Converts, a question for you

[Jeff A]

I have recently gotten into photography for the 3rd time (I kept donating my cameras to other people). When I started researching cameras, Sony was on my list because my Niece's Husband had an A7M2. I thought it looked nice but that's it. Sony was not in my mind's eye, a leader in the field. In the past, I had had a couple of Minolta's and a Canon. Of course the big name (to me) was Nikon. I did a lot of studying and here I am with a A73, but that's done and I'm very happy.

So I read this Forum Daily and I see people moving from other brands to Sony. Most of the folks here are not new to this endevour like I am and they, in many cases, have a sizeable investment in their gear. So, if you are one of those who come from another reputable camera maker, what made you switch? What were the prime reasons that you came to Sony? Did you achieve what you wanted to? Tell me your stories, please.

 

[Reciprocum]

I converted not only from another brand (Panasonic) but from another system altogether (m43). I came to Sony because I wanted 100% silent FF with good eye-AF and in 2018 Sony was the only one offering that.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I moved from Nikon, but still have my Nikon gear at the moment, in use by Mrs Kev. My reasons for swapping were firstly the resolution offered by the RIV, because I shoot a lot of smaller subjects and the ability to crop and retain massive levels of detail is important, but the thing that really swung me was being shown the 200 600. I just had to have it.

 

[WeeMalky]

Hi Jeff I moved from Nikon & Olympus first to crop then full-frame Sony still have the crop A6500 good just to stick it in a small bag. I have four friends that I go out with pre covid on a Wednesday to photograph and socialise. I used to get ribbed about my Sony gear oh we see you have your toy camera again. They now all have Sony gear. I originally moved having read all I could and the weight of my Nikon gear was heavy having said that the better the glass you buy the heavier it gets in saying that I am very happy with my Sony equipment it fulfils all my need as a happy hobbyist

 

[liggy]

Not a convert. More of a serious GAS sufferer.
I’m primarily a Fuji shooter but added the A9II to my kit for the AF / tracking and better tele glass options. 100% happy with the Sony.

I won’t be switching because all cameras have strengths and weaknesses for differing use cases. I suppose if for some reason you could only have one camera it would be the A1 but hey - cameras and lenses are way cheaper than girlfriends, ex-wives and cars

 

[Jeff A]

Hi Jeff I moved from Nikon & Olympus first to crop then full-frame Sony still have the crop A6500 good just to stick it in a small bag. I have four friends that I go out with pre covid on a Wednesday to photograph and socialise. I used to get ribbed about my Sony gear oh we see you have your toy camera again. They now all have Sony gear. I originally moved having read all I could and the weight of my Nikon gear was heavy having said that the better the glass you buy the heavier it gets in saying that I am very happy with my Sony equipment it fulfils all my need as a happy hobbyist

Aah, Socialize. I think I remember what that is. I have been stuck here for so long I can barely figure out how to leave. Interesting to hear about Camera Snobbery. That could keep a lot of people from moving on I think.

 

[Jeff A]

Not a convert. More of a serious GAS sufferer.
I’m primarily a Fuji shooter but added the A9II to my kit for the AF / tracking and better tele glass options. 100% happy with the Sony.

I won’t be switching because all cameras have strengths and weaknesses for differing use cases. I suppose if for some reason you could only have one camera it would be the A1 but hey - cameras and lenses are way cheaper than girlfriends, ex-wives and cars

GAS can be a serious problem. It is pretty easy to get that problem. I find the shopping part fun. I should probably see an analyst but that would cut down on my GAS money. My problem is Camera Gear is not the only thing on my list.

 

[WeeMalky]

GAS can be a serious problem. It is pretty easy to get that problem. I find the shopping part fun. I should probably see an analyst but that would cut down on my GAS money. My problem is Camera Gear is not the only thing on my list.

I know that feeling Jeff I have as many bikes as I have cameras at least they are all getting used well that's my excuse

 

[Johnmoonie]

I moved from Nikon . Primarily I was looking for a longer lens than my 100-400mm for my bird photography, especially ahead of a safari. I did fancy the Nikon 500PF but although released there were supply problems. A friend had switched from Canon to Sony which surprised me. Research done and I saw the reports on the 200-600mm and Sony focus system. So happy with change, but still awaiting the safari thanks to covid !!

 

[nokk]

i started with canon but never fell in love with their dslrs. i bought a fuji x series in 2012 and shot that until a few years ago when the fuji gfx 50r came out. the fuji gfx 50r is my primary camera. it's an amazing landscape and travel camera, but it doesn't shoot action or wildlife very well. so i looked around for a ff mirrorless with a long wildlife lens option and ended up buying a sony a7riv and 200-600mm.

the fuji cameras have a soul, my old canon dslrs didn't and i had some initial reservations about how the sony and i were going to get along. i found the a7riv also has a soul. but unlike the easygoing fuji, the sony is a wild toddler prodigy that has only learned how to say "mine," "no," and "cookie." now that i've gotten to know the a7riv and submitted to it's will, i've learned that it will do whatever i ask of it, provided i ask politely enough and offer cookies. just kidding, of course, but getting the menu setting right was a nightmare coming from the fuji. the a1 is on preorder, i'm hoping this one comes potty trained.

 

[Ivanturas]

Coming from Nikon, here. First of all, I think it's only fair to also point out what I actually miss about my old cameras: grip & feeling. While my Sony feels nice, my Nikons felt much more robust, rugged and firm.

Now, why did I switch? I wanted something more compact and lightweight, for starters. My line of work requires me to carry lots of stuff around tough terrain, so I really wanted to downsize to mirrorless. Nikon's Z line was a choice, of course, but it still meant replacing lenses, unless I went for an adapter, which defeated the whole purpose.

So, acknowledging that no matter which brand, going mirrorless would be a switch in the whole system, the comparison between systems was more head-to-head. Got to say, while the Z mount seems awesome, I grew tired of waiting for Nikon to offer something close to my needs at a good price point. Picked Sony because of the possibility of upgrading within the E mount means I won't have to worry for a loooong time. I've began with a nice A6400, may eventually go with an A7SIII, maybe then an FX6? Who knows, it's just great knowing whatever still & video camera I eventually get, lenses won't be an issue. It also has the awesomest ever autofocus, and brings more bang for the buck, according to me. Maybe there's a few other competitors, but none of them have the incredibly vast ecosystem Sony offers. And I really do not want to switch mount anytime soon.

 

[pointreyes]

Back in the 80s - Olympus
From 1995 through 2015 - Canon (Elan and 5D)
From April 2015 through January 2020 - Fujifilm APSC system (a big system - over twenty lenses and six cameras).
And from November 2018 to present - Sony (AF lenses were the ZA 50, Sigma 35 1.4, and Voigtlander 10 before I made the full switch)

A brief period in 2017, I owned a Nikon D300s with the 80-400 but my small hands cramped up after only an hour of usage and it took days for the pain to go away. The Fuji X-H1 so far has been my favorite camera for ergo. The latest generation of Sony cameras feel similar to the X-H1 and so far I'm good with the second and third generation of Sony cameras. The 80-400 came in handy for me coupled to the Fuji X-Pro2 for getting images of the solar eclipse back in 2017. Eclipse - Hull Family (zhullfamily.net)

Two factors weighted in for me. One was the value of the A7ii back in November 2018. I was enjoying using vintage glass and LensBaby optics but discovered that to get the full immersion of old glass required using full frame or a focal reducer on a APSC camera and if you had IBIS then you had to deal with calculations of the focal reducer with the lenses to determine the proper setting - it was easier to just get a full frame mirrorless camera which Sony made affordable to do with the A7ii back in November 2018.

The second factor was one lens. My photography demands were changing and it demanded quite a bit of the focal range on a full frame 16-35 f/2.8 zoom lens. For APSC that would be a 11-23 f/2.8 (needed f/2.8 to keep ISO below 12,800 when using 1/160 shutter speed). A 11-23 f/2.8 APSC lens does not exist in the mirrorless or mirrored APSC line of any camera line. Since this was January 2020, there was no other mirrorless system with the AF of the A9. So the A9 with the 16-35 GM has become my mainstay. Thanks to Sony trade-up and used Sony cameras and my extensive Fujifilm system I was able to fully switch to Sony with a very healthy system of cameras and lenses. The local camera store in one day became a Fujifilm store front.

 

[liggy]

GAS can be a serious problem. It is pretty easy to get that problem. I find the shopping part fun. I should probably see an analyst but that would cut down on my GAS money. My problem is Camera Gear is not the only thing on my list.

Oh yeah. Watches, cars and saxophones for me.

i started with canon but never fell in love with their dslrs. i bought a fuji x series in 2012 and shot that until a few years ago when the fuji gfx 50r came out. the fuji gfx 50r is my primary camera. it's an amazing landscape and travel camera, but it doesn't shoot action or wildlife very well. so i looked around for a ff mirrorless with a long wildlife lens option and ended up buying a sony a7riv and 200-600mm.

the fuji cameras have a soul, my old canon dslrs didn't and i had some initial reservations about how the sony and i were going to get along. i found the a7riv also has a soul. but unlike the easygoing fuji, the sony is a wild toddler prodigy that has only learned how to say "mine," "no," and "cookie." now that i've gotten to know the a7riv and submitted to it's will, i've learned that it will do whatever i ask of it, provided i ask politely enough and offer cookies. just kidding, of course, but getting the menu setting right was a nightmare coming from the fuji. the a1 is on preorder, i'm hoping this one comes potty trained.

I am still deep into the Fuji world. They do have something special. My cars are all 6MT. Not as fast as the PDK / DSG transmissions but more engaging. It’s kind of like that for me with the Fujis.

Just sold my 50R because I have the GFX100S on preorder. The problem for me is the A9II is so good I haven’t touched the X-T2 for months.

@pointreyes - the X-H1 and A92 do feel very similar indeed.

 

[Jeff A]

I know that feeling Jeff I have as many bikes as I have cameras at least they are all getting used well that's my excuse

I used to have multiple bikes myself. The problem was they had 1 Liter plus, 4 cylinder engines. There was endless ways to spend money.

 

[nokk]

Oh yeah. Watches, cars and saxophones for me.


I am still deep into the Fuji world. They do have something special. My cars are all 6MT. Not as fast as the PDK / DSG transmissions but more engaging. It’s kind of like that for me with the Fujis.

Just sold my 50R because I have the GFX100S on preorder. The problem for me is the A9II is so good I haven’t touched the X-T2 for months.

@pointreyes - the X-H1 and A92 do feel very similar indeed.

i sold all of my x series stuff shortly after i acquired the 50r. i'm considering the new gfx100s, but i'm really happy with my 50r.

 

[liggy]

I do somewhat regret selling the 50R - it’s a great camera and all the GF glass is great but I have the first world problem of too many bodies.

If they would have used the same NP125 battery in the 100S I definitely would have kept the 50R as a backup. For me in most cases I had to use a tripod with the 50R and love the idea of having IBIS on the 100S.