Canon Vs Sony: Could You Tell the Difference and Win $10,000?

The ongoing battle between Canon and Sony when it comes to video performance can stir up some heated debates. Check out how seven well-known YouTubers fare when trying to spot the difference between all-but-identical footage with a prize of $10,000 on the line.

YouTuber Parker Walbeck put together a tough challenge: shoot footage with a Canon and Sony camera side by side, make it look as identical as possible, and then ask industry professionals to decide which camera shot which footage.

Some will be quick to point out that all seven managed to answer correctly for the low-light test, with the Canon footage looking marginally worse in terms of noise and artifacts. Image stabilization was trickier and might take some viewers by surprise. However, as these professionals are keen to point out, the differences are typically so minute that the resulting arguments over which company produces the better cameras is left seeming a little ridiculous. Your client definitely won’t notice the difference, and it seems neither will anybody else. Of course, there’s more to a choice of camera than simply the quality of the resulting footage, so this experiment is unlikely to discourage too many from indulging in the usual back and forth.

How did you do? Let us know in the comments below.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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5 Comments

When are people going to realise the difference lies not in the gear but the person using it. Who really cares about the badge on the camera.

Man, your SDS (Sony Derangement Syndrome) is showing, again. I take it you didn't bother reading the article and/or watched the video. The challenge was with video clips, not photos.

To this day, some of you still get so blindly triggered whenever someone mentions "Sony". smh

Btw, Hot Tip: In terms of photos, [camera body of choice] + RNI Film presets = Sony colors. :P

Both systems are excellent for commercial works, it comes down to the low light & post adjustment; the Sony files have so much more dynamic range, it's a lot easier to work with. Canon files are really half-baked and two generations behind, much more difficult to work with.

Except for the noise test, I couldn't tell them apart.