DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

After four decades of Canon, photojournalist David Burnett switches to Sony

Jan 24, 2018 by John Aldred 31 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

The desire to switch brands has never really been there for me. That’s not to say that I believe the brand I shoot is particularly the best, just that there doesn’t seem to be much point. The gear I use gives me what I need, and all the brands seem to leapfrog each other every year or two anyway. But there are an awful lot of people switching over to Sony right now.

The latest to join the list is photojournalist David Burnett, who’s been shooting Canon for 40 years. He recently posted a video to his Vimeo account talking about why he decided to make the transition over to Sony. And for what he shoots, it makes a lot of sense.

As a press photographer, who covers everything from politics to sports, David has spent 50 years working in the industry. And he’s still working as a photographer today. Exactly 40 years ago, in January 1977, David took all his Nikon gear into a camera store in Boston and traded it for Canon. And he’s shot Canon ever since.

But as the technology in our cameras has evolved, so have the needs of some photographers. David being one of them. So, for the last few months he’s been checking out the Sony A9, A7RIII and A6500. Now he’s decided to get rid of the Canons and go Sony full time.

Part of David’s reasoning is the obvious size advantage. Of course, with a full frame camera, even a mirrorless, you’re still limited by physics, and big sensors require big lenses (if you want them to be fast). So, even though the overall rig may end up a similar size & weight, the smaller body can make it easier to hold. Also, because it’s a mirrorless with a super short flange distance, it’s also very easy to adapt vintage lenses to fit for manual focus shooting. And David says he has a lot of such lenses.

But even with all the old lenses, the new Sony glass impresses him. Particularly the Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8, describing it as one of the crispest and sharpest lenses he’s ever used around that 50mm-ish focal length. He has held onto some of his Canon lenses, though, to use on the Sony bodies with an adapter, presumably the Sigma MC-11.

The 20 frames per second continuous shooting with the Sony A9 also holds huge advantages for David. He’s off to South Korea to shoot the Winter Olympic games this year, and there’s no doubt that will offer a huge advantage. As will the super high resolution of the Sony A7RIII for other images.

I do a lot of sports work. […] When you’re up to 20 frames per second it gives you a little bit more of a cushion to make a mistake.

I kinda feel like I’m really finally stepping into the 21st century with these cameras.

I do wonder if this trend will keep up, or if we’ll get to a point in a couple of years where everybody who was going to switch has switched. Then it’ll just be back to the same brand wars we had when it was just Nikon vs Canon. Except now we’ll just have a few more players.

[via PetaPixel]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Photojournalist David Douglas Duncan dies at 102 Google Earth’s new timelapse feature lets you see the climate change impact over four decades Default ThumbnailFree Introduction To Macro Photography Webiar With David Saffir and C. David Tobie Sony switches up from XQD with new super tough 1.7GB/sec CFexpress card

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: A6500, A7RIII, David Burnett, photojournalism, sony, Sony A7RIII, Sony A9, sports photography

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 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.

« Improve your landscape photography with Kai’s top ten tips
“Careful: Soul Inside” wants to humanise the homeless and highlight the fine line that separates them from society »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 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.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy