What are the main advantages and disadvantages of mirrorless cameras compared with DSLRs?
Asked 4/17/2012
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I’m trying to understand the practical trade-offs between mirrorless cameras and traditional DSLR/reflex cameras. My main concern is the viewfinder: mirrorless cameras don’t use an optical reflex viewfinder, so is that a significant disadvantage? How does an electronic viewfinder compare with a DSLR’s optical TTL viewfinder in everyday use, and what are the broader pros and cons of mirrorless versus reflex systems?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
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Advantages/Disadvantages of electronic viewfinders have been discussed in another question for completeness:
- Optical TTL viewfinders are pretty much as sharp as the lens (with small losses for the focus screen and prism). Electronic viewfinders have fixed resolution, which is currently lower than OVFs.
- OVFs update in realtime, EVFs have a fixed latency and refresh rate (time taken to process the image, number of updates per second).
- Coverage of OVFs is often less than 100%, eyepoint & dioptre adjustments are limited as is the apparent size and brightness of the viewfinder.
- Electronic viewfinders have the ability to preview colour balance and depth of field (without darkening the image), zoom the image, apply gain for night shots as well as the potential of overlaying a limitless amount of metadata (gridlines, live histogram etc.).
The principal advantages of an SLR (or SLT) system are
- Ability to have TTL viewfinder! (see above)
- Ability to direct light to phase detect AF sensor.
The disadvantages are:
- Size / weight
- Shorter backfocus distance, allows more compact wideangles, as well as mounting of a wide range of legacy lenses.
- Increased reliability (fewer moving parts).
- Noise / Mirror slap (causes motion blur)
- Shooting speed (no need to move the mirror).
Once EVFs match the resolution and refresh rate reaches the level where it is not noticeable is reduced the advantage of SLR systems slips away rapidly. Currently phase detect AF is superior to contrast detect for locking onto and tacking moving targets, but CD AF is getting better and manufacturers are working on including PD sensors in the main pixel array.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Mirrorless cameras can still provide TTL viewing, but usually through an electronic viewfinder (EVF) that shows the sensor’s live output rather than an optical path through a mirror.
Compared with a DSLR’s optical viewfinder, an EVF has some drawbacks: lower effective resolution than direct optical viewing, possible display lag, and a limited refresh rate. Its quality also depends on the EVF panel, field of view, and eye relief.
But EVFs also offer important advantages. Because you are seeing the sensor output, framing can be more accurate, and the camera can overlay useful information directly in the finder. Features like exposure simulation, white-balance preview, magnified view, focus peaking, and gain for very dark scenes are possible with EVFs but not with a purely optical finder.
Optical viewfinders remain more direct and real-time, and many photographers still prefer that natural view. On the other hand, EVFs can show more shooting information and previews before you take the shot.
So the biggest mirrorless trade-off is usually EVF behavior versus the immediacy of an optical finder. Whether that is a disadvantage depends on your shooting style and preference.
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