Moving from Canon - help me with a new lens lineup

[WedsInMHD]

Hi

New here. Been with Canon for 12 years and looking to jump from my trusty 5DmkIII to the a7rIII. Could really use some help in deciding on lenses.

 

I shoot landscapes/seascapes with the 24-105/4 and 70-200/4 predominately. I have the 17-40/4 as well but rarely use it. Also own the 35/2 IS and 100/2 which I use for portraits and low light action of kids (10 and 12 years old) - indoor basketball.

 

So I’m thinking of getting the a7rIII with the 24-105 lens

1. How does Sony’s 24-105 compare to the Canon (mk I version)? Is there an advantage to going with the Sony? I think eye AF works only with native lenses...correct?

 

2. Telephoto

I have the 70-200/4 IS which I have loved but is feeling a bit short now that kids are older and playing on larger fields. Considering the Sony 100-400 vs a 70-200/2.8 plus 2x extender. Both are going to be much bigger than current lens but I can accept that. Thoughts on those or other tele options?

 

3. Wide

Is the 16-35/4 the equivalent of my 17-40/4? How does it handle sunstar/sunburst? The 17-40 sucks while Canon’s 16-35/2.8 is awesome. Would be nice to have some nice sunstars with a new lens.

 

4. Primes

I’ve read great things about the Sony FE 85mm (I think that’s the right one) which would replace my 100mm. Any thoughts on replacing my 35/2 IS?

 

Finally, how much of the lens change would you recommend I do right off the bat vs getting a metabones adapter and playing with the current lineup? What will I lose with the above Canon lenses vs the Sony equivalent?

 

Thanks!

[WedsInMHD]

After posting this, I found a similar thread on page 2 or 3 though that person was coming from a lineup of 2.8s.

 

Since then, I have a few follow up questions regarding the above:

 

1. Same question on the 24-105 in comparison to the Canon

 

2. Thoughts on the Sony 70-200/4 and using crop mode for more reach?  By my calculation the cropped image is very close to the native 5DmkIII one.  Is switching to crop mode a easy or menu function?

 

3. Do you think the 16-35/2.8 could replace the need for a 35mm/2 prime?  

 

Thanks!

[Username]

`    

    

Keep your Canon gear for at least 9 months. 

[WedsInMHD]

You mean and use current lenses with metabones before jumping fully into the Sony lineup?

Won't I lose some AF speed as well as eye-AF?

 

Found an answer re #3 and the Sony 16-35/4 does create some very nice sunstars

 

Now considering the Sony f/4 'trilogy' of the 16-35, 24-105 and 70-200 that would mimic my current Canon lineup

[Username]

You mean and use current lenses with metabones

before jumping fully into the Sony lineup?

Won't I lose some AF speed as well as eye-AF?

 

...............

   

What I meant is to keep the ENTIRE Canon 

kit for an extended period, in case of need 

to "retreat". Frequently, "tears of regret" are 

shed on line by those who face the expense 

or re-acquiring their previous system. Note 

that "frequently" does not imply the majority 

of those who switch ... but the Sony system

isn't for everyone, and those suffering regret 

are a small but noticeable minority.  

     

As to the MetaBones for a transitional use 

and possibly as a permanently useful item, 

it depends on your needs, expectations etc. 

Use of it involves unpredictable degrees of 

compromise. If your needs are demanding 

of "no compromise" high performance such 

as difficult sports shooting, forget about it. I 

use various adapters, but my photography 

tends to be reflective and thoughtful so I'm 

not in the "high performance" needs group. 

Even then, I did acquire one native lens for 

times when its advantages are important :-) 

 

   

Those in regret fall in two camps. One is of 

users for whose real need the Sony system 

is not suitable. The other camp is made of  

users who could well use the Sony system, 

but are just unable to adjust to a "brave new 

world" of non-SLR non-traditional hardware 

despite their honest best efforts.  

[Username]

..................

 

.............  Is switching to crop mode a easy or menu function?

 

..................

   

It's automatic, and you can disable or enable that 

automatic function via menu choice. Rather ideal 

in that way :-)  

   

"Rather" ideal ... IOW the camera senses when

a lens is intended for APSC format. OTOH if you 

mean to intentionally crop the image from a lens 

intended for FF format, you have to do that with 

menu ... but not really. I have a custom button 

assigned to "Clear Image Zoom" which not only 

crops to varying degres all the way down to the 

Micro 4/3 format, but interpolates the lost pixels 

and maintains the full pixel count. Acoarst while 

this minimizes pixelation and aliasing, and offers 

smoother tonality, it cannot replace detail lost to 

the drop in resolution involved in cropping. But 

you CAN crop to H-format, APSC, or M43, and 

even crop in between those without recourse to 

the menus.  

[WedsInMHD]

Thanks for the comments

 

I’ve been fortunate to have received a loaner a7rII plus 24-70/2.8, 70-200/2.8 and 35/2.8 from a friend.

 

So far so good but the autofocus system presents a real learning curve coming from the 5DmkIII where I chose a single AF point and shot based on that. Eye AF has been surprising awesome so far.

 

Not sure if its the AF issue or something else but I went out to shoot the moon last night and the Canon 5D plus 70-200/4 had far more detail at 100% than the a7rII plus 70-200/2.8. I was using wide AF and had to pan the camera left to focus on our lit up lighthouse and then pan left (all on tripod) to compose the shot all while half pressing shutter and then fully depressed for a 2 second countdown. It was clunky vs the Canon which was far easier to autofocus.

 

I’m guessing the a7rIII with a touch screen and joystick will fix my AF grievances.

 

I’m now reconsidering my choices above and really thinking that if I decide to move to Sony, I may as well shake up my current lineup.

 

Now planning on the 12-24/4, 24-105/4 and 100-400/4.5-5.6 plus the 35/2.8 and 85/1.8

[tinplater]

For what it is worth, since various users will have different needs/opinions:

1.  The 100-400 is an awesome lens..amazing

2.  I really enjoy the 70-200 f4 lightweight and very very sharp

3.  The 24-70 2.8 is like having a handful of primes in one lens

4.  The new 24-105 is just shipping,  I would wait for some reviews before committing to buy

5.  The 35 2.8 is one of my favorite lenses...it is so tiny and very sharp.  I much preferred it to the 35mm 1.4 which I sold.

6.  I auditioned several lenses in the 85-90 mm range and stuck with the 90mm 2.8 macro...amazing sharp but I like shooting tiny things close up.

7.  The Sony Zeiss 50mm 1.4 has a glorious rendering, producing just plain beautiful images.

 

If I were to pick just one lens...the 24-70 because of quality and utility.   I much prefer these lenses to the ones I had when I had Canon as well.

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

The Canon method of focus and recompose is totally redundant on a Sony camera. There are several AF options that you can use instead in various situations.

[WedsInMHD]

The Canon method of focus and recompose is totally redundant on a Sony camera. There are several AF options that you can use instead in various situations.

 

 

I'm realizing that Jaf and trying to wrap my head around it.  For portraits, the Sony is borderline magical with eyeAF.  For landscapes, I think I really 'need' the a7rIII's joystick to choose a focus point (I assume I can do that) and/or the touchscreen to choose as I'm frankly lost in figuring out focus in a static scene.  The a7rII seemed to just choose elements at random when I shot the other night.  

 

Tried reading the manual which had far too little info and watching some YouTube videos but still not clear.

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

Flexible spot allows control and I don't think it's difficult to move with the wheel. If you're focusing on a clear feature, AF-C often picks it up and tracks it as you're composing. Otherwise you might use the zones.

[martynhicks]

I made the full jump from all my Canon gear a couple of months ago to two a9's with 16-35mm and 70-200mm G Master Lenses along with Sony 50mm. I only Canon lens I kept was the 24mm II TS Lens and use that with the Metabones Version V Adapter as there is no equivalent in the Sony Line up. The Sony G Masters are Great and super fast, the focus hold button on the Lenses is a real step forward which I use all the time. The 24mm TS does Vignette when you shift right to the edges but I can cope with that. 

 

I'm super pleased with the move and better go with the G Masters than keep your Canon Gear and rely on the adapters IMHO

[WedsInMHD]

Thanks Martyn

 

I just received the a7rIII Friday and had my first chance to play with it today.

 

Got the Sony FE 85/1.8 and really liking that for shots of my kids - seems better than my Canon 100/2

 

Did some test shots with all lenses using the Metabones V adapter and all worked but need to see how autofocus behaves on something other than a sleeping cat and the house across the street...