10 reasons why this photographer switched from Canon to Sony
Feb 28, 2017
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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I know, I get it, you’re sick of all the “why I switched” posts, already. But, photographer Francisco Hernandez has some pretty compelling reasons for his switch from the Canon 6D to the Sony A7RII. Of course, the reason why anybody switches to or even initially chooses a particular brand or body are often personal reasons. They don’t apply to everybody.
So it follows then that some of Francisco’s reasons won’t apply to you, either. But, they’re still valid points. If they are things that you’ve been concerned about with your current system, such videos help you make decisions. No matter what camera system you might consider buying into, it’s a big expense. So, it’s a topic that one really can’t see too many opinions on.
- Eye autofocus
- Adaptability
- EVF
- Size/Weight
- 4K Video
- In body image stabilisation
- Clear Image Zoom
- Tilt screen
- Focus peaking & expanded zoom
- Future tech by Sony
While some of the features have made it into DSLRs and other non-Sony cameras, they’re not exactly coming at rapid pace. And some manufacturers have only included certain features (like tilt & flippy out LCDs) in their lower end models. Some other features, that have proven invaluable to Sony shooters don’t exist in other systems at all.
Sony’s eye autofocus, for example. The camera goes one step beyond the basic facial recognition to determine what are your subject’s eyes. it then tracks and focuses specifically on those eyes. For portrait shooters, this can be a huge time saver vs focusing and recomposing, or trusting your outlying autofocus points. Especially if you shoot lenses with super wide f/1.4 or f/1.2 apertures.
Adaptablity’s a big one, but it does depend on your needs. If you have a big stock of lenses already for a particular system, it’s always nice of you can still use them on a new one. Sony’s mount being so close to the sensor means that you have more options than almost any other system when it comes to using lenses from other systems. Sure, you can do it with Micro Four Thirds, too, but then you’re dealing with a 2x crop.
EVFs never really appealed to me, personally, not in the slightest. I can see why some see it as an advantage, but it’s just not for me. Same with the size/weight argument. After shooting big medium format and large format film cameras, I’ve yet to find a 35mm or smaller system that really annoys me when it comes to weight. Same goes for the in-body stabilisation and clear image zoom. They don’t really sway me. But, again, it’s a personal subjective thing.
4K video is basically the standard now, even though many manufacturers are still bringing out new cameras capable of only 1080p. But, there are other systems that possibly even exceed Sony when it comes to 4K video quality. Panasonic’s upcoming GH5, for example offers full 10Bit 4:2:2. An extremely welcome addition for many filmmakers. But, again, you’re dealing with a 2x crop.
The last point’s an interesting one. I don’t think Sony are perfect, by any means. But they do seem to bring out a lot of cool new toys. Even if they don’t always work as intended right away, they seem to fix it in the end.
The future of cameras from some companies doesn’t really seem all that certain. With the possible exception of the Nikon D500, it’s generally minor increments from one generation to the next. It seems like they’re almost afraid to do too much to new cameras, in case they run out of things to add.
Personally, I’m happy with my Nikons. I shoot Sony when I’m forced to, but they don’t really offer me anything I need over what I can already do. Switching to Sony or any other brand wouldn’t make my life any easier. And I think those are the most important factors when choosing to either buy into or switch to a particular brand.
Is it going to make your life easier? Is it going to let you do something you need that you can’t already do? If the answer to both of those questions is “no”, then don’t worry about it.
For Francisco, the answer to both questions is a resounding “yes”. For you, it might not be. There’s no point obsessing over what other gear might offer that you’d never utilise anyway. There’s certainly no point spending money on it.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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44 responses to “10 reasons why this photographer switched from Canon to Sony”
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
In Darth Vader’s voice or Luke Skywalker’s?
Both of them simultaneously.
I already did it over a year ago.
Nice!
What about battery drain of a7rII Francisco?
I did.. and I switched back. The battery life is horrible on the Sony… Will go back once they figure it out. Building a rig to use other batteries defeats the purpose of having a small and compact camera.
From canon to sony and back to Canon. Sony has way too many paint points for me.
I also know someone did this way
Switch from a camera company to electronics company that have one of the most crap customer service, yeh great move.
Watch the video and read the article if you haven’t already. I mention that in there a few times.
i did also. love the EVF. but hatet the AF on the A7r2. way to slow. went back to canon again.
“I know, I get it, you’re sick of all the “why I switched” posts, already. ”
Not sure if you get it, but you definitely don’t care, do you? :-)
It’s so hard to be a pro. You have to switch, switch, switch every year :-)
Just to be fair, Sony just got an Oscar ;)
I also love that Sony has NFC, and that I can readily adapt my 30+ year old good quality lenses.
I’m using both Canon and Sony for different purposes. Couldn’t be happier. :)
Personally, I’m sick of hearing about ‘how’ or ‘why’ they switched – Typically if they couldn’t capture the images they’d wanted with their ‘old’ gear, then they really don’t illicit me trusting their opinion! Further, we really are just talking tools with photographic equipment… sponsorships for switching is all I see with these sorts of articles.
Thanks!
Does that meal everyone should do the same? What’s the point? Is this Sony publicity?
“meal” ?
Just use a camera with a Sony sensor(Nikon included) and it’s a no brainer.
Yes. We are sick of them. Grow up and quit the clickbait crap.
Cool!
Nikon & Canon equipment (to have nothing left outside when you shoot pics).
Basically, a camera is just as reactive as a lump of sound. But a lump of clay as well as a camera can become a means of creative revelation in the artist’s hand! A. Feininger. Don’t waste time witch switiching, take Photos!
Basically, a camera is just as reactive as a lump of loam. But a lump of clay as well as a camera can become a means of creative revelation in the artist’s hand! A. Feininger. Don’t waste time witch switiching, take Photos!
10 reasons why he changed rolled into 1.
He thought his photography would get better.
Lol thanks.
Man…lots of assholes here.
Reason 11 not Included:
Paid sponsorship… has a following says he switched or is switching… gets free equipment from Sony. (My opinion)
Exactly. I know people who are paid by Yelp to go give reviews of places. Funny how frequently those reviews are positive.
I see no difference in his images. I like the work but as we know the camera is merely a tool and in the right hands will produce exceptional images and in the hands of an amateur will often be only a picture.
If you take a minute to hear his reasons… he talks about the features of the camera he likes… Man, are you so desperate for validation in your investment ??
I wish! Paid for the cameras myself. If I were sponsored by Sony why would I hide it? That’d be awesome =)
Francisco don’t mind this kind of comments, truth is envy is an ugly side of photography rooted in the insecurity of many shooters who want everyone to validate their investment in a camera brand…
You just focus on being positive, true to yourself and keep rocking!
So in your mind no one would change the brand of their camera and talk about it if he/she wasn’t sponsored? pffftttttttt….Sometimes I think people like you in the comments just have hydrochloric acid in their brains… Or pure jealousy.
And the (My Opinion) thing won’t make it your opinion less dumb Jeffrey…
I have my D5 and I love it. I couldn’t care less what Sony is coming up with in mirrorless.
Very nice for him. I went the other way. Traded in my A7RII for the 5D MKIV
Some cameras might switch “photographers”
Let’s go stalk some moose. Bring that Sony and at least a 400mm lens. I’ll be using an 800mm, because I like wildlife portraits. We can shoot the Nitro World Games in SLC again too. Bet that’s a blast with the mirrorless camera. ;)
Congrats! But to be fair, the Canon 6D doesn’t have as many focus points as the Canon Mark 5D III, IIII or the Canon 1DX series. I know, because I own the 6D and the Mark 5D III, and tbh, I get frustrated with the 6D’s lack of focus points. It’s my backup camera, and it’s a nice little one at that.
Enough please.
I saw a similar video from Manny Ortiz, but he had the 5 Pros and 5 Cons of switching from Canon to Sony. Eye Autofocus was his top pro choice; somewhere in the pros was the EVF, the size/weight, and IBIS.
Of his cons, the top problem was “wait for it”. Anybody want to take a guess? It’s battery life! Another con was the lag time from power off or power save “sleep mode” to power on of 3 seconds, 7 if a battery is changed. Another was the lack of cheap glass from Sony.
I should probably ditch the camera neck strap as a method of carrying my camera. I’ve used the neck strap method for carrying SLRs and DSLRs and at the end, it’s been a “pain in the neck”. I got the opportunity to photograph a practice round of a professional golf tournament. For that, I got a shoulder harness to carry my Canon 5D III with the EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L II lens and Canon F-1N with FD 28mm f2.8. I was sore and tired from walking around the golf course, but I was not experiencing pain or soreness in my neck and shoulder area. I did remove extra weight by removing the battery grip from my 5D and my motor drive from the F-1.