Article: The 5 Reasons Why I Switched Back to Canon From Sony

[Canon Rumors Guy]

There has been a lot of stories over the last year or so from people that have left Canon for Sony, only to return later. A few of the big reasons we’ve seen for the return to Canon center around support, reliability, professional services and repair times.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://petapixel.com/2018/03/10/5-reasons-switched-back-canon-sony/">latest article</a> seems to center around Canon’s industry leading video auto focus and color science.</p>
<p><strong>From PetaPixel:</strong></p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Better Color Science</strong></p>
<p>Overall, I feel Canon has much better color rendition when it comes to reproducing colors and providing natural hues in the way we expect them to look. I have spent a lot of time editing Sony video footage trying to get it to look right in post. When I shoot video with Canon Log though I simply apply a LUT (a Look Up Table file created and supplied by Canon) to my Canon video files in post and, with basically just one mouse click, I get more or less perfectly color graded Rec.709 footage. Something I can say isn’t as easily achievable with Sony. <a href="https://petapixel.com/2018/03/10/5-reasons-switched-back-canon-sony/">Read the full article…..</a></p></blockquote>
<p>As I sit here in Tanzania, I have been surprised by the number of Sony A7 series cameras I have seen on safari. However, the numbers still pale in comparison to the amount of Canon and Nikon gear I’m seeing for this type of photography.</p>
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[9VIII]

It’s ridiculous that Canon is the only one with touch enabled menus.

 

[Talys]

Color is a very good reason; also, playing with one these last few days, I find that it's harder to adjust the colors to where I want them to be in Lightroom, despite "better dynamic range". The cited "Feel in the Hand" is a big one for me, too. The Sony is weirdly awkward.

Metering is another. All of the metering modes are worse than the Canon ones, so much so that I ended up adjusting metering using the EV +/- dial before every shot.

A half-baked Flash system, lack of AF Illuminator rounds it off, and poor low-light AF round it off. I mean, they have a 2.4GHz wireless flash system.... but the $700 flash (the only full size one) doesn't work with it. What's up with that?

I am also not in love with the tilting LCD. Yes... tilt is more flexible than no tilt, but it's a far cry from 6D2's fully articulating screen; it doesn't even point forward.

In terms of the menus/buttons... I'm actually ok with those. The whole menu/configuration thing was built by someone who doesn't actually like to take photographs, I think, because out of the box, it's horribly unusable. But with a bunch of configuration and tweaking it isn't bad. However, there is plenty that isn't intuitive.

Like why can't back-button AF also trigger AE?

It’s ridiculous that Canon is the only one with touch enabled menus.

Tell me about it. Sony has a touch screen in name only.

During photo review, there's touch screen that lags like an old dial-up modem. You tap... wait.... wait... oh look, now the image is magnified. You can never tap giant ok/cancel buttons that are big enough to be finger friendly. And you can tap the screen to change the focus point... but not to actually take a picture.

I have no idea what Nikon screens are like now; haven't had a chance to play with a new one.

As I sit here in Tanzania, I have been surprised by the number of Sony A7 series cameras I have seen on safari. However, the numbers still pale in comparison to the amount of Canon and Nikon gear I’m seeing for this type of photography.

I see more Sony cameras out there too, at popular wildlife spots. A lot of them are crop cameras with kit lenses, though, not pro bodies.

Anecdotally, I see more new Sony bodies than new Nikon bodies, with Canon dwarfing both, especially when it comes to people with telephoto lenses exceeding 100-400 or 200-500.

 

[PavelR]

I've upgraded 1ds3 + 1d4 to A9 + A7r3 and the desired color for photos I can get in Lightroom with the same amount of work for both systems. (temperature, tint, hue of red, sometimes orange, yellow too)

 

[Maximilian]

Must be a fake article. Nobody would be willing to switch back to Canon, especially not from Sony.
Sony is the summit of creation.
:-X
[/sarc mode]

 

[Hflm]

Color is a very good reason; also, playing with one these last few days, I find that it's harder to adjust the colors to where I want them to be in Lightroom, despite "better dynamic range". The cited "Feel in the Hand" is a big one for me, too. The Sony is weirdly awkward.

Subjective, I find the A9 with grip to be really ergonomic (We use A9/A7riii and 2 5divs for weddings).

Metering is another. All of the metering modes are worse than the Canon ones, so much so that I ended up adjusting metering using the EV +/- dial before every shot.

I don't have problems with metering. Why do you?

A half-baked Flash system, lack of AF Illuminator rounds it off, and poor low-light AF round it off. I mean, they have a 2.4GHz wireless flash system.... but the $700 flash (the only full size one) doesn't work with it. What's up with that?

What do you mean with AF illuminator? AF assist light? I have thet with Godox x1t-s if required. Or do you mean the VF AF point illumination, which is similarly to my 5divs? Low light AF is excellent. In case I use Sony lenses which focus stopped down and need large DOF I simply press a button and Live View Effect is set to off. The lenses then focus wide open, mine at f1.4 where I get -4ev sensitivity. So where is the problem? I didn't have a single problem during last years season. Usually statements like these are made by people not using the cameras.

I am also not in love with the tilting LCD. Yes... tilt is more flexible than no tilt, but it's a far cry from 6D2's fully articulating screen; it doesn't even point forward.

In terms of the menus/buttons... I'm actually ok with those. The whole menu/configuration thing was built by someone who doesn't actually like to take photographs, I think, because out of the box, it's horribly unusable. But with a bunch of configuration and tweaking it isn't bad. However, there is plenty that isn't intuitive.

Nonsense, subjective. You can program almost every thing to buttons, you have a personalized menu like with Canon where I put all the other function I need and a quick access menu. After a few gigs you know where to look for.

 

[YuengLinger]

Who is buying the Sony? Seasoned photographers who have been limited by Canon/Nikon? Newer enthusiasts who believe they will be creating more magic with Sony?

If a lot of sales are due to marketing, what is Sony doing right and where are they reaching all these new customers?

 

[PavelR]

Who is buying the Sony? Seasoned photographers who have been limited by Canon/Nikon? Newer enthusiasts who believe they will be creating more magic with Sony?

If a lot of sales are due to marketing, what is Sony doing right and where are they reaching all these new customers?

I've go to Sony system, because Canon by 1dx and 1dx2 did not offer any new significant features. My reasons were:
* true silent shutter with full AF speed + usable in almost all artificial light (A9)
* histogram / zebra in VF/display (I shoot manually 98% of the time without needing to do a review.)
* Eye AF - I can recompose the image any time and AF is still stitched to eye
* blackout free VF image (is not as useful as it looks, because it displays just shot image during readout in a burst, which is pain with long exposure times)
* IBIS
* 20 fps was pleasant surprise - I did not think that it could be useful
* Nice bonus: full sensor readout 4k (A9)

 

[bandido]

Who is buying the Sony? Seasoned photographers who have been limited by Canon/Nikon? Newer enthusiasts who believe they will be creating more magic with Sony?

If a lot of sales are due to marketing, what is Sony doing right and where are they reaching all these new customers?

The Marketing Department at Sony certainly knows how to throw a media event: paid hotel rooms in Las Vegas, helicopter rides to the Gran Canyon, dune buggy rides, and professional photo shoot setups; but I think the majority of people switching to Sony are looking for the perfect hybrid-shooter (Full-frame, 4k video, IBIS...) and the latest alpha series of cameras are pretty close to that.

 

[KirkD]

I personally know of several who have switched from Canon to Sony, but none who have switched back. Having said that, I suspect that the Canon-to-Sony switchers are not so much those who use Canon's higher end cameras like the 5D IV or the 1 DX, which have enough of what they want such that they are not looking elsewhere. Mid-range people like me, who shoot with the 6D camera and lower, are more likely to be a wee bit discouraged by the 6D II when they look at the just-announced Sony A7III, which has everything they wish the 6D II had. I would buy a 5D IV except for two reasons ... a) I don't need all the bells and whistles and the $$ attached to them for wildlife and nature photography and b) I'd like something just a bit smaller than even the 6D since I'm packing for days at a time. Up until the A7III was announced, I was not tempted, but unless Canon has a soon-to-be-announced full frame camera with internal image stabilization, 4K, 693 focus points, and an impressive HDR sensor (I shoot a lot in very low light or at night), then the new A7III will be very attractive to a lot of average photographers who use mid-range cameras like the 6D or crop frames like the 7D. I can see high end users switching back to Canon right now, but at the rate Sony is ramping up what it offers, the reverse switchers may become pretty sparse in about 12 months. The big plus for Canon, in my opinion, is its glass.

 

[ecqns]

FWIW (for those who didn't go to the link) the article is comparing a 2016 Sony a6300 ($900) to a Canon 5D MkIV.

 

[ecqns]

Who is buying the Sony? Seasoned photographers who have been limited by Canon/Nikon?

what is Sony doing right and where are they reaching all these new customers?

I bought into Sony and a lot of others the pro architecture field did too.

What they did right is provide a few vital features and other smaller ones (that might look like spec sheets fillers to some) that provide a big difference after all for what I do. I also like the rapid product development, things can always be improved and it's nice not having to wait around 5 years like Canon's development pace. If I shot wildlife, weddings or kids running around the backyard - maybe I would shoot something else. Nikon for adventure stuff and Fuji for street work.

 

[PavelR]

FWIW (for those who didn't go to the link) the article is comparing a 2016 Sony a6300 ($900) to a Canon 5D MkIV.

Later says that A7RII and A7RIII does the same...

 

[ImpaK]

I used canon system before choose A7RII from sony. Landscape is my point and DR from sony is more useful for my style that make me process faster 3 times than spend time on file from canon body.
I still use it with metabone with all canon len for waiting great DR and no crop 4K on FF canon.
Day by day my dream seem never come true from a little bit upgrade when new camera release.
My friend from Thailand switch to Sony with the same reason, just me that still keep canon lens. One day i may full move like my friend if canon slow for upgrade their camera feature, i hope canon can learn from D850.

 

[CanoKnight]

There's real panic at Canon over the A7 III and that's why you will see more of these Canon sponsored articles in the coming weeks and months. Their $3500 prosumer full frame pricing model is getting bust.

 

[KirkD]

The original article was comparing a Sony a6300 with his more recently acquired Canon 5D IV ... two radically different cameras, hardly even apples to oranges comparison. Right now, my landscape photography is done with a 6D. Bird photography and videos are done with a Sony a6500, using a Sigma MC-11 adapter. Having used the two of them for almost a year now, I wasn't planning to go either direction until I saw the specs and review for the just announced Sony A7iii full frame. However, if I had a 5D IV, I'd stay with Canon. Canon still has the best glass for the money, but Sigma is producing some extraordinary optics for half of Canon's price (albeit the durability and weather sealing likely does not match Canon's). Furthermore, Sigma has just announced that they will be producing a line of lenses for Sony E mount bodies. I'd really like to see Canon go to in-camera image stabilization for the sake of reducing lens cost and sharpening the images. Lens stabilization does reduce the resolution somewhat. I was hoping to go back to Canon for my videos and telephoto usage but I cannot wait forever and the a6500 is even better in real life than I expected.

 

[neuroanatomist]

There's real panic at Canon over the A7 III and that's why you will see more of these Canon sponsored articles in the coming weeks and months. Their $3500 prosumer full frame pricing model is getting bust.

There's real panic at Sony because Canon still totally dominates the FF ILC market, and the A7III seems to be doing nothing to change that situation. That's why you'll see more FF MILC releases from Sony on an even faster pace as they try desperately to make inroads into Canon's market share.

See, I can make stuff up, too. Well, except for the part about Canon dominating the FF ILC market share, that is fact.

 

[scottkinfw]

I've upgraded 1ds3 + 1d4 to A9 + A7r3 and the desired color for photos I can get in Lightroom with the same amount of work for both systems. (temperature, tint, hue of red, sometimes orange, yellow too)

?
Scott

 

[scottkinfw]

Color is a very good reason; also, playing with one these last few days, I find that it's harder to adjust the colors to where I want them to be in Lightroom, despite "better dynamic range". The cited "Feel in the Hand" is a big one for me, too. The Sony is weirdly awkward.

Subjective, I find the A9 with grip to be really ergonomic (We use A9/A7riii and 2 5divs for weddings).

Metering is another. All of the metering modes are worse than the Canon ones, so much so that I ended up adjusting metering using the EV +/- dial before every shot.

I don't have problems with metering. Why do you?

A half-baked Flash system, lack of AF Illuminator rounds it off, and poor low-light AF round it off. I mean, they have a 2.4GHz wireless flash system.... but the $700 flash (the only full size one) doesn't work with it. What's up with that?

What do you mean with AF illuminator? AF assist light? I have thet with Godox x1t-s if required. Or do you mean the VF AF point illumination, which is similarly to my 5divs? Low light AF is excellent. In case I use Sony lenses which focus stopped down and need large DOF I simply press a button and Live View Effect is set to off. The lenses then focus wide open, mine at f1.4 where I get -4ev sensitivity. So where is the problem? I didn't have a single problem during last years season. Usually statements like these are made by people not using the cameras.

I am also not in love with the tilting LCD. Yes... tilt is more flexible than no tilt, but it's a far cry from 6D2's fully articulating screen; it doesn't even point forward.

In terms of the menus/buttons... I'm actually ok with those. The whole menu/configuration thing was built by someone who doesn't actually like to take photographs, I think, because out of the box, it's horribly unusable. But with a bunch of configuration and tweaking it isn't bad. However, there is plenty that isn't intuitive.

Nonsense, subjective. You can program almost every thing to buttons, you have a personalized menu like with Canon where I put all the other function I need and a quick access menu. After a few gigs you know where to look for.

Ouch, harsh.

Scott

 

[scottkinfw]

Who is buying the Sony? Seasoned photographers who have been limited by Canon/Nikon? Newer enthusiasts who believe they will be creating more magic with Sony?

If a lot of sales are due to marketing, what is Sony doing right and where are they reaching all these new customers?

I am curious as to what these limitations that are imposed by "Canon/Nikon" that induce seasoned photographers to switch? What am I missing?

Scott