Some Thoughts About Mirrorless Camera Systems and the Future

Western Maryland #734 (click to enlarge)
6 mp Nikon D70 with 18-70mm kit lens (2004)

In recent days, I have been reassessing my use of and image quality from my mirrorless M4/3 system.  That has caused me to give some additional thought to mirrorless camera systems in general, their attractiveness, their future direction and viability for a broader use among more types of photographers.  Additionally, I got to thinking about what the future of M4/3 mirrorless, specifically, was and whether or not its shortcomings, in my opinion, would be resolved in the future.

A lot has been written as well as speculated about mirrorless and its future place photography.  I won't even attempt to summarize what I have read about its possible future.  I won't try to predict where mirrorless is going.  I merely write my thoughts based upon everything I have heard and read and have personally experienced concerning mirrorless gear.

First, I intend to keep a mirrorless system.  Almost three years ago, I bought into mirrorless because I wanted to go smaller, lighter, less bulky and less expensive but maintain very high image quality.  I still intend on keeping that philosophy.  For the most part, mirrorless fits that bill perfectly.  Mirrorless was good three years ago and is even better now.  I think a lot of photographers feel the same way so I believe the future for mirrorless is excellent.

M4/3 Mirrorless

Olympus and Panasonic have designed and introduced some amazing lenses.  Small, fast, high build quality and capable of excellent images.  Currently, I have focal lengths from 7mm (14mm~e) to 150mm (300mm~e). I'm not counting my 4/3 lens with equivalent focal lengths of 100-400mm since it was an original 4/3 lens and not designed for M4/3.  The only focal lengths missing are the really long ones, longer than 150mm (300mm ~e), which Olympus should be rectifying by introducing a 300mm f/4 (600mm~e) this year. Introducing long telephoto lenses will round out M4/3 lens lines which should make every enthusiast should happy.  I have been really pleased with the size, image quality and construction of the M4/3 lenses I have owned and used.  No complaints from me.

I find the M4/3 cameras currently on the market as good as the lenses.  Small, good ergonomics, high build quality and packed full of features.  Currently having an Olympus E-M1 (as well as previously having an Olympus E-M5 and a Panasonic GX1), I love the in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS) of the E-M1.  I have found it extremely useful and it has allowed me to successfully make images where, in the past, using a tripod would have been mandatory.  I hope other manufacturers, besides Sony, incorporate this feature into their cameras.  It is a real plus.

Video is something in which I have no interest, but many of you do.  Panasonic has done some amazing things with video and are an industry leader.  Panasonic has also done some amazing things with designing, engineering and producing extremely high quality, but tiny cameras.  They are really pushing M4/3 forward in several ways.

My concern for M4/3 mirrorless are the limitations of the sensor size.  Right now, M4/3 is standardized on 16mp, up from 12mp.  That increase is really inconsequential.  It sounds better than any actual difference we may see.  Some are happy with 16mp, but I believe that many would jump at the chance to use a sensor that gives them more detail, more ability to crop but keep the same small size.  At 16mp the individual pixels on the M4/3 sensor are already extremely small compared to similar APS-C and full frame sensors. That is a disadvantage when it comes to light gathering ability and digital noise.

I have previously stated that I've come to believe that about 24mp is my sweet spot for what I do.  You may not need the extra pixels.  I'm not sure if and when the technology can or will be developed that will allow 24mp on a M4/3 sensor AND, at the same time, reduce higher ISO noise.  Noise on an M4/3 sensor becomes an issue for me at ISO 1600 and even occasionally at ISO 800.  I would like it to be better.  The M4/3 sensor is absolutely fabulous under daylight and ideal conditions.  But stress it, and you start to see its shortcomings.  Technology will improve and these issues may be solved, but when. Technology will also, at the same time, be improved in competing mirrorless system, so M4/3 may never quite catch up.

Looking at what Fujifilm and Sony have developed with APS-C sized sensors, especially low noise at higher ISOs, and there is a strong incentive for a photographer to move up. The downside of moving to a larger sensor is larger lenses, which starts to negate the "smaller, lighter, less bulky...." philosophy.  But its physics.  It can't be helped.  It takes a larger lens to cover the area of a larger sensor, especially at equivalent apertures.  The only way to keep lenses smaller with a larger sensor is to have slower maximum apertures.  That is, indeed, what Sony did when they introduced their mirrorless E and FE systems.  Their smaller lenses all have a maximum aperture of f/4.  They are starting to manufacture faster lenses and you can see how big they are in comparison.

I think the lens and camera selection for M4/3 is outstanding.  If you can't find what you need among the cameras and lenses manufactured for M4/3, you then really don't know what you want.  The achilles heel of M4/3 is sensor size, for now.

APS-C Mirrorless

Sony, Fujifilm and Samsung currently hold this space.  Fujifilm's offerings are outstanding and easily outshine Sony.  Samsung is brand new and have introduced a really innovative camera, but there is not enough experience with them to say what they will bring to the table in the future.  All three companies are breaking new ground and I applaud them.

In the APS-C sensor space, the big differences between Fujifilm and Sony are menu system, buttons, ease of use, ergonomics and lens selection.  With enough time, one can learn to use just about any menu system, but lens selection is huge.  I think Fujifilm will stay in the APS-C realm and continue to offer innovative cameras with innovative features as well as first class lenses to meet every photographer's need. Additionally, I believe they will step up to 24mp sensors later this year if not next.  I think their future is bright. 

Fujifilm has developed a rabid following among photographers.  Besides producing excellent cameras and lenses, they routinely update firmware for their cameras that are no longer in production or add desired features through firmware updates to cameras that are still in use.  That is unprecedented, in my experience, and I hope other camera companies see the success and positive press Fujifilm is experiencing for their philosophy of listening to their customers, then giving customers what they want and take a cue from them.  Of all the digital cameras I have owned, I can't think of another company that provides firmware updates to improve their current model as well as past models.  All should.

UPDATE:  According to an article published on January 13, 2015 on DPReview's website, Samsung announced a major firmware upgrade that will give Samsung NX-1 owners significant upgrades and new capabilities.  This sounds as though they have adopted the Fujifilm model of improving camera models that have already been introduced.  Good for them! You can read about it here.  Hopefully, other manufacturers are also getting the message on how valuable to their customers that philosophy of improving current and past products is to them.  

Sony seems to be placing much more emphasis on full frame mirrorless than APS-C sized sensored cameras.  Their little A6000 seems quite nice, with great focusing features, but from what I have watched and reviews I have read, lacks some things that are important to a lot of photographers.  Lenses for one, which is a consistent theme with Sony.  Lens selection is paltry.  What serious minded photographer would buy into a system with so few high quality lenses?  With Sony's past performance in quickly abandoning lens mounts and moving to new mounts, I would not be surprised if they only develop a few lenses for their APS-C system.  I've read that Sony's A7000 or A9000 or such is on the near horizon. I will find it interesting to see what improvements they have made and what features they have incorporated in the updated model. 

In the end, I hope Sony finds their way, continues to innovate and produce cameras with good menu systems, are full featured and provide a solid line of lenses for their customers.  I like what they are doing but, right now, I would be afraid to buy into any Sony products until I see a solid, long term commitment to a single lens mount.

Full Frame Mirrorless

I think full frame mirrorless will proliferate in the future.  Not only will Sony continue to develop some excellent cameras, but I'm also hoping they will fill out their lens selection. That is the key.  I think they got a great start with the A7r, the A7 (and now A7 II) and the A7s.  There are complaints about shutter noise, shutter shock, slow focusing, but I consider those growing pains.  I wouldn't buy into Sony yet, but if they keep going on the course in which they have started, I think they will be able to compete with anyone. They manufacture sensors for themselves as well as other companies, such as Nikon and Panasonic, so they know what they are doing in sensor development and image quality.

Sony really has the potential to make a strong statement to Nikon and Canon with their creativity, daring in getting into an entirely new system and commitment to spend what it takes in marketing research, technical research and development.

Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic are THE exciting photographic equipment companies to me.  The rest are followers.

Nikon and Canon

I believe that Nikon and Canon will get into mirrorless within the next couple of years. They will be forced to get into this space, but they will kick and scream the whole way as it is a space with which they are not really familiar.  The trend is there.  More and more people know that they, as photographers, can achieve the high imaging quality they demand with smaller, lighter and less expensive cameras.  We don't have to carry huge, heavy and bulky cameras anymore.  We did in the past, but technology was the factor that changed everything.

For these two mainstay companies, I think the transition will be very similar as it was when they first delved into digital from film-based cameras.  Each company will do some research, come up with an okay/average camera (Canon already tried once), then put it out there and see what reaction it gets.  There won't be any ground breaking features.  I think they will take a very conservative course of action.  And...I think they will take a huge hit in the media for doing so and being so conservative.  That is what they did with digital.  But, then they jumped in with both feet and ran with the digital camera ball, so to speak.  Look what we have now with the D810, 1DX, D4s and the 5D Mk III.  It took them a while, but I believe that is their strategy.  Small incremental improvements to keep the customers coming back and spending.  A new model with some incremental improvements comes out and people buy it.  Then again.  Then again.  But will that work. We are already accustomed to extremely high quality, full featured digital SLRs and I'm not sure that there can be economic success with lesser, although mirrorless, cameras from these two companies.

Just as in digital, when Canon and Nikon can reduce costs (as I am told) and produce a mirrorless full frame digital camera less expensively than a traditional single lens reflex with its mirror box and expensive glass prism, but at the same time charge more, they will.  As I just mentioned and as they did with early digital SLRs, they will incrementally introduce more cameras with incremental improvements and more desired features. They have to keep us coming back and spending for a few small features that are added or changed with each new introduction.

I don't think Canon and Nikon will immediately introduce the mirrorless equivalent of a D4s, D810, 1DX or 5D MKIII, although I think they should because that is where our expectations are for a professional level camera. If they did and improved the EVF even better than it now is, their mirrorless cameras would also take off like crazy!

The big drawback with Nikon and Canon jumping into mirrorless is the size, bulk, and expense of the lenses.  Most people balk at changing systems because they have so much money tied up in lenses.  But with full frame, you have to cover that large sensor and you can only bend the laws of physics so much.  But, I don't think that will matter so much with the pros and enthusiasts as long as they get the features they have now AND especially if an even higher quality EVF than is available in the Fujifilm X-T1 or Olympus E-M1 is produced AND, and this is the big AND, the focus ability of contrast/phase detect hybrid focusing systems has to improve significantly to compete with the Nikon D4s and Canon 1DX.  But less than the currently offered level and complexity of focus will not be acceptable.  Many of us have moved on from lesser systems.

Pentax/Ricoh and Other Manufacturers

They may get into mirrorless faster than Nikon and Canon.  If they do, I think they will jump in with more fully featured cameras than the ultra conservative Nikon and Canon. They are a smaller and more nimble company and can produce a lower number of units and not risk as much as the big boys would.  But do they have the capital and where with all?  

As for me....?

I think I'm pretty typical of many enthusiasts.  I'm not ready to give up my my full frame digital SLR with its beautiful optical viewfinder, but I own and will continue to own a mirrorless system.  The image quality of my D810 and Nikon lenses is unparalleled in my 45 years of experience.  

But, I have come to love the electronic viewfinder of mirrorless.  Having a histogram showing inside the viewfinder so I get immediate feedback as to my exposure is a tremendous advantage, in my opinion.  Additionally, I can adequately judge the exposure and "look" of the final photograph when peering through the viewfinder BEFORE I press the shutter.  In my experience, I love that and I find it a huge advantage.  No chimping! Or "pre-chimping!" I'm looking at my final exposure before I even press the shutter.

When I switch between my mirrorless and digital SLR, I really miss that ability.  In tricky situations with my digital SLR, I have to take an initial exposure, bring up the image on my LCD, look at the histogram, judge the exposure, then make any adjustments to the exposure. What a waste of time!  With the EVF, it is instantaneous and without effort.  No missing photographs due to accidental bad exposures.  No wasting time chimping, either.

I would like to see the same level of focus performance as the amazing focusing abilities of my Nikon D810.  That will come with mirrorless, but when?  Like adding more pixels to a small sensor and not losing any quality, it may or may not take years.

In the mean time, I will enjoy both my systems and consider myself extremely lucky that I can afford to have two systems.  Right now, if I had to choose only one, I would still go with my full frame system.  I'm hoping in the next couple of years, the newest technology and mirrorless camera systems will let me choose otherwise.


Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


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