Sony vs. Nikon — Why I’m Switching to Nikon
And the mirrorless camera race is on! Sony are way off in the lead, Nikon not too far behind, and Canon are still tying their shoelaces at the starting line.
- Who will win the race?
- Who is heading in the right direction?
- And who is crippling themselves?
In 2018 Sony released the A7III and it was so cheap and good that it shocked the world.
Sony: “We’re losing money on this body but hey look at what we can do!”
Then Nikon released the Z6 the same year and everyone kind of just shrugged.
Nikon: “Hey don’t forget us! We’re going mirrorless too!”
This is unfortunate because if the A7III didn’t exist, the Z6 would’ve been really impressive! Everyone would’ve paid attention to the new Nikon Z system. But today the Z6 just sits there in the corner, quietly gathering dust and looking embarrassed.
But there’s a glimmer of hope in the future for Nikon! And it has to do with how Sony and Nikon have set themselves up for the future.
Sony vs. Nikon
The Sony A7III and Nikon Z6 mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILC) are really similar. Even more similar than most photographers would think.
As a wedding photographer the Sony A7III and Nikon Z6 are both reliable choices for my purposes. However,
Sony is better at most things: autofocus, low light performance, native lens range, 3rd party lens support, dual card slots, exposure compensation dial, video, customisation, and battery life.
Nikon is better at some things: grip and handling, menu layout, monitor resolution, and touch screen.
Both are similar in size, and both suck at image stabilisation.
It is their similarities that determines where they go into the future. And that’s because it all comes down to which direction Sony decided to take way back in 2010, when they couldn’t possibly have foreseen the consequences.
Here’s what happened:
Sony Handicapped Themselves with the E-Mount
Crazy right? Problem is, it’s never going to get better. Not for full frame, anyway.
This is most noticeable in the Sony 5-axis In Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS). The Sony IBIS sucks so much, you might as well not have it. It’s terrible.
Here’s why that is. Take a look at the full frame sensor on any Sony Alpha camera. You’ll notice something really rather odd:
Sony, what the hell? Why is your lens mount CUTTING OFF THE CORNERS of your full frame sensor? Wouldn’t this directly result in heavy vignetting, limit future lens designs, and unusable IBIS?
Indeed, here is Nikon’s Z6 full frame sensor for comparison:
See how the mount is comfortably larger than the sensor? Now that’s a big mount! Almost intimidating how big it is…
Nikon: “You can’t even handle this mount Sony, it’s so big.”
Sony: “Wow that is a big mount Nikon. Fast, wide. Very impressive. Gosh I’m so embarrassed with my teeny weeny mount.”
Let’s take a closer look again at the full frame sensor from Sony:
Isn’t is ridiculous how the mount has to overlap the corners of the sensor? And the Sony IBIS is showing for it. They can’t improve their IBIS, whereas Nikon’s mount has plenty of room for the IBIS to jump around and party:
Is the small mount a poor design choice, or perhaps just a misstep? I say neither.
That’s because:
Sony Cameras Were Originally Designed for APS-C ONLY, NOT Full Frame
I’m pretty sure Sony had no intention of making full frame cameras. I’m quite certain they were instead supposed to be drinking buddies with Fujifilm, Nikon DX, Samsung NX and Canon EF-M. APS-C all the way baby!
And so when they released the first Sony A7 way back in 2013, and the people loved it, that’s when they probably panicked.
Sony: “No one was supposed to like full frame! Everyone laughed at our NEX cameras so we made the A7 for a laugh! It was only supposed to segment the market so people would buy the smaller, slimmer APS-C cameras. Quick, convince the public this is what we meant to do all along!”
That’s probably how it went down. And they successfully kept up the charade for as long as they could — and did an incredible job innovating, despite their circumstances!
They designed a lot of amazing lenses: 85mm F1.8, 24mm F1.4!
Shared design and proprietary information with 3rd party manufacturers: Sigma, Tamron, Samyang!
So unless they physically change the sensor or all the mounts and lenses that they’ve ever made, it’s the end of the line for Sony.
I don’t think Sony knows which direction to take in the next few years
And I think they know they’re basically screwed in the MILC game and focus on the PS5 and video games. That capable full frame sensor of theirs can’t move. And they’ve already built all these expensive systems around the E-Mount, which have pretty much hit the physical limit of lens design.
Think about it: they even stopped bothering trying to put stabilisation into their lenses. The only full frame lenses with Optical SteadyShot (OSS) are all F4 lenses, like the 16–35mm F4.
Know which lenses do have OSS? oh that’s right, those designed for APS-C.
And Sony has this hangup where they have to stick everything into small and compact bodies. Sony thinks they’re doing everyone a favour — which is nice, I like small and light — but it’s not comfortable to hold in the hand. Give me a bigger hand grip any day, like Nikon and Canon cameras.
You know where small and light camera bodies makes sense? Again, APS-C.
That’s why Nikon has a Chance
And can take the lead in the mirrorless full frame race!
Nikon does a lot of things worse than Sony, but all these faults are features that can still be fixed. Especially that unreliable autofocus. Nikon, go and copy Canon and get onto that dual pixel autofocus! You can do it!
That’s because,
Nikon is SPRINTING to Catch Up to Sony
Sony was smart and got into the MILC game early, well before the others even put their shoes on. I’m sure they looked at Fujifilm and noticed which way the wind was blowing. They have at least 5 years ahead of the competition. But Nikon is quickly catching up, and may even surpass Sony in the next few years in what they offer.
For example, I’m a wedding photographer. My image priorities are to capture moments and expressions at the wedding. Shooting wide open, I expect from a lens 3 things:
- Shallow depth of field and dreamy bokeh
- Solid low light performance
- Quick and reliable autofocus
That’s why I need lenses that are either fast primes or fast zooms.
So to a wedding photographer, this is what the lens roadmap of Sony, Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm (APS-C) looks like:
Notice how in 2018 Nikon is blazing right out the gate AND looking towards the future?
Meanwhile, Canon joined the race in 2018 too but their pace is different: they’re gonna continue cautiously moving forward, and wait for the moment when Sony burns out and Nikon stumbles. Sneaky sneaky.
Conclusion
Is Sony crushing the competition? Yes.
Does Nikon have potential? Absolutely.
To be honest I’d like Nikon to come out ahead — that way everyone wins. And everyone can go do something else outside of the crowded and waning photo industry:
Nikon can focus on cameras for professional photographers.
Canon can focus on gear for cinema.
Fujifilm can focus on physical film and photo paper.
Sony can focus on music and game consoles.
The real 1st place winner? Samsung — they made that killer NX1, then left the game early to make great phones instead.
2nd place goes to Panasonic, who are making the lithium batteries that everybody else relies on.
Further Reading
5 Sony Cameras That Died Before They Could Shine
Sony 35mm F1.8 | Review
Sony 85mm F1.8 | Review
5 Unexpected Things to Expect from Your Wedding Photographer
