Switching from Canon to Sony - 2 Years Later

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After using Canon cameras for 15 years (XTi > T2i > 60D > 6D > 6DII > EOSR), I made the leap to Sony in 2021. I thought, “I’ll just take a look and see what Sony has to offer, but Canon will still be my main system.” 

Before I knew it I had 3 Sony cameras and my remaining Canon was spending most of it’s time in a drawer. 

But this really isn’t a “Canon bad, Sony good” situation. I was really rooting for Canon, and even now every time I pick up my EOS R I’m reminded of how good Canon is at making cameras that just feel great to use. But they weren’t meeting my needs, and at a certain point, what’s the point in brand loyalty to a multi billion dollar corporation? 

Before diving too far into my switch, it’s probably important to point out that in today’s world it’s almost impossible to buy a bad camera. As long as you're getting a camera from any of the main brands like Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Fuji, or Nikon you’re getting a good camera (I even have an entire video about my first time using a Nikon camera and it was fantastic). 

But while there are no bad cameras, there are definitely cameras better suited to specific needs, workflows, and preferences than others. 

My EOS R is a terrific camera, but by 2021 it was starting to feel limited in a few ways, the biggest of which being the lack of full frame 4K. I used a MetaBones adapter to reduce some of the 4K crop, and it really did help, but it also seriously degraded the autofocus. Plus the R’s 4K file sizes are huge and the rolling shutter is a big problem. 

At that time, the R5 made a lot of sense in the Canon ecosystem, but it was still having overheating issues (also keep in mind that I live in the desert where temperatures are over 100F for about half the year) and the Micro HDMI output for video was really just absurd (I definitely need to make a whole post about what a big insult this tiny connector is). 

And I really was committed to Canon, not just because that’s what I used personally, but I’d built up two career tech programs based around Canon gear as a high school Digital Media teacher. I ordered hundreds of Canon bodies and lenses over the years, and dang, even the least expensive Rebels were robust enough to stand up to use and abuse by high school students. 

Canon makes good cameras and incredible lenses. 

But I couldn’t help feeling as though I was compromising in some way no matter which Canon camera I might choose to upgrade too. My needs seemed simple: 

•Full Frame 4K
•Fast and Reliable Autofocus
•No Overheating Issues
•Easy connections for switchers and monitors
•No recording limit
•Flip out screen

It’s really a pretty basic list and on the surface Canon has multiple models that include everything. Oh– except for that overheating issue. Oh– and even the most expensive models have Micro HDMI which is an unreliable pain to use. Oh– and there’s this weird 30 minute recording limit sometimes?

So I decided to put my brand loyalty to the side and objectively look at everything available to make the right choice for my workflow. Nikon was barely entering the mirrorless market at the time, so they didn’t have much that would’ve worked. Panasonic/Lumix seemed to offer the best overall bang for your buck, but didn’t have good autofocus which I really need as someone who mostly works alone. It seemed like every system was close to being perfect with one or two things that ended up being dealbreakers. I even took a really serious look at Blackmagic and rented a 6K Pro, which was honestly amazing. 

I absolutely love that camera and was really close to going with it, despite it not being full frame. But ultimately the lack of autofocus proved to be too big of a barrier for a one-person workflow where I needed to be not only behind but also in front of the camera. 

So then there was only Sony. 

I honestly avoided Sony because the self appointed “brand evangelists” were so aggressive. Sony felt almost like a “Cool Kids’ Club™” that I didn’t want to be a part of. But on paper they had multiple cameras that offered everything I was looking for…and more!

Full frame 4K? No overheating? Full size HDMI? Amazing autofocus? Even wild frame rates like full frame 4K120?! Internal 10-bit?! Yes please. 

So I ordered the Sony a7SIII and the Sony 24mm f1.4 GM lens. It was expensive, but I was hoping it’d justify itself as a work expense and also be able to stick around for several years without a need to upgrade. 

I got the a7SIII and…it was fine. 

Based on the number of people who described it as “the best video camera ever” I was honestly expecting to have my eyebrows blown off by the awesomeness. But it was just fine.

If anything, it made me appreciate my EOS R even more because, while stuck at 1080p, it held up well and the footage even upscaled to 4K without losing too much quality.

Part of my worried I had made a mistake. 

But after a few months things changed and I “got it.” I think there’s an important lesson here because it’s easy to watch some YouTube videos or read a review and think, “Wow! This new gadget will definitely change everything instantly!” And sometimes that happens, but more often than not, it doesn’t. 

It took months of actually using the a7SIII to get a feel for it, to get settings dialed in, to see the benefit of that 12mp sensor and 10-bit footage, and eventually I started noticing all the ways that my EOS R just couldn’t keep up. It took some time, but wow, that Sony really won me over! 

So much so that I no wanted to get a second one to replace my R as a B camera. I figured having a second a7SIII would be best, but in late 2021 they were absolutely unavailable. So I took a look at the FX3. It’s the same camera just in a different body, and better yet, there was one available! (Literally, there was one available in the entire United States.)

Having two of the exact same camera is awesome for efficiency. The buttons/settings/etc all match and you can get things done insanely fast. Even though the internals of the FX3 and a7SIII are the same, the bodies are different which means there’s always a little friction switching between them, but wow, now the FX3 had totally won me over. 

It’s just so darn practical. I love the form factor and the XLR audio handle made it so much easier to use any mic I want and recorded directly to the camera with no need to sync external audio afterwards. There is a similar XLR interface for the a7 style bodies, but while the features are the same, the build isn’t as robust and I always worry about how much pressure it puts on the hot shoe, so I much prefer the FX3’s full handle that’s also supported my two screw mounts. 

And the FX3 also has the added benefit of a built in fan, of which I’m a fan because there’s never any concern for overheating. My a7SIII has never overheated on me, but when filming outside on a 120F+ day, the peace of mind given by the FX3 is priceless. 

So now I found myself with two Sony cameras and things seemed perfect…almost. What about still photos? 

Since the EOS R has a higher resolution sensor, I had been using that as my “take everywhere” hybrid photo/video camera, but again, it was always a compromise. I could take high resolution photos that were great for cropping and printing, but then I was mostly stuck with 1080 video footage or heavily cropped 4K with severe rolling shutter.

My Sonys were great for video, but the 12mp photo resolution left little room for cropping, compositing, or printing large. 

Enter the a7IV. 

The a7IV isn’t quite as video-capable as the other cameras, but it’s darn close. It’s also got a 33mp sensor, which is stunning for photos. And even though it’s still a pricey camera, it’s not as expensive as the other two, so I felt a lot better about taking it everywhere. 

So that’s how I ended up with 3 Sony cameras. 

And I’m not saying that Sony cameras are perfect (lack of firmware updates, strange ergonomics, really bad/inaccurate screens…), but for me this switch meant going from a camera system were I was forced to find workarounds for limitations to a system where it feels like there are very few limitations and the gear just gets out of the way.

Things have changed in the past two years too: Nikon has some really competitive cameras, Panasonic introduced phase detect AF, and Canon has released a lot of new cameras along with firmware updates that have really helped mitigate overheating issues.

So again, there’s really no such thing as a bad camera. 

If you’re feeling stuck in a system that’s not meeting your needs, I definitely recommend taking a step back and looking as objectively as possible at as many different options as possible. If you can, rent some different cameras for a week or two to see what they feel like in your hands and how they fit into your workflow. I’ve used lensrentals.com many times for this, but there are a lot of similar services out there depending on where you live.

More than anything, whatever camera you use, I hope it’s something you have a lot of fun with!

I’ve got a “Review Trilogy” that covered all three of my Sony cameras if you want some more in-depth into about them: