The mirrorless wars have been raging for several years now, with Sony going all in with its Alpha line-up of full-frame mirrorless cameras, but should you make the switch? Let’s talk about why you need to be shooting Sony mirrorless cameras and to ditch the Canikon cameras of olde.
Reason One
The Sony Alpha a7R IV mirrorless camera. Yes, I’m stating a singular camera that was just announced and has yet to be in the public domain, but really, hear me out. Sony is at the leading edge of technology available right now when it comes to camera bodies with three previous iterations that it’s built on. Sony finally has a history to move forward from, and that means they have staying power. With the camera industry wars leading some to switching systems entirely based on what camera comes out next, Sony is paving the way with giving you access to the class-leading technology you crave every year without needing to jump to another camera ecosystem and lens lineup.
Reason Two
Professional-level bodies made for unique niches based around expansive needs. Sony has built its lineup of Alpha mirrorless cameras with a goal to reach a mass market of individuals while concentrating on their specific set of needs and not holding back technology or specifications to entice multiple camera body purchases. Look at the a7R series of cameras with the high megapixel count with their ability to add a crop mode with more than enough megapixels to still zoom in on the image. You essentially have a portrait and landscape camera that’s been crossed with a wildlife and birding camera body. You have both at the same time. You want low light and video? They do that too with the a7S line of camera bodies fulfilling your 4K cinematic dreams under starry night skies. Want the best available autofocus, 4K video, and up to 20 frames per second? The top-tier a9 camera body is what you should be looking at. Lastly, do you just want enough camera that can do what you need it to do? The a7 line is where you can hang out and enjoy the freedom with a little extra cash in your pocket.
Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens
Reason Three
A complete lens lineup. Sony has finally been able to increase its market presence and has had enough time to grow its lens ecosystem where it has a fully committed lens lineup for professionals, prosumers, and hobbyists to take advantage of. It’s grown beyond the expected “holy trinity” of zoom lenses and prime focal lengths that so many people adore to more specific lens needs like Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Lens with competitive pricing to the contemporary players in the market with their red and gold rings. There’s little reason to not jump into the Sony lens ecosystem with the high-performing and high-megapixel resolving lense,s especially when their mirrorless competition are now the ones with the even more expensive glass offerings in the mirrorless space.
Reason Four
Lighting manufacturers have fully embraced Sony for the camera company they are. Only a few short months ago, you would have thought one of the most highly touted lighting companies were ignoring their Sony shooters until they released the complement to their on-camera lighting setup with the Profoto A1X. Third party lighting has always stayed keen on how they offered their customers accessibility and options, but if you aren’t a player in the market in their eyes, you don’t have complete access. That’s now changed, and Sony is on a level playing field with the big names, though I would say Sony has already entered that group by claiming the number two spot from Nikon only a short time ago. The benefits of the Sony system are now just as prevalent as any other professional system and are intended to be used as such.
Profoto A1X Off-Camera Flash
Reason Five
A company that professionals want to be a part of and work with. You will always have a group of people that couldn’t care less about what camera they use and then, the exact opposite with the “fan boy” group that cannot get enough of what their camera brand of choice can offer them. When you have storytellers wanting to partner with your company because they see the advantages of what you offer, that’s what your company should be striving to be. We recognize that technology makes working with equipment easier (and sometimes harder), but if what you are doing makes it more valuable for a storyteller to build on their vision, then you are going to create a movement. Sony has spoken to photographers and filmmakers in that regard and have helped remove the obstacles for them to tell stories that build on our imagination and excitement. It’s that which excites us as creators where our attention and pocketbook will go.
Conclusion
No one can tell you what to value or how to create, but it’s always valuable to keep your choices open and loyalties for camera brands checked in reality. Sony is making huge waves in the sea of camera manufacturers, and they seem to be listening to their customers directly, rather than through the filter of a few chosen professionals. They want disruption, and Sony absolutely will make money from the change they have introduced, but does this new reality fit the expectations and burgeoning developments in how we tell stories? Do we get more out of changing our kit to a different camera company than the company makes from selling you that new camera or lens? If your answer is a resounding "yes," then you should switch right now and go all in on the mirrorless camera train. It’s here and boarding, and missing out may mean more than you know.
On the other side, does changing to a different camera system mean nothing to you? You can’t tell the stories you want to or create your images faster, better, or easier. It’s only a change of equipment, and it will honestly only be a hindrance for your creative output. In that regard, then Sony may not be the change you want or need. That’s perfectly fine, and you should keep creating and building your way. The fact is it’s an exciting time to be a photographer and storyteller today with so many ways to share what you do with the world. No technology should get in the way of creating.
If you’ve jumped ship to Sony, why did you make the change and was it any of the reasons above? If you’re still with your camera brand of choice, why are you staying with them and what do they do for you that you love?
I truly enjoy these sorts of articles and the ensuing debates/griping about the articles and such. I really like learning about the evolution of digital cameras and sometimes get caught up in Gear Lust. However, I evolved from a Nikon D3000 to a D7000 and then jumped to the D750. All of those Nikons seemed to just meld into my right hand without any adjustments. Sadly, at 65, although I can hold my beloved Nikon for a while, due to arthritis and stamina issues, I can't shoot for extended periods of time. Sometimes I daydream about changing to a lighter camera and lenses but I am not sitting on a large wallet for those extravagances. Mere reading will have to do..... at least until Nikon gets some more features on its mirrorless lineup, and then....who knows?
Yet according to the writer's profile here, he's heavily invested in Canon gear.
Yet according to the writer's profile here, he's heavily invested in Canon gear.
It seems as though you had nothing else to do so you wrote a weak article on why someone should switch to Sony.
Canon and Nikon brought this on themselves. They never pushed the pace of innovation and essentially dared the industry to come after them. When Sony, already a powerhouse in sensor technology, bought Minolta they should have seen it coming. Instead, Canon and Nikon milked the lifecycle of every product, hamstrung entry level models and generally treated their loyal fan bases with the attitude of, "You'll get what you asked for, when we're' ready to give it to you." For years I was a frustrated Canon shooter, until I finally switched brands. First Olympus, for IS and a compact form factor. Then Fuji, for shallow DOF and better primes. And, ultimately Sony for full frame, low-light, dynamic range and the ability to have one kit that stretched from an a5100 to an a9. Brand loyalty is a real thing, but it must be earned. It seems to me that Sony will continue to release new features as fast as possible now that Canon and Nikon have no choice but to chase them.
No real pro support. Very limited lens line up. Proven ruggedness under tough conditions.
Change models faster than a woman changes dresses leaving you with an obsolete camera in less than a year.
The two biggest problem with Sony mirrorless is the responsiveness and the sturdiness of the gear.
I've used Sony since the A7s days, sold my complete kit twice and started over again.
Why? Because it frustrates the hell out of me, but at the time Sony was the only mirrorless player in town.
The buffering lockups are getting better, but still not perfect.
I'm glad they have finally fitted 2x high speed card slots to the A7r IV.
I've owned Nikon D5 and D4s bodies and they are built like tanks.
Nikons lenses are a lot more robust too.
I dropped my A9 with the 70-200 F2.8 GM from hip height onto a grass field (missed the holster locator) and it bent the flimsy aluminum mount on the lens.
Cost: $780 to fix it :(
The main reason to switch to mirrorless, which nobody seems to mention, is the electronic viewfinder and diopter.
With the diopter, I don't need to bring reading glasses with me in order to read anything.
Trust me, as you get older, this becomes a major factor...
I like using Fujifilm, stumbled on the system almost by accident and now have no reason to switch.
If I did ever consider it the Nikon Z system would be my choice. Sony, Canon or any others don’t interest me.
When you have all canon’s gear, and you want to be an artisan of gear.
I can think of many reasons not to switch to Sony, professionals should not be using Sony
If Sony wants to beat the old players in wildlife photography it's time it started to use cross-point AF sensors.
I switched from Nikon to Sony and this advertorial makes me want to switch to Ricoh. 100-400 "competitive pricing to the contemporary players in the market"? hardly. sony 100-400 is $2498 vs. Canon's $2198($1799 right now with rebate).
Well I might as well join the fray of endless comments. One reason NOT to switch to Sony. I'm not made of money. Switching systems is a crap ton of money! I blow thousand per year on equipment and I still can't just "switch". I can add, or experiment with Sony, but I can't switch.
Funny, I remember some of the same complaints from film to the new tech digital cameras, I hear film is coming back!
...
So, I made the switch this year. I've been a die hard Canon shooter my entire 20+ years. We are talking I came up in the FD days before EOS anything. But, in the coarse of my work I've used most of the major camera systems in my work. I always went home to my Canon's.
My gear was getting of the age it was time to upgrade everything. However, I was waiting to see what Canon did on the mirrorless side. Obviously, I could upgrade over time. However, Canon was still playing by their old rules when they came out with theirs. It was clear pay for the features, and you will need multiple cameras to do the most basic work. I'm tired of packing 5D Mark IV, a 1Dx Mark II, and 5DS to do my work. My work gear, I have an employer, weighs in over 60 pounds.
So, I switched to Sony on my personal gear. I believe it strikes the right balance of size, weight, and features. People complain about the menu system. I did too, but what I found was it isn't any worse than any other system. I can say that as an absolute fact. I like I set up my own buttons, but it has taken a bit to get use too. I'm use to being told what buttons do what.
JT Blenker Considering Profoto gained access to Sony TTL protocol before the A1 and still could not deliver on their promise... Profoto is certainly not the reason to buy Sony. :-)
Did Sony send you this advertisement to reformat into an article? Silly me for asking, of coarse they did.
why do i feel like i keep seeing multiple versions of this same article appear all the time here?
While I'm a Nikon shooter with a Z and D850, I'm sure there are some Fuji shooters out there that will take issue with this article. The one thing that Fuji has is that it is just fun to shoot with and I don't even own one. I do own a couple A77ii's that I used to shoot football, but Sony has kind of left me out to pasture.
I switched to Sony because first and foremost, I was looking for a new camera in general. If your current gear works great for you, then that's great you don't need to switch.
I had a Canon 6D and wanted the following: A full frame mirrorless camera, super high resolution, two memory card slots, 4k uncropped video, eye AF, and fast fps. The a7R3 was the only thing that offered all of that. I couldn't be happier so far!
I've got a thousand reasons why this is NOT AN ARTICLE BUT AN ADVERTISEMENT and another thousand reasons for you to stop writing "articles".
I'm not sure who's more obnoxious, the Sony Zealots or the Godox Zealots....
Maybe the sixth reason would be: because sony is paying billions on advertising and market change and sparing no channel in doing this day and night hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Petapixel tells me sony is the worst camera in the world because it lacks "heritage" and Fstoppers lauds it for being technically innovative. Who should i believe?!
Technology > Heritage
"Lacks heritage" is just a weak whiny excuse because of a noob in town eating the big guys lunch.
It must be all their advertising for Sony is what financed the move to P.R. This article isn't helping me take Fstoppers any more seriously than I usually do.
It is my experience that lighter and smaller without sacrificing image quality is the number one ergonomic consideration and why I have a Sony mirrorless camera.
Having been a Canon user back to the AE-1, I was compelled to remain but I found myself less interested in hauling around my t2i and lenses - leading to a hiatus from photography. Planning for an anniversary trip, I opted for lighter smaller Canon travel zoom (SX260HS). That great little camera rekindled my interest in the hobby, but I wanted DSLR IQ and RAW capability in a small package. Canon didn't have anything. After much soul searching I ended up with a Sony NEX-6 and later the a6000.
So we have a copied overview of Sony system article from a photographer whose website has not a single image gallery, his latest posts on blog are 3+ years out and last camera gear in them is loaded with Canon images all over...
Well done FS aka Patrick+Lee .... You guys are for sure getting clicks and attractions but no way it is genuinely because of interest and learning... this is becoming a gossiping platter for ads and clickbait :) Give credit where it is due, but these nonsenses from JT or Alex etc... hahaha... And yes technology is getting better, Sony or Nikon or Fuji ... all of them... so these useless Why you should... articles have no other point then sell you any of these... specially from sites like this one since this is how you are making money, and there is nothing wrong with doing a business but it is becoming very corny way to do so :) Enjoy your day of shooting guys..
Most of my cameras have Sony sensors so didn’t I already switch?
I love how when a good camera comes out, any article or even single comment talking positively about it is considered an advertisement or fanboying. Would you be the owner of the camera you have now if no one had said anything about it? We all buy certain brands for what they have to offer - don't waste your time or breath being upset that someone likes something different to you - it makes no odds to you if you are happy with what you have, and if you aren't, buy something else.
There is no such thing as "you should switch", that's a dump statement IMO. Stick to the system that fit your style and need. BTW, I'm a Sony user since 2015, I made the switch mainly for smaller system and better dynamic range, that's my need and may not be appealing to others. Having some shoulder and neck issues smaller system helps me lot during hiking. That's my two cents
Soooooooo compelling (LOL!), I'm running out right now to dump everything for Sony. Thanks for today's comic relief.
I've been in the Sony camera eco-system for a long time, as beginner and now moving to professional. I have dealt with a lot of the growing pains for the Sony system and am very happy with the changes over the past couple years. I have never pushed someone to change and have seen how good some of the other cameras are (Nikon D 850). I love the features that are available with my Sony camera and have become very reliant on them. I alway tell people who ask; to shoot with what your comfortable with, but positively recommend the Sony line. I won't be buying the A7RIV, it's more camera then I need right now, but am interested to see further results from it.
The thing with Sony is that they are pushing all the manufacturers to improve which is good thing for everyone.
Five reasons not to switch: 1. You have a large investment in lenses and peripherals for your current system; 2. The cost of change is extremely expensive; 3. You are satisfied with the results of your current system; 4. You will have to learn the differences in operation in a new system and commit them to muscle memory; 5. Because of the current rapid change in technology, you may be better off waiting to see if things "settle"... i.e. 2 years ago it was the A7RIII which is now outpaced given the small price differential.
I should do nothing, I am free to do what I want to do!
Why are so many here feeling threatened by Sony, is it because they are more innovative than their current brand, and how many have actually tried a Sony with superb auto focus and eye focus plus focus peaking and so on? Get a life and drop your criticism or buy a mirrorless Sony and discover what a camera in 2019 should be like, or better just admit that you are content to be a little behind with the latest technology and take some pictures!
Ah, another Sony commercial on FStoppers. Typical.
I don't shoot Sony, but the reason I would think would make one change to Sony mirrorless is their superior AF.
1. That's just silly
2. That's reasonable. It's good to have options for low-light, high-resolution and all-rounder cameras.
3. Complete? Sony doesn't have some of the long telephotos that Canon/Nikon DSLRs have.
4. Not really a reason to switch to Sony if switching from a camera that already have support.
5. There are plenty of Sony fanboys out there. I believe one of them wrote this article ;)
I think it's interesting how far Sony have come in such a short space of time. Coming from Canon, I switched firstly for video. The a7s offered more tools in camera, zebra, peaking etc. I came for video but soon fell in love with the Stills. Started on an a6000 and now have an Riii coming through an a7ii and Rii. I felt the iii series had finally allowed Sony to 'arrive' and compete with Canikon seriously across the board, a9 was doing that I'm a league of its own and the a9ii will be phenomenal.
What else I find interesting is there is conversation about people switching to Sony. I mean, that's huge. Switching a system after years of being with another is a serious decision. People are doing it though, and that is testament to Sony's innovation and offerings. Yes some have gone back, buy most have stayed.
Other Photographers always sidle up to me and say, so how do you find the Sony? They are all curious. That is also testament to what Sony have created. A fresh outlook and buzz in an industry that was just plodding along releasing small increments of technological updates year on five years. Boring. Well done Sony.
Five reasons to not switch to Sony:
1 - Is not a BMD. 2 - Is not a Panasonic. 3 - Is not a Canon. 4 - Is not a Fuji. 5 - It lose in almost all technical specs for each of their competidor.
10 reasons why you shouldn't switch to Sony is what this article should be titled.
It is funny to repost this in light of the R5 and other coming Canon R cameras and superior RF lenses that ca not be adapted any more to Sony cameras.
It is funny that Sony owners will no lounger have access to the latest Canon large aperture lenses. And if the R5 is the 5 series the 1 R series will make Sony look stone age.
All the reasons furnished three years ago are null and void now. Canon has entered the arena like an alpha male lion does into his own territory. They now have six awesome MILCs backed up by some native lenses plus an endless fleet of fantastic EF and EF-S lenses that work seamlessly with the MILCs. Their DSLRs are also going great.
Thank you Sony - nice try.