Is the DSLR in danger of becomming an endangered species?

[Tcapp]

In three / four years time, the 5Div won't be a DSLR in the conventional sense but will instead be an EF mount mirrorless camera with a hybrid electronic and optical viewfinder.  It will be billed as Canon's flagship advanced technology model.  The 1 series will stay as a DSLR for a bit longer for those requiring a more rugged, time tested design.

Hope not. I don't want to have to switch to the 1 series.

[Hillsilly]

Yes - That will be part of the sales strategy - forcing people who "like things the way they are" to shell out for a 1 series.

That being said, the next 5D, being the "Advanced Technology" model will be jammed packed with a lot of cool features - wifi, bluetooth, GPS, DLNA.  You'll be able to control all of the camera features (and flash settings) from your mobile phone / tablet.  The touchpad LCD will allow unlimited focus points.  And the new viewfinder will allow you to overlay a lot of data on top of an optical viewfinder image if you want - there will actually be no real downside.  All those people who are buying 5Diii's now, will be kicking themselves that they didn't wait four years for this thing. 

[Tcapp]

Yes - That will be part of the sales strategy - forcing people who "like things the way they are" to shell out for a 1 series.

That being said, the next 5D, being the "Advanced Technology" model will be jammed packed with a lot of cool features - wifi, bluetooth, GPS, DLNA.  You'll be able to control all of the camera features (and flash settings) from your mobile phone / tablet.  The touchpad LCD will allow unlimited focus points.  And the new viewfinder will allow you to overlay a lot of data on top of an optical viewfinder image if you want - there will actually be no real downside.  All those people who are buying 5Diii's now, will be kicking themselves that they didn't wait four years for this thing.

I know I won't kick myself... I'll love shooting this camera for 4 years!

[AvTvM]

Anyway, I'm the photographer linked to in the OP (and the 50-300L picture above is mine on my GX1). 
...
I think you're being tongue in cheek with the second comment, but just in case...when you photograph golf, you do NOT click the shutter before ball impact.  That's a very quick way to have angry golfers and get removed from the premises.  I did get a few shots shortly after impact when I was rather far away and using the long end when I photographed the practice rounds, but I didn't do it during the Pro-Am because it's a competition round.
...
Thanks for the interest in my photos, though!

Really appreciate your response and your thoughts and agree with all them. I have no experience whatsoever with golf - neither as player nor as (live) spectator nor as photographer. While I found your first series of pictures of very good technical quality, I could not help nut notice that the ball or ball contact where never captured in them. Until your response it did not occur to me that "untimely" shutter noise was the reason for this.

With your second series of pictures you certainly have demonstrated your skill as photographer in getting perfectly timed and well-composed shots showing "peak golf action". I especially like the first pic of the second series!

My full respect, congrats and sincere apologies for my first, somewhat snide remark.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Imagine the sensor size you can get on a tablet compared to a FF camera.  The current SLR form factor's limitation would be irrelevant.  Just add a tripod mount on the side, you could be looking at ridiculous IQ for portraits and landscapes.  Not to mention how much easier manual focusing would be at that size. 
 
Of course, I could be completely, wrong, too:)

I'm trying to imagine how thick a tablet would be with a FF sensor.  As a sensor gets larger, lenses get longer.  Thats why sensors are so tiny in tablets, no one would buy a tablet 5 inches thick, and, if it was a telephoto 9 inches thick.
 
Now, the large sensor you refer to... 4 X 5 inches?  Imagine the lens for that!  You would have a 1 ft thick tablet with a $10K lens.
 
You could use a pinhole lens, of course, but it would be even thicker.

[KyleSTL]

I would like to see what Canon could do with a camera somewhere in between a G1X and the S100 in terms of sensor size, overall dimensions, and weight.

Looks like Sony is the first one out the door with a camera like I described (the new RX100).  It's pretty amazing to see it along side competitive cameras and how it is just about the size of the Canon S100, despite having a sensor over 4 times larger (Nikon CX format) and having a good range fast lens (28-100mm f/1.8-4.9).

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/sony-dsc-rx100/4

[dawgfanjeff]

Imagine the sensor size you can get on a tablet compared to a FF camera.  The current SLR form factor's limitation would be irrelevant.  Just add a tripod mount on the side, you could be looking at ridiculous IQ for portraits and landscapes.  Not to mention how much easier manual focusing would be at that size. 
 
Of course, I could be completely, wrong, too:)

I'm trying to imagine how thick a tablet would be with a FF sensor.  As a sensor gets larger, lenses get longer.  Thats why sensors are so tiny in tablets, no one would buy a tablet 5 inches thick, and, if it was a telephoto 9 inches thick.
 
Now, the large sensor you refer to... 4 X 5 inches?  Imagine the lens for that!  You would have a 1 ft thick tablet with a $10K lens.
 
You could use a pinhole lens, of course, but it would be even thicker.

Ok, I admit it.  I don't really know what I'm talking about:) I was just dreaming and thinking like a marketing director who hadn't talked to the grownups yet about pesky issues like physics. 
But still...if cameras could talk straight to a tablet via NFC or even bluetooth. When do we get tabletized versions of Canon tools? 

[Jettatore]

Personally Flake, while those images are good, I'm certain a Full Frame/DSLR would best them.  Take a look at the pictures again, and imagine just for a second the subjects weren't famous...  They're still passable, but they aren't works of art.  It takes a photographer/editor for sure to make works of art, but the tool, and it's lack of shallow depth of field, is making every image look boring, the bokeh is horrible, and as far as I'm concerned, at least some of the images should have quality bokeh/oof on parts of the subject themselves.  The shot second from the top is by far the best ( http://admiringlight.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/rory_drive.jpg ), and still requires a touch of editing in post to improve the background blur.  My 10 cents.  And my personal feeling is that Crop body imaging from 1.6x-2x-2.7x is for most purposes, specifically a consumer level endeavor.

I've looked seriously at switching to micro 4/3rds, I've studied the system, tested it in person on several occasions and after getting a FF, I wouldn't consider the 4/3rds system further.  Before I got the FF, and was on 1.6x 7D crop only, it was much more enticing.  I would not go back to crop outside of a really useful, high quality point and shoot/camera phone.