I think DSLRs are still relevant today in this mirrorless world – and I don't feel any need to upgrade mine
(Image credit: Future / Sebastian Oakley)
After being a pro sports photographer for 20 years, I've seen all types of tech added to cameras. I was using my Nikon F5 to capture images when I saw the Nikon D1 announced, which led Nikon into the digital age of producing some of the best DSLR cameras I've ever seen – including my favorite of them all, the Nikon D800, and DCW's cream of the crop pick, the Nikon D850.
But time moves on, technology gets better, speed increases, capture rates double, and of course the wonderful DSLR is now gone and replaced with mirrorless. But are the best mirrorless cameras on the market really better?
My two Nikon D800s at an equestrian event (Image credit: Sebastian Oakley)
Well, in short, yes they are… so why don't I own a single mirrorless camera? It might be because I was on the cusp of what mirrorless could do when I went into journalism – I remember someone showing me a variant of the Nikon 1, saying it was the future, and I was thinking, "You're an idiot, it's tiny, it will never take off…" guess I'm the idiot now!
But as a journalist within the photography industry, I have held and used many mirrorless cameras, from the awful Nikon 1 to the most amazing Hasselblad X2D, and they all have the same issues for me: an electronic viewfinder, and they are too expensive.
I've spoken before about how I love an optical viewfinder, and how I did not like the EVF tech on the first Hasselblad X1D and other flagship cameras of the time, but one camera I do get on with it the Leica SL2-S – but it's super expensive. And while it's a remarkable mirrorless camera, the older and clunky Nikon D850 offers the same specs (if not better) for half the price brand new!
Nikon D850: better than the Leica SL2-S (Image credit: Future)
I personally think DSLRs still have a place in the modern world. Heck, my whole setup at the moment is built around the 12-year-old Nikon D800. And what keeps me going back and using my wonderful DSLR is its wonderful optical viewfinder that is simply a joy to use; no screen, no flicker, just basic optics and it looks wonderful. Even on the SL2-S I was not 100% sold on its EVF, but it was better than most.
Another thing, which might seem counterintuitive in today's world, is I like the heft of a DSLR. When you pick it up, you know it means business – you get that feeling that no matter what adventure you're going to take it on, it will be with you at the other end. Some mirrorless cameras that I've used feel as though they will give up the moment you need them most, or you'll need to carry a huge amount of batteries for them to keep up.
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I often just use the one battery in my D800 in its most compact form, when traveling the coastal paths, and I can certainly go a full day of shooting without needing to change the battery – and when I put the grip on and I have two batteries at my disposal, well I've got weeks of juice left. You can't say that about mirrorless cameras currently.
Maybe I'm an old fossil and I just love what I am used to, which in some regard could be true, but I have used many great mirrorless cameras in recent years and my trusty Nikon D800 keeps calling me back – and it's here to stay.
For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
