DSLR vs Mirrorless

Hey there! I know, you don't have to tell me, it's been a while... But don't worry! I'm back! Today, I have decided to write about a spicy topic... It's on every photographer's mind, with a lot of professionals having a lot of different views, it makes the topic worth looking out for. That's right, it's "Which camera type is better? DSLR? Mirrorless?"  Before jumping to conclusions about the better one, we need to first get an understanding of the two. Let's take a look...

First of all, what does DSLR stand for?

DSLR stands for Digital Single-Lens Reflex

What on Earth is a DSLR?

You must have noticed, every time a photo is clicked, the viewfinder goes dark for a short time, making a "click" sound. Ever thought about why this happens? Well, this happens only in SLRs and DSLRs. SLRs are nothing but older and outdated versions of a DSLR. Nothing important...

Before understanding what a DSLR is, we need to have basic knowledge of the parts inside it. What we see through a viewfinder is nothing but a mere reflection of light. There is a mirror that addresses the light when it first passes through the lens, passing it up to the prism, which then turns the light towards the viewfinder, to give us an image of what's in front of us. DSLRs don't use any fancy technology found in Mirrorless cameras, which I will get to later. Here is a bit of a complex image of how this works... don't worry, this is only to help you visualize what I'm talking about.

1. Lens
2. Reflex Mirror
3. Shutter
4. Image Sensor
5. Focusing Screen
6. Condenser Lens
7. Pentaprism
8. Eyepiece/Viewfinder

Now that we know how the DSLR works, let's get to the fun part. There is a sensor (marked '4' on the image) present behind the mirror. When we press the shutter, the mirror flips up (or down) to let the light pass through to the sensor so that it can store the image. When this happens, the viewfinder goes dark. The light passes onto the sensor, which then quickly stores the image, after this, the mirror flips back up explaining the 'click' sound and the viewfinder going dark.

You might be asking, "why is this a problem? What is it about DSLRs that makes it worse than a mirrorless?" For that, we need to figure out what a mirrorless is.

Well, what is a Mirrorless then?

A mirrorless is exactly what the name suggests. It doesn't have a mirror in front of the sensor. Unlike DSLRs, The sensor of a mirrorless camera is always exposed. The viewfinder, (called Electronic View Finder (EVF) in mirrorless cameras) receives signals from the sensor electronically. This makes up for the major difference between the two. What we see through an EVF is the direct interpretation of what the sensor sees. The mirrorless body is also lighter and more compact compared to its counterpart. Simple enough, right? 

However, Mirrorless cameras hold an edge over DSLRs due to one major reason. Allow me to explain. 

When you look through a viewfinder in a DSLR, what you see is nothing but the light reflected by the in-built mirrors and prisms. But, any changes to the exposure triangle are disregarded by the viewfinder, since all it's doing is reflecting light. The viewfinder will not be giving you a preview of how the image will look if you were to change any settings. It's just the raw light passing through. Because of this, many test shots need to be taken to make sure the exposure is on point. This often becomes quite annoying, especially for professionals who need to take photos quickly at a wedding, for example.

This is where the DSLR takes a beating from the mirrorless. The EVF in the mirrorless shows the preview of an image beforehand, saving you the hassle of clicking many photos for the proper exposure. mirrorless also has better stabilization and a faster and stronger auto-focus. This gives mirrorless an edge over DSLRs.

Which is the best for a beginner?

This is where the REAL controversy begins, there are many supporters for both types of cameras, each with their own reasons. If you were to ask me, I would suggest you go with DSLRs. Yes, I know it's shocking. "Why DSLRs? I thought mirrorless was better?" Well... yes, they are. However, it's important to understand the reason behind my answer.

Even though mirrorless cameras pack way more punch, the reason I say DSLRs are because of 1 major reason. Practice. Like I said earlier, you will need to take many shots to get the proper exposure. I take this as a great opportunity to learn how to fully master the exposure triangle. This also gives you some on-field experience, which can help you in the long term. Sure, you can always switch over later, but you need to be able to fully understand the fundamentals before moving onto post-processing and other things. (which I will talk about later) Photography will be WAY easier for you if you start off with a DSLR! 

These are probably the winning points for people who aspire to become better photographers. They get the experience of trial and error and really get to know the camera better.

Man, I'm tired. Okay, folks, that's enough for today. Hopefully, you learned something new today.

I hope I did a good job explaining this to you, for further clarity, I will be leaving a video link down below to help you even more! Enjoy!

Video link

Until next time! Peace! ✌