Home Forums Gear Photography Nikon’s new Z9 - state of Digital camera tech

If you track how the photography market has done over the last decade the mobile phones with camera’s have taken a MAJOR bite out of the market.

This leaves the sub $1,000 cameras out, and those have really already disappeared for the most part, which leaves us with larger cameras that can do things your IPhone and Androids can’t…. There are some small snap shot type cameras left, but they get left at home more than not.

Mostly sports, wildlife, and landscapes…

What is crazy - instead of focusing on making DSLR cameras easier to use, the makers focused on changing the lense system to mirror less, which is fine but at the same time they stopped development on the DSLR for things people really wanted and have been asking for… i.e. they left off “theft deterrence” and other options that the phones have - this is / was stupid.
SO - now you I have to buy new lenses along with a camera if I want to get the new features as they FINALLY start coming out … this stinks.

Mirrorless tech is just now where it should be with the Nikon Z9, Sony A1, and Cannon R3 but of course we’re talking about flagship cameras that cost well over 4,000.
So we should see those features trickle down into the semi-pro / Advanced armature level cameras, and if there are any “kit’s” left that run into the 1500 to 2k area left after the smart phone evolutions they would get some as well.

I wouldn’t mind buying a top end DLSR (they have mirrors) but they ended the tech evolution - and frankly they hardly ever upgrade the software on them anyway…

ARGH… the big reward of mirrorless - no shutter noise … and better features in the future, at least they are at par now… but for way, way too many $$$$.

The big money is in lenses. Might be tempted to go mirrorless if our 5 and $10K lenses would mount without an adapter.

Yes, DSLR's are being phased out. That is a fact
Other facts are
Mirrorless cameras are so far superior to DSLR's at the same price points. They focus faster, better video, and are smaller
The adapters make it so the millions of lenses in the marketplace can be used and you don't get hurt having to invest in new glass. You lose NOTHING!!!
Cameras like the Canon M50 mark II, Sony A6400 and the Olympus E-M10 mark 4 don't break the bank but have so far surpassed DSLR's on the market feature and quality wise i comparable price points.

BIGGEST FACT... There is NO cell phone that compares to ANY mirrorless or DSLR on the market when you look at a picture printed 8x10 or larger. We print all day long and people that have the latest cell phones come in thinking they can make 8x10's and when they see there perfect picture on their phone screen and the grainy picture that actually gets printed and then see the display we have showing the sensor sizes they understand.

Feel free to email me at joelcameralandny.com with any questions

Yes! Have several friends voicing the opinion that their dime sized lens on their phone or drone can generate quality billboard sized images. I'll be seriously pissed when they're successful.

Phones can't compete where specialized lenses are needed, that's for sure, but I really wish there was an mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that had the same computational imaging capabilities and connectivity that my iPhone 13 Pro Max has. Being able to immediately text or upload pictures from my Fuji X-H1 would make it a much more usable camera for how I share photos these days.

As for the Z9, what is most exciting about that camera from my perspective is the electronic shutter. Getting rid of the mechanical shutter will be a big step forward and likely permit manufacturers to save a substantial amount of production cost--whether that will translate to lower consumer prices is another question.