Should you switch from Fujifilm to Sony A7IV? The opinion of a professional photographer \ videomaker

I admit, I was terrified. I have always been a huge Fujifilm fan, and have made almost all my friends and colleagues buy X-series products.
In December 2021 I sold everything and I switched to Sony A7IV almost day one. Betrayal? Upgrade? Is it really worth switching from Fujifilm to Sony?

Let's see it together.

Premise: This is not a review and I won't go into technical specifications: the web is full of very good colleagues who have analyzed the specifications in depth and described perfectly the use of the machine and its performance (spoiler: it's the best on the market). I'll talk about real world experiences from a completely subjective point of view: at this moment you're talking to a photographer friend.
I also own a Canon 5D Mark IV, my favorite work tool, which I will not mention in this article to avoid confusion.

Ergonomics

For those coming from Fujifilm's retro style, the ergonomics of the Sony a7IV are a return to the reflex world with the advantages of a mirrorless, but we're not there on the position of the buttons.

The machine is massive, but not heavy. It sits very well in the hand and gives a feeling of solidity that the quality of Fujifilm materials, paradoxically, cannot match, especially in the new models built in China. In particular Silver cars are very susceptible to scratches.

The feeling of disorientation comes when you have to deal with the shooting experience.

Here the learning curve in switching from Fujifilm to Sony suddenly becomes difficult: the Key placement, much more numerous than the Fuji X-T3, is not always intuitive. Especially for the choice of apertures and shutter speeds, which require a new habit and initially slow down the speed of action.
One aspect that I really appreciated in Sony A7IV is the separation between shutter button and video recording button: even in camera mode, in fact, just press the rec button to start a video clip. This is a very useful aspect for me who works in the field reportage\politics, where I am often asked for mini videos to post on social media. Likewise, the video mode position is easily accessible. On Fujifilm you have to rotate the entire crown of functions, which is absolutely impractical.

For the Fujifilm X-T3, however, the photography features.

Fujifilm wins for pure photographers, Sony for users “hybrids“.

Image quality

Very high, excellent, a stratospheric dynamic range, but for those coming from Fuji's top cameras there won't be that “wow” effect that you expect.

Let's be clear: Fujifilm, but in general all high-end cameras of the last 5 years, have such high image quality to be chosen more for specific needs or personal tastes than for real differences in performance. Moving from Fujifilm to Sony was therefore an unsurprising evolution..

Many will say “yes, but you passed by From APS-C to Full Frame, the image is obviously better“. I answer no.

For Fujifilm users this sentence has a relative value: the entire philosophy of the Japanese company revolves around the small sensor: from lenses already designed to simulate full frame equivalents (my favorite has always been the Fujinon 16mm f/1.4, equivalent to 24mm on full frame) to the calibration of the cameras, everything is perfectly designed around the APS-C system, so much so that the transition from one body to another in terms of quality is not unnatural. Which instead, paradoxically, happens when moving from the Sony Alpha 6000 to the flagship series: Sony's best lenses, the Zeiss and G Series, are primarily designed for full-frame.

On paper it is certainly true that The advantages of full frame are numerous, starting from the adapters which I will talk about later.

Likewise, for those looking for megapixels for giant photos, the Sony 33mpx are more than the 26 of the Fujifilm X-T3 and T4, but in the real world nothing changes. As long as you don't take nature or architectural photos or other very demanding niches. ISO management It's excellent in both cameras, with a few more points for Sony. But we're on the excellent for both cameras.

In the context wedding, events and portraiture, a good photographer takes the right photo with the tool that most stimulates his creativity. The tools provided by Fuji and Sony are extremely satisfying: The malleability of RAW files is really extreme, with a dynamic range that allows you to recover impossible images in any situation.

Better Sony on the technical level. On a practical level, in my opinion, it is a question of photographic uses.

Colors and JPEG

There are many professional environments in which Shooting in JPEG has become essential. And let's not forget the many amateur aspects, where, while traveling, perhaps the time comes for a souvenir photo and you want to do it “your way”.

Let's ban the fundamentalists: it reminds me of "alpha male rules” when I hear those sentences like “the real photographer only shoots in raw“. It's not like that, not in all professional environments.

In reporting, especially in politics, you sometimes have to deliver the photo instantly. And if you didn't take it well or you can't connect your phone to the camera, they are serious troubles. So sometimes it's even better use the right phone.

The Fujifilm is a pleasure to use with his Color science calibrated on old films: I realized numerous reports entirely in JPEG, as well as even some daytime parties. Very hard to beat, especially with the profile Classic Chrome, my favorite. Even the management of black and white, with selective filters, allows the production of natural photos.

THE Sony color profiles are confusing: we think in terms of acronyms, there are so many settings and this does not help at all the user who switches from Fujifilm (but I think it is quite difficult for any photographer!). It must be said that the Sony Alpha 7 Mark IV has made a big step forward compared to the Mark III, which had an interpretation with less bright colors and tending towards greenish/yellowish in its jpeg profiles.

Draw with Sony A7IV. For other models, Fujifilm is definitely better.

Autofocus

Here we shout at miracle. Sony's AF system is on another planet. Very fast even with non-original lenses (at the moment I'm using Samyang 45 f/1.8 and 24 f/1.8, which I will review separately) and face recognition is perfect, especially in videos where it never misses a beat. The opportunity to be able to select not only the human face recognition, but also animals (with the cat it's a pleasure) and birds (ideal for bird photographers).

The “famous faces” option is fascinating, which allows you to prioritize the focus on the faces of people already recorded by the camera: imagine the convenience in photographing reportage or in the wedding style, where you have the face of the bride and groom or your subject and then let the automation do the work!

In general the quality of the focus is no match. Fujifilm has made great strides with the X-T3 and X-T4, but compared to the speed of the Sony Alpha system there is still work to be done. Starting with the X-T3 The Fuji can be used with peace of mind in professional environments and I myself have even used it for follow the Head of State Sergio Mattarella on an official visit, but With Sony I have had colossal improvements in my work.

Sony wins by a landslide.

Ease of use and functionality

Years ago I read a review by Ken Rockwell complaining about the chaotic menus of the then-new Fujifilm X-T2. The Sony ones are evil in comparison then. Furthermore, they are supported by an exclusively online manual, which is not even very easy to consult.

The translation into Italian is terrible, so much so that I was forced to leave the car in English, because practically all menu items are abbreviations and dotted acronyms and they also sin of zero intuitiveness. For a new user it is a nightmare to navigate and I myself have ongoing difficulties in identifying the right things I need.

Let's take two examples: Formatting the memory card, which is located inside the section “shooting“. Or the modification of the autofocus modes, placed without an ordering logic. Even the stabilizer setting it's complex to find, so much so that I put it in the personalized menu. And let's not talk about the bracketing, which to start it automatically you practically only need the external remote control. It's a thing totally irrational.

On Fujifilm this aspect is much more rational and simpleThe machine is designed for just take a shot, in a dry and essential way. In the last two versions, then, The video aspect has also been enhanced in an excellent way.

The menus are laid out rationally enough and the camera body, with its vintage look, has everything at your fingertips. You know exactly what to touch for every need and, even without looking at the screen, you can immediately know your shooting settings and go by intuition. The aperture ring is on the lens, the shutter speed ring is on the top crown of the camera.

Fujifilm is much simpler even in ordinary things. But there is one thing to think about:

Smartphone App

The Fujifilm Camera Connect app is a nightmare. Poorly programmed, destined to disconnect every other time, updates and screen refreshes are constantly delayed. Something that is nothing short of pathetic and makes recording videos practically impossible. For me, who with Storie di Napoli records numerous vlogs, it was a torment. Furthermore, it is impossible to keep track of the focus, while other times it suddenly disconnects while transferring photos to the phone. The iOS app is slightly better than the Android one, but we are always on a low level.

Sony succeeds in the difficult task of to even out so much ugliness. Connection problems with the camera are very frequent, even the shooting settings are quite cumbersome and slow to use. For a reportage photographer or advanced social media manager This is a real pain, because patience is often the first thing that is lacking in high-stress situations. And this patience app requires a lot of it.

Reliability

Fujifilm has been declining over the years in this aspect. For intensive professional use I have repeatedly encountered problems or defects of Fujifilm that in my opinion are unacceptable. During the Giffoni Film Festival I suddenly found myself with the Fujifilm X-T2 with the mechanical shutter is blocked. Googling a bit, I discovered that this is a fairly common defect. With the X-T3, however, during a wedding it presented a bug that caused it to reboot during shooting. Then it turned off and did not reactivate for the entire evening. An update solved it, but on these occasions you understand the absolute importance of a backup camera.

In terms of battery, a criterion that I include in reliability, it varies a lot depending on the use made of the machine. Generally I noticed a longer overall battery life of the Sony A7IV in both video and stills.

However, there is one detail in Fujifilm's favor: Sony does not in fact offer an external charger, but only a USB extension cable that makes charging very slow. The Sony battery charger, essential for any professional photographer and videographer, it costs more than 80 euros.

Optical park

There is no real winner here: both brands have a variety of lenses sufficient for any use and taste: Fujifilm, thanks to the APS-C system, produces a range of professional lenses that are significantly more affordable than Sony, not for this reason of lesser quality. Sony, on the other hand, relies on the Zeiss brand and its G series, which boasts glass from the resolution very high. Important for sensors loaded with megapixels like the A7IV, but I'm also thinking of the A7RIV or A1 models.

A reflection must therefore be made on the basis of one's own photography style and how to use it of the photo-video camera.

In this regard, let's do two small insights:

Adapters for other brands

Fujifilm has slowly made its way a path of adaptation to “classic” brands like Canon and Nikon, but those who buy an X-T3 or X-T4 with the idea of mounting lenses from other brands on it will be disappointed: it's a failure.

On Fuji I initially converted several Canon lenses with numerous adapters: from Viltrox, economic and inadvisable model, Fringer, arriving at the Metabones. From the most to the least expensive there is only a wider range of adaptable lenses, but usability remains low: the performance of autofocus they result get worse beyond the unbelievable, often making the objectives very frustrating to use.

I have tried a very wide range of lenses: from the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art to the Canon 100mm f2, passing through the 24mm f/1.4 L, 24-70 f/2.8L (both Canon and Tamron equivalent), 70-200 f/2.8 L and also the f/4 model.

With Sony this problem is drastically mitigated. I purchased the adapter Sigma MC-11 which, of course, with the 50mm f/1.4 Art works to perfection, transforming my Canon lens into an optic that can also be used on Sony, with absolutely acceptable autofocus quality in video and photography. I noticed, however, a camera overheating when I record videos with adapted lenses. Let's be careful, Sony support was unable to answer me because, clearly, adapting lenses is an operation theoretically not permitted on the camera.

Anyway, in photography This solution is excellent. The other lenses are also all in perfect working order and have excellent autofocus performance, albeit slightly smaller than their Sony counterparts.

In any case, Sony wins hands down.

Vintage Lenses

I am a fan of vintage objects, I collect a lot of photographic tools, even if they are worthless, but which can help me in creativity. With mirrorless cameras, vintage lenses have discovered a new spring. And in this area there is no contest: Sony wins hands down.

The reason is one: it's full frame. And this allows Buying adapters at a very low cost, where instead on Fujifilm you are forced to buy the "speed booster” to convert vintage lenses to their APS-C equivalent. All expensive things or even to be custom commissioned to Adriano Lolli.

Furthermore (and this is not a discussion that applies to those who have the X-T4), the Sony internal stabilizer It is very effective and I managed to taking a handheld photograph with a 500mm catadioptric lens.

I also indulged myself a little: I bought a Kiev-88 to m42 adapter, so I can mount it on the Sony A7IV. I know that I will only use it a little, but when you get that creative urge, you have some amazing lenses to experiment with.

Conclusions: Is it worth switching from Fujifilm to Sony?

Mathematics in Creative Art It has value only in the composition and shooting techniques, not in the decision of the right tool for you: we are wary of the thousand rankings and head-on clashes that only put the technical specifications on the test bench. We will never come out satisfied: let's try to see what are the answers to individual practical problems that I have placed in the previous paragraphs.

So let's answer the question: Is it worth switching from Fujifilm to Sony A7IV?

For wedding\events\reportage\photojournalism\architecture\nature photography is a great investment. In slower areas, such as the world of portraiture\travel\landscapes, things change.

I will definitely buy a car from this series in the future. Fuji X-Pro for personal use. The creative feeling that Fuji gives you is excellent and that's what matters in photography. For work, Sony's autofocus capabilities and super-fast video/photo switching are two winning features.

-Federico Quagliuolo