discuss, my next camera will be a sony?

puddles22

my next camera will be a sony? what do people think? ive been a canon shooter my whole life, am currently on 5dmkiii but am seriously considering the swap over or that when i next buy a new body it will be sony a7rii or its next model after that, as much as i love my 5dmkiii its a beast to carry around.

.Longshanks.

puddles22 wrote: »

my next camera will be a sony? what do people think? ive been a canon shooter my whole life, am currently on 5dmkiii but am seriously considering the swap over or that when i next buy a new body it will be sony a7rii or its next model after that, as much as i love my 5dmkiii its a beast to carry around.

The sony a7rii requires full frame lenses. And Sony only have a few, which means you'll need to use your Canon lenses but with an adapter.
So if the reason for moving is because your Canon setup is too big / heavy - I suggest you try before you buy.

magicbastarder

why not just get a smaller canon which can take your existing lenses?

MysticalRain

I was in the same boat a year ago and ended up ditching my Nikon D800 for a Sony A7r. I cut the amount of weight I carry in half, which was a big deal for me as I do long hikes and mountaineering trips. The lens selection is limited (for now), but is sufficient for my needs (landscape and architecture).

The other justification I had for switching was the lack of innovation these days from Canon and Nikon (e.g. 5 axis stabilisation, built in wifi, apps etc). I think they're trading far too much on their past legacy, and may end up like Kodak and Polaroid if they continue on their current trajectory.

D.S.

Really depends on the specifics on what you shoot and how you shoot.

Was interested in MysticalRain's post, as I am a D800 user and am in the other bucket - wouldn't trade in my D800 and glass for a Sony as I still think it's the best sensor/glass combo available in the FF market (for my needs). Weight's not an issue for me personally but you do have to plan for it (buy the right bags / straps / equipment etc for those long hikes).

I personally still think that the IQ from a D800 and the F mount glass from Nikon / Sigma / Zeiss is the best in terms of resolution, sharpness, noise, dynamic range etc etc. However, I can see the value of the Sony range. You get a similar file with better resolution on the A7RII, lighter equipment but need to trade off a bit on the availability / quality of glass across some focal lengths.

MysticalRain - agree with you on Nikon / Canon not moving fast enough with some of the body features. However, for me, I am not as fussed - Nikon has continued to invest in a major way in it's glass across DX/FX lines. That's much more important to me, particularly as despite the improvements in sensors, the available glass on the market can't actually resolve to the power of the current D800/D810 sensor.

Personally, I think Sony is putting more investment in into it's camera bodies and hoping 3rd parties do more on glass. I don't think they are offering the full package yet, though it's a really interesting option. Quite soon we will have 50-60mp FF cameras on the market (with Sony's sensors leading the chase) but there's going to be a huge gap in quality glass that can meet that resolving power. My bet is still on Nikon, assuming they continue to use Sony Sensors and move up the MP curve, as I believe they will continue to bring out the best body/glass combinations that improve IQ.

EDIT:
- Also wanted to point out that if going for the new A7RII, be aware that your 'hit rate' on shots will go down somewhat - the more megapixels you have the more subject movement shows up, meaning you need fast glass in natural light, still subjects and/or a higher minimum shutter speed/ISO combination to nail your shot. Not a big deal for landscape / architecture / studio but things get interesting for wedding / portraiture. Required an interesting shift in shooting style when I went to the D800 - be interesting to see what things are like on the 42mp Sony.

Fat_Fingers

also don't forget with your Canon you are able to get around 1500 raw photos on a single battery with power to spare.

Sony will give you about 250 raw photos on a single battery

Wait and see what features and upgrades are coming up soon in 5DmkIV then make your decision.

Me personally, i'm just not convinced by Sony just yet. First and foremost, Sony is gadget maker. Are they going to continue making camera's if profits dip or just abandon it and move to something else like they have done with many other products? At least i know Nikon has been making cameras and lenses for last 98 years and they will continue to do so.

MysticalRain

OP, I think you would have to give us a more detailed description of what your requirements are - landscapes, portraiture, street photography etc

Also, some camera shops provide cameras to rent. So you could try before you buy. I did that before I made the jump. After a day or so of shooting with the rental camera, it was a much easier decision to make.

MysticalRain

D.S. wrote: »

- Also wanted to point out that if going for the new A7RII, be aware that your 'hit rate' on shots will go down somewhat - the more megapixels you have the more subject movement shows up, meaning you need fast glass in natural light, still subjects and/or a higher minimum shutter speed/ISO combination to nail your shot. Not a big deal for landscape / architecture / studio but things get interesting for wedding / portraiture. Required an interesting shift in shooting style when I went to the D800 - be interesting to see what things are like on the 42mp Sony.

I forgot to mention as well, the hit rate should actually improve with the A7rii's 5 axis image stabilisation and electronic shutter to mitigate against the larger sensor size.

Silva360

puddles22 wrote: »

i love my 5dmkiii its a beast to carry around.

As far as I can tell the new Sony is 625g and the Canon 860g. It's not much of a weight saving if you will use your existing Canon lenses?

South Tipperary Arts Centre

yeah it would seem Canon and Nikon have been resting on their laurels for a while now, Sony has become a major force in the last few years.

CJmasgrande

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

also don't forget with your Canon you are able to get around 1500 raw photos on a single battery with power to spare.

Sony will give you about 250 raw photos on a single battery

Wait and see what features and upgrades are coming up soon in 5DmkIV then make your decision.

Me personally, i'm just not convinced by Sony just yet. First and foremost, Sony is gadget maker. Are they going to continue making camera's if profits dip or just abandon it and move to something else like they have done with many other products? At least i know Nikon has been making cameras and lenses for last 98 years and they will continue to do so.

Sony is not just a gadget maker.

They bought out Minolta Cameras and that's the backbone to the Sony camara

mc_grens

Without wanting to be the usual Fuji evangelist I sold my Canon and bought a x-pro1. I've since upgraded to an x-t1 and I love it. Not full frame for sure, but incredible image quality for an APS-c camera, GREAT glass, and so much fun to shoot with.

Fat_Fingers

CJmasgrande wrote: »

Sony is not just a gadget maker.

They bought out Minolta Cameras and that's the backbone to the Sony camara

You just made my point. They have had no expertise or tradition in this field.
Anyway, until they sort out their issues with battery life, autofocus , metering and lack of native lenses i'm not interested. However, having said that we all have different style of shooting so Sony is ideal for someone else.

OP, about weight , there is not that much difference , check: photographylife.com/the-mirrorless-hype

You should definitely rent it out first before you buy it.

mc_grens

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

You just made my point. They have had no expertise or tradition in this field.
Anyway, until they sort out their issues with battery life, autofocus , metering and lack of native lenses i'm not interested. However, having said that we all have different style of shooting so Sony is ideal for someone else.

OP, about weight , there is not that much difference , check: photographylife.com/the-mirrorless-hype

You should definitely rent it out first before you buy it.

Aren't Sony one of the worlds biggest sensor producers? Don't they produce the sensor in a lot of Nikon cameras too?

swingking

mc_grens wrote: »

Without wanting to be the usual Fuji evangelist I sold my Canon and bought a x-pro1. I've since upgraded to an x-t1 and I love it. Not full frame for sure, but incredible image quality for an APS-c camera, GREAT glass, and so much fun to shoot with.

I had a FUJI Mirrorless for a while and I found it to be quite limiting. So I sold my kit and got a 5DIII instead.

I haven't tried Sony but I've seen the results and it looks impressive.

I also wasn't a massive fan of the EVF that mirrorless cameras have. I prefer optical

MysticalRain

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

You just made my point. They have had no expertise or tradition in this field.
Anyway, until they sort out their issues with battery life, autofocus , metering and lack of native lenses i'm not interested. However, having said that we all have different style of shooting so Sony is ideal for someone else.

OP, about weight , there is not that much difference , check: photographylife.com/the-mirrorless-hype

You should definitely rent it out first before you buy it.

How could the worlds largest camera and sensor maker have no expertise in this field? They do make the sensors for Nikon camera's after all. You can knock them for their lenses, but Zeiss who they partnered up with to make the lenses for the A7 are more than capable in that field. Plus most of the problems you mentioned have already been dealt with in the latest models they have released (and will finally be square away in the next release cycle).

That article is a bit misleading too. He basically cherry picks his facts to suit his arguments. I went from a D800 + f2.4 24-70mm to an A7r + f4 24-70mm and cut the weight I carry in half. Granted you may have to carry a few extra batteries, but the actually battery in the camera weighs far less than it would in a DSLR when you have it hanging around your neck. The newer A7RII is of course a bit heavier, but it's still far less weight than the equivalent DSLR.

The bottom line is the OP should just rent an A7 (or the really great Fuji X-t1 for that matter), and they will find out quick if it's the right camera for them.

infomat

puddles22 wrote: »

my next camera will be a sony? what do people think? ive been a canon shooter my whole life, am currently on 5dmkiii but am seriously considering the swap over or that when i next buy a new body it will be sony a7rii or its next model after that, as much as i love my 5dmkiii its a beast to carry around.

I started the switch over a few years back. I have an original 5D [which I really liked] and 1DSMkIII [which has an auto-focus problem] and a set of lenses. I originally got a NEX-5 and was impressed but that camera had a lot of issues I then got a Sony NEX-7 and I have used that for many years and I really like it. As a result of my experience with the NEX-7 [mainly to do with weight] I decided to begin to switch from using traditional DSLRs.

The problem with the NEX-7 was a limited selection of lenses so I decided to get a metabones adaptor [at the time I could not afford an A7 or A7R but I knew that I would get one ... to be honest I would have liked to get the A7S]. My Canon lenses did not really work with the NEX-7/Metabones combination ... they kept hunting for focus. Within the last few months I managed to raise the cash for the A7RII. I also managed to establish that some of my lenses will work with the A7RII but as I only had a few minutes to test the combinations I am not sure if there are any issues. I should mention that the NEX-7 is not weather-proof but the A7RII is supposed to be.

My A7RII was supposed to be delivered last Wednesday but I am still waiting and may not get one until the end of the month. If you are not in a hurry I will be able to confirm if Canon lenses do work with the A7RII.

Many people mention the lack of E-Mount lenses but this is not really a problem anymore as there is now a reasonable selection available such as the Zeiss Batis 25mm and Batis 85mm, Zeiss Loxia plus Sony Zeiss lenses. In theory with the correct adaptor you should be able to use any lens.

The Sony A7 cameras are not nearly as robust as the D5 but I did not find that to be much of a problem