And we're back in the studio.
So, today I will be talking about the advantages and disadvantages between DSLR and mirrorless
cameras.
There are many questions surrounding this topic being the clear differences between
these two types of cameras.
How do both of these cameras work?
Which one is better?
And what is the autofocus like on both cameras?
Well hopefully I will answer most if not all of your questions as clearly as I can so,
please do stay and watch until the end.
We also have a blog over on our website which is Wilkinson.co.uk/blog where there will be
some more information on this matter.
We’re going to mainly talk about the differences between these two types of cameras, but one
major thing in common is that they’re both types of Interchangeable Lens Cameras.
Now, moving onto how DSLR cameras actually work.
Firstly, DSLR stands for Digital Single-Lens Reflex.
This DSLR that I have got with me today is the Canon EOS 6D Mark II.
These cameras are built using the same design as a 35mm film camera from the past.
But to make it a bit easier, I’ll draw it out for you so you can understand it a little
bit better.
So here I’ve got the outlining of a DSLR camera.
So, the reflex design allows light to travel through the lens and reflect off the mirror
into the pentaprism and then into your viewfinder.
When you look through the viewfinder, you are actually looking straight through the
lens at the scene in front of you.
You won’t know exactly how your image will turn out until you take the photo and look
at it on the screen.
Once you are ready to take the image, press the shutter button and the mirror will flick
up and the light will travel into image sensor giving you a digital image.
This movement is where the very distinct noise of the DSLRs come from.
And that is how a DSLR camera works in basic terms.
So, moving onto mirrorless cameras.
This camera is the Sony A7 III.
Unlike the DSLR cameras, mirrorless cameras don't operate the exact same.
They operate without a reflex system so when the light travels through the lens it passes
directly to the digital sensor.
When you look through the viewfinder on a mirrorless camera, you are really looking
at a tiny LCD screen which shows you the image the sensor is capturing!
This is really useful, because what you see is what you get…
before you take the photo, so you can immediately see if your image is over-exposed and change
the settings in real-time.
But, I will elaborate more on this further into the video.
Now we have addressed how both cameras work, let’s delve into the unique features of
both cameras.
As I was saying earlier when you are shooting with a mirrorless camera you can directly
view what the outcome of the image is going to look like.
Mirrorless cameras hold a lot of information through the electronic viewfinder or on your
digital screen so as you’re shooting you can alter these setting and immediately see
the outcome.
Another benefit for the mirrorless system is that it displays an exposure histogram
or you can choose for it to display an exposure histogram through the electronic view finder
so you can control the exposure between your subject and the background.
As you can see here, I am altering the ISO and immediately you can see the change in
exposure.
Whereas if you were to do the same with a DSLR you would only see the differences in
your captured images.
With DSLR cameras, when you look through your optical viewfinder all you see is what the
mirror is reflecting from the light traveling through the lens.
On the viewfinder there isn’t as much information as a mirrorless camera, but you still have
your ISO, shutter speed and aperture to ensure you can read your settings clearly.
Use this sparingly because it’s not always a correct representation.
Personally, I miles prefer an electronic viewfinder for simple reason of having faster results
and more accuracy with my exposure.
You’ll tend to find that entry level DSLRs are less expensive than a mirrorless alternative.
Or that entry level mirrorless cameras don’t have a viewfinder so they’re not a like-for-like
option.
You might also notice that the newest, most feature-rich mirrorless cameras seem very
expensive compared to DSLR cameras.
This is because they have newer technologies and more features.
Here are some price ranges for different entries and levels of cameras…
When wondering where to put your budget…
think about the features you might need for your photography, rather than which camera
might work out a bit cheaper!
So, for me in this section it's a draw.
They're both similar prices for similar results.
Let’s move onto the size of the cameras.
As you can see the DSLR cameras are a lot bigger than the other cameras.
This camera is 144mm x 111mm x 75mm and weighs 765g.
This is because internally the DSLR camera body has a lot more going on, as explained
earlier.
DSLR’s require a reflex design which is the operation of the mirror and the pentaprism
to allow the optical viewfinder to work.
Because of this it just generally needs more room in the body.
But comparing it to the mirrorless cameras.
These cameras don’t need the mirror inside, which means they can immediately be made smaller
and lighter.
This camera is 127mm x 96mm x 74mm and weighs 650g.
You can see why some photographers might prefer these cameras over DSLR cameras because they
have the same size sensor and image quality as a DSLR's but without the bulk.
These are both full frame cameras, the difference in size becomes more significant when you
introduce APS-C and Micro 4/3 cameras.
This is because the image sensors within these cameras are a lot smaller.
For me mirrorless cameras win here unless you prefer a camera with a larger grip or
generally prefer shooting with a larger camera body.
But for me mirrorless wins by a mile.
Moving onto the battery size.
DSLR and mirrorless cameras have an obvious size difference as I just mentioned there.
So when talking about the size, the mirrorless cameras beat the DSLR cameras by a mile however
when it comes to battery sizes it unfortunately becomes a disadvantage for mirrorless cameras.
Most manufacturers try to make mirrorless cameras as small as possible which also includes
their batteries.
Mirrorless cameras have a lot of digital features that require constant power like the LCD display
or the electronic viewfinder.
Another factor that drains a lot of power is the in-body image stabilisation.
Which is a common feature in a lot of mirrorless cameras.
You can carry spare batteries around with you to avoid this problem but that depends
on whether you’re willing to do so.
So in this section DSLR cameras win by miles because they have a bigger battery therefore
more reliable on longer shoot days.
Now moving onto In Body Image Stabilisation it's mostly only found on mirrorless cameras.
Not all of them, but a lot.
It’s a relatively new technology within cameras that aim to stabilize your image sensor.
It allows handheld shooting at much longer shutter speeds, stable and shake-free video
footage and sharp still images.
I've just activated the In Body Image Stabilisation so lets take a little walk and see how it
holds up.
Ignore the mess of the studio.
But, I think it's holding up quite well what do you think.
Let me know in the comment section.
I will deativate it now so you can see the difference.
This is deactivated so we don't have the In Body Image Stabilisation on.
So, let me know if you prefer it with or without.
You've got to bare in mind that it does drain the battery life.
In Body Image Stabilisation is a feature that DSLR don’t tend to have which I guess is
another benefit for most mirrorless cameras.
So with that being said, mirrorless cameras win 100%
Most mirrorless cameras are capable of far higher frame rates for stills than a DSLR
cameras.
Let’s take the Canon EOS 1D X Mark III for example.
This gives us 20fps for around £7000 and the Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless camera gives us
the same frame rate but for around £4,300, which is a massive price difference.
Let alone you get better features on the EOS R5.
So, my point is that you can do that or more on a much more affordable mirrorless camera.
It's great for wildlife and sports togs.
Most definitely mirrorless cameras win here.
Better frames per second for the money you pay as well as all the other benefits that
comes will it.
During the mid-2000’s when mirrorless cameras were first released, the main disadvantage
at the time for mirrorless cameras was the limited amount of stock for mirrorless lenses.
However, jumping forward to the present day there is now a wide rande of selection of
mirrorless lenses across all manufacturers.
Here you can see the mirrorless lens ranges across all brands.
The limited stock of lenses is no issue anymore and in fact can now use most DSLR lenses on
mirrorless cameras with a compatible adapter.
So with that being said, I’d say mirrorless have an advantage here because they have access
to new, dedicated lenses and a raft of existing lenses thanks to adapters.
Autofocus is a an especially important feature when it comes to shooting wildlife or sports
photography, especially when working with fast moving subjects, but most photographers
will rely on autofocus at some point.
DSLR cameras used to have an advantage in the autofocus sector, because they used a
technology called phase detection.
You can see in this diagram here exactly how it works.
The light entering the lens is split into two images, the front and back focus of the
subject.
It then measures the convergence between the two beams of light.
Back in the day mirrorless cameras were restricted to a contrast detection, which made it very
difficult to identify the subject.
Contrast detection is when the image sensor detects the highest contrast within the frame
and pulls focus to that.
Autofocus on early mirrorless cameras just couldn’t compete with the AF systems on
a DSLR.
Talking about mirrorless cameras in general now, they have now incorporated phase detection
onto the image sensor which compares the two images and pulls accurate focus and then applies
contrast detection.
This leaves you with very sharp and crisp results.
So with that being said, when it comes to accuracy of focus, I personally think mirrorless
cameras win.
Although this could be argued with some photographers.
Both DSLR and mirrorless cameras have a wide range of autofocus settings, so it depends
on what works best for you and your needs.
If you need to take pictures quietly, for example at a wedding or with animals or insects,
a DSLR is much louder.
The traditional DSLR sound you’ll know well is a result of the movement of the mirror
and the mechanical shutter.
These moving parts create noise.
Whilst Mirrorless cameras also have a mechanical shutter, they don’t have the mirror inside
which reduces noise.
But, one feature nearly all mirrorless cameras have is an electronic shutter.
This means you can shoot in complete silence.
This is a major advantage for most if not all mirrorless cameras.
However, there are some disadvantages to this.
One being rolling shutter so be careful when using it.
Some lens aperture blades make more noise than their electronic shutter!
So for me, mirrorless cameras win in this section as well.
Now, when it comes to shooting video on both DSLR and mirrorless they have both improved
dramatically.
Mirrorless cameras have really taken off for video.
Although Canon lead the way with video on their DSLR Canon EOS 6D Mark II, it’s mirrorless
cameras that have dominated video creation in the last few years.
Better autofocus for video coupled with newer features, including better stabilization,
4K video and more recently 8k which means lots of creators have switched to mirrorless
for video.
Being smaller and lighter means they can easily be put on a gimbal for smooth video and they’re
easier to build into a rig with microphones and monitors.
When shooting in live view, the mirrorless cameras focus area is the whole image sensor
whereas DSLR’s tend to pull focus within the central box of the frame.
So, if you are filming or photographing a moving subject where you need to track the
subject in and out of the central thirds then mirrorless cameras have an advantage.
Sony especially, have very advanced video autofocus systems, four being face and eye
detection and animal face and eye detection.
This makes it easier to track any subject automatically whether that’s race cars,
animals, humans and pretty much anything else.
The camera organically identifies what you are trying to shoot and tracks it accordingly
to the necessary autofocus system.
This process makes it easier for videographers especially, saving time and not only giving
off better results.
In the newer DSLR cameras, manufacturers have enabled an electronic shutter mode which permanently
props up the mirror whilst recording in live view so that the camera can record in live
tracking.
WHICH IS BETTER?
DSLR or Mirrorless cameras?
I know this is a very controversial question and for some people it’s a very easy question
to answer.
But it all depends on what you want out of your camera and whether you need the features
your cameras do or don’t have.
I’ve split each section up here to summarise the final advantages and disadvantages of
each camera.
Remembering this is from my experience and not anybody else’s.
In my opinion, I prefer mirrorless cameras personally because they are more versatile
for what I do as a photographer and videographer.
But I can see why some photographers might stick with the good old DSLR cameras.
But, with that being said that is all I have for you today.
I hope you found this video useful and can decide which camera you prefer yourself.
If you did enjoy this video, then please like and subscribe below.
Also let me know in the comment section which camera you prefer and why and let’s get
a real conversation going.
Now, until the next video...
I will see you very soon.