Patent: A Pellicle Mirror by Canon

[Woody]

Mirrorless actually combines EVF (considered as a disadvantage by many DSLR users) and all the bulk of a DSLR. Plus light loss and possible degradation of IQ due to reflections on top. That's one of the reasons, why Sony is quitting their SLT line of cameras. Dead end!

No, the reason Sony quit SLT is simpler than that: poor sales. Cannot touch the sales of Canikon DSLRs. They are now going the route of MILCs... which are... surprise, surprise... not selling well outside Asia either.

 

[Woody]

...I do not see how an EVF will ever even be as good as an OVF, let alone superior to one.

Well said. That is the reason I sold my entire OMD mirrorless stuff.

 

[deleteme]

as from a technical standpoint I do not see how an EVF will ever even be as good as an OVF, let alone superior to one. Personally, I am hoping the classic slap-happy, noisy DSLR lasts for another 50 years...after which point I'll probably be dead, and will no longer care. ;D

I agree that for the applications you cite an EVF would not be the solution. However I think that we are not likely to see the abandonment of EVFs but rather further improvement.
Perfection is not really necessary to be able to achieve 98% of what a photographer needs to know before pressing the shutter.
I have been photographing a series of jobs over the last week where I dearly would have loved to pre-chimp my shots.
I was in a variety of fast moving situations with varying light brightness and color temp that necessitated rapid shooting and chimping to ensure that the exposure was ok.For the most part I was doing well but I would have realized a whole lot less PP had I gotten closer in camera.

I acknowledge the shortcomings but like RF finders, EVFs have their uses.

 

[jrista]

as from a technical standpoint I do not see how an EVF will ever even be as good as an OVF, let alone superior to one. Personally, I am hoping the classic slap-happy, noisy DSLR lasts for another 50 years...after which point I'll probably be dead, and will no longer care. ;D

I agree that for the applications you cite an EVF would not be the solution. However I think that we are not likely to see the abandonment of EVFs but rather further improvement.
Perfection is not really necessary to be able to achieve 98% of what a photographer needs to know before pressing the shutter.
I have been photographing a series of jobs over the last week where I dearly would have loved to pre-chimp my shots.
I was in a variety of fast moving situations with varying light brightness and color temp that necessitated rapid shooting and chimping to ensure that the exposure was ok.For the most part I was doing well but I would have realized a whole lot less PP had I gotten closer in camera.

I acknowledge the shortcomings but like RF finders, EVFs have their uses.

Oh sure. I'm not advocating abandoning EVFs. I'm all for technological improvements when and where we can make them. I think EVFs can and will be quite useful in certain circumstances. Some EVFs in use for high end cinematography are already quite good, and excessively expensive on a per-part basis. Those costs will come down, and they service their niches quite well.

My concern is that someday EVFs will ultimately replace OVFs.

There is this strange fervor over miniaturization and elimination of the mirror. Its like a fashion fad that just won't die. I don't quite understand it. Not one single mirrorless camera that I've ever held felt good in my hands. I feel cramped, I have to compress my hands in a weird way, and compress the camera and my hands against my face in an uncomfortable way. Miniaturization certainly has its uses in some areas...we don't want our processors to take up warehouses worth of space, so miniaturization does wonders for computing chips. A reduction in weight is useful as well, however not at the cost of having to work contortionist magic on my hands in order to hold a camera to my face. IQ aside, unless some pros have figured out the magic of one-handed photography, I cannot fathom what it is about these microscopic little cameras that has everyone so radically excited, even raving.

Yet...that's the trend. Fad or otherwise, I do have some honest concerns about EVFs and MILCs replacing good old OVF DSLR cameras WAY too soon. I could possibly get used to a mirrorless camera for landscapes...hell, 90% of that work is done with a tripod and a remote shutter release. But wildlife? Birds? Any kind of action whatsoever? Ergonomically, mirrorless cameras (at least as they are designed today), in their diminutive size with their lackluster EVFs, are an utter disaster....

 

[dufflover]

I actually disagree with that one, after a certain point. With wildlife/birding when you have a big enough lens it's the non-body arm that's got all the weight on it. Granted it still does need some proper sized grip. The body lens area itself though can be as small/thin as it wants.

I don't think the future of the cameras used for this sort of thing will be small though. Even with the new A7 and what not there are noticeable features that still reserved for "big cameras" just because they are seen as premium features.
My guess anyway ...

 

[jrista]

I actually disagree with that one, after a certain point. With wildlife/birding when you have a big enough lens it's the non-body arm that's got all the weight on it. Granted it still does need some proper sized grip. The body lens area itself though can be as small/thin as it wants.

I don't think the future of the cameras used for this sort of thing will be small though. Even with the new A7 and what not there are noticeable features that still reserved for "big cameras" just because they are seen as premium features.
My guess anyway ...

The camera grip is critical when it comes to hand-held wildlife and bird photography. You need both arms, and both are just as essential to properly stabilize the rig. Could you imagine trying to balance an f/2.8 300mm or f/4 600mm lens with just one arm? If you have a tiny mirrorless camera with practically no grip attached to one of those lenses, you have no real leverage with your other hand...no way to properly balance such a large setup. I often hand-hold my 600mm f/4 lens for wildlife, and speaking from experience...it is already difficult enough trying to handle it with a 7D. It would be practically impossible with, say, an EOS M. I'd rather have a 1D X, which has more area to grip in more vertical space, than something even smaller than what I deal with now.

 

[Marsu42]

My concern is that someday EVFs will ultimately replace OVFs.

Rest assured: they will - ultimately ovf will be a niche product for folklore and history like steam engines - and for special purposes of course if some can be found, but at a very high premium.

Personally, I'd switch to an evf if it doesn't draw too much power, is nearly indistinguishable from an ovf and provides superior functionality - namely focus peaking and zebras, next to tons of other useful hints you can add to an evf.

 

[jrista]

My concern is that someday EVFs will ultimately replace OVFs.

Rest assured: they will - ultimately ovf will be a niche product for folklore and history like steam engines - and for special purposes of course if some can be found, but at a very high premium.

Personally, I'd switch to an evf if it doesn't draw too much power, is nearly indistinguishable from an ovf and provides superior functionality - namely focus peaking and zebras, next to tons of other useful hints you can add to an evf.

I'm just hoping that "ultimately" is like 20 years down the road. Otherwise, companies will be losing my business as I stick with what I've got. No amount of features added to an EVF will ever convince me they are good enough to replace an OVF. Especially since you can slap a transmissive LCD on an OVF (like the 7D, 5D III, 1D X) and get just as many HUD features, without the detrimental effects of an EVF.

 

[dufflover]

Except some of those features that really useful with an OVF can't exist when there is a typical SLR mirror, and obviously not everyone likes the "workaround" of a semi-transparent mirror.
e.g. if you want a LiveView exposure, or zoomed in view for focus, you obviously need it to be hitting some kind of imaging sensor

I doubt this will ever happen due to cost/demand, but having a combined EVF/OVF that you can switch on and off would be great though. Choose-your-own ...