The DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) builds on film-based mirror reflex technology through digital means. The system camera is a digital camera with interchangeable lens, but without a mirror. Does this mean that the system camera is inferior to the DSLR? Do we still even need a mirror in digital photography? Not in principle, but photography without a mirror differs considerably from DSLR photography in specific areas.
Digital technology does away with the need for a mirror
Until you press the shutter of a single lens reflex camera, the mirror deflects the image created by the lens through the viewfinder. To capture the image, the mirror flips out of the light path, making way for the shutter and the light shines directly onto the film.
With a film-loaded camera, it’s the only way of creating exactly the same image in the viewfinder and on the light-sensitive layer as well as to switch between viewfinder view and the image at the push of a button. The image created by the image sensor of a digital camera can be displayed and stored at the same time with faster hardware.
This is also true of a DSLR with live view mode. Older cameras were not in a position to do this. So a modern digital camera can display the image before and during recording on a display and in an electronic viewfinder. Is the DSLR able to do something that the mirrorless system camera can’t?
How can you justify buying a modern DSLR?
A characteristic feature of the DSLR and of the film-loaded single lens reflex camera is the permanently visible viewfinder image which does not require power and is also as bright as the surroundings. You only need to switch your DSLR on when you actually want to take a photo and not when you would just like to review the impact of what you’re shooting through the viewfinder.
The brightness of the viewfinder image corresponding to the surroundings can be beneficial especially when taking shots at dusk or at night. In contrast to the self-illuminating electronic viewfinder, the optical viewfinder does not dazzle you when your eyes have adjusted to the dark. Subsequently you do not have to wait for your eyes to adjust.
In such situations, the typical heavier weight of the DSLR housing can be advantageous: It absorbs camera movement when manually released and allows for longer shutter speeds than is the case with lightweight camera housing.
DSLR versus mirrorless system camera: The pros and cons
The argument behind faster DSLR auto-focus is no longer relevant. Mirrorless system cameras, and also DSLRs operated by live-view mode, were previously reliant upon slower contrast detection when focusing and were not able to take advantage of faster phase detection. The development of hybrid auto-focus systems consigned this difference to history.
Currently, the advantages of the DSLR are as follows:
- Longer battery run time
- Viewfinder image is always visible, shows exactly what the lens is displaying
- Viewfinder brightness corresponds to the brightness of the surroundings
- Even bigger selection of lenses currently
The advantages of the mirrorless system camera are as follows:
- Less complex from a mechanical point of view
- Housing does not weigh as much (can also be a disadvantage in terms of risk of camera shake)
- The viewfinder displays the image as it lands on the memory card
- Viewfinder display possible even while taking a photo
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