Check out this video from professional photographer Jason Lanier as he breaks down the 10 reasons why he stopped shooting Nikon DSLRs and mored to Sony mirrorless cameras. Jason says that he “has shot with Nikon his entire life and professional career. He switched to Sony in July 2014 (not due to a sponsorship) and hasn’t looked back since.”
Sony is obviously gaining ground on Canon and Nikon, and the Sony A7 series has made huge strides for the mirrorless camera market. What do you DSLR shooters think about Jason’s claims? Are you considering a switch to mirrorless, Sony or otherwise?
I am seriously considering bailing on Canon.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my 6D, and my 24-70 ii is to die for.
But the size of the X-T1 and the A7 line is amazing,
Couple that with the image quality and it kinda makes me feel like DSLRS might be going the way of Betamax.
Yeah I did this when I sold my 5DII and bought the A7, maybe it will suit you, but for me my A7 stayed 6 months and then sold I wish I went for 6D or D610 instead. The things that I didn’t like are:
-EVF, I think it will take more 5 years until technology can give you something to compete with OVF (very nice in daylight and so UGLY and noisy when it becomes darker)
-Battery life, sucks big time and it’s not about how many shots you take, sometimes it’s getting drained just when you use LCD/EVF.
-Handling and size, this is the major reason why I switched to mirrorless and then I found my self using big manual lenses to stay away from focus by wire crap, and the combination ended up unbalanced and I felt nervous to damage the mount if I carry it with a strap.
-Mount!!! don’t get me wrong but I shot with the X-E1 and the A7 and both mounts had big play issue that made me think my versions had a serious problem, but then everyone else had the same problem.
-Focus speed and accuracy, try to shoot you kids birthday in dim light with mirrorless and you will know what I mean.
Ahmad,
I couldn’t disagree with you more about OVF over EVF. I have been a lifelong Nikon user for more than 25 years and the last Nikon I bought costs me over five grand. I have had every Nikon worth mentioning from the film days up until the D2Xs and that was the last Nikon camera I will buy. In fact, it will be the last DSLR. I made the switch to Sony four years ago and I have not looked back since. I started with the tiny NEX-5 and then to the NEX-7 and that was enough for me to stop using my Nikon or to completely stop listing at new DSLR technology altogether.
It really doesn’t matter what Nikon or canon come out with, I’m not even tempted to read about it or see what it looks like once I switched to mirrorless cameras. I think DSLRs are dead. They are the past and mirrorless is now and the future.
Firstly, once I looked through the EVF viewfinder I realized that nothing even comes close. They are brighter and really true to what you get when you make the image. The NEX-7 was the best I had seen up until that point and I was one of the first wave of photographers in the USA to get the camera and then folks started to get it a year later or so. That camera was the singular camera to change my mind about DSLR. But you want to hear something funny, with the new Alpha series, sony has gotten way better with the technology and still I have not upgraded, that NEX-7 is still good enough to do any job I take on. Mind you, I use medium format digital for my really big jobs, but my bread and butter on the road remains my now old NEX-5 and NEX-7 cameras.
Secondly, for all the reasons that Jason outlined here I switched. But the two most important reasons were the price and the size of the camera. For a person that travels at least three times a year, nothing beats these small cameras that give me full control over all the features I use in a camera.
I found the peaking feature to be absolutely essential and the expanded focus to be capital and critical. I always use them.
Thirdly, the modular nature of the sony like does not alienate anybody who may have had major investments in other brands’ glass. You can use any lens on the system and that is of major importance to me. This feature alone, was enough to make switch. I did not have to make another major investment into buying new lenses. Heck, I took lenses out of retirement and have not bought a new lens in ages for one simple reason: I took my old Nikon 50mm f1.4 out of retirement and now it resides permanently on my NEX-7. That’s right, it’s now the only lens I use on the camera. This has helped me move back to the tried and true old principles that I started with in the film days. It’s kept me challenged and focused on only one thing: good image making. It has simplified my life. I use a 24mm f2.8 Nikon lens on my NEX-5. With those two lenses alone I shoot all of my assignments without worry and keep the dust off my sensors from constantly switching lenses. I find manual focus(which is the only way I shoot) to be fool hardy. I rarely get out of focus images when I enact the peaking and expanded focus when shooting manually. I’m not a sports shooter so it’s not critical to me, though I do occasionally shoot wildlife on my travels without worry.
Fourthly, I’m not a target in the streets and nobody thinks I’m a professional photographer or even know I’m a photographer anymore. I quite like the fact that I can just blend in and not spook folks with the boastful and showily big camera hanging around my neck. With my tinny cameras tucked away in a tiny bag or in my pockets, I take them out when needed and put them away when I’ve gotten the shot and it never happened. I’m now a ghost shooter. I revel in being the invisible photographer. Folks wonder when I have time to shoot as much as I do, because they never see me shooting at all, yet they know I have a heck of a lot of work. That’s because my tiny cameras only come out when I see what I want and gone after the image has been captured. Nothing else I own would allow me this invisible status.
Simply put, sony has singlehanded lay revolutionized the 35mm handheld photography world. This is not to discount the inroads that other brands have contributed, but sony is clearly the leader in the mirrorless market.
I realize that folks are sentimental about the brands they have been loyal to all these years, but I have been telling my peers and colleagues for the last four years that DSLR is dead and they have been looking at me crazy up until now. They are coming late to the party, but steadily coming. Folks are waking up and realizing that my image quality has not suffered and the only thing is that their pockets have been suffering all this time. Now they have finally seen the light. DSLR is dead.
Excellent comment and comparisons. I love your reasoning on the products. I was myself Nikon user and switched to Sony using A7. Love it. You have a type in your intro mored vs moved otherwise loved and thank you for your expertise.
Mark
This guy’s the first to make any sense about mirrors. Thanks for sharing it.
Now a bunch of what he wishes Canon does can be done on the Canon 6D. Some more can be done on Canon 6D with Magic Lantern.
Some of it I was amazed by though. Very cool. Really makes me think.
Yeah, I was thinking about the 6D too when he was talking about the WiFi capabilities.
I have used mirrorless and DSLRs for years and my conclusion is the opposite: DSLRs are DSLRs. But he is right in that nobody tries to steal the mirrorless.
Sony has created a very interesting product in the A7 (heck.. the Axxxx series are pretty cool too). Many of these features are truly amazing.
About the only serious complaint I’ve read about the A7 is autofocus speed, which may not be a problem for many applications, but it’s an issue for the two areas I mostly shoot: birds and sports.
Once they get EVFs up to snuff as well this sort of technology may be the end of traditional SLRs.
There will always be multiple “revelations and rationalizations” for doing business the way one chooses to. Doing a video as such is just a little over the top and of course brings as much attention to ones self. That’s business I suppose.
My wife and I are both APS-C Nikon shooters and now do most of our photography on mirrorless. Wife uses a Sony RX 100 II and I use a Panny GX7. Nikon? Nowhere to be seen. Canon released obsolete mirrorless gear for their new mirrorless products. I don’t see us going back to the duopoly.
Sounds really interesting. I am thinking about moving away from Canon(7D, 70D). and have tried the D7100 and am thinking of the D810.. Since I a looking at full frame. no matter which way I go, I will have to buy new lenses..
I shoot mainly conferences of 100 tp 3000 people and also many portraits.
New tech always interests me and having a led viewfinder is more professional than looking at the back of the camera,, sounds good.
The sharpness is a plus.
Does anyone at there do the same type of work using the A7R?
Hbilt@biltphoto.com
Sums up a lot of my feelings. I’ve been loyal to Nikon for 50 (yes Fifty!) years and now I’m going to look at Sony….I’m looking for new-small-good camera – this might be the one.
Hello,
Here are two important considerations. One is in regards to the Sony A7s and the other is in regards to both cameras. 1. Does the Sony A7s have enough resolution? My understanding is the maximum resolution at maximum is no more than 14 mp. 2. How well do things attach to the camera body (lens fit securely, adapters fit securely, flash fit securely)? I mean do things attach solid or is there wiggling to it once attached. thank you
Hello. Here is one other thing. What is the estimate on the shutter actuations? It might not do much good if a photographer wears it out after 6 months.
I’ve seen this guy before, He is not as good as he thinks he is. He is pretty full of himself. Most of us pro shooters travel, it’s no big deal, but he is constantly bragging about where he goes. That should tell you something about his ability.
When “supposed to be” professional starts his “comparison” with price, you can close your eyes with *facepalm* face. It’s advert. Ugly, “bad actor” advert which nobody believe.
Definitely Nikon has its own drawbacks, but hardly you’ll say “I cannot make pro shots because I use wrong camera”. “Wrong camera” is YOUR HEAD. Stupid, mediocre head, which cannot produce anything what people will remember after 100 years. Take it and continue to fight on forums – being busy you won’t irritate real photographers with your ridiculous “Nikon vs Sony vs Canon”.
It would be more credible if the video was at least shot with some sort of logic. Why use meaningless cuts to spend 90 percent of the time talking to the right side of the frame?
Also asking to be sponsored kinda reeks a bit.
But I will look at these mirrorless things. I have known for years that the sensors in Nikon are from Sony. It is no secret. It is not the camera that takes the photos though. It is the photographer. HCB wondered the world with a 50 stuck on his camera. He seemed to do ok.