Anyone else make the mirrorless switch?

[SouthFla]

So I ditched all of my Canon dSLR's and glass, and invested in Sony's a7R II mirrorless system. Admittedly I was nervous as a life-long Canon shooter. I shoot primarily commercial/event/portrait stuff, although landscape work will always be my favorite (but rarely pays the bills lol). I gotta say the Sony system is flat out spectacular. A bit of a learning curve, but goodness the quality of the images are spectacular and dynamic range and ISO capabilities run circles around my Canon gear. All of this in a form factor a fraction the weight & size of my 1D's and 5DIII's, 70-200 2.8's etc. I went from a large heavy rolling Pelican case to equivalent body & glass that fits in a small backpack!

I'm not confident enough yet in the focusing to try action/sports, but that may come with time and practice. The "Eye-AF" is game changing for portrait and event work, and I find myself giggling like a kid at Christmas when looking at the unbelievable resolution in the 42mp files LOL.

Anyone else make the switch??

 

[trivan]

I didn't "switch" but invested in the Fuji world. I'm an amateur but enjoy photography and have been shooting with Nikon for over 20 years. I find that for sports mirrorless is just too slow. I know there are review/posts that some of the newer systems are very quick, eg Sony A9, but that is financially out of reach at this point. The Fuji X-T2, is supposed to be one of the fastest, but I still cannot capture pictures as quickly. Probably just me at this point, but my D500 is amazing at obtaining focus and holding it. Personally, the size factor is minimal once you get away from "kit" lenses and battery life is horrible.

So I been using my nikon for sports and shooting with long lens and fuji for my walk around and general shooting. I find this to be a great combination. I agree the image quality is amazing.

 

[Dline Bullyz]

I made the switch from Nikon. I shoot both photography and video. I own three Sony cinema bodies, the A7sii and the a6300 crop. For action and sports, I highly recommend picking up a second body just for that. The a6000,a6300 both shoot 11fps, do a great job tracking and can be picked up relatively cheap since the release of the a6500.

 

[Optionman]

Switched to the Sony a6000. Here are some shots. View attachment 378300View attachment 378301


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[Tinpanva]

lol, I'm so embedded with canon glass I'm not sure I can ever leave them. If I could, it would be the sony.

 

[Reef Bass]

Canon rumors continues to assert Canon is working on a full frame mirrorless back with EF mount.

May well be a case of too little too late. I am astounded how slowly Canon and Nikon have moved on the mirrorless market.

 

[IPT]

I bought a Sony A7r used. I figured it was a cheeper way to "test the water). I also bought a Ziess lens for it (which is a phenomenal combination, and not cheep!) but often use it with a Metabones adapter and my Canon glass. The A7r is the last generation but the image quality is amazing. The focusing is slow but I use it mostly for landscape currently so no issue. I have not seen the weight loss issues since I still lug around the heavy Canon glass. I haven't seen much about the new generation for wildlife or sports but it may be up to (or getting very close to) the task. As mentioned the image quality on all levels (including the increase MP over my 6D and 7D mark II) is quite welcome.

The major con is battery life. it pails compared to the Canon, and that is with the LCD off most of the time. I also shoot Aurora and also have had some issues with using it in very cold temps (single digits or sub zero) that I do not have with the Canon gear.

 

[BlueCorn]

lol, I'm so embedded with canon glass I'm not sure I can ever leave them. If I could, it would be the sony.

Metabones.

 

[Reef Bass]

How has your experience been with the Metabones adapters Doug? Most features still intact? Autofocus not too slow?

 

[IPT]

I can't speak for Doug but my experience with the Metabones has been great. No issues, no lost capabilities. I've even used my 500mm lens hooked up to it. Come to think of it I think I was manually focusing then but I don't recall why.

I think it is the cheaper adapters that may snip some functions. Honestly with a 1 y/o I have not been out as much but I am off to Denali NP next week so hopefully I will get some shoting in up there.

 

[BlueCorn]

How has your experience been with the Metabones adapters Doug? Most features still intact? Autofocus not too slow?

I've never had a problem. That said, AF speed has never been a concern of mine. I'm a landscape shooter. I'm usually focusing manually.

 

[SouthFla]

lol, I'm so embedded with canon glass I'm not sure I can ever leave them. If I could, it would be the sony.

LMAO yep, been there did that. Just finished selling 5DIIIs and 4L's for the Sony system. I gotta say, it's really invigorated me :thumbsup:

Just did a quick trip up to Chicago with family. It wasn't a photo trip, but I managed to snap a few as the family was walking and touring. I think this is a pretty incredible example of the a7RII resolution. Here's the full frame shot, shot on Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 manual lens on compressed raw (apologize for the size and processing-doing quick edits on my iPad while on the plane):

Here's a 100% crop from that brick building middle left side of image-you can see people! Amazing!

Pretty incredible camera IMO, and with the amazing 15mm ultra wide and 55 f1.8 its pretty good for some walk around shots!

 

[IPT]

SouthFla - so what lenses did you end up with? I love my 24-105 and 70-200 Canons and I am unaware of anything Sony has (zoom wise) that can compete.

 

[BlueCorn]

Louis, you should check the new Sony 70-200.

Also, no reason you can't keep using Canon glass.

 

[SouthFla]

SouthFla - so what lenses did you end up with? I love my 24-105 and 70-200 Canons and I am unaware of anything Sony has (zoom wise) that can compete.

I'm totally changing the way I shoot. I had always used big heavy L zooms (70-200 2.8IS my all time fav), but as I get older the long day shoots with the heavy equip are really taking a toll. SO, I'm going small primes, and the form factor is a FABULOUS change. Right now my minimalist kit is the Voightlander 15mm f/4.5 (I got a fantastically sharp corner-to-corner copy), the Sony FE 55mm f/1.8,and the FE 85mm f/1.8. :thumbsup:

 

[jda]

How are these mirrorless for reliability? I am near 250K shots a year and have found that only 1D and 5D to hold up for a few years. I am always just a year from my next camera.

Also, how are the landscapes with depth? I struggles with depth of outdoor landscape here in Colorado and still use film if I really want a particular shot.

Those are some nice walk-around shots.

 

[SouthFla]

How are these mirrorless for reliability? I am near 250K shots a year and have found that only 1D and 5D to hold up for a few years. I am always just a year from my next camera.

Also, how are the landscapes with depth? I struggles with depth of outdoor landscape here in Colorado and still use film if I really want a particular shot.

Thanks jda (LOL you stole my initials). Certainly can't attest to reliability or longevity, and they don't feel as "battle-tough" as my 1Ds' or even 5dIIIs, but there seems to be quite a few pros also making the switch and putting them through a workout with good results. But IMO it's too early to know...

As far as landscape use, IMO they run circles around Canon, and the aRII may be the best (non-MF) landscape camera manufactured to date. The amount of detail and dynamic range on the FF 42MP sensor is nothing short of astounding. Photos where I'd previously take a -2/+2 5-picture bracket to stack the dynamic range can now be accomplished often in a single shot. It's amazing to expose for the foreground, blow-out the sky/highlights, and be able to completely pull it back and recover all of the sky detail in post. No bracketing/hdr processing or grad ND filters required :spin1:

And with my $700 Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5, I've been shooting at 5.6 and have everything from 3' to infinity in TACK sharp focus! I just did a three building architecture shoot and found myself damn near giddy over the experience with the mirrorless... :thumbsup:

 

[jda]

You were here before me... should have grabbed the initials. Thanks for your thoughtful response. I am not a professional photographer, but I take a lot of photos at about 1000-1500 a day close up of houses. Any full frame and a 15-30MM lens will work for me, but I have only found 1d/5d and L series to last beyond six months... even then, I nearly always have a lens going back for new USM, or something, since they get so much use and I always have a backup of the same lens.

I will keep my eye out on these in a few years when they get more use out of them to see how they will last. I am totally OK with change, but I need them to be as reliable as the old stuff... and so few things are nowadays.

I don't mind film for an exceptional occasion... and why not just keep the equipment since it is not worth much.

 

[Nixy]

My first switch was to the Panasonic LUMIX G and GH line. So many fantastic lens choices bc you. An use Panasonic and Olympus. I was getting geared up to buy the GH5 but I got impatient waiting for the release and I bought the latest Olympus. The EM1 markII. I can use all the glass I have already collected and the camera is amazing! I used to shoot Canon and loved my Canon gear too but I would never go back to a bulky, heavy full frame. I love the freedom and fun that a mirrorless provides!


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[SouthFla]

My first switch was to the Panasonic LUMIX G and GH line. So many fantastic lens choices bc you. An use Panasonic and Olympus. I was getting geared up to buy the GH5 but I got impatient waiting for the release and I bought the latest Olympus. The EM1 markII. I can use all the glass I have already collected and the camera is amazing! I used to shoot Canon and loved my Canon gear too but I would never go back to a bulky, heavy full frame. I love the freedom and fun that a mirrorless provides!


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LOL yeah I kind of feel like I'm "late to the party" :lol2: It is truly such a joy to have an entire kit that fits in a tiny backpack and produces such amazing images. And I picked up the tiny but wickedly-powerful Nissin i40 flash. What a fun kit :thumbsup: