There are many reasons to avoid Sony. Sure they are pushed heavily by YouTube gurus who are generally not photographers but social media personalities.
Starting with build. Sony's are built to price point with the widest margins in the industry, and the a7xxx series is no exapection with the least weather sealing of any current brand, in fact none. Their materials and build cheapens out because they only have to deal with them during their warranty period. After that, it becomes a throwaway item. Users update them every 14 months or so on their product cycle because once the model is dropped from production parts and service becomes almost nonexistent. This is an important part of the sales strategy, forcing people to buy the newest model on short product cycles. That is a corporate policy for all products from hi-fis to robots. I was burned by them years ago when my 18 month old digital tape deck which cost me $124,000 became unsupportable when they introduced a new model so dropped parts availability for the old one that was only introduced 20 months before. Try getting a 5 year old Sony camera repaired. It can't be done. Which brings up a related problem with being married to Sony update cycle, availability of service even in warranty is known throughout the industry as the very worst. With the very fragile lens flange and lack of weather sealing, when they die it is usually not covered under warranty anyway. Get stuck in a rain storm and buy a new camera, toss the current one in the trash. drop a camera with a lens on it, even on carpet, and the very weak thin brittle flange ring breaks and the camera is toast.
Focus is the only feature that the gurus on YouTube push as if focusing is a problem for photographers. But they are quiet on the features that make a difference in images because most brands are better. For example what does the a73 do better than a Z6? Handling, build, weather resistance, speed, low light focusing, EVF, rear screen, touch control, connectivity, reliable card system(the XQD is reason enough for pros to prefer the Z cameras), video IQ, color science, image stabilization in stills or video mode, ergonomics, handling, support for years, access service centers, sharper corner to corner lower cost and weight lenses due to the largest flange and shortest flange distance in the industry, long term investment protection(Sony has changed mounts 3 times and will have to change it again to compete with Panasonic, Nikon and Canon which all have FF scaled flanges while the Sony cheapened out and used a tiny one so DX and FX could use the same Dx intended flange), color in JPGs, ease of control and menu that makes sense, and many other features that the Z6/7 has over the current Sony models.IF you use a camera outdoors, forget Sony unless you like buying replacing cameras often.
For some taking more than just snap shots, any camera which does not have an XQD/CFExpress card system is asking for problems.
Video on the Nikon is better in every way from focus tracking, IBIS, electronic stabilization and coming with a soon to be released firmware update, PRO Res Raw 12 bit video.
But the Youtube gurus keep pushing Sony and cashing the checks. Personally, after shooting my friend's a7, a7II, and a7III, I am quite unimpressed with the worst handling camera on the market today. He had to replace 2 despite very few frames because of getting the a7 wet in a minor rain shower and he a7II was totalled when he knocked it off his coffee table and it was unrepairable. So he has over $7000 invested in bodies in 4 years and has only used the a dozen times or so, plus his lenses that will soon be orphaned when Sony changes mount again so they can sell everyone $10-20,000 in new lenses once again.
Why do you need 61mpx, large prints do not need them because they constrained by the same lens resolving power and the Sony small flange assures soft corners no matter what.
For IQ, all the cameras produced in the last 10 years exceed the printer and photographers skills. Any image hanging on walls of top galleries could have been shot with almost anything. But when visiting galleries that list shooting data you might want to take a look at what cameras were used. Not many were taken with Sony. In fact last year's International Press Photography awards in all categories 52% were taken with Nikon and less than 2% with Sony. That says nothing about image quality but a lot about what real pros rely on.
If you want to stay with your current lenses and get the best DSLR ever made, get a D850. If you want mirrorless FF the two best bodies are Nikon and Panasonic S series. The S1 mirrorless but larger and pretty heavy but definitely pro build, and the Nikon Z are definitely high quality in materials, components and build. For corner to corner sharpness, the Z mount S lenses are not bettered by any brand despite being small, light and moderate cost. The 24-70 2.8 for example is the best zoom on the market. The lower cost 1.8 primes are stellar and all under $1000. The $700 85 1.8 S wild open is clearly superior to the Nikkor 85 1.4G and Sigma ART 85 1.4 which was the IQ champ before the lower cost Nikon S lenses.
Starting with build. Sony's are built to price point with the widest margins in the industry, and the a7xxx series is no exapection with the least weather sealing of any current brand, in fact none. Their materials and build cheapens out because they only have to deal with them during their warranty period. After that, it becomes a throwaway item. Users update them every 14 months or so on their product cycle because once the model is dropped from production parts and service becomes almost nonexistent. This is an important part of the sales strategy, forcing people to buy the newest model on short product cycles. That is a corporate policy for all products from hi-fis to robots. I was burned by them years ago when my 18 month old digital tape deck which cost me $124,000 became unsupportable when they introduced a new model so dropped parts availability for the old one that was only introduced 20 months before. Try getting a 5 year old Sony camera repaired. It can't be done. Which brings up a related problem with being married to Sony update cycle, availability of service even in warranty is known throughout the industry as the very worst. With the very fragile lens flange and lack of weather sealing, when they die it is usually not covered under warranty anyway. Get stuck in a rain storm and buy a new camera, toss the current one in the trash. drop a camera with a lens on it, even on carpet, and the very weak thin brittle flange ring breaks and the camera is toast.
Focus is the only feature that the gurus on YouTube push as if focusing is a problem for photographers. But they are quiet on the features that make a difference in images because most brands are better. For example what does the a73 do better than a Z6? Handling, build, weather resistance, speed, low light focusing, EVF, rear screen, touch control, connectivity, reliable card system(the XQD is reason enough for pros to prefer the Z cameras), video IQ, color science, image stabilization in stills or video mode, ergonomics, handling, support for years, access service centers, sharper corner to corner lower cost and weight lenses due to the largest flange and shortest flange distance in the industry, long term investment protection(Sony has changed mounts 3 times and will have to change it again to compete with Panasonic, Nikon and Canon which all have FF scaled flanges while the Sony cheapened out and used a tiny one so DX and FX could use the same Dx intended flange), color in JPGs, ease of control and menu that makes sense, and many other features that the Z6/7 has over the current Sony models.IF you use a camera outdoors, forget Sony unless you like buying replacing cameras often.
For some taking more than just snap shots, any camera which does not have an XQD/CFExpress card system is asking for problems.
Video on the Nikon is better in every way from focus tracking, IBIS, electronic stabilization and coming with a soon to be released firmware update, PRO Res Raw 12 bit video.
But the Youtube gurus keep pushing Sony and cashing the checks. Personally, after shooting my friend's a7, a7II, and a7III, I am quite unimpressed with the worst handling camera on the market today. He had to replace 2 despite very few frames because of getting the a7 wet in a minor rain shower and he a7II was totalled when he knocked it off his coffee table and it was unrepairable. So he has over $7000 invested in bodies in 4 years and has only used the a dozen times or so, plus his lenses that will soon be orphaned when Sony changes mount again so they can sell everyone $10-20,000 in new lenses once again.
Why do you need 61mpx, large prints do not need them because they constrained by the same lens resolving power and the Sony small flange assures soft corners no matter what.
For IQ, all the cameras produced in the last 10 years exceed the printer and photographers skills. Any image hanging on walls of top galleries could have been shot with almost anything. But when visiting galleries that list shooting data you might want to take a look at what cameras were used. Not many were taken with Sony. In fact last year's International Press Photography awards in all categories 52% were taken with Nikon and less than 2% with Sony. That says nothing about image quality but a lot about what real pros rely on.
If you want to stay with your current lenses and get the best DSLR ever made, get a D850. If you want mirrorless FF the two best bodies are Nikon and Panasonic S series. The S1 mirrorless but larger and pretty heavy but definitely pro build, and the Nikon Z are definitely high quality in materials, components and build. For corner to corner sharpness, the Z mount S lenses are not bettered by any brand despite being small, light and moderate cost. The 24-70 2.8 for example is the best zoom on the market. The lower cost 1.8 primes are stellar and all under $1000. The $700 85 1.8 S wild open is clearly superior to the Nikkor 85 1.4G and Sigma ART 85 1.4 which was the IQ champ before the lower cost Nikon S lenses.
