Ready to switch from canon to sony (A6500)...will I miss anything?

L

lyrov

Well-known member
The video advantages of the SONY A6500 over the CANON 70D (my current primary camera) are obvious, so as the title of the thread says...what do you guys think I will miss?
I read for example that the touch screen AF is not on par with Canons...but is it at least usable? Are there any settings that would allow the user to switch from AF to MF on the fly (as I do with the 70D) without having to dig in the menus?
Can the user have focus peaking on while in AF mode?
I also read that the HD image is soft. Is it softer than the Canons? Because if its not...Im ok with it. Is the 120fps even softer? Im really comfused about the online videos because some of them look fine to me and some of them are horrible, so I d love to hear the opinion of DVXuser members...:-)
Is the EVF usable for video work? Im shooting a lot in day time under the sun (using a loupe with the 70D in those situations).
And finally...what about colours? I see many people complaining about the colours, but to be honest I ve seen a ton of videos shot with those Sony cameras and they look great to my eyes. Is it just more difficult to grade?

So thats about it...I will really appreciate your comments and your help. Please keep in mind that there is no return policy in my place so I dont have the option to return the camera if I dont like it and since its a new release it is also not available for renting yet, so I cant really test it. I would also appreciate if someone could send me a few small original files to play with: One 4k/25 or 24fps, one 1080/50 or 60fps and one 1080/100 or 120fps...:-)

Final (probably out of topic) questions: Im thinking of grabing the Sony 18-105 f4 as an all around lens...any thoughts about it? Seems like a good value to me...
I m also thinking of buying the sigma mc-11 adapter to use my existing Sigma lenses (18-35 1.8 art, 70-200 2.8 both without IS so I might benefit from IBIS?)

Thank you in advance
 
I don't have the a6500 so I will just comment on what's also on the bodies I have: yes, the EVF is definitely usable. It's very nice actually.

And the colors... it's a thing that depends very much on taste. I like them better than the ones I had on my T2i six years ago, but I also see people using "bad" settings and finding colors ugly and almost impossible to fix in post. The Canon RAW colors are definitely better, and maybe the C-line colors as well, but with the right settings the Sonys are very nice too, and well, bang for buck it's very difficult to find anything that competes with this.
(color settings I would try: slog2+sgamut3.cine, and Flaat)
 
Samuel H said:
I don't have the a6500 so I will just comment on what's also on the bodies I have: yes, the EVF is definitely usable. It's very nice actually.

And the colors... it's a thing that depends very much on taste. I like them better than the ones I had on my T2i six years ago, but I also see people using "bad" settings and finding colors ugly and almost impossible to fix in post. The Canon RAW colors are definitely better, and maybe the C-line colors as well, but with the right settings the Sonys are very nice too, and well, bang for buck it's very difficult to find anything that competes with this.
(color settings I would try: slog2+sgamut3.cine, and Flaat)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Samuel...you are always a great source of valuable information:-) I m using your Flaat profile on my Canons, so Im also gonna try the Sony version!
 
:)
(it works on the same principles -good DR and good skin tones- but they are different, some other colors will change, particularly reds and sky)
 
Sony "4D" auto focus, even with Sony branded lenses, will probably still lack the Dual-Pixel auto focus capabilities of Canon cameras such as 70D/80D, 5DMKIV and 1D XII. Canon could have used that technology to dominate the videocentric portion of the entire market below the high end pro with its own focus pullers. Alas ...
 
DLD said:
Sony "4D" auto focus, even with Sony branded lenses, will probably still lack the Dual-Pixel auto focus capabilities of Canon cameras such as 70D/80D, 5DMKIV and 1D XII. Canon could have used that technology to dominate the videocentric portion of the entire market below the high end pro with its own focus pullers. Alas ...
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree...and to be honest DPAF was the only thing that was holding me on to Canons lately. But I think Im ready to sacrifice it and have many more video features overall, in an affordable for my budget price...
4k, IBIS, 100fps, much better low light, peaking, zebras, evf...are things that I cant overlook anymore...
 
Latest tests on A6500 with Sony glass seem to show a very good AF performance. With Canon glass, not so much.
 
Your videos are outstanding! You can shoot Magic Lantern RAW on a 70D, so I'd try that first. Use MLVProducer for the first grade. Another way to go is a used C100. Because Canon is crippling their DSLR's somewhat in video, and because the C100 doesn't do 4K, the market is soft. I think the C100 the perfect camera for you; you already have lenses. I have a bunch of Sony's, but wouldn't jump from Canon if I shot your type of stuff. Indeed, my primary camera is a 7D shooting RAW.

What will you miss? Magic Lantern probably when you see what someone can do with your old 70D running it ;)
 
DLD said:
Latest tests on A6500 with Sony glass seem to show a very good AF performance. With Canon glass, not so much.
Click to expand...

Thank you DLD, yes it seems to work very well, my only concern is the not so responsive touch screen of the Sony (according to reports)...but I guess I will have to work around it somehow...
 
maxotics, thank you so much for your kind words...:-)
I ve been shooting ML RAW for a while, but only for fun and for learning the workflow. Unless I ve missed something (have not checked ML site for long time) the only reliable DSLR for shooting RAW (full HD without crazy time limits) is the 5D mk3...
C100 is a great camera, I ve rented and used it several times, but its not the right camera for my style of shooting (mostly handheld - running here and there to catch the shots haha). So what I need is a really minimal light kit with the best possible features and in that sense the Sony seems to be better I think...
Anyway...Im not going to give my 70D...planning to keep it as a back up camera at least until Im totally confident with the Sony...
 
lyrov, okay, understand more. Yes, if you're looking for light (which I do too) then the Sony system is great. Here's a video I shot with the A6000 and a gimbal. https://vimeo.com/169432071 There are others in my vimeo feed with similar a6000 + 35/1.8 and Nebula 4000. As you can see, even on the a6000 the autofocus is pretty darn good. I used to feel I had to have 1080 RAW or nothing, but I no longer feel that way. The RAW look, even at low resolutions, gives a feel you can get any other way, a nice 16mm feel that can't be duplicated other ways. So glad you're keeping your 70D. Try the MLVProducer workflow, if you have PC, and you may get reinvigorated with it.
 
lyrov said:
...what I need is a really minimal light kit with the best possible features and in that sense the Sony seems to be better I think...
Anyway...Im not going to give my 70D...planning to keep it as a back up camera at least until Im totally confident with the Sony...
Click to expand...

My documentary team uses the 6300, 6500, A7RII and DVX200. We use Sony G-Master lenses, but also adapt both Nikon and Canon lenses using the Vello LAE-SE-NFV4 and Metabones IV adapters. We use manual focus most of the time. The focus color peaking on the Sony cameras is OK -- not as good as a Zacuto EVF but you don't have to strap anything else on the camera. IBIS on the 6500 helps a lot with non-stabilized lenses. In general I don't like the Sony menu and ergonomic design but their sensors are very good. For stills the 6500 is really fast -- minimal EVF blackout, good AF performance and good buffer and writing performance. Hopefully Sony will add those improvements to the A7RIII whenever it is released.

We have a couple of Zacuto Marauder folding rigs which are very portable and quick to deploy. They work well on the Sony cameras: http://store.zacuto.com/marauder/

We also use the Sony 28-135 f/4 cinema lens which has power zoom, clickless aperture and quick switching between AF and MF: http://a.co/cgPvu5h

However the focus length is a bit long for an APS-C camera. This 18-118 is the equivalent for APS-C. It looks good but is very expensive: http://a.co/aTiXaT8

We are getting a 70-200 f/2.8 G-Master which hopefully will do OK on both stills and video. Here is a wedding someone shot with an A6500 and 70-200 G-Master: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKZpau_Zol8
 
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