The two most frequently asked questions that I see
on photography forums, related Reddit threads
and even my own comments are:
One, which camera is the best camera to get
when you're just starting out
and two, should I start off with Canon or Sony?
Today, we're gonna answer that question.
Let's get Undone.
[offbeat music]
♪ Gerald Undone ♪
♪ He's crazy ♪
What is happening, everybody? I'm Gerald Undone
and today, we're gonna look at two beginner
entry level models from Canon and Sony.
Now, one thing I wanna get across right away
is that there's no perfect camera.
I'm going to do my best in this video to highlight things
that I think are important in 2018 to make
your decision much easier, but I can't make it for you
and sometimes, there's no clear winner.
Let's get into the contestants and why I chose them.
From Canon, we've got the EOS 200D,
also known as the Rebel SL2 and from Sony,
we've got the a6000. Quick note, these models
were provided to me by Camera Canada,
Canada's dot com for cameras, which some of you know,
I've been working on a collaboration with them lately.
So, I'm going to include links to their site
and the products that I'm talking about
in the description below because they were kind enough
to let me monkey around with these cameras.
If you're Canadian and you like camera gear,
I highly recommend you check them out,
but for my international viewers, I'll also include links
to Amazon as well, but I want to encourage
all my viewers, Canadian or not, to check out
Camera Canada's social media pages,
which will also be in the description.
One, because you'll also be supporting a great business
and two, because I'm going to be posting
some exclusive content there in the coming weeks.
Now, I chose the SL2 from Canon because of its size,
its updated features, and its price point.
It boasts the latest processor from Canon
and also has the famous dual-pixel autofocus.
The a6000 from Sony, on the other hand,
is a little bit older. It came out in 2014,
but it still remains the entry level Sony camera
at the same price point as the SL2,
with both of these systems being around $500-600USD
or $600-700CAD for the lens kits. Now, since this video
is about cameras for beginners,
yes there are some models that come in a little bit
lower than this like the Rebel T6i,
also known as the EOS 750D, which is quite capable,
but it does lack some of the features and the new chip
and the new autofocus system, but you might be able
to get it at a bit of a bargain as they start
to dwindle down. There's also the non-i versions
of these cameras, like the T6 and the T7.
They're just missing the "i", but I fear
that you're giving up too much for the savings
in these models. Often, they have significantly reduced tech,
which probably won't serve that well
for learning what to expect in cameras 2018 and beyond.
So, with that in mind, I've decided that the starting point
for recommendations for the Canon lineup
is the Rebel SL2 a.k.a the EOS 200D.
Now, of course, there are other brands
that have offerings in this category.
You have Nikon with the D3400, which is quite a capable DSLR.
in the mirrorless space, you have Fuji, Olympus
and Panasonic that all have models
that are pretty competitive in that entry level,
but this video is geared to answer the famous question
of Canon or Sony? Now, the first thing you need
to ask yourself when you're looking to purchase
a new camera is the same thing you'd ask yourself
when you go tool shopping, which is:
what am I going to be using it for?
Because, if you don't get the right tool for the job,
you're going to be in for a world of frustration.
So, let's get into those questions now
while we unbox the kits and talk a little bit
about the specs. Now, both of these recommendations
are for kits, rather than buying the body only
and then buying lenses separately.
Now, there's two key reasons for this.
The first is that it's much more affordable
and the second is that a true beginner
wouldn't really have developed a focal length
preference yet or developed a shooting style yet,
so they don't really know which focal lengths they like
or need, so it doesn't really make a lot of sense
to go in and buy a lot of high quality glass
when you don't really know what glass to get.
Using kit lenses is a great way to learn
how you like to shoot without overcommitting
on lenses because in the end, lenses are often
the biggest obstacle in making camera decisions
that are best for you because of overinvestment too early
on glass. This also helps to avoid a common mistake
I see beginners make, which is to invest in a series
of low-end lenses which aren't going to hold
their value well and don't really provide much of a pathway
for improved image quality. Start with a kit,
figure out what you need, then buy premium,
specifically targeted lenses once you know
what you need. Now, the lenses that come
with these kits are nothing spectacular,
but they will give you a sense of the more common focal lengths
in that 24-70mm range. That's because you have
to consider the crop factor of these cameras.
The Rebel SL2 has a crop factor of 1.6.
Now, what this means is unlike full-frame cameras,
which have a 1:1 ratio with the advertised focal length,
the focal lengths are going to be multiplied by 1.6
because rather than getting the full frame readout,
you're getting the inner 1.6x zoom of that frame.
So, on the 18-55 that comes with the SL2,
you're going to be getting an equivalent
of 29-88mm, and in the case of the Sony a6000,
which has a 1.5x crop, the kit lens will have
an equivalency of 24-75mm.
The Sony lens is also a little bit faster,
with a maximum aperture of 3.5 vs the Canon's f/4.
That's how big the opening of the lens gets
to let light in. The smaller the f-number,
the larger the opening, the more light that will get in
and the brighter your image will be.
[smooth electronic music]
♪
As I was saying earlier, we need to evaluate
these cameras based on the usage situations
they will satisfy. Let's talk a little bit about portability.
The Canon is clearly larger and it's also about
30% heavier at just about 1 lb, but it does allow
for a longer battery life, with a rating
of about 650 shots vs the Sony's 360 shots,
yet the Sony's batteries are slightly more expensive as well.
Aside from that, both bodies have equally sized
sensors and screens. They both contain internal flashes,
as well as hot shoes, although the built-in flash
on the Canon is slightly more powerful.
And, they both have built in wi-fi,
but only the Canon has Bluetooth.
Both have viewfinders, but the Canon's is optical
and the Sony's is electronic, but we'll get into that
in a moment. Now, speaking of the screens,
let's get into one of the major usage differences
between the two cameras.
Shooting in front of the camera or from behind.
The screen on the Canon is completely articulating,
giving you the ability to see yourself.
The Sony's however, merely flips up a little.
Being able to frame your short from in front
of the camera and attach a run-and-gun style mic
to the top should make this an easy decision
if you're looking to vlog in this way.
Now, you can convert the Sony to have
these capabilities by adding a monitor
or some audio connections, but that would inflate
the budget, which would break this comparison.
Plus, it would make the camera a little bit more flimsy,
which wouldn't really be conducive
to that active style of shooting.
♪
Sticking with this style of shooting, it's also in this mode
that the Canon shines with the SL2's inclusion
of Canon's dual-pixel autofocus system,
which is likely the best in the business
and you can engage it using the touch panel
on the back of the camera. The Sony's panel,
on the other hand, does not have a touch screen.
This encourages you to use the live view mode
on the Canon rather than the optical viewfinder,
which will further improve your autofocus reliability
in those vlogging situations.
The Sony, however, really starts to edge out
the Canon when you get behind the camera
with its inclusion of the 179 point autofocus system,
11 fps drive mode for excellent tracking
and action photography. The AF system on the Canon,
however, is only nine points and it's really not
that capable when it comes to tracking movement
or photographing sports. Also, the viewfinders are different.
Like I was saying earlier, the Canon uses
an optical viewfinder, which essentially just reflects
the image through the lens up into your eye
using a pentaprism, which basically lets you see
identical conditions that your eye would,
but it's framed like a camera.
Electronic viewfinder, however, is more like a video
being projected into your eye.
These cameras have no mirrors to bounce the lens,
hence the name "mirrorless".
So basically, they're generating a video preview
inside the viewfinder. The advantage of the electronic
viewfinder is that is shows you an image
how it will be captured after accounting
for all of your exposure settings.
I think from a learning perspective,
this has some advantages because it saves you time
instead of having to take an image and then review it,
take an image and review it while you learn
what your exposure settings do
and how much adjustments that you're making.
Purists out there, though, I think will likely suggest
that the optical viewfinder, which is much closer
to the film days will give you the harder learned
lessons of having to get your exposure right
because in the film days, if you got your exposure wrong,
you're going to be wasting film and potentially ruin
a shoot, so learning through an optical viewfinder
is learning the hard way and your lessons will be
more ingrained. But, it's 2018 and I say
if you can learn faster with an electronic viewfinder
with fewer wasted steps, go for it. Be warned though.
Electronic viewfinders consume more battery
than the LCD screen and obviously,
vastly more battery than an optical viewfinder would.
In terms of actual quality in photo and video,
both cameras have very similar specs,
but produce images that have different aesthetics.
This one I can't really help you with
as it's completely up to you. Some people love Sony's look.
Other people vastly prefer the skin tones in Canon.
I can say though that if you're planning on
heavily editing your images,
this is significantly less important
because both cameras are capable of shooting in RAW.
Both sensors are 24 megapixels and offer
the same lowlight range of 100-25600 ISO.
The Canon sensor is newer though and offers
a slightly better dynamic range, but some tests
have shown that Sony has a little bit less noise
in lowlight conditions.
To help you decide which aesthetic you prefer,
here are three images shot on both the Sony
and the Canon to help you get a better sense
of which rendering you think looks better.
♪
For video, both can handle 60 fps at 1080p.
The Sony, however, due to its compact size
does have some issues with overheating
in warm environments or when doing prolonged
video recording. This again adds to the argument
that the Canon is better for more beat 'em up
video style while the Sony does better
in more controlled situations.
This is why you'll still lower tiered Sonys being used
in some professional work once they add a monitor
and an audio interface, but vloggers on the other hand,
still stick with Canon despite their recent lack
of innovation and video horsepower.
In terms of ergonomics, I personally prefer the Canon
and its menu system. As well, I like the grip
a little bit better because I have larger hands.
This Sony was released during Sony's era
of it's less than stellar menu system,
which had many complaints for its length
and complexity and in that, there really isn't much
to learn because the newer Sony models
have a new revised menu system, so not everything
that you learn from the Sony menu system
is actually gonna be that useful if you plan
on upgrading to newer Sonys down the line.
And that's the last point I want to address in this video,
which is choosing which system to move forward with.
It's important to ask yourself if you think
you're gonna want to stay with Canon
and possibly specifically with DSLRS
or if you think you might prefer mirrorless
in the long run. Although, there have been
some DSLRs that have been released to some success
lately, all signs to do still point to a permanent shift
towards the mirrorless market and in that space,
the Sony is definitely king due to its early adoption
and innovation, and as I was saying earlier,
since lenses are likely going to be your biggest investment
if you move past the beginner phase
and into the professional or high-level enthusiast,
you really need to think about where you want
to end up with these systems
because both of these cameras are capable
of mounting some serious glass.
Glass that you would not want to have to adapt
to another system if you change your mind
down the road. For instance, in terms of lenses,
let's say you bought the Sony Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 Distagon
for a couple grand and you loved it on your a6000.
Then, one day, you decide to buy a new full-frame
camera from Sony like the a7 III. You can take that lens
to even greater heights by popping it on a new camera,
but if you decided instead to switch over to Canon,
you'd either have to sell that lens at a loss
or adapt it to Canon, which would significantly hamper
its performance. Now, the same thing is true
going from Canon to Sony, but the one thing
you should be aware of is that Canon lenses
tend to be quite a bit cheaper than Sony lenses, or rather,
they seem to be perpetually on sale
where the Sony lenses seem to be pretty close
to their full price most of the time.
So, in the long run, your Sony lens lineup will cost more
than your Canon lens lineup, so it'd be more of a shame
to have to switch your Sony lenses back to Canon.
So, the bottom line here is if you think you're gonna
wanna be Sony mirrorless in the future,
start Sony mirrorless now. If you're not sure,
choose whichever camera you think satisfies
your usage needs as they are right now,
but don't go heavy in on lenses until you know
who you are as a photographer.
That's gonna be it for me. I hope you found this video
helpful or at least entertaining, and if you did,
make sure you leave it the old thumbs-up
and consider subscribing if you haven't already,
but if you did not find this video helpful or entertaining,
feel free to hit the dislike button twice.
Alright... I'm done.
♪