of you are – there’s going to be some big decisions to be made, and in the not-toodistant future. At a rough calculation – across all the currently active D-SLR and mirrorless camera systems in all sensor sizes – there are no fewer than 19 different lens mounts. At least ten of them have been introduced over the last decade, and nine of these are for mirrorless camera systems. Every major camera maker with the exception of Pentax is now in the mirrorless space, quite a number of them with two systems based on different sensor sizes (Canon, Fujifilm, Leica, Nikon, Panasonic and Sony). While both Canon and Nikon have announced that they’re planning next-gen pro-level D-SLRs, the reality is that this year there was only one new D-SLR launch of any significance. Versus, on my rough count, 20 new mirrorless cameras, ten of which could qualify as professional models due to feature sets and build quality. The top-end D-SLRs from Canon and Nikon have always been close to ‘niche’ products in terms of application (chiefly sports and press photography), so if you don’t need such a high level of spec, what are your options?
Well, er… mirrorless or mirrorless. As it happens, some higher-end specs – such as very fast continuous shooting speeds and more advanced autofocusing – come at a lower price in the mirrorless camera world, but that may not be any consolation because D-SLR users aren’t just looking at switching a camera body and happily carrying on. There are other decisions to be made, chiefly related to lenses. Yes, you can use mount adapters – and those for Canon RF and Nikon Z work very well – but this does defeat the purpose, as the whole mirrorless thing is actually as much about the lenses as the camera bodies. So, if you’re going to have to change mounts and buy new lenses anyway… is it time to also think about changing brands and/or sensor size? I’m not making any endorsements here, but the brands who have been in mirrorless camera systems for longer – notably Fujifilm, Leica, Olympus, Panasonic and Sony – also now have much bigger lens ranges. OK, so it could also be time to get real about which lenses you actually need (I worked out that use my 24-70mm f2.8 standard zoom probably 75 percent of the time), but an extensive lens line-up has always been the basis of a pro camera system ever since the Nikon F. And having a decent kit of lenses is something most of us want, even if some of them don’t get used a lot.
Of course, you could sit tight and work your current D-SLRs a little longer or, if they’re already getting on a bit, even replace them now with the same models, which would certainly buy you a few more years. Thing is, though, you’re still going to have to make The Big Decision sooner or later. True, the market may have evolved more by then so the way ahead may be clearer, but you could also be behind (certainly technologically), and facing an even bigger financial outlay. Personally, I think the way ahead is already pretty clear – the D-SLR has had its day, and mirrorless will be prevail because the configuration has clear benefits… and it certainly allows more scope for future technological developments in both camera bodies and lenses. You certainly only want to do this once, so if this means taking some more time to better evaluate what you need from your next camera system, then so be it. However, a key consideration has to be how what you’re doing right now may change over the next few years, especially in the light of video becoming the more widely-used visual medium in a many applications.
It may look a bit scary, but frankly, it’s more exciting than anything else because so much more is possible with the mirrorless cameras systems and, for professional photographers, this translates into more creative opportunities and, ultimately, the potential for more success. Appropriately, make 2020 the year of a clearer vision.