For those of us who spend time out doing landscape photography and hiking, that difference could mean a lot over time. That equates to nearly one-half pound of weight difference. The brand new Canon 5D Mark IV weighs 800 grams, whereas the Sony A7R II weighs in at 625 grams. The other Sony bodies are significantly lighter than their Canon counterparts. The largest and heaviest Sony, the just-released Alpha A9 camera body weighs in at 673 grams, which is lighter than the lightest of the Canon full frame bodies – the just-announced 6D Mark II, with a weight of 685 grams. Others will appreciate the smaller size and lighter weight of the mirrorless camera bodies. There are some who prefer the larger footprint and heft of a DSLR. Size and weight may be more of a preference for some people. It may not be ideal, as some of the lens function and quality may be lost in the adaptation, but at least the option is available.

One thing to note is that although the number of native Sony lenses may not be up to par with Canon, adapters can be used on Sony bodies to use lenses from Canon and other lens manufacturers. Sony has made great strides in a short time, however, photographers looking for a great selection of super-telephoto zoom or prime lenses will be much better off with Canon, at least for now. Lens selection has been the achilles heel for Sony, which isn't surprising given the short amount of time their mirrorless full frame cameras have been around. All E-mount lenses are cross-compatible between the mirrorless camera bodies. All the Sony mirrorless camera bodies use an E-mount for their lenses, with the FE designation being given for full frame lenses. Full frame (EF) lenses can be used on crop sensor cameras, but EF-S mount lenses are not compatible with full frame bodies. Canon full frame cameras use the EF mount lenses, as opposed to the EF-S mount, which are solely for use on APS-C (crop sensor) bodies. One of the most important factors to consider when purchasing a camera bodies is the lenses that are available. More detailed discussion of the pros and cons follow in the subsequent sections. Of course, certain aspects or features will be more important than others, depending on what you shoot, so use this list as you see fit. These are things that most photographers would look at when deciding whether or not to purchase a particular camera body or invest in a system. Below are the pros and cons of each camera system. OK, so it's not at the bottom or the end of the article, but let's get this out of the way right now. The competition has been fierce, and that is good for all of us. Both manufacturers have recently released new full frame camera bodies that continue to push the technological boundaries. With a lot of catching up to do, Sony has been rolling out updated camera bodies at an amazing pace. Sony didn't release the first mirrorless full frame camera (the Alpha a7) until November 2013. Canon continued to up the ante with the release of the original 5D in 2005, the ground-breaking 5D Mark II in 2008, and the lightning fast 1Dx in 2012. A lot has changed since the days of that $8,000, 11.1-megapixel camera. The first Canon full frame DSLR was the EOS 1Ds, released in November 2002. It should also be noted that although Sony does produce full frame DSLRs, the comparisons in this article will use only the mirrorless models. This article will hopefully help to point out some of those things and provide some insight as to which camera may be right for you. While each of these cameras certainly excel in particular areas, there are always things that could be better. It would be great if there was one camera that did everything perfectly, but that simply isn't the case. The intent of this article is merely to summarize some of the pros and cons of the Canon and Sony full frame cameras currently in production. Choosing a “best” between the two is really a personal decision, depending on which works best for you and your style of photography. Both manufacturers produce amazing full frame camera bodies. However, the electronics giant has made some significant headway in the digital camera world in the last five years or so.Ĭanon's primary focus has been on DSLR cameras, while Sony shifted their camera lineup to mirrorless. Sony, on the other hand, has only been making cameras since the early 1980s. Although Canon has been producing cameras for decades, full frame DSLRs are relatively new on the scene. Canon and Sony are two of the major players in this game. The debate rages on and on as manufacturers continue to develop and release new camera bodies with more features and better performance. Few things spark a debate faster among photographers than the topic of which camera brand is best.

Lineup of all canon full frame cameras