I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read in a press release for a new camera that a new or updated feature is the result of user requests. They most likely are – given how vocal users can be on social media if they’re disappointed about something – and it gives the impression that consumer demand has a lot of influence in product design.
It makes us feel like we’re all part of the family. In reality, though, I’m not so sure – and what fuels this doubt is the demise of the DSLR camera. I recently noted that we’re now down to a handful of models that you can buy new, so I decided to do a bit more investigation.
Out and about – especially at any public event – I started to check out what anybody who was taking photographs was using. Lots of camera phones, of course, and a few compact cameras plus more film cameras than I was expecting – including, on one occasion, a Pentax 6x7. I commended the user on his courage and tenacity.
However, overall, there were quite a lot more DSLRs in evidence than mirrorless cameras. We’re talking mostly amateur photographers here, shooting for fun.
Then, low and behold, we find out that the crew of the recent Artemis II Moon flyby mission took a pair of 10-year-old Nikon D5 DSLRs along with a Z9 and a bunch of GoPros (incidentally, even older Hero4 Black models).
So, D5s being used as the main cameras – not even the later Nikon D6 – which means that so-called ‘old’ camera tech was being relied on to record some of the most important pictures taken in recent times.
Specifically, NASA decided to go with the D5 because it had already been extensively tested for reliability issues such as exposure to radiation and vibration as well as operation in zero gravity.
NASA also noted that familiar physical controls and the D5’s exceptional low-noise performance were also factors, the latter obviously being important for space-related applications.
Notably, though, the many thousands of spectacular images shot during the mission – including a reprise of the famous Earthrise shot from 1968, but redone as Earthset – proved that the decade-old D5 is still up to the biggest of assignments.
It needs to be pointed out that the Z9 was being evaluated with a view to being used on future Artemis missions, but the point here is that the D5 is actually still a better camera – most notably its high ISO image quality (with the D6 even better again here) – and this convinced NASA to live with the extra weight when every gram counts.
In reality, this is true of a number of the last-of-the-line full-frame DSLRs including Canon’s EOS-1D X Mark III and the EOS 5D Mark IV.
However, the starker reality is that if you want a new DSLR – at least one badged either Canon or Nikon – you’re nearly all out of choices, especially in terms of higher-end models. And, while Ricoh says it’s committed to Pentax DSLRs, a brand new model has been a long time coming.
So, my question is, have DSLR sales declined because users have been totally wowed by the mirrorless camera – or have they declined because you haven’t been able to buy what you want (and, remember, DSLR lenses have also been rapidly disappearing)?
I don’t know the answer to this question, but I suspect that the “DSLR is dead” messaging that really gathered strength after the intro of the Canon R and Nikon Z systems would definitely put you off considering another reflex camera.
I also think it’s telling that there’s a growing market for second-hand and refurbished DSLRs. I counted 24 models – from entry-level to pro – for sale online recently from one of Australia’s leading camera retailers, and there were plenty of others to be had from elsewhere.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that this suggests there’s still some demand – and that’s likely to increase, now that the rocket scientists at NASA have given the veteran Nikon D5 a red-hot endorsement.
Of course, it’s unlikely that there will be any going back – because the priority for both Nikon and Canon is to remain as leading interchangeable lens camera brands, which now means putting all their resources into their mirrorless systems.
The big positive, though, is that thanks to NASA and the Artemis II mission, we now know that a ten-year-old DSLR can still cut the mustard. And, more than likely, your camera is younger and of a later generation. For now, then, let’s consider the DSLR to be very much alive as an option on Earth as well as in space.
