I shot Canon for eight years. Two bodies, five L-series lenses, a drawer full of accessories. Then I sold it all and went Sony. People ask me about this constantly, so here’s the honest, unfiltered version.

Why I Left Canon

Autofocus in video. I started doing more hybrid work — stills and video on the same shoot. Canon’s Dual Pixel AF was great for stills, but Sony’s real-time eye tracking in video was on another level. Clients noticed the difference in my video work immediately.

Third-party lens support. Tamron and Sigma had a wider, more affordable selection for Sony E-mount than Canon RF. Canon’s decision to restrict third-party RF lenses (which has since loosened) pushed me over the edge. I didn’t want to be locked into only first-party glass.

Sensor performance. Sony’s sensors consistently outperformed Canon’s in dynamic range and high-ISO performance. Not massively — maybe a stop in some situations — but enough to matter when recovering shadows in landscape work.

Resale value. Sony bodies held their value better on the used market at the time. This made the financial math of switching less painful than it looked on paper.

How I Did It

I sold my Canon gear over three months on eBay and Fred Miranda’s buy/sell forum. Total recovered: about 65% of what I’d paid. That hurt.

I bought a Sony A7IV body and three Tamron lenses: the 17-28mm f/2.8, 28-75mm f/2.8 G2, and 70-180mm f/2.8 G2. Total cost was actually less than my Canon kit had been, with comparable or better optical quality.

The transition took about two weeks of rewiring muscle memory. Custom buttons are in different places, menu logic is different, and the grip feel took adjustment. I missed shots during that learning curve. It’s real.

What I Gained

Better autofocus for everything. Not just video. Sony’s tracking is aggressive and reliable in a way that changed how I shoot. I trust the camera more and think about focus less.

Lighter kit. The Tamron trinity is noticeably lighter than Canon’s L-series zoom equivalents. Over a full day of shooting, my shoulders thank me.

Better EVF experience. What you see is what you get — exposure, white balance, depth of field preview are all live. After switching, optical viewfinders feel like guessing.

Ecosystem momentum. Sony’s release cadence and third-party support give me confidence that my investment is future-proof. Whether that stays true is anyone’s guess.

What I Miss

Canon color science. This one is real. Canon’s skin tones straight out of camera are warmer and more pleasing. Sony tends toward green/magenta in skin tones. It’s fixable in post, but it’s an extra step that Canon never required.

Ergonomics. Canon bodies fit my hands better. The grip is deeper, the button layout is more intuitive, and the menu system makes more sense. Sony has improved dramatically, but Canon still feels more natural to hold for long periods.

The Canon community. This sounds trivial, but Canon shooters are everywhere. Borrowing a lens, getting advice, sharing accessories — the Canon ecosystem is enormous. Sony’s community is growing but still smaller in my local scene.

Battery life on older bodies. My Canon 5D IV seemed to last forever. The Sony A7IV is adequate but not exceptional. I carry two extra batteries now instead of one.

Would I Do It Again?

Yes. But I’d tell anyone considering the switch to wait for a natural transition point — when you need a new body anyway, or when your lenses are due for an upgrade. Selling a working system at a loss just to switch brands is painful and usually unnecessary.

The best camera system is the one that helps you do your best work. For me, right now, that’s Sony. In five years, it might be something else entirely.

Don’t marry a brand. Date your gear.