Anyone that had 2 systems going narrow it to one and why?

I have had a Canon 6D and a few nice lenses (24-105,85 f1.8, 70-300L) and about 6 months ago I picked up the Sony A7II in the hopes I would eventually sell all the Canon gear and stay with Sony. But that hasn't happened yet and I can't seem to understand why. The Sony is smaller, lighter and in some respects better pictures. I started off with the usual cheap manual focus legacy lenses and have had fun playing with them. I then purchased a used FE 24-70 and recently traded it for a FE 55mm and find the 55 much sharper. Yesterday I played with the Batis 25mm f2 and was shocked that it was so light, and the focus was smooth as butter, but at $100 per once it is way too much compared to Canon and Nikon high end lenses. This only makes it harder to switch totally. I bring all this up because I have a 65th birthday coming up and my wife wants to get me something special and a new lens was one of the things I am thinking about and also a 4K tv but I think I will wait a year or two for that. So now if I go with a lens I don't know if it should be for a Canon or something for the A7II. The Sigma 24mm f1.4 Art has caught my attention as well as the Canon 24-70mm II or the 100-400 II. I would like to get the Sony/Zeiss 135 A mount but then that requires the adapter which only adds to the size and weight. Also I do prefer auto focus. Any other suggestions?

I switched from 5DIII to Sony (although I just added an X100T so back with 2 setups again I suppose). The Batis lenses look amazing and I was tempted myself and actually ordered the 85 but due to the delays it gave me time to change my mind and I ended up with other lenses. Since you already have the 55 I would recommend the FE 28. Its a great little lens and cheap too compared to Batis 25 prices. Also Sony are due to bring out 7-8 lenses next year (if you believe the rumours) and one is to be a 85mm lens, probably a 1.4. This will no doubt be cheaper than the Batis. It also wouldnt surprise me if they brought out a native 135mm lens.

If I was you I would pick up the 28 and then wait to see whats released in the first quarter of next year. That way it may make a full transition easier.

are you campy on Fred Miranda Forum?

xpfloyd wrote in post #17809410
are you campy on Fred Miranda Forum?

Yes. Why?

I had stumbled across a post on there after I responded to you on here and it sounded like it was you for some reason so was just curious

I started with Canon and used 5D series from the first through 5DIII. Lots of Canon glass as well.
Then migrated to Fuji XT-1s and lots of Fujinon glass.
I had acquired a Sony A7R to use with adapter and Canon TSE lenses when I sold the Canon stuff for Fuji.
Then with A7II was introduced I decided to try it as replacement for A7R. That got me hooked and now I've transitioned to Sony glass along with an A7RII to complement the A7II.

I am still in the process of selling of Canon glass and the Fuji system. I can't justify two systems.

I tend to use zooms but also like to have a medium wide and portrait length prime.

I got the Sony 28 F2.0 its a great lens, small and sharp. I was fortunate to get both the Batis lenses. They are very nice. The 25 is significantly larger than the Sony 28 but I can't really justify both so the 28 is going to go on the block.

HERE is a blog post I did about the lens when I got it.

I've been a Canon shooter forever but I'm not married to it. I have other systems. 35mm, Polaroid, Instax and medium format. As for digital I tried adding some mirrorless stuff last year in the form of a Sony A7r and an Olympus OM-D EM-1 but I sold them off after about 6 months of use. I didn't find the mirrorless stuff worked as well for me as DSLR because of issues like focus tracking, EVF lag, battery life and lack of environmental sealing. When it came down to it the better of the 2 systems (Sony) still required a hefty lens to take advantage of that beautiful sensor which negated any real weight savings. If I recall correctly the weight savings with the Sony only came out to about 500 grams vs my DSLR with the same lens so dropping mirrorless was an easy choice. Adding and subtracting gear from your kit is a great way to learn what tools are going to work best for you. It's all about getting the shot.

I am thinking about dropping Canon. I see my self a year form now being all sony Mirror-less with a few pieces of canon glass left.

Coming from a 6D/Sigma 50 1.4 Art combo, the A7R/FE 58 1.8 combo offers substantial weight and bulk savings while sacrificing nothing in IQ. I realize 1.8 is not 1.4, but the benefits of the Sony combo over the Canon/Sigma combo prevail IMO.

That is just one example of weight savings, but there are advantages out there to be had if you can part with EF mount glass. For those who refuse to--or just cant, professionally--make a few compromises to experience the weight/bulk savings, that's fine as well. But overlooking some of the very good native glass is a mistake.

I actually like having multiple systems, shoot Canon, Sony and for medium format I have my Mamiyas.


None are perfect, but having multiple systems I can tailor it for my needs.

I shoot when money is on the line my canons and a little sony for my perosnal work Leica M and a sony

I believe its merely related to familiarity. You have spent years with the Canon and a short time with the Sony. I like to say I have a canon brain learning to use a Sony camera. There are expectations of controls and a certain amount of muscle memory. It's what I am used too. But the reality is if you had the same time with the Sony it wouldn't be a problem. Cameras are a tool. If you where to switch to Nikon you would have the same problem. Controls are different and therefore you would not be comfortable. My two cents

For a while there I had an A7r alongside a D700 and later a D4 (which replaced the D700 in my lineup). I've also had Canon and Nikon systems side by side for a time. I guess I dropped the majority of my Canon stuff (still have the 40D, Sigma 18-50 and 270EX but never use it) around the time I was happy with the A7r.

I eventually found that I liked the easy AF and nice ergos of the D4 more than the high MP and slightly higher DR of the A7r. Even if I had stuck with the Sony body I'd still have 4 or 5 F mount lenses (35/1.4, 50/1.4, 85/1.4, 70-200/2.8 and hopefully a 24-35/2) as I use them for photo finish cameras. Since I already had those ranges in F mount the FE lenses never interested me - they were either too expensive, too slow, not as sharp as competitors, not fast enough or a combination of those.

The weight saving of mirrorless is a moot point for me. Not a single mirrorless body is comfortable to shoot for me and that makes a massive difference to me when it comes to desirability of a camera body.

After i tried the A7II and FE 55 earlier this year, I was hooked by the IQ and the small package. I started to move from Canon to Sony, thinking that I'd I'd be almost all Sony soon and keep a Canon and one long lens just for wildlife (for which mirrorless is still impractical). But after some time of shooting Sony and Canon in parallel, I found that in many images, I prefer the colors coming out of Canon, especially for the skin tones. I just can't get used to the brownish skin tones from Sony. So it looks I will probably stick with Canon for most of my photography (which has a lot of people pictures). The Sony gear still comes along for trips and hikes and landscape pictures for which it is superb, but I will probably pare it down a bit.

So it depends on your preference. The pictures from which system do you like best? If you have a preference, I'd go by that, over any gear/weight/lens considerations. If you prefer the output from the Sony or don't have a clear preference, then I'd probably complete the move to Sony as the gear is great, small, very high IQ, and mirrorless is the future anyway.

Moved from Canon and Olympus to just Sony. The high quality but smaller bodies were a big attraction.