Find Out Why This Sony Video Shooter Might Be Switching Back to Canon After Twelve Years

We've all seen the incredible specs on Canon's R5 at this stage. But let's get the low-down from the perspective of a professional videographer who hasn't shot with a Canon camera since the 5D Mark II.

In 2008, Canon unveiled the 5D Mark II to much fanfare. It revolutionized the DSLR industry, and some people still use that body today. However, Canon hasn't really shaken the earth with any releases since then — until now. In this video, wedding filmmaker Matt Johnson, who has been shooting with Sony bodies for over a decade, gives a detailed breakdown on why he might be switching back to Canon. 8K raw is the most obvious talking point, but he also slips in probably the next most talked about difference between Canon and Sony cameras: color. Rather wisely, though, he is biding his time for several reasons.

From my perspective — even as a non-professional video shooter — I can still see why pro videographers will want to invest in this camera. For those who shoot in mostly cooler climates, overheating won't be as much of a problem, and unless you're shooting long sequences, you should be fine. Also, I think a lot of people are going to be able to overlook the issue for the ability to downsample from 8K to 4K alone. The benefits of this are huge. And in a body that costs only $3,899? Insane. 

Are you a professional videographer? Are you preordering the body or will you wait for the real-world reviews to come in before making a decision?

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Mike is a landscape and commercial photographer from, Co. Kerry, Ireland. In his photographic work, Mike tries to avoid conveying his sense of existential dread, while at the same time writing about his sense of existential dread. The last time he was in New York he was mugged, and he insists on telling that to every person he meets.

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11 Comments

Thanks so much for the shoutout!

No one cares.

Word

Recording time limitations look pretty bad...now we know why Panasonic added a fan...

Yep, as sure as the day is long, Youtubers release why I’m switching videos to coincide with new camera releases.

Over heating problem cancels the 8k out so basically if you're looking for a photography camera that's more expensive than it should be (because of video specs) go nuts. The 20 min record limit doesn't bother me but the sitting around waiting for a camera to cool down, WITH NO FANS or even a thought of how to get rid of the heat is about as moronic as when they released 4k with 5d mark 4 and used mjpeg!!! I fell for that one for the 4k video excitement. I could've stayed with the mark 3. Now I'm curious if Blackmagic will figure out a way to pimp up the 6k to 8k for $2500 since they dropped the price of the 2k to $1995. Yup, $1995 for 6K BRAW with a free copy of Davinci!!!!

Four grand for ibis and a higher resolution isn't worth it. But let's see what the honest reviews are when they come out. Right now it's people skipping around over spec sheets and Canon sponsored reviews.

For serious video, I’d definitely look at Blackmagic, especially with the bundled copy of Davinci Resolve. There always will be too many compromises with hybrid cameras as high end video/stills specs will cause too many problems for each other e.g. a high stills res bad for heat problems. It’s no wonder the popular Panasonic GH (and Sony A7S at one point) series aren’t known for outstanding stills but very successful for budget videography.

Canon definitely was hearing "steps on the roof"

Matt has clearly shown in his work that an 8bit camera is more then enough for wedding video. His wedding videos are amazing imo.

That said I can’t see him having a good time with this Canon. From what I have seen in his videos he is all about reliability and practicality. He still uses manual focus. Still uses a glide cam. And both of those reasons are practical to get the shot. The glide cam doesn’t need to charge like a gimbal. Audio focus sucks in low light and you can’t trust it at a wedding.

So I really don’t see him using a camera that will overheat in 20min in the Sunlight at a Summer wedding and take more then 2 hours to fully recover....and this is shooing one just 4K 30p. Switch over to 4k60 or higher and you have less time. The fact that Canon has issued a full overheating page is concern enough.

It’s not a matter of if it will....it’s a matter of when.

I owned the a6300 for a while with its overheating and it completely takes away your confidence as a pro shooter. I would never pay $4000 for a “pro” camera that overheats. It’s not reliable. And I bet we will even see some overheating in stills too. I would not be surprised.

That's the problem with hybrids. You can't have weather sealing and air vents for cooling apparently so it's a waste and added just for specs. I'll never upgrade my camera again because of video specs. It's not a video camera so will always be disappointing compared to just getting both a camera and a video camera. I shoot with a 5d mark 4 but I record behind the scenes for hours with the bmpcc 6k, plugged into the wall recording onto a 1tb ssd drive. No overheating, luts added, video tools (not just zebra) on. That's a video camera.