If you are a camera and photography junkie like I am, then you are probably loyal to one specific brand over another. Maybe you are loyal to that brand because you truly believe that a company creates a better product, or maybe you're simply loyal to a brand because you are familiar with the brand. I have been in the world of photography for about 10 years now, I am nowhere near a professional who makes a living off of it, but I do well enough with my photography business to have clientele. This weekend, I went against my Nikon loyalties and captured some shots with a Sony camera while out hiking. I was nervous about shooting with the Sony, for multiple reasons. This post will be all about my personal experience and thoughts on the Sony camera vs a Nikon.
The first reason I was nervous about shooting with the Sony camera, was because the camera did not belong to me. Owning multiple cameras and lenses myself, I know how much of an investment they are. I did not want to adjust settings or do anything to the camera that could not be undone. Secondly, as a photographer, I am aware of how often settings need to be adjusted, sometimes adjustments need to be made seconds after taking a photo. The reasoning for that is, lighting constantly changes, positions change, shadows change, so knowing your camera and being able to make quick adjustments is a necessity. Without knowing Sony well, I was scared to shoot, because I feared I wouldn't be able to adjust the setting quick enough to the way I wanted and would, in turn, miss shots. Lastly, I was nervous about shooting with Sony, because what if I fall in love with it? I'm a loyal and deeply invested Nikon user. I have lenses, camera bodies, batteries, attachments, cases, etc for my Nikon products.
Against my better judgment though, I allowed my curiosity to get the better of me, I went ahead and took some shots with the Sony camera. And guess what, my fears came true. I fell in love. There were multiple things I noticed immediately though when shooting with the Sony over my normal Nikon. (Notice how I did not say they were necessarily better or worse things, but rather just differences.) The first thing I noticed, on this version of Sony, was that the body was lighter than my other two Nikon camera body. Neither the Sony or my Nikon cameras are full frames, meaning they are on the same playing field in terms of size. The Nikon is already a lightweight camera, so having the Sony being lighter was quite surprising, but actually pretty nice. After holding the camera up to shoot, I noticed that the viewfinder image was very different from the Nikon. The Nikon viewfinder image looks as though you are looking directly at whatever it is that is about to be captured, similar to looking at something with the naked eye. Sony, on the other hand, showed an image quality as though it was being looked at through a computer screen (in my opinion). I do not necessarily think the Sony's visual quality is bad, in fact, I think it is excellent, but for a non-regular Sony user, it was an adjustment. I was out there capturing photos for a while, both on the Nikon and on the Sony, wanting to be able to compare and contrast the quality. Once the shoot was over, I was excited to return home to check out the quality of the images both from my Nikon and from the Sony.
In my opinion, the Sony did not outperform the Nikon enticing me to give up Nikon and want to switch to Sony. I will admit, Sony was able to capture different images my Nikon would struggle to capture, such as low light images. Both image qualities from both the cameras would be excellent quality to provide to clients. I was slightly jealous that Sony camera's had the ability to hold two SD cards at a time. For non-photography people, you may not understand the amazingness of this, but us photographers understand. It allows for capturing photos both in RAW and jpg at the same time, allowing for edits to be easier after the shoot. Additionally having two SD ports means that there would be less SD card changes since two are in there at once. Once one is full then the camera could start writing to the second one seamlessly without disrupting the photographer.
After this weekend's experiment, I would consider using a Sony camera again when I go out shooting. Maybe one day I would even consider buying a Sony to add to my camera collection. I would never give up my Nikon cameras though, I truly love my Nikon cameras. I am familiar with Nikon and am constantly impressed with the quality that Nikon puts into their products. Sony does produce a good quality product as well though. Ultimately it comes down to which interface the photographer is more comfortable with and which brand they feel is better suited for them. Almost all DSLR cameras will be able to produce high-quality images, as long as the user behind the camera knows how to operate the camera for optimal usage. Both Nikon and Sony create great, quality products, but me personally, I will always be a diehard Nikon loyalist.
