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So, this is what I think, a year and half on from switching from Canon to Sony. If you haven't already, you can check out how I first found it which my two earlier blogs from last year on this subject.
The first shoot - Janelle & Josh
The second shoot - Caitlin & Chad
Now before you ask, here is the gear list. This is what I'm shooting with now and what I had prior to the switch.
The Sony Gear List:
Sony A7RIII Body x2
Sony A7 III Body
Sony 24mm GM 1.4
Sony Zeiss 55mm 1.8
Sony 85mm GM 1.4
Sony 135mm GM 1.8
Godox V1S Speedlites + Triggers
The Canon Gear List:
Canon 5D Mark IV
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L II IS USM
Canon 24-70mm 2.8 L II USM
Canon Macro 100mm 2.8 L IS UM
Sigma Art 50mm 1.4
Canon 600EX II-RT Speedlite
Godox V860 II Speedlite + Triggers
Canon 6D I Body (backup)
Canon 24-105mm F4 L IS USM (backup)
What's it like now?
When I first switched over it definitely took some time to get used to the cameras, the menu is different obviously, using the LCD screen as opposed to the view finder took a while BUT. I definitely don't want to go back. I don't think I could live without the eye focus now that I have it and although I know that Canon has new cameras that have this feature, I haven't even been a little inclined to move back to those.
It definitely took time to adjust but it was well worth the switch for me.
What would I change?
The one thing that I still think I will change is going back to have a zoom
lens option, at the minimum, a 24-70mm ideally. I absolutely love my primes for their F-stops but that ability to really quickly change an image or crop just by zooming in and out with my fingers in those time crunch situations would be so much better for me. It would also help with ensuring I spend less time cropping during my culling and editing. When you have a wedding with a super tight time line or a really packed ceremony or reception, having that zoom ability on my camera has always helped me with creating more varied images and without it I think I am more limited. I know many people say that primes make them more creative, thoughtful and purposeful when they shoot, and that is true in a way for me too. But I do also think that it limits me in certain situations. A perfect example would be when it comes to having to change a lens on one camera to a 24mm just to get those really wide landscape shots and you only have 5-10 minutes at sunset but also you want to use your 55 and 135mm or 85mm too for that creamy depth of field look too but you're standing on the side of the room and there is barely any room to move back etc. Or another example, a teenie tiny room where the bride is getting ready but she is running late but you want to change your lens. Or if you prefer to stand at the end of the aisle during the walk back up the aisle instead of being super close to the couple and being that bit intrusive, but you also want it to look super nice and close and creamy too but also want full length, but you don't have time to pick up the second camera let alone change your lens. It can just become such a pain.
So that would be my one thing, I'd love to add a 24-70mm back into the mix which would replace the 24mm, 55mm and 85mm. I'd then likely shoot that on one camera with the 135mm prime on the other, just due to the weight of those 70-200mm.
Still as sharp?
Over time all lenses or camera bodys can get a little soft if you bang them around. I've dropped my 85mm on a concrete floor and now it just isn't quite as sharp at 1.8-2.8mm as it has been in the past. I did also drop one of my Sony A7R III's on the grass but it doesn't seem to have made a difference, I can't even tell which one it was now. So other than that lens needing to go away to be serviced or fixed, everything else is still super sharp.
Did my style change or my preset?
I still use the same preset as my base, but I do tweak it a bit differently to get the look that I want, it was never a one click edit with Canon and it still isn't with Sony. But has my style really changed? I don't think so. Here are some of my Canon shots from 2019 back verses my Sony shots. All edited with CT presets in Lightroom except the portraits, which I edit in Photoshop. I've included different locations and lighting situations so you can get a good idea of how I'd edit and shoot each for comparison.
CANON
SONY
Problems?
I have noticed that in the studio when using the strobe I do need to change the brightness on the LCD to be around -1 or -2 to get it accurate to what it will look like on the computer. It's not so much a problem as just something that is required when working in a darker environment with a strobe. Once you know how to fix it, it's fine.
One thing that does not annoy me so much but I catch myself out on it a lot, is if you cover the little sensor where the eye piece is accidentally, say when showing a client a photo the screen goes black. And I totally get why it does this, but I do always have to explain it or adjust how I hold the camera when clients go to touch the screen or when I'm teaching someone and I move my own hand in front of it while trying to show them something. Very trivial.
Things I love?
Eye tracking? Always. But I also love the location of the dials and the custom set up of all the different buttons that I did after watching Chris Turners videos on Youtube on this. This has made me so fast in changing my settings, especially as I shoot fully manual so I like to have control of everything.
If you are changing, I highly recommend watching his videos, I found it super easy and I know he has a bunch more on newer models on his Youtube Channel too.
What about overshooting?
So, one of the biggest things for me was with Canon and my not so sharp images, I had to shoot so many more images of the same stuff to make sure they were in focus. Now I don't, and I still don't. The main benefit of this would be that I don't have any where near as many photos to cull, and again I don't have to zoom in when culling to check that they are in focus because it's really obvious if they aren't, they're either in focus, or really out of focus because I didn't focus. This is a massive time saver for me, that I really did have a big issue with before.
Now, again, regardless of what gear your own, new gear generally speaking is always super sharp, but as it gets used and banged around it can loose that so if you aren't moving brands but you are having issues, just get your gear serviced and calibrated. It will save you a lot of head aches.
Where did I buy my kit from?
I got my new kit from James at Auckland Camera Center who was super duper helpful and as I mentioned above, I used Chris Turners videos on Youtube to set it all up before my shoot and customise the buttons.
