
DSLR vs. Mirrorless cameras, which is better? Do serious professionals still use DSLRs? Maybe not! In this article, we’ll review the long-standing debate of DSLR vs Mirrorless cameras. Spoiler alert: mirrorless technology has come a long way in recent years!
The DSLR vs mirrorless debate introduces many important questions about the future of photography. The general trend is that manufacturers like Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Olympus, brands that used to make DSLRs with optical viewfinders, have made a strong transition towards mirrorless cameras. In fact, all of the most notable releases in 2021 and 2022 are mirrorless cameras.
The vast majority of lenses made by Canon and Nikon in the last two-plus years have been mostly mirrorless lenses, too!. With all of this latest technology, research, and marketing power all focused on mirrorless, where does that leave DSLRs? Here’s what we’ll cover:
- DSLR vs Mirrorless Video
- Size Comparison
- Price Comparison
- Viewfinder Comparison
- Autofocus Comparison
- Options for Mirrorless DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras
Watch The DSLR vs Mirrorless Cameras Video
Pye Jirsa and Joe Cha went head to head to discuss the pros and cons of each, and debate which is better. Check out our discussion in the video below. Pye is using the Canon DSLR system and I use the Sony Full Frame mirrorless cameras. This is an interesting look back in time, because Pye has, in fact, tested out Sony full-frame mirrorless, however, he eventually switched to Canon’s new RF full-frame mirrorless system!
This video is a few years old now; can you spot some of the key points that may have changed since then? (Mirrorless battery life, autofocus, anything else?)
DSLR vs Mirrorless: Size
On paper, it’s clear that the mirrorless cameras and lenses win, but in practice, it’s a different story. It’s amazing to have a professional camera outfit that weighs less than my Chipotle burrito, but when the buttons are so close together on that compact mirrorless body, it’s easy to accidentally adjust settings. In other words, especially if you have large hands, there is actually an advantage to having a “decent-sized” camera.
I’ve been shooting with these mirrorless cameras for a while now and I still have the occasional mishap. With that being said, the size is actually dependent on your intended use for the camera. For consumers, the smaller outfit is definitely a huge advantage, for everything from travel and epic adventures to everyday casual use, however, for professionals that convenience of compactness may come at the cost of ease-of-use.
Winner: Draw if you are a working professional, Mirrorless if you are a beginner or need portability
Price Comparison
This is an area where the DSLR vs Mirrorless debate has almost never had a clear winner. Simply put, cameras are still expensive! Especially if we try to achieve a little bit of “apples to apples” in our comparison by only considering full-frame cameras, it’s often a draw.
- Entry/Mid Level Full Frame:
- High Megapixel Full Frame:
- High-Speed Flagship:
If we looked at the lenses that are available for both DSLR and mirrorless cameras, here’s what you’d see: Across the board, there are some very affordable options, especially from third parties, but also, the high-end flagship options from the name brands are all very, very expensive. Mirrorless vs DSLR almost doesn’t matter; if you want the top-shelf lenses, you’re always going to pay a lot for the latest and greatest optical performance, and right now that just happens to be mirrorless quite often.
However, there is good news! Today, there are more impressive affordable lenses available, even for full-frame cameras, now more than ever before. Especially for Sony mirrorless, if you are willing to consider third-party options from Rokinon AKA Samyang; the range of budget-friendly, high-quality lenses is just impressive. (Yes, there were a lot of low-budget lenses for DSLRs, however, they were often very terrible quality!)
Winner: Draw
Viewfinder: Electric Viewfinder (EVF) vs Optical Viewfinder
I absolutely love the EVF in my mirrorless cameras. It’s amazing being able to see the exact exposure and color that I’m going to get before I even press the shutter!
Also, in bright, sunny conditions, it’s rather convenient to be able to see the playback inside the viewfinder. It’s a great setup and my face never leaves the viewfinder, which is great for important events.
The downside is that all electronic displays are just that: an electronic display, meaning what you see has technically “already happened”. Thankfully, viewfinder lag times have improved immensely over the years, and for most types of photography today it simply isn’t a problem. However, DSLR viewfinders will always have an advantage in that what you’re looking at through the optical viewfinder is actually what is happening right at that instant. For truly high-speed subjects, this may always give you an edge.
Also, optical viewfinders in DSLRs have the inherent feature of “always on”, in fact, you can raise a DSLR to your eye even while the camera is off, and still be able to frame a shot! You just always know that if you raise the camera to your eye, you’ll see your subject.
Mirrorless viewfinders, in addition to having a (now very slight) lag time, also have a sensor that detects whether or not your eye is even looking through the viewfinder. This isn’t a problem most of the time, however, if your EVF presence sensor gets a little dirty, you may find yourself raising the camera to your eye and simply not having the EVF turn/switch on! At critical moments, this could present a problem.
Winner: DSLR for some, Mirrorless for most
DSLR vs Mirrorless: Autofocus
This is one of the biggest areas of debate, because mirrorless cameras have always had more autofocus points, and those points were spread out all over the viewfinder, but they weren’t very reliable, to be honest.
Oppositely, DSLRs had stronger autofocus points that were much more reliable, (cross-type, phase-detect AF points are what you want!) However, these DSLR AF systems all had their focus points clustered in the center of the frame, due to optical and physical constraints.
In the last couple of years, however, mirrorless AF points have become much more reliable. Simply put, the earliest mirrorless cameras had terrible autofocus, and DSLRs were far superior. But, starting with notable mirrorless cameras as the Sony A9, mirrorless autofocus began to progress by leaps and bounds, especially in terms of face and eye detection and tracking.
Today, mirrorless cameras are now better in terms of autofocus for virtually all types of casual and most serious, professional applications, due to the fact that they can focus anywhere in the viewfinder, and detect, lock onto, and track, faces, eyes, and even wildlife and action sports objects. Yes, even in “abysmal” low light conditions!
It wouldn’t be fair to the DSLR to not mention that until very recently, though, the highest-level flagship cameras for high-speed action sports and wildlife were still DSLR cameras. (The Canon 1DX III and the Nikon D6, that is) Now, although we do have the Canon EOS R3, the Nikon Z9, and the Sony A1, it is still true that many professionals who are photographing high-speed racing sports, action sports, Olympic Games, and wildlife, are almost all still very big fans of DSLR autofocus technology.
Also, it’s not just about autofocus, but related to high-speed subjects: optical viewfinders allow a DSLR user to track high-speed moving subjects more easily than with an electronic viewfinder, making the overall experience favorable for DSLR users.
Winner: Mirrorless in many conditions, DSLR in some
DSLR vs Mirrorless Lenses
Although a DSLR camera will typically have more native lenses to choose from, mirrorless systems are gaining more and more lenses every day. In fact, if you count Sigma, Tamron, and Rokinon Samyang, Sony’s e-Mount mirrorless platform may now have the most current-generation lenses on the market today! Indeed, a lot has changed in the last 5 years.
Furthermore, any mirrorless camera will always have far more adaptable lenses. Just on Sony’s E-mount alone, I’ve mounted everything including native E and FE lenses, A-Mount lenses (Sony, Zeiss, and Konica Minolta), Leica, Voigtlander, Canon EF, Nikon F, and Exakta (have you ever even heard of that one?!) lenses on my mirrorless body.
With the advantages of a shallow flange distance and an EVF (electronic viewfinder) with “marching ants” (focus assist), mounting and even manual focusing with virtually any lens is now possible.
Last but not least, thanks to that shorter flange distance, new optical formulas are now becoming possible that were never before seen on DSLR platforms. Lenses as enormous and exotic as the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2, to the ultra-portable yet still professional-grade Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8, (pictured above) …are all huge winners that, as I mentioned before, hit all the price ranges in exciting new ways.
Winner: Mirrorless
Options on DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras
I find that the DSLR will have more physical ports and ways to hook into, and a mirrorless will have more digital options (like apps you can install). If there’s a particularly difficult shot you want to capture, more than likely the DSLR or Mirrorless camera you’re using has a way to capture it.
For the most up-to-date recommendations, see the following articles:
- The Best Mirrorless Cameras for Pros
- The Best DSLR Cameras for Beginners
- The Best DSLR Cameras for Pros
Conclusion
If you need a camera body with fast and reliable autofocus, an optical viewfinder, and don’t mind the size, then a DSLR is for you. If you want a lightweight camera body with an EVF and can take your time in low light situation, then the mirrorless is a better option. The DSLR vs Mirrorless debate has been going on for years and we barely scratched the surface covering these topics, so let us know which you prefer and why in the comments!
Joseph Cha
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Hello !
(I’m new here, just a french sunday photographer going slowly to pro. Excellent website anyway !)
I’m about to invest in a complete system, and I am really struggling DSLR vs mirroless so your article really matters to me.
The real question for me is : Is mirrorless today better than, let’s say, a 5 years old DSLR ?
5 years ago we were able to shoot pro with the DSLRs we had. So is the mirrorless IQ not better than them ? And the Af at least not as good ?
Sony mirrorless is cheaper, but FE lenses are and will be more expensive (due to the short flange focal design and the “Zeiss coatings”). Anyway, Sony/Zeiss seem to release piece by piece one of the finest lenses ever made !
A 70-200 2.8 will also be ridiculous on a E-mount…but for me it’s an “hurrah !” : a 85mm or 135mm, and my legs are the zoom.
A thing I really don’t stand and understand is why Sony compressed the RAW files. Why ?!
Olympus mirrorless system is mature but nobody can say the future is bright, because of the small sensor.
Another point which is essential to me is the histogram. For me a DSLR should have a live histogram always showing (even without live view). I had 6 DSLRs and 3 mirrorless systems, and today I cannot rely on anything but the live histogram. Maybe the solution would be an hybrid like on on Fuji.
The color rendition may be better on Canon than Sony (and Nikon), but not than Olympus in my personal taste.
Ok the A7 series is not pro but when Sony will decide to release an A9 series, maybe it will be a real game changer. And I’m pretty sure that it will be happening this year or in 2016…according to rumors on the Internet.
So what we will probably see in the near future is Sony (and Samsung !) bring professional mirrorless cameras, and Canon/Nikon bring mirrorless non-pro stuff.
And what about the Nikon Df ? I think a better “Df mark 2” with a thinner body would be great, really competing the mirrorless systems. Or maybe Canon could release that model ?
Another thing. I never carry my camera with the right hand. I always carry it with the left hand (actually, the lens mounted on it) so the grip is not important to me. Am I alone in this case ? My right hand is used only to press the shutter and handle the rings and buttons un the right side. I don’t understand why people are so attached to those grips…
I have a question. Are DSLRs really better with autofocus ? Let me explain a little. Let’s say a 85mm 1.4 on a D810 is the autofocus really reliable at 1.4 ? Is contrast detection not more precise in this case ? I heard a lot of people telling me that I would have to buy 1.8 lenses instead of 1.4 on a D810 (or 5Dr), because it would be almost impossible to have the right focus with phase detection AF on a high pixel count DSLR. But I would like to use 1.4 or even 1.2 lenses !
As far as the debate is concerned, I really wonder who here is actually interested in the art of photography. Even in the area of art, there are some changes in tools, however at the end of the day it comes down to capturing light and excluding it correctly! If we spend as much time learning the craft, as we do running from one tool to the other, it would be a non factor as to what gear is used! One other though, as far as crying about the weight of the camera (I understand a woman being concerned about the weight, but men? Really? Until these forums, I never gave any thought to the weight, because I’m too busy focusing on the art of photography! Whe there we use a pin hole camera or mirrorless or dslr, let’s concentrate on the craft!
I love the fact the mirrorless is more lightweight.. Looking forward to continued advances in this technology!
Those cameras are find, however I still find the results I get with an inexpensive Canon SX50 with the 1200mm equivalent zoom to be amazing.
Pentax had a good idea with their poorly executed K-01 in that it used existing K mount lenses, theoretically letting you have the best of both worlds. But like I said, poorly executed.
I love my A6000 because as Pye said, it’s fun. I don’t shoot professionally, so for what I need – mirrorless is perfect. I need a camera that’s light enough to carry around for traveling, street photos, and conventions. Then I stop to take portraits, I can still get great looking shots. Great debate!
I personally love my a-6000 (couldn’t swing the $$ for a7®. My biggest issue is with the hot shoe. I finding 3rd party flashes and accessories is not easy. I have yet to find anyone that has a good solution for flashes and triggers.
I love my Sony A7R. I almost always use manual lenses so autofocus is not an issue. I like the size because it is more like the old Pentax SLR and those just feel natural in my big hands. I don’t worry about speed because I usually take considerable time setting up a shot vs just rapid fire of auto shooting and hoping for the best. I am quite sure that I will upgrade some time in the future but not in the near future. I also love the amount of lenses I can adapt to my little beastie.
the EVF will be light up when getting dark, but Optical V can’t. so I think the winner will be the mirrorless ? after shoot with Nikon DSLR for 20ys and switch to the Sony and Olympus EM1.
thats really cool
I guess one has to carefully ask himself (or herself) what are their priorities and then choose accordingly. In the end, it’s mostly about how people feel when using a camera (since IQ these days is very close in most situations and any camera is better than what most people need).
In my case portability was on top of my needs, so it was an easy choice, and I went with the smallest mirrorless ILC available at the moment: Lumix GM1. I just wrote an article in my blog about the benefits of small cameras, check it out here: http://gonzalobroto.blogspot.com/2014/10/born-by-chance-handbag-photography-ii.html
will interesting to see where the mirrorless cameras will be within 2-3 years. To my view, they need to rethink their ergonomics (buttons locations etc)
I use the mirroless system and I am very happy with it. If I would need a brick, weighting kilograms, using almost always a tripod and not regarding to the money I would use rather a medium format camera like the Hasselblad or Phase One.
I agree and am looking at a 7d2 for pro photo assignments and a7s for video… geesh… so much cash!! :P
I’d argue that autofocus is better/faster on a DSLR than on a Mirrorless. Yes in low light DSLR will have the edge, however I would question how many people actually shoot in low light. I decent light, I’ve had an exceptional experience with my a6000 which has been much more accurate and faster than some of the DSLR’s I’ve used. I’d give the win to Mirrorless!
A camera is a tool. Pick the best tool for the job. You don’t need a 1Dx to go take landscapes and you aren’t going to shoot sports with an A7.
Personally, I have yet to put a mirrorless in my hands that felt good. And if a camera doesn’t feel good in my hands then I am not going to want to use it. That’s the reason I picked Canon over Nikon many years ago. Canon felt better in my hands.
Though I have small hand, my 5D3 is staying with me :)
I agree with what they said in the video. I shoot both mirrorless and DSLR professionally, and each has it’s pros and cons. The FujiFilm X cameras are my first choice, but they’re not perfect for every scenario.
cool