Published: September 5, 2018
And then there were three…
Sony led. Canon and Nikon followed.
The great news for Sony shooters is now that Canon and Nikon have officially embraced fullframe mirrorless as the future – the competition is on.
Where Canon EOS R & Nikon Z Hit:
Fast AF
Canon EOS R claims the World’s fastest autofocus with over 5.000 AF points! That’s a LOT!
Fast Glass
Nikon grabbed the headlines with their $6,000 manual focus 50mm F0.95 lens – but you could buy both Canon’s $2,300 50mm F1.2 and $3,000 28-70mm F2 for $700 less…and get AF…
F1.8 Lenses
Both Canon and Nikon will release a 35mm F1.8, which hits the sweet spot many Sony users have requested. The exceptional FE 85mm F1.8 is the biggest bargain of the Sony lens line-up. Can we please get a FE 35mm F1.8?
Nikon Z Built-in 8K Intervalometer
Love this and really hope it appears in future Sony Cameras! Now that Sony dumped their camera apps – just build the Intervalometer into the camera and be done with it!
10 bit 4:2:2 output to External Recorder
Both Canon EOS R & Nikon Z feature 10 bit 4:2:2 video output to External Recorder
Multiple Aspect Ratios
Adding 1:1 and 4:3 Aspect Ratios to Sony a7 Series has long been near the top of my Wish List – hope this is another nudge in that direction.
Canon Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R
This is really cool. Sony could use an LA-EA3 with a drop-in filter holder.
Where Canon EOS R & Nikon Z Missed:
No Eye AF – or Limited Eye AF
Eye AF is a godsend if you shoot people. Nikon Z doesn’t have it. EOS R has limited Eye AF but with AF-S which is not nearly as useful as AF-C Eye AF.
Crappy Battery Life
Canon EOS R and Nikon Z batteries seem to be clones of the much-maligned Sony W battery used in a7 Series Mark I & II cameras – rather than the much improved Sony NP-FZ100 Lithium-Ion Battery used in a9 and a7 Mark III cameras.
Single Card Slots
Canon EOS R and Nikon Z somehow missed the memo that pros want two card slots! Once again this feels more like a Mark II clone than a Mark III competitor.
Buffer Size
Sony a7 Mark III have a MUCH larger buffer than Nikon Z (not sure yet about Canon EOS R.)
Compromised Continuous FPS
Sony a7 III/ a7R III allow full AF/AE up to top 10FPS frame rates – Canon EOS R and Nikon Z only offer full functions at 3 FPS and 5.5 FPS respectively.
No IBIS on Canon EOS R
Canon EOS R relies upon lenses to provide image stabilization yet it’s missing on their 28-70mm F2 and their RF primes. This also mean no image stabilization for a wide range of adapted lenses like Leica glass or even Canon FD.
4K Video on Canon EOS R Requires 1.8x Crop
While Sony offers 4K from the full width of the sensor, Canon EOS-R 4K recording requires a MASSIVE 1.8x Crop – just like Canon 5D IV.
Closed Lens Mount
One of the best things Sony did was to open E-mount to third-parties. Nikon Z and Canon EOS R are not open which means all third-party lenses and adapter will have to be reverse-engineered.
Limited Native Lens Line-up
Canon & Nikon spotted Sony a five year head start during which Sony has built an impressive line-up of 30 lenses. Canon & Nikon have a LOT of catching up to do. Don’t expect Sony to let off the gas…
No compatibility with EOS-M or Nikon 1 lenses
While Canon EOS R offers EF/EF-S lenses adapters with and Nikon Z has adapter providing AF with certain F-mount lenses – both slammed the door on their previous mirrorless lens lines.
What Do You Like/Hate?
I want to hear from you. Leave your likes and dislikes in the comments…
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43 thoughts on “Why Canon EOS R & Nikon Z Fullframe Mirrorless Will Help Sony Shooters”
Hi Brian
Yes, the both missed the mark on two card slots. Not being able to use previous lens and being proprietary is a Good Thing. I believe a quote from Steve Jobs!
While pros can’t live without two card slots, lots of amature buyers out there. After getting used to eye autofocus, I don’t think i could live without it anymore. I feel like canon did great marketing in the short weeks up to launch, but they missed it with crop 4k and no IBIS.
The battery review is a little surprising.
>> they missed it with crop 4k and no IBIS
And in reality, no eye-af. Eye-af only in AF-S is pointless.
The 4K crop is troubling for sure, living without IBIS is doable *IF* the glass used for that 4K video is stabilized. But EyeAF is perfectly fine in AF-S for deliberate portraiture (I’m not talking family pictures of crawling toddlers & kids here).
What I don’t get is why Sony would not or could not make a much more competible AF adapter for there A mount lenses. If Sigma could make and adapter to work so incredibly well with EF mount lenses for Sony E mount bodies, surely Sony could make an almost seemless AF adapter for their A mount lenses.
If (and I know it may not be likely) someone reverse-engineered the Canon EOS R mount and made an Sony/Minolta A mount adapter, I somewhat expect Canon’s Dual Pixel AF to work reasonably well with even old Minolta AF lenses, creating a weird upgrade path from A mount to R mount. 😉 (But I too would miss eye AF in AF C.)
Is Sony’s limitation with AF on old Sony/Minolta lenses adapted to FE mount really an Marketing or resource allocation issue? Almost suspecting that there is some technical issue as well?
Improvement with SSM lenses would appear to be possible. Not so much with Screw-Drive
Indeed I would like to sell my minolta md III 35 1.8 in order to replace it with a Sony (g?.. not gm at 1500 usd please), in similar size?… simething im between the zeiss 55 and the fe 85 :).
Now Sony really need to introduce the new curved sensor tech and negate this “large mount is better marketing” that’s being shopped around by CaNikon. Maybe then Sony can get back to pushing the “small lens is better for smaller cameras marketing” which it is.
I believe curved sensor technology is aimed at smart phones or fixed lens cameras rather than existing lens designs.
If a curved sensor were on an interchangeable lens camera, it would require cometely new optics that strike the imaging surface at different distances. No native optics, no 3rd party, nothing would be compatible and it would all start over.
I’m not techie for sure, but seem to remember Leica making a big deal about their M sensor with micro lenses that curved toward the center of the frame on those early M digitals. When I think “Curved Sensor” this is what I’m thinking, something akin to a dinner plate, curved slightly on the edges. Might be a batty idea…….
That’s NOT a curved sensor Chris. A curved sensor would require starting from scratch with all NEW lenses designed to focus on a curved non-planar surface. Any existing legacy lenses would not be compatible with a curved sensor.
I agree, Brian, with you on eye autofocus and missing the shot on crop 4k and no IBIS. I can live with a 1 Card Slot, but prefer 2 Slots.
Left out are three things Canon has a better menu system, full weather sealing and possibly ergonomics (TBD) On Sony’s side is the better sensor with less rolling shutter issues and full frame video in 4K UHD plus HDR. although 8bit 4:2:2 HDMI out and 4:2:0 internal need to be addressed.
Menu possibly. But weather sealing is the same. Just like Sony, EOS R is dust- and moisture-resistant – fully waterproof.
both nikon and canon will have crop mode 4×5 or 4×3 and square !
i hate when your client asks for a certain aspect ratio and you can’t frame directly…
I had trouble confirming that – but 1:1 & 4:3 aspect ratios are near the top of my Wish List.
Curious why you like those aspect ratios, can crop in post and not loose quality- eh?
Because Sony aspect ratios show live crop which would allow you to compose 1:1 or 4:3 in the EVF or LCD
Sony has angled outer pixels of certain sensors as well but that not a “curved” sensor. Flat field lenses are not designed for curved sensors.
Brian,
I read the Nikon has a menu option that *turns off EFCS* beyond 1/2000th. I’d love to see that added to the the Sony firmware!
The aging A6000 did 11fps. It’s embarassing that the A7III does only 10fps. If Sony becomes more responsive to users (like Fuji did) then making the internal code more efficient means we could get 12fps, potentially. But Sony does not seem responsive. For example we still lack an LA-EA5 that combines the 4 and the 3. I could show Sony some basics on this…
I am also alarmed that Sony did away with apps. Whaaatm
Big difference in sensor readout speed between APS-C and Fullframe. Canon EOS F and Nikon Z are limited to 5-5.5 FPS with full functions so 10 FPS is certainly not embarrassing.
Uh… are you forgetting the that A9 does 20fps with NO blackout? How is that embarrasing?
Boom!
Currently shooting on A7 classic + A7 Mk2, Great cameras and a host of decent glasses.
The only setback I have had with Sony is lack of support in Southern Africa that is if anyone from Africa is able to buy their playmemories apps ie. the double exposure app.
As I understand from my Sony friends in the area, Sony Alpha just officially relaunched in South Africa this year, so give support some time. Play Memories is a different team which is one of the reasons Sony has started building function like Control with Smartphone into the menu.
Would love Sony to soon match Canon with its own 28-70mm f2, but at a much cheaper price and lesser weight.
AFE 28-70 F2 is certainly a possibility, but I wouldn’t expect it to be small, light or cheap…
Great work
I am still sincerely puzzled how any photo could be taken from 1839 until 2003 when Minolta introduced first camera with sensor stabilization respectively until 2004 when Canon introduced first camera with dual card slot.
People get spoiled to technology very quickly.
Yeah, and I am surprised that people whine and moan about my horse and its manure when I park it at the mall. What’s the point of this “car” stuff. We’ve done fine without them for hundreds of thousands of years.
I think both Nikon and Canon have entered the fray with valid hybrid vlogging cameras, if you are going to advicate the MF approach. But beyond that they have fallen short. The projected and collective lens roadmap is quite exciting and if both companies are able to lift their game to enter into dynamic development and release cycles – then the game is afoot. Sony take note. I am entirely happy with my A7RM3, ergonomics do not bother me overly much (as a landscape photographer) – the release I wanted at the beginning. Sony can up there game, I have no doubt, I cannot wait to see what they out with over the next two development cycles.
Even though Nikon and Canon are still in the infancy of FF mirrorless, we all can agree that a lot of Sony mirrorless converts from the Canon and Nikon DSLR world will convert back. I’m looking forward to seeing more and more used Sony glass and equipment on the market. I WILL take advantage. 😀
thanks for your rather good comparison. I´d throw Canons sensor into the bag as well. Seems to be on par with MARK IV, at least speaking about dynamic range and long exposure picture quality. System for the future built with sensor of the past.
Yes. It is the 5D IV sensor.
it is me preventing me from taking better pictures not the camera and still I´d like to have a new and even better one after several years spent with the old one. But Canon did not convince me to transfer my money to his account with neither of MKIII, MKIV and R. All are great cameras but came either too late or started to expensive. It´s a pity for canon, I am invest the money saved into education instead. Thanks Brian, your great information supported this decision of mine.
1. Sony should have made and amount muralist body
2. Sony should provide an adapter that works just as good as Canon lenses to e mount bodies
1. You’re missing how muralist bodies work. Without a mirror box there’s absolutely no reason to mount the lens 44mm from sensor – in fact it hinders optimal lens design. Therefore A-mount is not suited for muralist. Canon & Nikon also figured this out dumping their long-standing EF & F-mount in favor of all-new R & Z-mount for their muralist cameras.
2. Sony A-mount lenses fall between Canon and Nikon in terms of adaptability. Worse than Canon. Better than Nikon.
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And than Panasonic!