A7Riii or 1dx Mkii - starting a new FF system

[r0ots]

Sorry this may be long winded, but I want to give an accurate portrayal of my needs and opinions.  First a quick introduction to what I need the camera for. I spend most of my time traveling, changing locations every couple months. I am everywhere from bustling cities, sweltering wet jungles, dusty dry deserts, to laid back beach communities... and sometimes rarely in the snow. I shoot predominantly street photography, candid portraiture, action/adventure, and landscape. I've always shot photography as a passion, but have recently inadvertently been working professionally. Through this work, I've begun to film more video as well. I am coming from micro 4/3 so I have no canon or sony lenses to sway my decision. And although I absolutely love the image quality, portability, and durability of m4/3, I've missed in too many moments due to the limitations of the small sensor. I'd like to upgrade to a professional grade full frame system as something I know is capable of allowing me to capture everything I'd like regardless of light and speed of motion, as well as provide a platform for me to grow into as a photographer/cinematographer. As I consider this an investment into something I truly enjoy, cost isn't a much of a factor. I will be selling my 1-ton Cummins diesel truck to pay for all this.  

So, the things I care about:

IQ - especially in low light and fast action (I take a lot of dance photos or)

Great 1080p 120fps video and 4k 24p

Ease of post production

Durability and weathersealing.

Reliable fast autofocus for both photo and video

I've basically narrowed it down to two cameras - Canon 1dx mark ii or Sony a7riii.  I've ruled out Nikon due to lacking in the video department

I love everything I've seen come out of the canon, both photo and video wise. The lenses seem to be better in terms of selection, image quality, and durability. The camera's durability and weathersealing are top of the line, which is important for me. The large file sizes of mjpeg don't bother me and the quality of video seems beautiful, especially the 1080p 120fps.  Dual pixel autofocus seems to be impeccable, especially for video.  14fps shooting will be extremely helpful.  And of course the Canon color science is preferrable.  The combination of the color science and the mjpeg video format seem to make post production editing much more enjoyable, which is honestly my least favorite part.  However...the camera is as big as my head, which I feel like it could make candid street photography more difficult.  Its also a loud camera, and I've used the silent shutter countless times in situations where a shutter sound would be very distracting or rude.  The lack of tilt screen might be annoying after being accustomed to one.  Yet, its a proven camera with a proven selection of lenses.

With the A7riii being such a new camera, I'm still watching all the online reviews and opinions about it.  I have concerns about its durability and weathersealing, for both the camera and its native lenses.  However its small size and silent shooting will be very helpful in its discreetness.  There are lots of other helpful little things like the tilt screen, focus peaking, 8fps shooing in uncompressed raw.   Its image quality seems superb and the cropability of so many megapixels will have its benefits.  Its video quality seems great, and although the image is crisp, the 100mbs bitrate for video doesn't seem to have the smoothness or cinematic quality of the canon.  Not sure how true that is though.  Also sony has its notorious color science (and as good as eoshd is, it still doesn't seem on par with canon from the comparisons i've seen).  Having to spend more time working with colors in post production doesn't sound motivating, and from what I understand, working with the 100mbs compression for video is also more time consuming than 500+ mbps of mjpeg.  It doesn't have the lens lineup of canon, although you can adapt for them for a sacrifice in video autofocus tracking performance....

I'm currently in Indonesia so I don't think renting these cameras are an option.  I will be in the US in a few weeks to make the purchases, but would love some opinions to chew on in the meantime.  Sony with native lenses?  Sony with adapted lenses?  Canon?  Or get EF mount lenses and both Canon and Sony bodies and use the sony when I need silent shooting, and then live off of rice for awhile hahaha

I suppose more important that which camera body is which lens lineup to invest in, as bodies will probably be changed more often in the future.  Invest in canon lenses and hope canon will move into the lighter and feature filled mirrorless market with an ef mount?... or invest in sony lenses and hope they fix their faults in durability/weathersealing while waiting for them to pump out more lenses (3rd party included)

Any and all opinions are greatly appreciated

[Punio]

You are in the exact same position as me with almost the exact same camera requirements and same needs for what the camera will be used for, except I need it for Time lapses also. So I will be interested to know your final decision. I also suspect like me you also want to pick 1DX2 but see the superiority of the A7R3, which is probably what is stopping you or making you hesitate pulling the trigger on purchasing the 1DX2

I personally have decided I will almost certainly be purchasing the 1DX2 with some L zooms, 16-35 2.8, 70-200 and 24-70. I'm sure you know as you have stated a few of the Sony advantages over the Canon, so I will list the ones that have swayed me towards Canon.

1. Better Colour Science. Less colour processing in post. I do find the look of Canon so much better.

2. Better, buttery 120p. Correct if I'm wrong but the Sony 120p is of poorer IQ and not as smooth. Also I think Sony is  down sampled?

3. Cheaper lens, the L is still just as good to my eye, despite what DXOmarks rate the Sony at.

4. Weather sealed. There are tests showing the A7R3 and Nikon(D5 or 850, I forget) failing compared to the 1DX2. i.e. its a tank

5. it's a tank

6. More FPS

7. Better menu system

Cost wise, the 1DX2 is more expensive, but the Sony G master lens negate any financial gains. And you will be buying more lens later. I will also note that it is incredibly hard to find anyone selling their 1DX2 second hand. I'd have to conclude anyone who buys one just doesn't look back. 

 

 

[wolf33d]

I would never use a 1DXII for photography. You say you want to make landscapes, I can GUARANTY you that you can take better landscapes with a Nikon D5500 on tripod than 1DXII. 

Comparing the A7RIII and 1DXII for landscape is a joke, the A7RIII will be that much better (dynamic range / details and crop possibilities).
For street photography, carrying a super heavy 1DX? No thanks. 

The only thing I would use a 1DX instead of A7R is for very long range photography demanding good AF (Safaris, bird shooting, pro sport...) All the rest there is no comparison. Even if the 1DX was cheaper than the R3 I would still use the R3. 

For video now, the 1DX is pretty good (especially since you dont mind the codec) but again think of the weight. 

For the price of 1 1DXII I would get the A7RIII and the upcoming A7SIII giving you one of the best stills and video camera on the market and flexibility to shoot with 2 bodies and all the + that come with it. 
 

 

[DBounce]

The Sony is a toy next to the Canon. I’ve owned both, but still have the Canon. 

[salim]

I'm in a similar boat...

I realized the smaller and lighter my gear, the more likely I would use them and create things and have more freedom of creativity. 

For that reason, I'm narrowing on Sony A7rIII... 

I'm a Nikon user (a former Canon user) and I just wish Nikon had something similar to A7Riii.   For me the IBIS and AF are key factor to allow me to create stuff easily without getting much attention and be able to travel light and carry them all the time. 

Yes, I love the colors out of my Nikon D810 and all the colors I'm seeing out of Canon vs. Sony look better to my eyes.  The Fuji was on my list, too. But after shooting FF with Nikons, especially the D800e and D810 I need the megapixels. I do a lot of large size panos and I can't see myself using the Fuji, sadly. 

[webrunner5]

You are not going to walk around with a 1DX II with a big honking wide angle lens on it for street shooting. In reality the Body is not that bad weight wise, not unless you weigh 105 pounds.

Yeah the Sony A7r mk III is damn killer, probably the best camera out there now, but it is not the best for weatherproofing. I have owned 3 different a7xx bodies and it was in the bag when the weather turned bad. It is the side panels that suck ass weather wise. And very few weather sealed lenses. Not that Canon has a ton of them either that anyone can afford.

I can tell you the toughest camera there is is a Olympus EM1 mk II for water and snow, freezing temps.. But at 20mp and not the best video wise, hmm. But if I could Only have one camera as they say it would be it. It can AF damn well also. My EM1 was the best Photo camera I ever owned, and I have owned a lot of high end Canon sports cameras, not a 1Dx though but all the ones before it, a Nikon D3. It was better than the D800 other than Landscapes.  The 20mp on the EM1 mk II would be good enough even for the Birding I liked. Man the pleasure of using light as hell long lenses on the m4/3 systems is a total joy over FF stuff. And the Hugh benefit to the Oly EM1 is that it can use the old 4/3 lenses as it has both types of AF on it. And the Oly IBIS is killer as hell with the right lenses. And the color output I think is as good as a Fuji right out of the box. Not B&W though. Hell I may have talked myself into buying a used EM1 mk II LoL.

I really don't see a one camera solution that does it all with all his needs. In Indonesia there is a good chance the Sony will overheat on the video side. And the Humidity, not good for it either. And like he says the 1DX mk II is too big. No good answer. Well there is IF he, she can afford both LoL.

[webrunner5]

Oh I forgot the EM1 MkII does that 50mp combine shots thingy for still objects. Does a pretty good job at it to boot.

[Yurolov]

wait for mirroless ff options from canikon. 

[gt3rs]

The 1Dx II is my primary camera for both still and video. I also own a 1Dx (mostly used as backup and remote camera) and a M5 for street and vacation photography.

The 1Dx II and the A7R III are very different cameras and IMO they are not target to the same user.

1Dx II is the one of the best action camera for both stills and video thanks to 4k60p + DPAF, also DPAF works at 120fps. But is not silent, is big and visible so not great for street photography. For me I miss only two thing: completely silent shutter and better 120fps or even 240fps FHD. C-Log would be nice too but I can live without.

The A7R III is a great landscape, portrait camera with good video but it will fail at any action where you need to track an athlete, dancer etc... the slideshow or simulate blackout whatever it is called is a real pain while shooting hfr and tracking somebody or something. The A9 would be a better camera for somebody trying to do action/sport/dance but need silent and a compact body for street photography. In the video department is for sure less powerful than the 1dx II. The A9 has also less DR than a 1Dx II in RAW.

Currently IMO there is not a perfect camera that can do anything from great video, to action photography, landscape, street, portrait etc..

I think you can cover most of your needs with a 1Dx II aside street photography and where a complete silent shutter is needed.