Thom Hogan: Seven Reasons Why I Shoot With (Nikon) DSLRs

[Canon Rumors]

Thom Hogan has written a great article about why he continues to shoot with Nikon DSLRs over mirrorless cameras in most situations. The same reasons could be written for shooting with a Canon system. While I had my “Sony phase” for a while, I was never happy with the results when compared to Canon DSLRs. This generally comes down to what I like to shoot, and as Thom says, that may not be the same things you like to shoot.</p>
<p>For the record, I do shoot with a Leica Q mirrorless camera, and I think it’s the best small full frame camera out there for my uses.</p>
<p>From Thom Hogan:</p>
<blockquote><p>Most of the mirrorless system issues I note above will tend to go away with time, as technology “solves” some of the problems, and digital cameras evolve even more than they have.</p>
<p>But DSLRs have been benefiting from technology moving forward, too, so it’s not as if mirrorless is trying to catch up to a stationary target. The D5/D500 proves that the target is still moving in big strides forward in some areas, and the DSLR/mirrorless problem has become like one of those algebra problems you had in grade school: “If train A leaves the station headed west at 75mph at 1pm and train B leaves the station headed west at 100mp at 3pm, when does train B pass train A?” <a href="http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/seven-reasons-why-im-still.html">Read the full article</a></p></blockquote>
<p>I am like a lot of you though, I’m eager to find out what Canon has in mind for a mirrorless system, whenever they decide to get serious about it.</p>
<span id="pty_trigger"></span>

 

[Chaitanya]

his personal choice, I shoot with whatever is avl to me at rental shop. I have shot with Nikon, Sony, Canon, Panasonic and Olympus but for my personal use I stick to Canon just for MP-E 65mm f/2.8 lens and good selection of speedlights. I might change the system for good if someone else offers me good selection of macros and speedlights which so far none of the mirrorless offer.

 

[ahsanford]

I predict this thread will be besieged with the following terms / statements in the next few hours:

Battery Life
Mirrorslappers
All Canon needs to do in mirrorless is...
Canon is falling further behind
Mirrorless is about being small and light
Mirrorless is not at all about being small and light



#nostradamus

- A

 

[Don Haines]

I predict this thread will be besieged with the following terms / statements in the next few hours:
...

I predict the thread will fill up with meta-discussion.

The article is one person's opinion on things, which are no more or less valid than yours or Nick Northwhatever, etc.

inconceivable.... INCONCEIVABLE!!!!!

 

[AvTvM]

1. MIRRORSLAPPERS are doomed.
2. STUPID CANON is doomed.
3. Unless they launch fully competitive MIRRORLESS systems with APS-C and FF sensors very SOON.

PS: No amount of Thom Hogan Nikon-fanboyism or Canon forum postings will change this.

8) ;D

 

[jebrady03]

I found it interesting that he failed to mention the incredible touch screen and fast/accurate focusing of the Canon 80D in live view. Most say it's as good or better than all other mirrorless options.

 

[Loswr]

AvTvM is DOOMED to NEVER get the perfect-for-him camera that he wants.

PS. NO amount of his incessant whining on Canon forums will change this.

8) ;D

 

[redpoint]

He forgot the most important reason: "I'm paid by Nikon" ...

This really isn't about Nikon, it's about mirrorless vs. DSLR. I tend to agree with him on a lot of points. I value the size and weight of a mirrorless system - especially for backcountry travel, but I prefer the ergos of a big-a$$ DSLR. I always prefer my 1DX over my 7D - size and feel wise.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I'd certainly be happy to have the moving mirror and shutter go away, in fact, all moving parts except for a swiveling lcd. I'd like improved performance too.

However, so far, I would have to trade off some of the performance I like, along with a small body and buttons too small for me. Even so, if there were a large body mirrorless from Canon that used EF lenses natively, I'd be tempted.

The Dual pixel technology is moving forward, but not as much as I had hoped for, time will tell.

 

[Maximilian]

*yawn*
nothing new
nothing important
nothing to stop and read
*moved on*

ps.: seems a boring rumors time if such a story gets the headlines

 

[dak723]

I predict this thread will be besieged with the following terms / statements in the next few hours:
...

I predict the thread will fill up with meta-discussion.

The article is one person's opinion on things, which are no more or less valid than yours or Nick Northwhatever, etc.

No, you are incorrect. Hogan's opinions (at least as far as one can tell) come from a professional photographer based on actual experience and knowledge of how cameras and sensors work and the physics involved. That is far more valid than the opinion of someone who has little no knowledge or experience and just gets their info from internet sites.

I thought his article was well presented and presented the issues in well thought out manner. Some (such as ergonomics) may just be personal preference, but mirrorless' issues with the EVF lag, AF on moving subjects, and memory usage are real. They may not matter very much (or not at all) for each specific user, so mirrorless can certainly be your system of choice. But DSLRs are still superior in these areas and the camera of choice for many folks because of that - as well as the still greater choice of lenses and accessories.

 

[Pookie]

I predict this thread will be besieged with the following terms / statements in the next few hours:
...

I predict the thread will fill up with meta-discussion.

The article is one person's opinion on things, which are no more or less valid than yours or Nick Northwhatever, etc.

No, you are incorrect. Hogan's opinions (at least as far as one can tell) come from a professional photographer based on actual experience and knowledge of how cameras and sensors work and the physics involved. That is far more valid than the opinion of someone who has little no knowledge or experience and just gets their info from internet sites.

I thought his article was well presented and presented the issues in well thought out manner. Some (such as ergonomics) may just be personal preference, but mirrorless' issues with the EVF lag, AF on moving subjects, and memory usage are real. They may not matter very much (or not at all) for each specific user, so mirrorless can certainly be your system of choice. But DSLRs are still superior in these areas and the camera of choice for many folks because of that - as well as the still greater choice of lenses and accessories.

Ahhh... nice call out for Dudbert

 

[YuengLinger]

I predict this thread will be besieged with the following terms / statements in the next few hours:

Battery Life
Mirrorslappers
All Canon needs to do in mirrorless is...
Canon is falling further behind
Mirrorless is about being small and light
Mirrorless is not at all about being small and light



#nostradamus

- A

Do you sit alone at most cocktail parties?

The article covers familiar ground for many members here, but don't forget there are people just beginning to consider something better than a phone.

There will long be a place for pickup trucks, and there will long be a place for coupes. Mini-vans are going to be around a while too!

 

[Mikehit]

That is far more valid than the opinion of someone who has little no knowledge or experience and just gets their info from internet sites.

Reading can give you a hell of a lot of knowledge. Fortunately it saves me a lot of time having to reinvent the last 600 years of scientific endeavour before I decide to start work in the morning.

 

[Loswr]

That is far more valid than the opinion of someone who has little no knowledge or experience and just gets their info from internet sites.

Reading can give you a hell of a lot of knowledge. Fortunately it saves me a lot of time having to reinvent the last 600 years of scientific endeavour before I decide to start work in the morning.

Well yeah, but that means you comprehend what you read. That's not universally true...in fact, it does not hold true even for everyone who has posted so far in this thread.

 

[AvTvM]

He forgot the most important reason: "I'm paid by Nikon" ...
...

EXACTLY!

 

[scrup]

The biggest benefit of mirrorless was DSLR quality in a compact size. That was enough to get some users on board.

People should just use the best tool for the job regardless of brand or type.

At home i have a cordless screwdriver, cordless drill and a hammer drill. They overlap with each other but are better at a specific task. Same as cameras, people need to stop comparing camera types and just get the one that does the job best for them.

Technology is improving, eventually EVFs will be better than OVFs in most aspects. When that happens the DSLR will be like film. It may take a while but it will happen.

 

[Sporgon]

Technology is improving, eventually EVFs will be better than OVFs in most aspects. When that happens the DSLR will be like film. It may take a while but it will happen.

Possibly - eventually. As Thom says, probably not in his life time. The problem is that it is very difficult to beat harnessing simple physics to optically look through the lens, and it's free in energy terms. As he says, dslr technology is not standing still, and it may be that lcd overlays etc may enable some of the EVF benefits to be brought to OVF anyway.

We will have a better idea once Canon unleash the DPAF sensor on the mirrorless market.

 

[LesC]

There's room for both mirror-less & DSLR cameras but as my main camera I just prefer a DSLR. I don't find my 6D + 24-70 F2.8L too large but if I fancy travelling light, the 100D (SL1) + 17-40F4L or 18-135 STM is my choice.

 

[old-pr-pix]

The only part of Thom's concerns I have trouble accepting is his lament over the current best-in-class 1/250 second lag of the viewfinder image in a mirrorless body. That is 4 milliseconds. He argues that if he misses a shot by even 1 ms. he has not captured the peak. Yet, shutter lag on his favorite D5 and D500 range from 40 to 50 ms when manually pre-focused. Add in AF and then you are well into the 100+ ms range. Not to mention human perception lag. Sure for all intents one can consider the OVF as having zero delay; however, to capture a shot within 1 ms one has to anticipate all the inherent lags in the system and compensate for them. 4 ms due to viewfinder image lag seems both trivial and a predictable fixed time lag when compared to all the other much longer and variable time lags.