With Mirrors or Without Mirrors, Thats the question

I am going to try and explain the difference between DSLR cameras with mirrors and without mirrors using a few analogies to be clearer

Mirrored Dslr
Mirrored Dslr

Think of a DSLR camera with a mirror as a traditional, two-way mirror in a dressing room. Just like the mirror allows you to see what you look like as you’re getting dressed, the mirror in a DSLR camera reflects light from the lens up into the viewfinder, allowing you to see what the lens sees.

On the other hand, a DSLR camera without a mirror is like a computer screen displaying a live feed from a webcam. The image from the lens is sent directly to the camera’s sensor and then displayed on the rear screen or electronic viewfinder.

 

Mirrorles DSLR
Mirrorles DSLR

Another way to think about it is to consider a periscope. A periscope uses mirrors to reflect light and allow you to see objects that are otherwise hidden from view. A DSLR camera with a mirror operates in a similar way, reflecting light to show you the image that the lens is capturing. A DSLR without a mirror, on the other hand, is more like a straight tube, allowing light to travel directly from the lens to the sensor without any intermediate reflections. 

In summary, DSLR cameras with mirrors allow you to preview the image that the lens is capturing in real-time, while DSLR cameras without mirrors display the image directly from the sensor.

Is there any way to determine if one is better than the other?

The answer to this question depends on the individual’s specific needs and preferences. There is no clear-cut answer that one type of DSLR camera is objectively better than the other.

For some photographers, the ability to preview the image in real-time through the viewfinder is essential, making a DSLR camera with a mirror the preferred choice. These cameras also tend to have a more traditional design and can be more intuitive to use for those who are used to traditional film cameras.

On the other hand, DSLR cameras without mirrors are often smaller and lighter, making them more portable and easier to carry around. They also tend to have a more modern design and more advanced features such as faster autofocus and higher frame rates.

The choice between a DSLR camera with a mirror and one without a mirror ultimately comes down to the individual’s shooting style, budget, and what features are most important to them. It is recommended to try out both types of cameras and compare them side by side to determine which one is the best fit for you.

Would it be fair to say that the days of Dslr cameras

with mirrors are numbered?

It’s possible that the popularity of DSLR cameras with mirrors could decline in the future, but it’s difficult to say for certain. The market for mirrorless cameras has been growing in recent years, and many photographers have made the switch to mirrorless due to the benefits they offer such as lighter weight, smaller size, and advanced features.

However, DSLR cameras with mirrors still have a loyal following, and some photographers prefer the traditional design and handling of these cameras. They are also a well-established technology that has been around for decades, so it may take some time for them to become obsolete.

It’s also worth noting that both mirrorless and DSLR cameras with mirrors continue to evolve and improve, so it’s likely that the market for both types of cameras will continue to change and adapt in the future.

In conclusion, while it’s possible that the popularity of DSLR cameras with mirrors could decline in the future, it’s too soon to say for certain. The photography market is constantly changing, and both mirrorless and DSLR cameras with mirrors have their own unique advantages and disadvantages that may appeal to different photographers.

 

My take on the future of photography

It’s difficult to predict exactly what the future of photography cameras will look like, but here are some of the most likely advancements and trends that might shape the camera industry in the coming years:

  1. Increased AI capabilities: As AI continues to advance, it’s possible that cameras will have more advanced image processing capabilities and be able to automatically adjust settings for the best shot.
  2. Improved image stabilizationization: Camera technology is likely to continue to improve the way images are stabilized, allowing for smoother, clearer shots.
  3. More versatile lenses: Future cameras may come with a wider range of lenses that are more versatile and able to capture a greater variety of shots.
  4. Increased portability: Cameras are likely to become more compact and portable, making it easier for photographers to take their cameras with them wherever they go.
  5. Greater connectivity: As the internet of things becomes more widespread, it’s likely that cameras will be able to connect to other devices, such as smartphones, more seamlessly.
  6. Increased use of virtual reality: Camera technology may be integrated with virtual reality, allowing photographers to create more immersive experiences for their viewers.

These are just a few of the potential advancements in camera technology that we may see in the future. Of course, it’s impossible to know for certain what the future will hold, but it’s an exciting time for the world of photography!

Capturing the future: Game-changing innovations in photography

Digital technology has transformed photography over the past couple of decades, and the changes are set to continue

Digital technology has transformed photography over the past couple of decades, and the changes are set to continue
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Out of focus: Lytro Light field camera

Lytro Light field camera

Lytro Light field camera

 

Powerful photo development software and the exceptional capabilities of modern digital cameras have given us the ability to tweak key parameters like exposure and white balance after the fact. If a photo is out of focus though, it can’t be saved … or can it?

The ability to shift the focus point of an image after it has been taken is one of the features of light field cameras (also called plenoptic cameras). Though first proposed more than a century ago, this technology is only now finding its way into the consumer space with the release of the Lytro light field camera.

As well as its seemingly magical focus shifting capability, the Lytro offers exceptional low light performance, reduced shutter lag, simultaneous 2D and 3D shooting and the ability to subtly alter the viewing perspective after the shot is taken. Definitely a space to watch.

Gigapixel panoramas

GigaPan EPIC

GigaPan EPIC

The ability to create panoramic images has evolved rapidly in recent times with many consumer models featuring impressive “sweep-panorama” capability – but none can match the pixel count obtainable from using the GigaPan EPIC. This robotic camera mount system lets you use your digital SLR to create ginormous gigapixel composite images including 360-degree and time-lapse panoramas.

The term gigapixel is definitely one we’ll hear regularly in the near future … and not just in relation to systems like Gigapan. Researchers at Duke University and the University of Arizona have already built a prototype one-gigapixel camera that essentially takes the same approach and wraps it into a single device. The prototype uses an array of 98 14-megapixel microcameras, but the researchers say that creating images at resolutions of up to 50-gigapixels is possible by simply adding more cameras. Storing and transferring these images is another story, but technology will no doubt rise to that challenge, too.

Recording what you see

Action cams have exploded in the last decade and rugged models that allow you to take high-quality video and stills of what you are seeing are now thick on the ground.

Eyez video camera sunglasses shoot 720p

Eyez video camera sunglasses shoot 720p

The arrival of video glasses from companies such as Pivothead and Google, and the likes of Zeal’s HD recording ski-goggles have taken this further, so what’s next.

Electronic contact lenses - the point-and-shoot camera of the future?

Electronic contact lenses – the point-and-shoot camera of the future?

 

The answer is almost certainly image capturing prostheses – i.e. bionic eyes. Systems designed to restore sight to the blind by replacing the retina with an image capturing electrode are already well on their way to maturity. Of course, the idea of just anyone undergoing surgery to have a “camera-eye” implanted is ludicrous – for now – but there may be another avenue in the form of electronic contact lenses.

These devices combine a flexible contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights and could logically become the ultimate in “always on” image capture devices … as well as opening up a whole new world of augmented reality scenarios. Talk about never missing a moment.

New angles

There are many ways to get a shot without actually being behind the lens and the options aren’t likely to start shrinking any time soon – here’s a couple of perspectives you may not have seen.The brainchild of Jonas Pfeil from the Technical University of Berlin, the throwable ball cam is just that – a spherical array of cameras that snaps photos when you toss it in the air. The prototype device features 36 small, two-megapixel mobile phone cameras that can be viewed on a special panoramic viewer.

Throwable ball camera

Throwable ball camera

Another aerial innovation that brings a new angle to photography is the Swinglet CAM. Using UAV spy-plane technology that’s long been the preserve of the military, the Swinglet can be remotely controlled or programmed to autonomously follow a predetermined flight path while capturing 12-megapixel images of your neighborhood … which of course the locals may not be too impressed with.

Swinglet CAM

Swinglet CAM

Liquid lenses

The rapid advancement in the quality of pics that your smartphone can deliver has taken phone-cams from last resort to viable plan B, particularly if a photo opportunity takes you by surprise. The capabilities of these tiny cameras will continue to expand and one technology that’s been in the wings for some years will play a key role in this – liquid or fluid lenses.

Samsung's liquid lens patent

Samsung’s liquid lens patent

 

A liquid lens bypasses the limitations of fixed optics by altering the shape of the lens so that the focal length can be changed in a similar way to how the human eye works. Zoom functionality could also be achieved in this way and big players like Samsung and Philips have already signaled their intention to bring this technology to market. Samsung’s patent is particularly interesting because it uses two separately controllable liquid lenses in a single array to provide both autofocus and zoom functions.

Holographic displays – the new 3D

With all of the advances in 3D image capture it’s unlikely that we’ll be satisfied with viewing images on a flat screen for too much longer – with or without glasses. The next step is of course the full-blown holographic display and while we are still a long way off, the technology is evolving. In 2010 researchers from the University of Arizona, Tucson, unveiled a holographic system capable of transmitting a series of rudimentary three-dimensional images in near-real-time, and last year MIT scientists managed to transmit and display a holographic subject on-the-fly using primarily off-the-shelf components.

Tactile holographic display

Tactile holographic display

There are even more mind-blowing developments in the pipe, however – the University of Tokyo is working on a “tactile holographic display” that not only enables you to see floating images, but feel them as well!

Canon Wonder Camera

Canon Wonder Camera Concept

Canon Wonder Camera Concept

 

The last item on our list deserves a mention because it is one of the very few examples of a “concept camera” we’ve seen and, on top of that, it comes from one of the world’s biggest and best known camera companies – Canon. While sticking to a familiar, although slightly space age, version of the traditional DSLR form factor, the Canon Wonder Camera proposes features that could well become a reality coming decades – massive resolution, spectacularly long zoom, sophisticated subject recognition, and lightning fast transfer speeds. Futuristic – yes, but hardly fanciful given the exponential trends in camera technology we’ve seen in the last 20 years.

CANON RUMORS 2023

Camera rumors

(Image credit: James Artaius)

It didn’t take long for the camera rumors to start flying this year – or for them to start coming true!

Camera rumors had been dominated by chatter that Panasonic would at last embrace phase detect autofocus, and just a few days into 2023 the  Panasonic S5II(opens in new tab) and Panasonic S5IIx(opens in new tab) were revealed. And Panasonic’s autofocus epiphany raises questions about when that might trickle down to its Micro Four Thirds cameras(opens in new tab)

Then came the fruition of multiple Canon rumors, as the world’s biggest camera manufacturer dropped both the Canon EOS R8(opens in new tab) and Canon EOS R50(opens in new tab) at the start of February. We’ve also heard fresh rumblings about new bodies from Fujifilm and Sony, which sound like they’re about to arrive imminently. 

As always, camera rumors are best served with a healthy pinch of salt – but where there’s smoke, there’s very often fire!

Canon EOS R8

Canon EOS R replacement

(Image credit: Canon)

The latest word is that Canon’s next full-frame camera will be a replacement for the Canon EOS R(opens in new tab) (its first-ever full-frame mirrorless body) and could be announced by year’s end. However, it won’t be called the EOS R Mark II.

There is currently some debate over what the camera will be called, particularly with the R7 being the point in the naming nomenclature that models become APS-C bodies rather than full frame. Much as we saw the Canon EOS RP(opens in new tab) and Canon EOS Ra(opens in new tab) carve out their own naming niches, could we see something like a Canon EOS RN or RT (just to pull out random letter suffixes)?

This latest unconfirmed rumor derives from an original post that was shared to the Chinese social media platform, Weibo(opens in new tab) (as firstspotted by(opens in new tab) CanonRumors), which suggests that we won’t see a ‘Canon EOS R Mark II’ as such – though it cited that the camera will actually be named the Canon EOS R8. Which invites confusion, given the latest R8 rumors above!  

The post from Weibo also proposed some specs for the camera, including the same 30.3MP full frame sensor, but with 5-axis in-body stabilization plus uncropped 4K 30p and cropped 4K 60p.

Canon EOS R100 (vlogging camera)

(Image credit: Canon)

Immediately after Nikon released the Z30 rumors started flying around about a rival vlogging camera from Canon. “Nikon announced the Nikon Z 30 Z-mount camera targeting vloggers and people that want a small camera body. Canon will be releasing a similar camera sometime this year,” reported(opens in new tab) Canon Rumors.

Touted as(opens in new tab) the Canon EOS R100, is sounds as if Canon is getting ready to release an RF-mount APS-C camera with a similar form factor as the Canon EOS M6 Mark II(opens in new tab) – but with the vlogging market in mind. This makes sense, as the the M6 Mark II already seems to be discontinued(opens in new tab) in a number of territories as Canon adjusts its strategy with the EOS M line. 

If there was a replacement for the M6 Mark II, it would likely enable Canon to create a more popular product that arguably never found an audience with the EF-M mount. It would also introduce a specifically vlogging-oriented body – which is very much lacking – to the EOS R ecosystem.

(Image credit: Canon)

Canon is always the subject of more camera rumors than any other manufacturer, in large part because it has been the most prolific photographic patenter for 35 consecutive years(opens in new tab).

Last year saw some of its most innovative products ever, with the launch of the 30fps, stacked sensor, eye-control AF Canon EOS R3(opens in new tab), the “personal family photographer” Canon PowerShot Pick(opens in new tab), and the radical camera that looks like a Pixar character, the Canon Posture Fit(opens in new tab). Not to mention its first venture into 3D VR, with the EOS VR System and the Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8L Dual Fisheye(opens in new tab) lens.

In other words, what we’re seeing from Canon in the new RF-mount era is a dynamic, daring, convention-defying company – a far cry from the conservative, careful, iterative company of a few years prior. So what is the biggest camera manufacturer in the world beavering away on right now? 

Canon drone

(Image credit: IP Force)

In March 2022 Canon submitted an application for a patent for a product that is a drive device, an electronic device and an image pickup device with a mobile body. 

From the illustrative diagrams included in the application, it looks like the design of the camera unit could be very similar to that of the Canon Powershot Pick(opens in new tab) – an AI-powered camera capable of recording both video and stills. It automatically detects movement, can track a subject and can be controlled using voice commands. 

The Powershot Pick features an 11.7MP camera, has advanced face recognition, connects to a purpose-made app and is compact, lightweight and portable – all of which are features that would be desirable on a drone camera.

Canon EOS R1

With the R5 and R6 now firmly established, respectively replacing the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV(opens in new tab) and Canon EOS 6D Mark II(opens in new tab), and the R3 resurrecting the 3-series pro product line, it looks like the next DSLR to be succeeded by a mirrorless model will be none other than the flagship sports camera, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III(opens in new tab)

Now, you’ll need to take this with such a huge grain of salt that it’s dangerous for your sodium levels, but here are some leaked Canon EOS R1 specs(opens in new tab): it will supposedly boast an 85MP global shutter sensor, capable of continuous 20fps bursts at the full 85MP resolution 40fps when cropped to 21MP, with Quad Pixel AF, in-body image stabilization capable of up to 9 stops, along with 15.5 stops of dynamic range with a maximum ISO sensitivity of 1.6 million. 

Sound too good to be true? It probably is. But then again, the specs of the R5 sounded too good to be true when they first leaked, too…

Canon EOS RS

Not to be confused with the EOS R5, rumors persist that Canon is developing a high-resolution full-frame mirrorless camera to compete with the likes of the 61MP Sony A7R IV(opens in new tab). In fact, we’ve even seen some reports suggesting that a medium format-rivaling 100MP EOS R(opens in new tab) is being worked on.

The latest rumblings come in the form of a list of purported specs for what has been dubbed the Canon EOS RS(opens in new tab) – a nod to the Canon EOS 5DS, which is the 50MP high-res DSLR that the mirrorless version would effectively replace. 

According to these claims, we can expect an 80MP sensor, with a slightly larger body than the EOS R that comprises a bigger grip, LCD and EVF. Additionally, it is claimed that the “viewfinder” (it is unclear whether this is the EVF or the LCD) can be tilted up and down, and that the camera possesses a “new style” of joystick (potentially the Smart Controller from the 1D X Mark III(opens in new tab) that also features on the R3) along with dual SD card slots. 

Canon EOS C50 and C90

Also expected to join the party in 2022 are the Canon EOS C50(opens in new tab) and C90, two more cinema cameras with RF lens mounts. While we don’t know much at present, we’re hoping we won’t have long to wait, as these cameras are expected to make their debuts around the midpoint of the year.

Canon EOS-M vlogging camera

(Image credit: Canon News / JPO)

The future of Canon’s EOS M series of mirrorless cameras remains a popular talking point, particularly with the Canon EOS M50 Mark II(opens in new tab) offering but minor upgrades to the line. 

Intriguingly, though, the future of Canon’s APS-C system might lie in this – a vlogging camera that’s essentially an interchangeable lens version of the DJI Osmo Pocket(opens in new tab) / DJI Pocket 2(opens in new tab)

A handheld vlogging camera with a built-in gimbal, making use of the best Canon EF-M lenses(opens in new tab), would be an ingenious implementation of Canon’s APS-C system. And given that it has already been the subject of around nine patents, it certainly feels like a product that’s likely to be realized…

HOWEVER, the launch of the APS-C EOS R7 and R10 have left a big cloud of doubt over the whole EOS M line-up, especially since the top model, the EOS M6 II has now been discontinued.

Sadly, patents and rumors don’t always lead to actual products.

The Canon verdict

What we think: Canon seems to have gone all in on mirrorless, but not just in the sense of traditional camera bodies – more and more we’re seeing it stretch the boundaries of photo products, with concept cameras like the Canon PowerShot Pick(opens in new tab) and Posture Fit. It has also finally brought APS-C bodies to the EOS R system – along with an outright replacement for the M50, which makes things feel increasingly precarious for the EOS M product line.