Mirrorless vs. DSLR Poll

[Ozarker]

AvTvM keeps saying there is a huge market for a mirror-less camera with the functionality of the 80D.

He keeps saying that all Canon would have to do is make the camera and offer it at $1,000, sit back and rake in the cash and pop the Champagne corks.

He constantly says Canon is stupid for not making such a camera, calling DSLRs "mirror slapping dinosaurs." (Partially paraphrased.

He'd also like them available in pink with unicorns painted on them.

Here's the chance for the vast mirror-less market to make itself heard.

Forget what you have today. There are only two camera choices, but with the same feature set: Mirror-less Canon or the Canon 80D.

Which would you choose?

I chose option 4: I'd never buy either, but if I had to buy... give me the 80D.

 

[Orangutan]

I think you're asking the wrong question: if there were a mirrorless that really did perform at least as well as the 80D under all conditions then there would be little reason to buy a true reflex. The problem is that mirrorless is still seriously lagging in many areas. AF, battery life, low-light focus are still major problems for many uses. EVF lag is nearly solved.

You've asked the question "would you buy a camera that had all of the advantages & features of an 80D, but without some of the problems." That's an easy question to answer.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

If a 1D X MK II sold for $25 would you buy it? Asking if I would buy something that is currently technically impossible does not compute.

The performance is the most important, the features are less critical.

If it performed as well as the phase detect AF had a optical viewfinder(currently a non starter), had the same battery life (another impossibility), and a lot of other things that a DSLR does but mirrorless does not, then no one would really care if it was mirrorless or not, it would just be a 80D with no mirror.

 

[3kramd5]

If a 1D X MK II sold for $25 would you buy it? Asking if I would buy something that is currently technically impossible does not compute.

The performance is the most important, the features are less critical.

If it performed as well as the phase detect AF had a optical viewfinder(currently a non starter), had the same battery life (another impossibility), and a lot of other things that a DSLR does but mirrorless does not, then no one would really care if it was mirrorless or not, it would just be a 80D with no mirror.

Agreed. I don't care how it does what I want it to do long as it does what I want it to.

 

[Luds34]

Frankly the poll is kind of limited/flawed.

In my humble opinion, Canon's DSLR and EF lens lineup is 2nd to none as a system and I can't imagine that changing anytime too soon. On the other side of the coin their mirrorless option(s) are the weakest on the market from an enthusiast point of view. And with the recent successor rumors of the M3, it appears it will stay that way.

 

[Loswr]

Will this hypothetical mirrorless camera include 80D features like a pentaprism optical viewfinder?

 

[Orangutan]

Will this hypothetical mirrorless camera include 80D features like a pentaprism optical viewfinder?

That's one problem with the premise: if we assume it has an EVF that's a flawless substitute for a pentaprism OVF, then it doesn't matter...but that's a huge assumption.

 

[Don Haines]

insufficient data

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

If both cameras have the same AF capabilities, FPS, handling, ergonomics, etc. I could choose mirrorless.

But in the real world, the mirrorless cameras still have performance deficiencies compared to the current 80D.

 

[old-pr-pix]

I already have Olympus mirrorless and Canon DSLR... I look forward to the soon to be released OMD-EM1 Mark II and the 5D Mark IV - both pro-oriented bodies - with high likely-hood of purchasing once the initial offering price drops. I like the fact the M4/3 bodies and lenses can be very small and light yet yield professional results for many applications. However, nothing beats the Canon lens selection and, so far, the AF for fast moving subjects. Why argue? Get both!

 

[Luds34]

Why argue? Get both!

Agreed! Right tool for the job.

 

[unfocused]

Agree with others, this can't be answered.

You have one real-world camera and one fantasy camera. People can assign and assume any trait they want to the fantasy camera, both positive and negative. Unless you define the fantasy camera it means nothing and unless the description of the fantasy camera is realistic (which no one on this forum would know how to do) it means nothing.

 

[IglooEater]

Does "the same features" include battery life?

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

Does "the same features" include battery life?

Today, it would already be possible. ??? Just make a battery with higher amperage, which will offset the weight that is saved by removing the mirror ... :

 

[scottkinfw]

Then there's the issue of ergonomics. As stated earlier, the current lenses are imho, second to none. I am heavily invested in the lenses and won't give them up to reinvest.

This brings me to another question. If Canon were to develop this mirrorless camera with a mount for my lenses, and the body was designed to handle the larger lenses, I would consider it.

sek

 

[Sporgon]

Well answering in the spirit of the poll, I'd say 80D

I have both mirrorless and dslr, and the fact is that however far forward we move on in the future a mirrorless cannot by definition have a mirror (and pentaprism), but a dslr can be operated without the mirror (via live-view), and so can became a "mirrorless", at least as far as some of the advantage are concerned, especially if you are working on a tripod.

I think one of mirrorless's greatest appeals is the much slimmer body, but this is then countered by the desire to actually look through the lens optically, and it looks like the latter is going to keep winning for the foreseeable future.

So come on Canon, give us an upmarket replacement for the 100D (SL1) with a good aesthetically pleasing metal body, a proper glass pentaprism and no plastic pop up flash, or at least make it at the same level as the M3, not the current beginner based current SL1.

 

[3kramd5]

Then there's the issue of ergonomics.

As stated earlier, the current lenses are imho, second to none. I am heavily invested in the lenses and won't give them up to reinvest.

This brings me to another question. If Canon were to develop this mirrorless camera with a mount for my lenses, and the body was designed to handle the larger lenses, I would consider it.

sek

I'm considering this... conversation as "all else is equal except what can not be."

So: same ergo, same lens mount, and operationally equivalent, but one has a mirror and off-sensor AF capabilities while and the other has only on-sensor AF capabilities, and requires power while composing.

Thus I come back to: don't care, and silly question because canon would have no reason to offer two equivalent products, one with a mirror and the other without.

 

[docsmith]

As my primary camera? Or as a specialty niche camera? I currently have the 5DIII and M1. The M1 is when I want a small or light camera that still takes good pictures. But it is less than 1% of my photos. The 5DIII is >99%.

So, which would I want, I suspect I will always want my primary camera to have an OVF. But I will also likely always want a smaller lighter camera for those select instances.

So, I am voting 80D. But really, I'd likely buy both, just use the 80D (or FF equivalent with OVF) much more.

 

[candc]

Right now ml is better for some things, dslr better for others. I don't expect that is going to change soon but canon could add more live view/mirrorless features like focus peaking. I don't know why they haven't made a dslr that can accept an evf like the one for the M?

 

[aceflibble]

I've been saying for a while, my current ideal camera body would be a 1D shell (preferably the 1Ds mkII's shell) but with the 60/70/80D's articulating screen, and live view performance on par with the Fuji mirrorless cameras. A mirrorless 80D would be halfway there. (If I could superglue the grip on and cut off the bloody mode dial.)