{"id":490838,"date":"2026-03-23T11:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/490838\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T11:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:44:11","slug":"many-photographers-still-love-their-dslr-cameras-and-i-think-i-know-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/490838\/","title":{"rendered":"Many photographers still love their DSLR cameras, and I think I know why"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wrote\u00a0recently\u00a0about why\u00a0digital\u00a0SLRs could be due a comeback<\/a>, if indeed they ever conclusively\u00a0went\u00a0away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reader\u00a0replies\u00a0were\u00a0divided between those in agreement and those calling\u00a0the\u00a0idea\u00a0idiotic.\u00a0DSLRs\u00a0clearly\u00a0remains\u00a0a topic\u00a0\u2013 and format \u2013\u00a0in\u00a0which folks\u00a0are\u00a0deeply\u00a0invested.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That\u00a0didn\u2019t surprise me, as\u00a0millions\u00a0were\u00a0sold\u00a0to photographers\u00a0over the past 25 years.\u00a0In fact,\u00a0it\u2019s more than you might think. Official\u00a0CIPA<\/a> figures put\u00a0global DSLR\u00a0sales at around 100 million \u2013 and a good number of these are still being used by their owners.<\/p>\n

Article continues below <\/p>\n

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Ironically,\u00a0at\u00a0the peak of DSLR popularity\u00a0\u2013 the early 2010s \u2013\u00a0the camera industry\u00a0was\u00a0already\u00a0introducing mirrorless cameras.\u00a0In\u00a0hindsight, then,\u00a0it isn\u2019t all that surprising that there was\u00a0some initial\u00a0resistance\u00a0to mirrorless. Especially\u00a0from professionals who had invested thousands\u00a0into DSLR camera systems.<\/p>\n

Pros\u00a0typically\u00a0voiced concern\u00a0about how smaller camera bodies and lenses\u00a0might\u00a0make them appear amateurish when they rocked up to photograph\u00a0paying\u00a0clients.\u00a0The\u00a0image of a\u00a0working\u00a0photographer\u00a0back then was someone who turned up with big, expensive-looking gear and\u00a0glass.\u00a0Some of that mindset still exists today.<\/p>\n

The counter argument has always been that clients\u00a0are paying for\u00a0the photographer\u2019s\u00a0expertise\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and shouldn\u2019t concern themselves with whatever kit is\u00a0in use.<\/p>\n

So, if gear\u00a0comes second\u00a0to ideas and personal vision,why is there still a lot of residual love for the DSLR?<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that when, starting\u00a0in\u00a02008,\u00a0Panasonic<\/a>, Olympus<\/a>, and then Sony<\/a> began to introduce mirrorless models, the \u2018big two\u2019 of Canon<\/a> and Nikon<\/a>\u00a0clung onto the DSLR for the longest time, seemingly\u00a0waiting to see if mirrorless caught on.<\/p>\n

A tipping point was reached when Nikon\u00a0introduced the consumer-targeted\u00a0Nikon 1\u00a0system\u00a0in 2011,\u00a0subsequently\u00a0replaced\u00a0in 2018\u00a0by Nikon Z,\u00a0with\u00a0Canon\u00a0introducing\u00a0the short-lived EOS M\u00a0in 2012\u00a0before getting serious\u00a0with\u00a0EOS R\u00a0in 2018.\u00a0Appearing to have\u00a0since\u00a0put all their eggs in the basket marked \u2018mirrorless\u2019, neither has announced a new DSLR since 2020.<\/p>\n

That leaves Pentax<\/a>, hardly the format\u2019s biggest player, as the\u00a0current\u00a0last man standing\u00a0when it comes to developing\u00a0new\u00a0DSLRs. Even\u00a0then,\u00a0its own\u00a0K-Mount full frame and APS-C\u00a0releases have slowed\u00a0of late.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

A format once so big and popular doesn\u2019t just go away overnight, however.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0still a big market for DSLRs,\u00a0particularly among students learning the basics of photography \u2013\u00a0albeit one increasingly catered to via second-hand.<\/p>\n

The truth is,\u00a0some of us just love a ruggedly built\u00a0camera, with\u00a0a\u00a0decent-sized grip,\u00a0impressive battery life,\u00a0the \u2018purity\u2019 of an\u00a0optical viewfinder\u00a0rather than mirrorless\u2019 EVF, plus\u00a0a system\u00a0supported by thousands of existing vintage lenses and accessories that can now be snapped up for a bargain.<\/p>\n

After all, it doesn\u2019t need to be a\u00a0something akin to\u00a0a divisive\u00a0Beatles\u00a0vs\u00a0Stones, Oasis\u00a0vs\u00a0Blur,\u00a0or Remainers\u00a0vs\u00a0Brexiteers\u00a0debate\u00a0when it comes to DSLR\u00a0vs Mirrorless<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing to say we can\u2019t use and enjoy\u00a0shooting with\u00a0both.\u00a0Which is exactly what I do.<\/p>\n

You decide – check out our guides to the best DSLRs<\/a> you can still buy, and to the best mirrorless cameras<\/a> in 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I wrote\u00a0recently\u00a0about why\u00a0digital\u00a0SLRs could be due a comeback, if indeed they ever conclusively\u00a0went\u00a0away.\u00a0 Reader\u00a0replies\u00a0were\u00a0divided between those in agreement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-490838","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}