The Tokyo Olympics was the perfect stage for the continuous battle: Mirrorless cameras vs. DSLRs. Furthermore, as opposed to the Rio Olympics in 2016, this time a new underdog entered the arena: The Sony Alpha 1. Well, it’s not an underdog anymore, but a very serious contender in the new mirrorless age.
The Olympics as a training zone for flagship cameras
There’s no doubt that the Olympics constitutes a solid ground for elite photographers and camera manufacturers’ ambassadors to try and put their cameras through their paces. Indeed, camera manufacturers utilize this rare and ultra-visual platform, in order to test new products, mainly production models. For instance, in the Tokyo Olympics, two beasts were tested: The Canon EOS R3, and the Nikon Z 9. Canon even showed off its professional photographer Photo service center and its on-location service center at the current Olympics. Also, the Sony Pro Services was also presented with its whole glory by photographer Dave Holland. However, what has been changed compared to the recent Olympics?
Rio vs. Tokyo
Rio Olympics (2016) was ruled by DSLRs, as opposed to Tokyo Olympics (2021) that was dominated by mirrorless. This sentence emphasizes the sprint of the mirrorless cameras, and how they bypass the traditional DLSR bodies. They are two major important facts that can demonstrate the market change. First, during the Rio Olympics in 2016, the battle was mainly divided between Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras. However, according to Financial Times, there’s an estimation that in Tokyo 2020, Sony cameras range from 10 to 30 percent with its Alpha (mainly Alpha 1), with a significant chunk likely taken from Nikon.
The Alpha 1: Tokyo’s star
Last year, global shipments of mirrorless cameras surpassed those of DSLRs for the first time. Sony’s presence in the professional market has been on the rise since the launch of its Alpha 9 mirrorless camera in 2017. In fact, Sony has started the mirrorless war in the full-frame sized sensor, although mirrorless cameras were presented even before with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 debuted in 2008. The G1 owned a Micro Four Thirds sensor. Thus, Sony was the first to introduce a full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens digital camera, the α7, in 2013. Since then, Sony is dominating the mirrorless market, focusing on its excellent FF (Full-Frame) cameras. For comparison, Nikon and Canon each launched full-frame mirrorless cameras in September 2018. “Sony is the absolute leader right now in mirrorless,” said Ichiro Michikoshi, an analyst at market research group BCN, to the Financial Times. “Canon and Nikon were late because they had their DSLR line, which created a risk of cannibalization, so the gap is now even bigger against Sony.”
Canon EOS R3 and Nikon Z 9 to compete with the Alpha 1
It’s now known that the born of the forthcoming Canon EOS R3 was a result to grant an alternative to the DSLR flagship 1D X Mark III. “There are risks of suddenly switching from something you’ve been using for so many years. So I decided to wait until Canon developed their professional mirrorless camera” said one of Canon’s ambassadors. Indeed, the EOS R3 is defined by Canon (and others) as a “Professional Mirrorless Camera”. However, rumors suggest it will have 24MP sensors, which is not enough for a ‘flagship’ definition. On the other side, there’s Nikon with its Z 9, which is a flagship by definition, that is aimed to complete with Sony Alpha 1. Nevertheless, this will be a very challenging task, since Alpha 1 has been earning some valid points within professionals.
Final thoughts
This article tries to demonstrate the elevation and ennoblement of mirrorless cameras over the good and old DSLRs. Furthermore, the most recent Olympics draws a simplified picture market status regarding future prosumer cameras. For now, we have Sony Alpha 1, and the Canon EOS R3, and the Nikon Z 9 (both of them will be announced very soon). The EOS R3 most probably will not serve as a valid competitor to the Alpha 1, which in that case we’ll have to wait for the EOS R1. As for the Nikon Z 9, things are getting more intriguing. Finally, now it’s clearer that Sony is the leader since the main game is applied to its mirrorless backyard.
Product List
Here’re the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers.
- Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera
- Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Digital Camera
- Nikon Z 9 Mirrorless Digital Camera
- Canon EOS-1D X Mark III DSLR Camera
Of course the A1 is a very slight step above the R5 at nearly twice the price. Canon has not shown the flagship camera but to beat the R5 and R3 it most likely will leave Sony and Nikon going back to the drawings boards.