Here’s Why I’m Not Dumping My DSLRs For Mirrorless Cameras

Mirrorless cameras are great! They are much smaller and lighter than most DSLRs, and, because they use newer technology, they often have higher pixel counts than equivalent DSLRs, quieter operation, faster multi-frame operation, as well as improved low-light performance and better image stabilization.

But I’m not switching, at least not yet. Why not?

First, I don’t make my living with a camera, and if I did my attitude might be different. But then again, it might not. As a professional, I would have to do a serious cost/benefit analysis, and depending on the kind of work I did, I might or might not find out that it made sense to switch. Professionals have to make sure that the cost of new equipment, especially when it comes to changing entire camera systems, will be justified by lower costs or increased income. I have noticed that many of us who are not doing this for a living often have the best and newest gear. (Years ago, a camera magazine published a tongue-in-cheek Photographers’ Dictionary, which defined a professional photographer as “someone with seven cameras and a working wife or husband.”) Discretionary income is a wonderful thing!

One of the biggest reasons I’m not switching is lenses. I have lenses that I purchased as far back as 1985 that still operate in full auto-focus mode on my current DSLR bodies. One of those is my favorite portrait lens, a Minolta Maxxum 35-105mm autofocus zoom lens, which turns out to be a great portrait range on an APS-C camera (I shoot with a Sony a77 and an a77ii). Another is my favorite overall lens, a Tamron 16-300mm zoom, which is my most often-used lens. I have about a dozen lenses, ranging from 10mm to 300mm focal lengths (up to 420mm with a 1.4x teleconverter), with maximum apertures from f1.4. I could use all or nearly all of these lenses on a Sony mirrorless camera, but in nearly all cases I lose autofocus functionality. I’ve grown to appreciate autofocus, and I’m not willing to give that up.

Two advantages of some mirrorless cameras over my current a77s are higher ISO settings and higher image resolution. To get significantly higher image resolution I would have to go to a full-frame camera, which would mean replacing several APS-C only lenses. Higher ISO capability would be a plus, but yesterday I was shooting in low light at ISO 25,600, and Lightroom’s new noise reduction tool cleaned those images up beautifully! Higher image resolution would be great, but as it is I can easily make 20”x30” prints from my 24MP images, so it’s not a major concern for me.

One other advantage of mirrorless cameras, in general, is better video performance. Neither my a77 or my a77ii are great for video. Right now, video is not a major concern for me. If it was I would at least add a mirrorless camera body, and probably a new lens or two as well, and that could start my decent down the slippery slope to the land of mirrorless.

The other reason is cost. Even if I don’t replace lenses, two Sony a6700 bodies would cost me about $1,400 each, and the Sony lens adapter, which allows autofocus with only some of my lenses, adds another $230, and I’d need at least two of those. But I know that wouldn’t be the end of it. There would be other accessories, including little things like the L-mount quick release brackets I use to mount my cameras to tripods. And, of course, eventually there will be lenses, because I would find reasons why at least a couple of my current lenses no longer served me well.

At some point I might change my mind, perhaps if I win the lottery. Here’s the biggest reason I’m not switching. Right now, what I have works well for me. I know my equipment reasonably well and don’t have to fumble my way through new menus with unfamiliar functions and waste time figuring out which button or lever does what. In other words, I’m satisfied with what I have, and that’s a great place to be.