Much has happened in the last few years in the photo industry. For a landscape photographer one such exciting development is mirrorless cameras. During the last two workshops I had the privilege of playing with the Sony A7R. Coupled with a Metabones adapter it took Canon glass. For the first time I am seriously considering replacing my gear with a mirrorless offering. Canon is bringing out a serious contender in the mirrorless market shortly (Probably in February or March - based on a recent interview with a Canon executive).

          The Good: Reduced size and weight is important to landscape photographers as we hike long distances in unforgiving terrain with heavy gear. Saving pounds and size mean we can use a smaller backpack and a smaller tripod. So savings in the gear lead to additional savings in the weight and size of both backpack and tripod. Secondly, the image quality on the full frame A7R is stunning. It packs 36 Mega Pixels in this tiny body which translates into big prints.

          The Bad: Because there is no optical viewfinder and because this camera is small the battery life suffers. Luckily these batteries are small and light, so carrying a few extra batteries is not a problem. The file size can also be a problem; they are huge. The lens selection (for native lenses) are rather limited right now although we are promised a number of additional lenses before the end of 2015.

          Canon said that they will release higher Maga Pixel sensors very soon (Probably in February or March). It will be interesting if the new higher resolution sensors will make it into both DSLR and millorless offerings. Sales trends do show that mirrorless is growing, perhaps more so abroad.

          So what am I waiting for? The distance between the focal plane (where the sensor is) and the lens is much shorter in mirrorless cameras. This means that we will either need to work with adapters or change lenses (sell Canon lenses in favor of Sony / Zeiss). Even when Canon releases their mirrorless offering it will probably require a new line of lenses. Selling one's beloved lenses and replacing them is an issue and it can be costly. Using adapters is an option but it throws out the balance of the camera and you end up loosing some of the gains made in size.

          I will wait until March 2015, evaluate where Canon and Nikon stand regarding mirrorless, see if Sony comes out with an even better A7R and probably switch to mirrorless then. Having said that, mirrorless is not for everyone. Their auto focus is still too slow for sports, for landscape work their are great. Sony, Fuji, Olympus and Panasonic are all driving this market.

          Less size and weight are where things are going. Cell phone cameras have already killed off the low end of the point and shoot market. High end point and shoots are beginning to negatively impact the low end DSLR market. This is the future ...