Mirrorless or DSLR: Which should you choose?

Data on the interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) market from CIPA show a clear trend. Since 2012, the year in which Olympus launched the OM-D E-M5 and Fujifilm the X-Pro1, the number of DSLR cameras being shipped by Japanese manufacturers has declined steadily, as has the value of this sector of the camera market. At the same time, mirrorless camera numbers have been creeping steadily upwards.

A check of the 2018 figures from the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA) for January to April (inclusive) confirms the direction the camera market is taking. The table below shows the greatest increases in both market size (units shipped) and market value are highest for the mirrorless ('non-reflex') sector.

During this period, the DSLR market was just level-pegging in units and growing very slightly in value for the worldwide camera shipments. Interestingly, for the mirrorless camera market, the number of units shipped grew by just over 10%