Are DSLRs the new Leica? Ehm, no. A reply to Samuel Lintaro.
Guys, watch this video:
I appreciate the work on YouTube of Samuel. And I appreciate this this thought-provoking video in in a historical phase in which, except Pentax, all brands have already given up the production of new DSLRs, focusing definitively on mirrorless. I have only one problem with videos of this type and that usually results in an increase in the prices on the market of those cameras, considered obsolete, which are recommended by youtubers.
We have seen this with Leica M6. We have seen this with the Nikon AF35L. And we have seen a Canon digital P&S that was priced 5 US$ and after KingJVpes made a video, the price is raised up!
Aside from that I feel I share a lot of Samuel's thinking that he sold his Leica Q2 to invest in his Nikon DSLR. I can't believe he's happy with the decision he's made. If until two years ago this would have seemed absurd to me, now it makes complete sense. This happens when you stop to listen the marketing syrens and what is trendy for other photographers. It counts only the experience with a camera for yourself and the results you can achieve. I still shoot DSLR cameras.
When for you only the results produced and the experience that comes from taking pictures count, then you pass by everything else. We know that a Leica is more beautiful to "wear" but is always functional for any situation?
In 2020 as my most loyal readers know I swapped my Pentax DSLR and got a Canon Rebel T3. If already with the Pentax I marked my return to the DSLR it was with Canon that I really began to understand that this sudden and surprising change for someone like me converted to the mirrorless world since 2010, could be a decisive move for my photography. The rest you already know. Really few lenses, one per camera and the recent purchase of the Canon mirrorless M200 and I have anything to make what I usually I do as photographer, both as a commercial photographer and as a street photographer.
I agree with Samuel that one of the reasons I switched back to a DSLR system is the optical viewfinder. When you for quite some time you've gotten used to seeing with an electronic viewfinder, getting back to seeing through an OVF is a pleasure, trust me. There is something special to look through a viewfinder, but above all it is with that of a DSLR because you know that the vision is that of the lens and therefore also say goodbye to parallax error.
And here comes my blunt answer to Samuel: no, DSLRs are not the new Leica because we are simply talking about a completely different way of conceiving photography. This does not mean that DSLRs are not an option for street photography. They can be but especially those lighter DSLRs, like the ones I'm using. With a pancake lens my Canon Rebel T7 is very small and lighter. The rangefinder and the SLR are simply different. The advantages of one are not the advantages of the other. And viceversa.
Samuel with his video, however, it makes us reflect on how the market is managed, also through the push of the users themselves. The push on street photography was also, inevitably, because of the camera manufacturers had to sell mirrorless. It is perfectly OK, that but I am saying that in observing certain market proposals also in the mirrorless sector they certainly cannot be defined as miniaturization of cameras, quite the opposite indeed.
Today shooting with a DSLR is a different and out of the trend choice. Some people, who are against it and in any case not following the crowd, may like to make a choice by going against the present and above all the future. But it not just that: a photographer, a good photographer I mean, is able to make good photos even with a 5 bucks camera. Not any good photographer is interested to purchase a 8000 US$ camera or a Phase One. And it's not that using these cameras suddenly makes a photographer incapable.
I also see it as a challenge: I work with a 2011 camera, i work with entry levels and not with “pro cameras” and I can produce a professional work, good street photography and beautiful portraits. My photography is ME, not the cameras. I put a black tape on the logo of my cameras. That’s the attitude. Thanks to Samuel for the video.
