jd7z wrote in post #19358455
As a long-time Canon shooter who is on the edge of switching to Sony, mainly for the range of relatively small, light and affordable lenses available, including lenses such as the Samyang 35mm f/1.8 and Tamron 70-180 f/2.8, would you care to share why you are over your Sony experience? I don't have much hands on experience with the Sony system at all yet, so I'm very keen to hear the experience of another Canon user who has given the Sony system a go! (If this is not the thread for this sort of discussion, apologies.)
Disclaimer: Below is just *MY* opinion. I'm no authority and I'm in no way trying to badmouth Sony.
Coming from my Canon bodies (and I do favor the larger "pro" body as it truly just feel more stable/secure in my hand), the size of the A1 is "uncomfortable" for me. It's angled/edgy camera body doesn't feel comfortable to hold single-handed. Now it's likely my fault for sticking a "large and heavier" 50/1.2 prime on it, but the grip would dig into my palm at the "Thenar eminence." My pinky was left in no-man's land. My thumb (and I don't think I have a fat thumb) would keep pressing the AEL button and that often screwed up the metering because I'd hit the AEL while lifting the camera up to my face so it's not locked to the scene I ultimately want to meter and photograph. 
Arguably, I could get a battery/vertical grip but then that would invalidate the point of having a "smaller" camera body.
I encountered some issues with single-shot AF with the A1, as in it was not as accurate as I expected it (coming from Canon). That was surprising to me! But the Continuous AF/tracking seems quite good. For example, I was trying to photograph a dandelion on my yard near minimum focus distance in broad daylight. The A1 just flat out refused to focus on the dandelion. It would rack focus quickly and then stop altogether, as if it's locked onto something and lets me take a completely OOF photo. It was frustrating enough to the point where I went to grab my R3/50 and did the same shot and the R3 was able to lock focus on the dandelion with ease!
I shot with the A1 every day for 2 weeks alongside my R3 and in the past 14-days, it's made me very paranoid in single-shot AF mode as to whether the captured image would actually be what I wanted to focus on. I can only say it seems consistently inconsistent. That said, if/when I'm tracking something in continuous AF, once it locks, it does an incredible job sticking to the subject/target.
I have also gotten spoiled by Canon's ability to instantly swap between single-shot/servo with just a tap of a button. I don't have to take my eyes off the subject/scene, I don't even have to look at the camera. I've got my R5 & R3 setup where the button near the lens mount will alternate between SS/SERVO. (I had it setup the same with the 1DX3, except with the 1DX3, I had to hold down the button.) For the Sony, you have all these mechanical dials up on top so taking your eyes off the target/scene to look at the top of the camera is almost a necessity to adjust AF modes. For instance, if I'm holding the camera with 2-hands, left hand on lens barrel, right hand holding the grip and shooting... in order for me to swap between SS/Servo, one of the hands has to change position. No such need with the Canons.
When chimping and reviewing photos, I'm more accustomed to using the dials/buttons to zoom in/out, move the image, etc... With Sony's default setup, zooming in/out requires rotating the back dial (which also acts as a 4-way button) and if my fat thumb doesn't apply the perfect pressure, I'll hit the button and then I screw things up a bit.
I can go on, but these are the "main" points as to why the A1 isn't for me. Doesn't mean it's a bad camera. I'm just a terrible operator.
