What is Creative Life?
Creative Life is a series through which I share my knowledge about photography and videography skills. Both these crafts have become quintessential for people wanting to become digital content creators. The more you develop these skills the more you raise the production value of your digital content. This eventually could translate into producing quality content that has the potential of gaining traction and popularity with time.
With so many new digital photography cameras flooding the market, new buyers often find themselves in a fix when trying to decide which one would best suit their needs. While there are many aspects to consider when buying a digital photography camera, one of the most debated aspects lately has been DSLR vs Mirrorless camera.
To begin with, you first need to be well versed with the difference between the two. So let’s start there and answer two basic questions:
- What is a DSLR?
Let’s start with answering what a DSLR camera is… Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) is a camera system that was designed to take its predecessor digital. Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras were the most popular camera system prior to the introduction of DSLR. The basic design of these camera systems remains the same. While the SLR rendered the captured image on a 35mm film; the DSLR rendered captured images on a digital imaging sensor.
What remains unchanged is the basic mechanics of the camera. This means that at the heart of the camera is a mirror that first sends the image from the lens to the viewfinder. When the photographer is ready to capture the photo and clicks the shutter release button, the mirror reflexes to let the image get captured on the digital imaging sensor in case of a DSLR or the 35mm film in case of an SLR. - What is a mirrorless camera?
While the DSLR works like a charm in most situations, it does have some drawbacks. The mirror system built into these cameras added extra bulk and weight to the cameras, hindering their ease of portability quotient. Many people with small hands also found it difficult to securely grip their DSLR cameras owing to their bulky form factor. Many users also complained about the vibrations caused by the mirror reflex as in some situations it ended up in capturing less sharp images.
Some innovations were hence long-awaited in order to overcome these shortcomings of the DSLR camera system. So now comes in picture the latest mirrorless digital camera systems. This revamped camera system has completely got rid of the mirror and instead uses a digital display for viewing from the viewfinder. On press of the shutter release button, the electronic shutter releases itself to let the image get captured on the digital imaging sensor. These innovations have reduced the vibrations and have also made clicking pictures a pretty noiseless affair. Not only this, the weight and form factor has also been considerably reduced in mirrorless camera systems. All of this without any compromise on the image quality. Now isn’t that simply fabulous? However, no camera system is perfect and hence even mirrorless cameras have some areas of improvement it needs to work on. The most commonly talked about being limited native lens options (without adapters) to choose from and better quality viewfinder screens.
Now to sum it all up, listed below are some pros and cons for you to decide who wins for you in DSLR vs Mirrorless cameras.
DSLR:
Pros:
– Wider lens range available.
– Less expensive lenses and accessories.
Cons:
– Heavier and bulkier than mirrorless cameras.
– Mirror reflex causes vibration.
– Noisier system than mirrorless.
– Shoots lesser photos per second at faster shutter speeds.
Mirrorless:
Pros:
– Less heavy and less bulky.
– No vibrations caused due to the mirror.
– Shoots more photos per second at faster shutter speeds.
– A camera system that’s a lot quieter.
Cons:
– Limited lens range available.
– More expensive lenses and accessories.
If you would like to suggest some pros and cons that I might have missed out on, feel free to mention them in the comments section.