The Future of Photography is NOT Mirrorless

The photography industry is in turmoil. The age of the professional photographer is coming to an end while the rise of the smartphone is bringing the art of photography into the hands of millions. Strange days indeed. Amidst all this change both Canon and Nikon have announced mirrorless cameras that are poised to breathe new life into both vendor’s dedicated camera lines. Will they? I don’t believe they will and in the end, mirrorless cameras are simply a incremental improvement on the road to the true next-generation photography tool; the smartphone.

What IS a mirrorless camera?

Simply put, a mirrorless camera is a camera that, unlike a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, lacks a mirror that typically allows the photographer to view the scene through the lens using an optical viewfinder. When developed, the mirror approach was a great way to frame your photos before you pressed the shutter button. Now, using digital viewfinders found in mirrorless camera systems you no longer need the mirror apparatus to frame your photos. You can just view the scene directly off the camera’s sensor. This is a fantastic improvement over that standard DSLR approach for several reasons; no mirror means the camera can be smaller, using a digital viewfinder means what you see is much closer to how the final photo will look when taken. Both…