I think of myself as a little bit of a recovering photography gear addict. I never had a ton of money to throw at photo equipment, but I traded out cameras a bit more than I would like to admit in the 2010s. I have since settled on a Nikon DSLR and am pretty happy where I’m at. Still, I enjoy using and thinking about gear, and I can’t help but respond to the mirrorless trend. Here goes.

The internet has been forecasting and proclaiming the DLSR’s death for some time now. I guess I get it. Strapping a mirror and prism assembly to a computer does seems a little archaic in 2022. A digital solution that removes a mechanical failure point and allows the photographer to see the actual result before the press of the shutter (if the camera has an actual shutter!) makes sense. However, I also think there’s a bunch of internet FOMO going on. The crops of DSLRs produced over the last 15 years or so didn’t become bad cameras overnight. I think for most photographers, they are still fantastic tools. And maybe, just maybe, they might still be the better tool for a lot of us and our planet.

I look at a computer screen all day at my day job. There’s something refreshing and real about looking through an optical viewfinder on a camera. EVFs are getting pretty good, but there’s no lag or refresh to worry about when you’re looking at the real thing. DSLR battery life is better. Mirrorless might be leading in autofocus, but the last few generations of DSLRs are no slouch. You can go back decades with lens choices without worrying about adapters (1959 with Nikon!). I also think these mirrored bricks are great choice for people who want to learn photography and buy used. Professional tough cameras that used to cost thousands can now be picked up for reasonable prices. The gear junkies and fanboys will measurebate about specs, but at the end of the day, I’m not convinced many clients (or even the photographers) would notice a difference at all in the resulting photos between mirrorless and the last few generations of DSLRs. There isn’t even a gigantic weight savings. Physics doesn’t change, and lens sizes remain the same relative to sensor size.

Don’t get me wrong. I realize mirrorless has a lot going for it, and if my camera ever becomes unrepairable, I’ll take a look at them. But I think the move is also a little overblown. Photographers (and society at large) is pretty susceptible to FOMO via the internet. Most of the gear-centric photo blogs and YouTubers that make their money on clicks have all decided mirrorless is the future and the way to the bank. They make us feel like our current equipment is lacking. I was caught in this shitcycle for awhile in my 20s. If only I had that better piece of gear. As it turns out, my camera upgrades didn’t make me a better photographer. Hell, they didn’t even really improve the quality of my images. I realize today that that time and money are better spent on experiences, photo books, learning, printing equipment, and other costs involved with sharing work (like website hosting fees). And this ol’ earth of ours is already overflowing with electronic waste. Perhaps we all need to slow down a little and use tools we already have.

So yeah. DSLRs are probably dead. Long live them.