After Canon and Nikon announced they stop to produce new DSLR cameras the worldwide community of photographers, especially professionals, disagree with this decision.

An invitation to listen more the photographers

Dear Canon and Nikon,

in light of your announcement to discontinue the entire DSLR sector I am writing this letter to you.

First of all, let me introduce myself, I am an Italian photojournalist based in Mexico. In all these years I have had the opportunity to work with cameras of almost all brands. I started digital with Nikon DSLRs (D40 and D60) and I owned: Panasonic Lumix LX3, Olympus E-P1, Canon G12, Samsung NX200, Samsung NX20, Panasonic Lumix GF2, Leica X2, Ricoh GRD IV, Fujifilm X20, Fujifilm X100S, Fujifilm XE2, Fujifilm XA3, Fujifilm XPro2, Fujifilm XT10, Pentax K100, Canon Rebel T3, Canon Rebel T7, Canon M200.

I was ambassador for Samsung NX, witnessing the development of one of the first mirrorless series and also its downfall. I have been an ambassador for Fujifilm for 6 years, contributing to his fame growth especially for the target of street photographers.

In 2010 I was among the first photographers to completely switch to mirrorless systems, abandoning DSLRs. But in the last two years I have returned to using DSLRs, in open contrast to what the market suggests. Due to my previous experience in direct contact with brand executives I am not a fool: I know very well that this has been the will for some time, even for Canon and Nikon who were the last, almost reluctant, to take the big step towards the mirrorless segment.

And I am not the one to say stop. This is absolutely not the reason for my letter. With humility but also with awareness, however, I only ask you to consider the point of view of a photographer who thinks he is speaking on behalf of many enthusiasts and above all real users of cameras. We have seen how in recent years there has been a decline in the photography market. Smartphones have established themselves in everyday use also, if not above all, for photography.

And we are talking about a market I would dare to say incomprehensible, almost shizophrenic. There are those who now consider photographing only with mobile phones. Then there are even those who still enjoy using film cameras and among these, listen, listen, those who use film cameras and for digital ONLY their mobile phone.

Now I certainly won't be the one to tell you the difference between physical and digital photography, but for those who understand it, they know that there is an objective reality which is the physical one and which cannot be changed: I am referring to the yield of lenses built in a certain way and the microscopic ones of a mobile phone. A difference that certainly will not be important for those who are not very well versed in photography, but which is of vital importance for those who make photography something much more important than uploading to a social network. Not to mention the tactile pleasure of taking pictures with real cameras. I believe that the success of Leica and Fujifilm (in part also Panasonic and Sony) during these years is to be related precisely to this reality. Our reality of photographers who still love cameras with which we can work as our fathers and grandparents did.

So what am I asking with this petition?

Do not cancel the production of DSLRs altogether.

We are seeing as Pentax recently announced a back to produce film cameras. And just like for film cameras there is still a big number of DSLRs users that simply don't want to change or switching completely to mirrorless systems. 

By working all day with a camera means to use the viewfinder and the electronic viewfinder can give you strong headaches, a thing that an optical viewfinder never gives.

The DSLRs system is still alive and in future all of us, DSLRs users without a continued production of this segment, we will buy at the sedond hand market.

This is why we need still DSLRs cameras.