Making the Switch - from nikon to sony
a richmond based photographer’s thoughts about moving on.
I’ve finally done something I’ve wanted to for years. I’ve graduated from crop sensor/aps-c to full frame. And with that upgrade, I’ve also switched from Nikon to Sony. After 15 years of shooting Nikon, here are my thoughts about the change.
For as long as I’ve been shooting digital, Nikon has been the only brand of dslrs I’ve ever owned and used. Starting off with a Nikon D80 in 2008, to ending with a Z50 in 2023, Nikon and I had a beautiful relationship. It was the brand that I learned on, I grew my skills on, recommended to any and everyone that would listen to me.
At the end of 2023, I sold my Nikon Z50, and found a deal on a A7iii with a 85mm 1.8 lens through Facebook marketplace. I reached out at midnight, and the next morning I drove two hours to pick up my new camera. It’s only been 3 months since I’ve made that journey, but I haven’t looked back since.
Crop Sensor to Full Frame
The physical sensor size is the biggest difference between aps-c and full frame cameras. With this size difference comes certain advantages and disadvantages, but for what I shoot and how I use my camera, full frame makes the most sense. I’ve broken down my views on each factor I considered before switching, along with some sample photos.
Night Shooting
I love to shoot at night, and the bigger sensor helps minimize noise when I have to crank my ISO up. My older crop sensor Nikons did not do well at night, with the exception of the Z50 being the best crop sensor Nikon’s for low light performance. This led to noisy images, or out of focus/blurry images due to me slowing the shutter to compensate for not raising the ISO above a certain point.
I’ve only used my Sony A7iii at night a few times as of writing this post, but I can confidently say I see a huge difference in sharpness and limited noise in the images I’ve taken so far. One example is this long exposure I took on a bridge overlooking a highway in Richmond. If you zoom in, you can see how sharp the image is. I shot this for 10 sec at f14 with an ISO of 100.
85 mm 1.8 @ F/14 ISO 100 10 Sec
Another example of low light performance is this picture of a classic car in front of Stella's, one of the best greek restaurants in Richmond. This was earlier in the night, the sun had set and the street lights had just come on. The image is still crisp, and shot at a lower ISO than a crop sensor would have been able to do .
Sony A7iii 85mm 1.8 @ f/2 ISO 320 1/13 Sec
Focal Length
Another important aspect to cosnider when making the switch is the effective focal length you want to work with. Crop sensor cameras and lenses have a magnification of around 1.6x compared to full frame cameras. This means that a 14mm lens on my old Nikon Z50 is the same focal length as 21-22mm on my Sony A7iii.
For what I shoot, I welcome this change. I want wider photos when I shoot my real estate photography, and that means that a 14mm on my Sony A7iii is going to be significantly wider than what I’m used to shooting crop sensor. I’m looking at the Sigma 16-28 mm F2.8 DN or the slightly more expensive Sigma 14-24 mm F2.8 DG DN when I decide to purchase a new real estate lens.
Wildlife photographers are the perfect example of consumers who would choose a crop sensor over a full frame for effective focal lengths. When you talk about the longer zoom lenses in the 200-400 or higher range, having that 1.6 magnification can benefit photographers looking to capture action from a safe distance away.
Nikon to Sony performance
Autofocus
Autofocus is a big reason many are switching to Nikon. Their autofocus performance may be the best in the game when comparing it to the major camera brands. This can be a subjective opinion, however the many tests on Youtube can give you an idea of the difference in performance.
Sony also has dog/cat/animal eye detection which works perfectly in my tests so far. My Z50 had eye detection, but it was slightly laggy and this was a problem during weddings when subjects are moving quickly and there' isn’t time to pose them. I had a lot of blurry images the last wedding I shot with the Z50, some due to slow autofocus but a lot of that was user error. Wedding season is approaching, so I’ll report back on how the A7iii performs in similar situations.
Lens Choice and Quality
Sony’s E Mount has attracted a lot of lens’ makers and therefore opened up the market to quality third party lenses. Where as Nikon had pretty much only Nikon, with some Sigma lenses, Sony has multiple different manufactures making E mount lenses that range in price and quality. Sony, Sigma and Tamron seem to be the big 3, you also have Tokina, Viltrox and Zeiss all making very good quality lenses for Sony full frame cameras.
This competition gives the consumer budget friendly options for lenses. The Sony lenses, especially the G masters, can get relatively expensive, so for someone on a budget or just getting into the hobby, some of these cheaper lenses are the way to go.
Cost of Switching
Lens Cost
When I knew that I wanted to upgrade to full frame, I had to decide the most cost-effective way of upgrading my glass. One thing that helped me transiion to Sony was the fact that the cost of buying full frame lenses for the Nikon Z6 or Z7 would equal the cost of buying lenses for a Sony body. Considering I couldn’t use my existing lenses, changing bodies came as an easy decision.
The next lens I plan to purchase will be a 24-70 or similar focal length. I have a few options, between the pricey Sony 24-70 mm F2.8 GM or the cheaper Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art.
Price Comparison
The body cost between the Nikon Z6 and the Sony A7iii were relatively similar when purchasing new. I, however, am a fan of good deals and therefore looked to craigslist and facebook marketplace for a good condition, lightly used body and lens combo.
While browsing FB Marketplace one night around midnight, I found a new posting for a A7iii with a 85mm 1.8 for $1100. The new morning, I drove two hours to Harrisonburg and picked it up, along with a kit 16-50 pancake lens. Considering the bodies were going for more than that used, I figured this was the best deal I would find and snagged it.
Ending Thoughts
Now that I’m a few months and a couple thousand pictures in with Sony A7iii, I can confidently say that making the jump has given me a renewed passion for making content.