The Revolution has begun! Why I switched from Canon DSLR to Sony mirrorless cameras

  Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, or wait a minute....First this: As you can tell by the title above, this particular blog post is for other photographers that follow me, especially in the boudoir genre.  So if you are a women looking into a possible boudoir session, you may want to jump to the next post!   But...if you are a boudoir photographer in particular, this could be of great use to you.  I'm Shane, the Nashville boudoir photographer. This is my story on why I made the switch from Canon DSLR, to Sony mirrorless cameras. 

  Most of us photographers get asked pretty regularly what we "shoot with", or in other words, "are you of the Canon clan, or Nikon clan?  For many years, that was the two main options that were offered in the world of DSLR cameras, and even back to the film days. (This was the first revolution; Film to digital)  Nowadays, camera makers like Sony and Panasonic have made huge waves with the mirrorless cameras that so many of us now use. Canon of course, does have their pretty stout mirrorless EOS R on offer, as well as many others in recent months.  But Sony has what I needed the most, once I decided firmly that I was going to switch to mirrorless, and sell my dearly beloved Canon 5D MKIV.  It would have been so much easier to just stay with Canon. I mean, the lenses, the menu system learning curve, the FEEL.  So obviously, I must have felt very strongly about my decision to switch makers. 

  Do I miss the 5D MKIV?  No.  I LOVED it when I had it.  But I don't miss it. When I bought it just about 1.5 years ago, and spent quite a nice sum of money on it, I could not have imagined that I would soon be selling it off, and at a pretty large loss!  But it was essential. The mirrorless revolution is here. (This is the new and second revolution in photography)  Many photographers are now buying up slightly used DSLR's for pennies on the dollar. And they are still super great cameras!  So why did I switch?

   Well, the low light capabilities were my number one reason, but there were other, including live view capability.   Of course, my Canon had very high ISO capabilities, but it just could not match the clean low light images produced by the Sony A7III, which is what I ended up purchasing from Dury's in Nashville (Durys was THE place to go in Nashville for all things photography, but shut down since the Covid thing happened)

   Being a boudoir specialist, and one who shoots mostly now in the low key, "dark and moody" style, I needed a camera body that would excel in this. Not only for photography, but for video as well, since I also shoot boudoir videography. The Sony A7III is the perfect camera for my needs. Yes, the menu system is very deep, and sometimes seemingly and notoriously a bit TOO complex. At first, I  was angry, just like most new Sony users are. But with a few days practice, it's not that hard to navigate the menu. It was worth it. 

   If you are a photographer reading this post, you have likely been thinking this whole time.."what about lenses?? Did you buy Sony lenses and sell all your Canon lenses?"    Well, that's a story in itself.  But here is the nutshell version. Obviously, being a pro photographer, I had built up a nice but small arsenal of Canon L  series lenses. My favorite was always the 24-70 2.8L.  (Click HERE to buy on Amazon)  Then there's my 70-200 2.8L. Then my Ultra wide angle 12mm Laowa zero distortion lens. What a beauty!  Then my nifty 50 1.4. Well, you know. I like my glass. Here's what I did. I kept all my Canon glass, but I bought an adapter to go between the Sony body and my Canon glass.  I had mixed results with that, and it actually created some chaos and huge frustrations for me for a while. Mostly that was due to the fact that my old 50mm 1.4 was just...older. Something in it wasn't communicating well with the adapter. I somehow caused my lens to stop down with each shot taken. But the aperture readout was not showing it!  Arggg!   So I decided to fix it once and for all, and go get my first ever Zeiss lens. I grabbed the 55mm 1.8. Now this lens, I LOVE. It is incredibly sharp, and operates like a dream in low light. (Buy it HERE on Amazon)   I also still connect the adapter when I need to connect my wider Canon 24-70 to the Sony. I use the 55mm and the 24-70mm lenses pretty much 50-50 split time during my boudoir photo sessions. 

​   
  My conclusion: I'm sold on Sony. In fact, I plan to buy another one fairly soon, to replace my Canon 60D which I keep around for a second video camera. I will likely buy the Sony a7riii for the next one. A close runner-up was the Panasonic G5, which I've used for many many hours at a past video production gig I was doing for a year. The Sony has won my photographer heart, and eye. The mirrorless revolution is here, and it has captured the attention of thousands of profession photographers. Join me if you wish.  You can buy the Sony on Amazon from this link HERE