I absolutely love and look forward to your Epic Shootout videos! Even when I'm not planning on getting either of the cameras you're showing, I always enjoy watching all the details you provide and your insight, so thank you so much
See from the sample images I would pick the Nikon for portraits. The Sony almost shows too much detail there. For landscapes I would go with the Sony with its advantage of being a compact lighter system
I can always count on you to go over details others missed, it is great to know that camera companies competitiveness has left this decision to personal choice. That also means that they are exceeding at what they are supposed to be doing, which is bring us the best capable cameras on the market!
Easily the best camera review video I've ever seen. As a landscape photographer who also shoots concerts on occasion I'd probably go with the Nikon but being that I'm already a Canon shooter the Sony would be much less of a headache to switch to. If Canon doesn't put out a truly spectacular 5DSr mark 2 soon I'm jumping ship.
Thanks for the great real world review! I think both are great, I choose the D850 simply because of having the full set of Nikon glass. one point , the buffer test is a bit not fair to the D850. If you set the D850 to 12 Bit compressed RAW you will get 200 shootsbefore the buffer ends. this is the mode Sony was while you were testing it. Thanks Again ! Yair
This was awesome Michael! Absolutely love these shoot outs and was looking forward to this one! I love my Nikon D850 and will say a lot of the issues you have with the sony system is the reason why I switched from the Sony a7rII and picked up the Nikon D850!
I agree! Also one thing a lot of people dont disclose with the electronic shutter is you will have banding issues when combining artificial and ambient light such as a flash mixed with ambient light and needing to turn on the mechanical shutter but a lot of the Sony TH-cam photographers dont disclose as a tip which cost me a couple shoots, thank goodness it wasnt paid work but the photos were awesome but couldnt use them. As always love the unbiased results and glad you're putting them out there!
I think this would be a good test to add to the arsenal, Ive seen it in the past on other Sonys, but I haven't included it in the Epic Shootouts and I think it is important. Ill include it in my A7iii Review. I cannot speak for the other TH-cam reviewers, I do think they are trying their best, but I was disappointed with the lack of criticism I saw for the A7iii and overwhelming support and endorsements given for it for the very reason you mention. The Sony Press Events have ruined those specific camera reviews IMO because it is all consolidated now, Sony controls way too much of it and reviewers are not testing on their own. Thats the short of it.
Saweet!!!!!! I think that would be awesome to add to the arsenal! Yes I agree they are trying their best and appreciate the tips on flash photography and how they use flash but definitely think it is something that should be disclosed.
Also very much agree with the Sony reviewing of cameras and how all you hear is positive reviews and dont disclose the negatives like your shootouts with the average consumers in mind. -TJ
Looks like the D850 wins out with 8. Looking to upgrade from the D750...hoping it's a worthwhile upgrade! Would use the focus stacking, as I'm doing so manually with my current setup...thus making that portion of Landscape a nice fit.
Michael I was so going to buy the D850. But then Sony came out with a7r iii before I had a chance to purchase the Nikon. If I was only doing still photos these days I would have gone with the D850. However, I shoot more and more video so I pulled the trigger on the a7r iii. No camera is perfect. The only drawbacks for me with a7r iii is the touch interface is not as good as the D850 or the 5DM4. Also I wish Sony would've had 2 UHS-II slots instead of just one. I also can't believe there is no built-in intervalometer with the a7r iii. Anyway, I'm still very pleased with the a7r iii purchase.
Having Nikon glass can be a worthy reason for staying, especially since both cameras are worthy contenders. Weight can be an issue for some, but most males 'should' be able to handle the little difference. Looking forward to the D850 once the budget is topped up!
You Maven, do the BEST comparison video on TH-cam, Period. The precision, the scientific reasoning, the efforts, oh God. You deserve so many more views!
Thank you so much for your support Rubi! It meant so much to me that nearly 1000 photographers came together in that way. All of our filters were delivered!
That was a very fair an unbiased review. I have the Sony A7RIII and I love the thing. I don't have the Nikon D850 but I still have my D750 which I also love despite its many limitations when compared to the camera bodies discussed in your video. Really good review mate!
Warning: I own a D810 with weather sealing…. and in a light rain.... the answer from Nikon after over one year waiting: "the camera got wet" Nothing more.
@@alestbest - much the same as my D750, wet didn't seem to make any difference long-term in the camera whatsoever! Works every time regardless of dry or wet.
Don't forget to add 0:00 to your description Chapter Markers so that TH-cam chunks up your video. Great review!!! I have a d800 and I am annoyed with the auto focusing for vlogging.
Phenomenal review man... Congratulation on this review and your work I'm general. I've become a fan after seeing this video. Love to see someone that worked hard to produce this.
This turned out extremely well. It really showed me what I was truly looking at in each camera. I’ve had my choice for a while on which I wanna go with but have been leaning towards one in particular. This review sealed that choice, but did so in an extremely unbiased way! Great review! Keep it up.
Excellent review. Have watched several times now. I'm trying to decide between the D850 and the a7rIII. Been leaning toward the latter camera for a few reasons, but, as a portrait shooter, this "posterization" business bothers me and I'm wondering if it should. What would be the "real world" dfference to the naked eye? Finer gradations in the Nikon images? Thanks.
Michael, I want to thank you so very much for this unbiased review. I was undecided what Camara to with until you had the 12 photo line up. That helped me to make my decision. Thank you so much. I am subscribed to you and once I get my camera I will buy your crash course so I can learn a thing or two. Please keep making videos like this! This is by far one of the best sides by side reviews I have seen. Thank you so much Sir.
I am a pro photographer, have been using Nikon form D750 thru D810, I know you are canon man, Bought the D850 in Dec 2017, and Bought The A7RIII in Jan 2018, I own the same lenses you demonstrated on both cameras, I do my share of sports photography, Yes the Nikon does have the edge, I do like the colors on the D850 also, I also use the grip for the Nikon, The Sony on the other Hand. the EYE focus on the Models is Stunning, Dead On The Portraits are Awesome, The D850 Lags Big, Most of my shoots are portrait . I Love Both Cameras, I have Used the Sony A9, The A9 is NOT the same as A7RIII, NOT even similar, The Camera is Amazingly fast focusing than The D850, The Shots are Crisp, you are WRONG there, I am Glad you like Nikon D850, Yes it is FAR More superior than any canon! Overall you Did the Best Comparison , Good Job there,
When you start with "i am a pro photographer", you sound like a douche. Just get to your point we don't want to know what level of photographer you are.
I have no clue what you said. None of it makes sense. Also I don’t know many pro photogs that rely on Eye auto focus to determine which camera is better. The only thing you’re saying is “I don’t know how to focus in manual focus”
I say WOW when I saw the notification. You are the BEST with this Portrait Test. This test show me more than any other about what colors I realy like. Thanks!
Michael, I have bought several of your videos over the years and have learned from each. I think your approach, knowledge, and tone are great. I thought this video was outstanding and takes some of the tribalism out of reviews. There is so much great gear and so many large emotions attached it was really nice to see a calm, realistic side-by-side.
Dude sony GM glass is rated higher than zeiss class, which to me is better than even canon's L series glass (which is said to be the best glass out there)
hofra moh Would you want or need a larger selection of glass for Sony, or would you be happy that the Sony lenses kick the ass of everyone else in every way?
Michael The Maven - Great job. Both in this test, and life. I am wondering if the Sony [focus test at 6:30-8:15] had the eye-detection ON? And whether or not that would make a difference in the accuracy of the Sony?
No Eye Detection used in the sports test, though that is a very interesting suggestion! I wonder how it would change the results? Might be worth trying out!
I have tested that with a friend of mine who owns a sony, thought it was a a9, still i think the af would be same? the eye detection once locks on to a player will stay locked even if another player comes in front of the locked on player. That is it doesnt switch to another player's eye just because its in front. And there is a feature of face recognition. We showed the camera a photo of one of the players and saved it. It started prioritising that particular player.
Not only do you have a confident appearance, you have a phenomenal way of speaking and your review is literally the best review i have seen in regards to these specific cameras. I truly appreciate how you took the images side by side instead of just offering specs an "take my word for it". I will continue to trust your judgement and watch your hands on approach with is amazing! I chose the D850 thank you.
**EPIC ~~EPIC** Another Best Review yet from you Michael. Thank you so much. It's difficult to pick the right pictures.They look identical. But I noticed Sony looks a bit sharper then Nikon images.
A good honest informative review can never be too long. Thanks mate, hoping to get the D850 one day but happy with the D500 for now. Look forward to many more of your reviews.
I am waiting for the time that Sony puts a fast processor in all their camera's. The buffer clearing is always the weak point, even with the A9. For portraits I think the A7RIII is better because of eye AF and a big collection of fast high quality primes like the 85/1.4 GM , 100/2.8 STF and 50/1.4 Zeiss.
This review might be 5 years but it's still relevant today. I have a dual 850 set up and also have the A7R iii. Both are brilliant cameras and it's hard to separate them.
Freaking beautiful job-- great production values, tremendous level of useful detail and accuracy... and you actually know what you are talking about (what a concept). This is my first video of yours I have seen, but it won't be the last, as you have a new subscriber. Thanks for caring enough to do such a great job!
That shot at 18:41 . Sony falls through the floor here. What a horrendous rendition of the sun. D850 wins. Easy. Highlight hue drift is unacceptable, and the Sony probably does that on stills as well.
Good review - The part that seemed strange was at 18:19, not sure comparing Auto white balance would conclude the colors are worse on the a7iii, I usually set the Kelvin or at least lock it down to a preset. Honest question: at 7:00 are you comparing the Sony while zooming, but the Nikon still? If you're comparing both zooming, adding the same comparable stats of zooming vs. without would seem much more fair of a comparison. Those numbers at 7:00 were confusing as to what was being compared on the Nikon side. Glad someone is doing reviews like this though! very interesting stuff =)
One thing you didn't comment on is the size and weight of each camera. This is important for me because I travel a lot and need to keep the weight down. All in all, I was seriously impressed by both cameras. They both take amazing photos that were only a dream just a few years ago. When I took your preference test, I landed on 9 Sony and 3 Nikon preferences but the preferences were not major. I tend to prefer sharp focus over color because I can post correct color but I can't correct focus. I'd love to see how much dynamic range you were able to reclaim in post on both cameras.
Great comparison! I hesitated a lot between the two and at the end I went for the D850, mostly because of lens availability. I do mostly time lapses and I must admit that I really miss the EV and the possibility of checking the progress of a TL on live view
Wow 6 to 6. Can't decide which one I like more. Been a Nikon customer for many years. Like the touchscreen and wish Sony had the same features in the touchscreen as Nikon. Very difficult decision. Thanks for the video. Very informative.
Excellent review Michael! I'm heavily invested in long glass for sports/wildlife shooting, so it's good to know that the D850 is solid if I want to continue on the Nikon side. But I am seriously impressed with the Sony A7RIII. Getting closer to the fork in the road. Just want to see what offerings Nikon will have later this year on the mirrorless side.
I love my D850 & for now Nikon has a terrific native telephoto lens advantage, but that gap is closing, and Sony is pushing innovation very hard. It’ll be interesting to watch how Nikon responds because it seems like they still want to fight. Where’s Canon?
A feature landscapers should take into account, is the Low ISO of the Nikon. Lloyd Chambers tested and found that Nikon's 32 ISO (Low setting) is almost identical with the 64 but with even less noise. In essence, and in my own tests, the 32 ISO puts the D850 almost into medium format performance.
A few things from this new amateur photographer: First, thanks for the detailed review and comparison. Appreciate it. Second, I am just a bit confused when you spend all this time making a detailed side by side comparison, why you wouldn't use the vertical grip with the larger/stronger battery to push the D850 at 9 fsp bringing it closer to the SONY (wouldn't the buffer fill up even faster?) - I'll also read your reply to the comment below to Tamman. My neighbor owns the A7Riii, I own the D850. We compare all the time and you're right, there are certain things that are excellent about both and sometimes those things don't overlap. In your test, I found that I picked the color science of Nikon 10/12 images. LOL Guess I might be bias as to what I'm seeing daily as well. One thing you didn't mention is price of the entire system. I don't know how prices compare of SONY Lenses to NIKON but there are lots of used lenses for the NIKON. Also, weight and ergonomics might be preferred by some for the camera to be smaller and light weight. Lastly, I'm curious about how easy or difficult and expensive it would be to get the sensor dirty and then cleaned. I would imagine without the mirror it's easier to get dust/dirt on the SONY sensor depending on where you're shooting. Thanks in advance for your reply to my long comment. :-)
Short answer is these tests are expensive and this one was not sponsored, so I basically paid for everything with my own money. That would be a good follow up test. There are actually a number of ways to tweak the tests, all good in and of themselves, worthy of doing, there is just no way I can do them all, and I won't try. I don't think there is a huge difference in cleaning the sensors but the Sony would be a touch easier because its not as deep. Thank you for your comment and best wishes
Thank you for responding Michael, and again, let me thank you for being so kind and providing the information you did. I can appreciate that these tests were expensive and came out of pocket and that there is always more that can be done. I really can't thank you enough just because I was interested. I do have one more question for you (again, because I am a beginner trying to learn). DId you do the test with the D850 burst /buffer test in lossless compressed because the SONY drops to 12 bit RAW instead of 14 bit RAW during bursts to better approximate the buffer's ability? Thanks, in advance.
Congratulations Michael, this is in my opinion the best of these epic shootouts you've produced. I am a Nikon shooter and in the past felt that the criticism leveled over autofocus was overblown as there are literally no professional videographers I know that use autofocus. But that being said - the types of productions and cameras they use aren't slr's either and I don't personally know any vloggers or TH-cam content creators. Here you're arguments in favor of the sony system for video are the most compelling I've seen. And on the other side of that you are literally the first TH-cam camera reviewer I've seen who has drawn attention to the Sony's problem with autofocus while zooming in or out - that strikes me as profoundly important as someone who shots a lot of fast moving wildlife on my D500 and I am amazed that this is the first I have heard on the topic. Compelling arguments for either system and hats off to you.
Thank you Randy! Great to hear from you. As strange as this may sound, I’m the only tester I know of who checks the rack zoom during a burst for sports shooting, since the GH4 and A7s Test in 2014, because this is what sports shooters expect to do with DSLRs. Sony’s have always had this issue & they can’t seem to figure it out. Fuji xt2 did not have this limitation. It’s the last major focusing hurdle for Sony cameras. On the video side, I almost always shot manual focus for video, but Sony’s face tracking is so good, I’m starting to use it all the time in my normal shoots. Even at 2.8, it’s just so good. I can literally turn the camera on and jump in front of it without needing to dial focus in or shoot at 5.6-6.3, so for vloggers and tracking shots it’s pretty amazing. Nikon is almost there now. Thanks again for your thoughts
I like Sony features and approach to the whole system however I would take a Nikon anytime, anywhere simply because it will work and withstand any conditions. To me, it's far more trustable camera and Sony still lacks a lot in this departement.
Michael that A7RIII is amazing and the Nikon is not far behind . I love Nikon’s ergonomics and really dislike Sony’s . However , that Sony eye AF feature is astounding and a game changer. Eye AF alone is enough for me to consider leaving Nikon for Sony . Lastly , I prefer Nikon’s more neutral skin tones to Sony’s as Sony colors are too orange for my taste . Great comparison and you’re the best reviewer on TH-cam by far .
I think it's worth mentioning that while the af for sports on the a7Riii has a lower percentage hit rate, it is shooting at a higher fps so it's getting more photos. I think it would be about equal in regards to the usable photos. Correct me if I'm wrong. Great review btw, thanks.
I like your comparisons. Very comprehensive. I would use D5 or 1DX2 for sports because of the higher fps and only needing the jpegs anyway, D850 for landscape and with battery grip - for wildlife, because the high number of MPs allows deeper cropping. And finally - A7R3 for video, portraits, street and even photography with all that goodness of EVF, eye detect, silent shooting, crazy low light and precise video AF and IBIS. Just my 2 cents :)
Regarding the moire test... I see that D850 was overexposed so that you don't see the moire that much. Why did you choose to overexpose D850 in that test @20:01? Regarding the posterization... I wonder if you chose compressed raw instead of uncompressed. At @18:07, we see enormous amount of noise on the lower green and red squares for D850. With that respect, I don't think that D850 wins at high ISO noise test.
You are free & welcome to your opinions, feels like must be a Sony A7riii owner? Yes, you have your opinion & I have mine, but I also actually showed you these defects, so please keep that in mind. As to overexposure, it happens more than you know. Sometimes there are very wide differences in actual exposure despite having the same settings. I chose these particular samples as they were the best representations of FF vs Crop, which was the heart of the matter. You can disagree with this as well, but if you look at my other 12+ Epic Shootouts, Nikons almost never have moire, and I believe it is a software trick- tho Im not sure how they are doing it.
hi Michael and thanks for your very good video. About the Posterization artefacts on the Sony: they look like they could be the result of compression at the raw file level. Did you shoot uncompressed raw? Do Sony’s even have the option of shooting uncompressed raws these days?
I picked the Sony 7/5 in the portrait test, but I will most likely buy the Nikon because most of my shooting is wildlife, which means the lens lineup decides it for me.
thanks for the reply. Also, I like your review style. You use a quite different approach than most of the other reviews I've looked at. The tests and scoring is useful, and both video and audio is clear and easily read/understood - keep up the good work :)
Great Video and fear...For Portrait...I See How photographers shoots with Sony...and Where can I to take Full Format all your Pictures and Video??? May be All is Fake plus and the dark Nikon D850 is the Better...check your pictures,please! I am confused...
I absolutely love and look forward to your Epic Shootout videos! Even when I'm not planning on getting either of the cameras you're showing, I always enjoy watching all the details you provide and your insight, so thank you so much
Got the D850 a month ago. No regrets. It's an incredible camera with great video features!
See One, Do One Amen, I love mine, and it fits my hand.
See One, Do One Love mine and it fits a man’s hands.
You're back! These reviews were greatly missed, Michael.
It’s good to be back - I need to do a better job of consistency. Thanks for your patience and support
See from the sample images I would pick the Nikon for portraits. The Sony almost shows too much detail there. For landscapes I would go with the Sony with its advantage of being a compact lighter system
I can always count on you to go over details others missed, it is great to know that camera companies competitiveness has left this decision to personal choice. That also means that they are exceeding at what they are supposed to be doing, which is bring us the best capable cameras on the market!
As a Canon user it is refreshing to see a detailed review like this.
Easily the best camera review video I've ever seen. As a landscape photographer who also shoots concerts on occasion I'd probably go with the Nikon but being that I'm already a Canon shooter the Sony would be much less of a headache to switch to. If Canon doesn't put out a truly spectacular 5DSr mark 2 soon I'm jumping ship.
Thanks for the great real world review!
I think both are great, I choose the D850 simply because of having the full set of Nikon glass.
one point , the buffer test is a bit not fair to the D850.
If you set the D850 to 12 Bit compressed RAW
you will get 200 shootsbefore the buffer ends.
this is the mode Sony was while you were testing it.
Thanks Again !
Yair
This was awesome Michael! Absolutely love these shoot outs and was looking forward to this one! I love my Nikon D850 and will say a lot of the issues you have with the sony system is the reason why I switched from the Sony a7rII and picked up the Nikon D850!
Thank you TJ! I love my D850 and don't see it going anywhere soon :)
I agree! Also one thing a lot of people dont disclose with the electronic shutter is you will have banding issues when combining artificial and ambient light such as a flash mixed with ambient light and needing to turn on the mechanical shutter but a lot of the Sony TH-cam photographers dont disclose as a tip which cost me a couple shoots, thank goodness it wasnt paid work but the photos were awesome but couldnt use them. As always love the unbiased results and glad you're putting them out there!
I think this would be a good test to add to the arsenal, Ive seen it in the past on other Sonys, but I haven't included it in the Epic Shootouts and I think it is important. Ill include it in my A7iii Review.
I cannot speak for the other TH-cam reviewers, I do think they are trying their best, but I was disappointed with the lack of criticism I saw for the A7iii and overwhelming support and endorsements given for it for the very reason you mention. The Sony Press Events have ruined those specific camera reviews IMO because it is all consolidated now, Sony controls way too much of it and reviewers are not testing on their own. Thats the short of it.
Saweet!!!!!! I think that would be awesome to add to the arsenal! Yes I agree they are trying their best and appreciate the tips on flash photography and how they use flash but definitely think it is something that should be disclosed.
Also very much agree with the Sony reviewing of cameras and how all you hear is positive reviews and dont disclose the negatives like your shootouts with the average consumers in mind. -TJ
6sony 6nikon damn.. but im lucky i dont have money to chose one of the this cameras :) im happy with my d750 :)
cooloox, the D850 color is quite good, I own one and the camera is excellent.
Looks like the D850 wins out with 8. Looking to upgrade from the D750...hoping it's a worthwhile upgrade! Would use the focus stacking, as I'm doing so manually with my current setup...thus making that portion of Landscape a nice fit.
@@dalewatkins9889 did you upgrate to 850? if yes please can you tell your feelings! i'm planning same upgrate too!
Best comparison video I’ve ever seen. Nice job.
Michael I was so going to buy the D850. But then Sony came out with a7r iii before I had a chance to purchase the Nikon. If I was only doing still photos these days I would have gone with the D850. However, I shoot more and more video so I pulled the trigger on the a7r iii. No camera is perfect. The only drawbacks for me with a7r iii is the touch interface is not as good as the D850 or the 5DM4. Also I wish Sony would've had 2 UHS-II slots instead of just one. I also can't believe there is no built-in intervalometer with the a7r iii. Anyway, I'm still very pleased with the a7r iii purchase.
All true and good statements
Having Nikon glass can be a worthy reason for staying, especially since both cameras are worthy contenders. Weight can be an issue for some, but most males 'should' be able to handle the little difference. Looking forward to the D850 once the budget is topped up!
You Maven, do the BEST comparison video on TH-cam, Period. The precision, the scientific reasoning, the efforts, oh God. You deserve so many more views!
Thank you my Friend!
Totally get why you were gone and even was a sponsor for some filters. But you and these fantastic videos were still missed.
Thank you Michael.
Thank you so much for your support Rubi! It meant so much to me that nearly 1000 photographers came together in that way. All of our filters were delivered!
one of very few unbiased reviews i've seen...... great review
Shoot. Both amazing. I went with the a7r3 video, ibis and eye AF being the determining factor. Who would have thought that Sony finally has nice color
This painstaking review is worth the wait and always as a treat. Thanks!
That was a very fair an unbiased review. I have the Sony A7RIII and I love the thing. I don't have the Nikon D850 but I still have my D750 which I also love despite its many limitations when compared to the camera bodies discussed in your video. Really good review mate!
i went for d850 because of weather proofing and lens selection.
Warning: I own a D810 with weather sealing…. and in a light rain.... the answer from Nikon after over one year waiting: "the camera got wet" Nothing more.
Not better than a Sony 7rIII, the sealing is similar. Sony has the better lenses anyway
@@alestbest - much the same as my D750, wet didn't seem to make any difference long-term in the camera whatsoever! Works every time regardless of dry or wet.
@@bojangbg A7R3 is known for its worst weather sealing. If you have no knowledge about it, then check some of the weather test videos.
you won me over with the test! what a brilliant idea!!! I scored 7/12 in favor of the D850 - that was very eye-opening!
Don't forget to add 0:00 to your description Chapter Markers so that TH-cam chunks up your video. Great review!!! I have a d800 and I am annoyed with the auto focusing for vlogging.
Phenomenal review man... Congratulation on this review and your work I'm general. I've become a fan after seeing this video. Love to see someone that worked hard to produce this.
This turned out extremely well. It really showed me what I was truly looking at in each camera. I’ve had my choice for a while on which I wanna go with but have been leaning towards one in particular. This review sealed that choice, but did so in an extremely unbiased way! Great review! Keep it up.
I recently came across your camera reviews and they are the best.
Excellent review. Have watched several times now. I'm trying to decide between the D850 and the a7rIII. Been leaning toward the latter camera for a few reasons, but, as a portrait shooter, this "posterization" business bothers me and I'm wondering if it should. What would be the "real world" dfference to the naked eye? Finer gradations in the Nikon images? Thanks.
Michael, I want to thank you so very much for this unbiased review. I was undecided what Camara to with until you had the 12 photo line up. That helped me to make my decision. Thank you so much. I am subscribed to you and once I get my camera I will buy your crash course so I can learn a thing or two. Please keep making videos like this! This is by far one of the best sides by side reviews I have seen. Thank you so much Sir.
Superb Comparison! Hits all the points that really matter. Thanks for all the work here!
This is by far the greatest camera review out there and I watch A LOT of camera reviews. I love the 12 portrait picture too. 🙌🏼
Another great video! Thank you sir! -James
Thank's Maven, great video! I purchased your instruction video when I got my first DLSR years ago, the D7000!!!!
Love the opening. You are like the "Indiana Jones" of photographers.
I am a pro photographer, have been using Nikon form D750 thru D810, I know you are canon man, Bought the D850 in Dec 2017, and Bought The A7RIII in Jan 2018, I own the same lenses you demonstrated on both cameras, I do my share of sports photography, Yes the Nikon does have the edge, I do like the colors on the D850 also, I also use the grip for the Nikon, The Sony on the other Hand. the EYE focus on the Models is Stunning, Dead On The Portraits are Awesome, The D850 Lags Big, Most of my shoots are portrait . I Love Both Cameras, I have Used the Sony A9, The A9 is NOT the same as A7RIII, NOT even similar, The Camera is Amazingly fast focusing than The D850, The Shots are Crisp, you are WRONG there, I am Glad you like Nikon D850, Yes it is FAR More superior than any canon! Overall you Did the Best Comparison , Good Job there,
I am hoping to do some of that testing. I am assuming that you are shooting very wide open...which is where eye auto focus comes into play the most.
Yes! wide open and 90 percent of my shoots are on aperture priority , D850 is Awesome at Static
When you start with "i am a pro photographer", you sound like a douche. Just get to your point we don't want to know what level of photographer you are.
I have no clue what you said. None of it makes sense. Also I don’t know many pro photogs that rely on Eye auto focus to determine which camera is better. The only thing you’re saying is “I don’t know how to focus in manual focus”
Thanks for the review man! Happy to go with the d850 next month! :D
I say WOW when I saw the notification.
You are the BEST with this Portrait Test. This test show me more than any other about what colors I realy like. Thanks!
You deserve more subscribers for your hard work 👏👏👏
You're doing the best reviews! Thank you!
D850 swiftly smoothly loving the look
Another great video Michael, thanks for sharing.
One word: Awesome! Thank you, Michael!
Love your reviews. Thank you for making this video.
Fantastic video Michael! Looking forward to purchasing your tutorials! Best to you!
MORE DRAMATIC THAN EVER! YES! Thank you sir!
great video as usual ... Happy that someone else mentions the moire on the a7r III, its been annoying me since day one !
Michael, I have bought several of your videos over the years and have learned from each. I think your approach, knowledge, and tone are great. I thought this video was outstanding and takes some of the tribalism out of reviews. There is so much great gear and so many large emotions attached it was really nice to see a calm, realistic side-by-side.
Love the intro! Great comparison as always!
Nikon 850 for me !!! Nikon glass rules
Dude sony GM glass is rated higher than zeiss class, which to me is better than even canon's L series glass (which is said to be the best glass out there)
rated by who? BS mark?
Scotty Zepplin what Hector meant is the amount of the glasses that Nikon offers.
hofra moh Would you want or need a larger selection of glass for Sony, or would you be happy that the Sony lenses kick the ass of everyone else in every way?
Scotty Zepplin I have owned and used Nikon’s top glass, but Sony (especially the GM lenses) blows away the competition!
You are the man! Amazing review.
Michael The Maven - Great job. Both in this test, and life.
I am wondering if the Sony [focus test at 6:30-8:15] had the eye-detection ON? And whether or not that would make a difference in the accuracy of the Sony?
No Eye Detection used in the sports test, though that is a very interesting suggestion! I wonder how it would change the results? Might be worth trying out!
I have tested that with a friend of mine who owns a sony, thought it was a a9, still i think the af would be same? the eye detection once locks on to a player will stay locked even if another player comes in front of the locked on player. That is it doesnt switch to another player's eye just because its in front.
And there is a feature of face recognition. We showed the camera a photo of one of the players and saved it. It started prioritising that particular player.
Not only do you have a confident appearance, you have a phenomenal way of speaking and your review is literally the best review i have seen in regards to these specific cameras. I truly appreciate how you took the images side by side instead of just offering specs an "take my word for it". I will continue to trust your judgement and watch your hands on approach with is amazing! I chose the D850 thank you.
Thank you Amanda :)
You are most welcome :)
Thank you for being so objective about the comparison.
**EPIC ~~EPIC**
Another Best Review yet from you Michael.
Thank you so much.
It's difficult to pick the right pictures.They look identical.
But I noticed Sony looks a bit sharper then Nikon images.
As always GREAT VIDEO! THANKS!
this is a great vid! i own nikon d850 and im loving it so far
A good honest informative review can never be too long. Thanks mate, hoping to get the D850 one day but happy with the D500 for now. Look forward to many more of your reviews.
Thank you Steve!
I am waiting for the time that Sony puts a fast processor in all their camera's. The buffer clearing is always the weak point, even with the A9. For portraits I think the A7RIII is better because of eye AF and a big collection of fast high quality primes like the 85/1.4 GM , 100/2.8 STF and 50/1.4 Zeiss.
Good comments
Nikon doesn't a large range of fast high quality primes???
The Sony primes are better quality. Check DxOMark. I don't think Nikon has a STF lens which gives a very special bokeh.
Birds On A Stick
Hey buddy you got a subscriber. Such a great,honest and impartial review
Man, you make the absolute best videos brother!!! Thank you
Best review ever subscribed keep up the good work bro
Hands down the best comparison, well done!
Best review on TH-cam. Excellent job. Thank you very much. Love watching your videos
Nice video ❤ helpful because of the full length.
This review might be 5 years but it's still relevant today. I have a dual 850 set up and also have the A7R iii. Both are brilliant cameras and it's hard to separate them.
Freaking beautiful job-- great production values, tremendous level of useful detail and accuracy... and you actually know what you are talking about (what a concept).
This is my first video of yours I have seen, but it won't be the last, as you have a new subscriber.
Thanks for caring enough to do such a great job!
Very kind words- thank you Andrew
At 17:50 the posterization is due to the compressed RAW. If you use uncompressed the problem is not there.
But I have to say that the review was again very useful! Your AF tests are always interesting to see and this kind of info is hard to find online. :)
fantastic analytical review sir..
love your no holds bar reviews mate!
Question.....why the 24/70 non vr nikon lens sir?
Great job on this video. You put a lot of effort into it and covered a lot of very important topics. Congratulations.
You’re like the mad scientist of Cameras! Love it !
That shot at 18:41 . Sony falls through the floor here. What a horrendous rendition of the sun. D850 wins. Easy. Highlight hue drift is unacceptable, and the Sony probably does that on stills as well.
Good review - The part that seemed strange was at 18:19, not sure comparing Auto white balance would conclude the colors are worse on the a7iii, I usually set the Kelvin or at least lock it down to a preset. Honest question: at 7:00 are you comparing the Sony while zooming, but the Nikon still? If you're comparing both zooming, adding the same comparable stats of zooming vs. without would seem much more fair of a comparison. Those numbers at 7:00 were confusing as to what was being compared on the Nikon side.
Glad someone is doing reviews like this though! very interesting stuff =)
One thing you didn't comment on is the size and weight of each camera. This is important for me because I travel a lot and need to keep the weight down. All in all, I was seriously impressed by both cameras. They both take amazing photos that were only a dream just a few years ago. When I took your preference test, I landed on 9 Sony and 3 Nikon preferences but the preferences were not major. I tend to prefer sharp focus over color because I can post correct color but I can't correct focus.
I'd love to see how much dynamic range you were able to reclaim in post on both cameras.
Thank you so much! Great review
Great Test! Thank you Michael. Definitely buying your video on the A7Riii.
Thank you for your support Eric!
Great comparison!
I hesitated a lot between the two and at the end I went for the D850, mostly because of lens availability.
I do mostly time lapses and I must admit that I really miss the EV and the possibility of checking the progress of a TL on live view
Fantastic work Michael on the comparison - enjoyed the unbiased review and thank you for that :)
Thank you! My pleasure- Im usually pretty happy with the final results even though there is always much to improve on.
The Maven Speaks! Great Stuff Michael, many thanks, i always enjoy these shootouts.
Thank you Rexx!
Your reviews are the best Michael...Please give the review about A7iii....
As soon as I can get one
Wow 6 to 6. Can't decide which one I like more. Been a Nikon customer for many years. Like the touchscreen and wish Sony had the same features in the touchscreen as Nikon. Very difficult decision. Thanks for the video. Very informative.
Excellent review Michael! I'm heavily invested in long glass for sports/wildlife shooting, so it's good to know that the D850 is solid if I want to continue on the Nikon side. But I am seriously impressed with the Sony A7RIII. Getting closer to the fork in the road. Just want to see what offerings Nikon will have later this year on the mirrorless side.
I love my D850 & for now Nikon has a terrific native telephoto lens advantage, but that gap is closing, and Sony is pushing innovation very hard. It’ll be interesting to watch how Nikon responds because it seems like they still want to fight. Where’s Canon?
A feature landscapers should take into account, is the Low ISO of the Nikon. Lloyd Chambers tested and found that Nikon's 32 ISO (Low setting) is almost identical with the 64 but with even less noise. In essence, and in my own tests, the 32 ISO puts the D850 almost into medium format performance.
Great comparison. Very well detailed. Thank you very much for this review.
A few things from this new amateur photographer: First, thanks for the detailed review and comparison. Appreciate it. Second, I am just a bit confused when you spend all this time making a detailed side by side comparison, why you wouldn't use the vertical grip with the larger/stronger battery to push the D850 at 9 fsp bringing it closer to the SONY (wouldn't the buffer fill up even faster?) - I'll also read your reply to the comment below to Tamman. My neighbor owns the A7Riii, I own the D850. We compare all the time and you're right, there are certain things that are excellent about both and sometimes those things don't overlap. In your test, I found that I picked the color science of Nikon 10/12 images. LOL Guess I might be bias as to what I'm seeing daily as well. One thing you didn't mention is price of the entire system. I don't know how prices compare of SONY Lenses to NIKON but there are lots of used lenses for the NIKON. Also, weight and ergonomics might be preferred by some for the camera to be smaller and light weight. Lastly, I'm curious about how easy or difficult and expensive it would be to get the sensor dirty and then cleaned. I would imagine without the mirror it's easier to get dust/dirt on the SONY sensor depending on where you're shooting. Thanks in advance for your reply to my long comment. :-)
Short answer is these tests are expensive and this one was not sponsored, so I basically paid for everything with my own money. That would be a good follow up test. There are actually a number of ways to tweak the tests, all good in and of themselves, worthy of doing, there is just no way I can do them all, and I won't try. I don't think there is a huge difference in cleaning the sensors but the Sony would be a touch easier because its not as deep. Thank you for your comment and best wishes
Thank you for responding Michael, and again, let me thank you for being so kind and providing the information you did. I can appreciate that these tests were expensive and came out of pocket and that there is always more that can be done. I really can't thank you enough just because I was interested. I do have one more question for you (again, because I am a beginner trying to learn). DId you do the test with the D850 burst /buffer test in lossless compressed because the SONY drops to 12 bit RAW instead of 14 bit RAW during bursts to better approximate the buffer's ability? Thanks, in advance.
Superb comparison with well thought out advice. Thanks!
Thank you Art! Much appreciated
Congratulations Michael, this is in my opinion the best of these epic shootouts you've produced. I am a Nikon shooter and in the past felt that the criticism leveled over autofocus was overblown as there are literally no professional videographers I know that use autofocus. But that being said - the types of productions and cameras they use aren't slr's either and I don't personally know any vloggers or TH-cam content creators. Here you're arguments in favor of the sony system for video are the most compelling I've seen. And on the other side of that you are literally the first TH-cam camera reviewer I've seen who has drawn attention to the Sony's problem with autofocus while zooming in or out - that strikes me as profoundly important as someone who shots a lot of fast moving wildlife on my D500 and I am amazed that this is the first I have heard on the topic.
Compelling arguments for either system and hats off to you.
Thank you Randy! Great to hear from you. As strange as this may sound, I’m the only tester I know of who checks the rack zoom during a burst for sports shooting, since the GH4 and A7s Test in 2014, because this is what sports shooters expect to do with DSLRs. Sony’s have always had this issue & they can’t seem to figure it out. Fuji xt2 did not have this limitation. It’s the last major focusing hurdle for Sony cameras. On the video side, I almost always shot manual focus for video, but Sony’s face tracking is so good, I’m starting to use it all the time in my normal shoots. Even at 2.8, it’s just so good. I can literally turn the camera on and jump in front of it without needing to dial focus in or shoot at 5.6-6.3, so for vloggers and tracking shots it’s pretty amazing. Nikon is almost there now. Thanks again for your thoughts
Quite an amazing, thorough, and informative review of both cameras. Thanks.
I really liked your unbiased information. You gain new subscriber .
Keep it up and also make a video for how to use camera as beginners .
My favorite is back!! Thank you for this awesome video. Plz make a video on Sony A7III
Thank you for your support I’ll have one as soon as I can get my hands on it
I like Sony features and approach to the whole system however I would take a Nikon anytime, anywhere simply because it will work and withstand any conditions. To me, it's far more trustable camera and Sony still lacks a lot in this departement.
Michael that A7RIII is amazing and the Nikon is not far behind . I love Nikon’s ergonomics and really dislike Sony’s . However , that Sony eye AF feature is astounding and a game changer. Eye AF alone is enough for me to consider leaving Nikon for Sony . Lastly , I prefer Nikon’s more neutral skin tones to Sony’s as Sony colors are too orange for my taste . Great comparison and you’re the best reviewer on TH-cam by far .
Thanks for the review. it was very useful for me.
I think it's worth mentioning that while the af for sports on the a7Riii has a lower percentage hit rate, it is shooting at a higher fps so it's getting more photos. I think it would be about equal in regards to the usable photos. Correct me if I'm wrong. Great review btw, thanks.
Both pretty awesome cameras, my pick would be the D850 but I do like what Sony has come up with as an alternative.
Very nice. We learned a lot today. Thank you.
Awesome comparison Michael, good efforts. You are best.
I like your comparisons. Very comprehensive. I would use D5 or 1DX2 for sports because of the higher fps and only needing the jpegs anyway, D850 for landscape and with battery grip - for wildlife, because the high number of MPs allows deeper cropping. And finally - A7R3 for video, portraits, street and even photography with all that goodness of EVF, eye detect, silent shooting, crazy low light and precise video AF and IBIS. Just my 2 cents :)
Great job as usual! Thanks!
Awesome review...thank you for sharing!!!
Regarding the moire test... I see that D850 was overexposed so that you don't see the moire that much. Why did you choose to overexpose D850 in that test @20:01? Regarding the posterization... I wonder if you chose compressed raw instead of uncompressed. At @18:07, we see enormous amount of noise on the lower green and red squares for D850. With that respect, I don't think that D850 wins at high ISO noise test.
You are free & welcome to your opinions, feels like must be a Sony A7riii owner? Yes, you have your opinion & I have mine, but I also actually showed you these defects, so please keep that in mind.
As to overexposure, it happens more than you know. Sometimes there are very wide differences in actual exposure despite having the same settings. I chose these particular samples as they were the best representations of FF vs Crop, which was the heart of the matter. You can disagree with this as well, but if you look at my other 12+ Epic Shootouts, Nikons almost never have moire, and I believe it is a software trick- tho Im not sure how they are doing it.
hi Michael and thanks for your very good video. About the Posterization artefacts on the Sony: they look like they could be the result of compression at the raw file level. Did you shoot uncompressed raw? Do Sony’s even have the option of shooting uncompressed raws these days?
I picked the Sony 7/5 in the portrait test, but I will most likely buy the Nikon because most of my shooting is wildlife, which means the lens lineup decides it for me.
What camera do you use for the recording while you are takling in the room? The image is soo fluent and sharp :)
camaxide Sony A9, the A7iii will give similar
thanks for the reply. Also, I like your review style. You use a quite different approach than most of the other reviews I've looked at. The tests and scoring is useful, and both video and audio is clear and easily read/understood - keep up the good work :)
Great Video and fear...For Portrait...I See How photographers shoots with Sony...and Where can I to take Full Format all your Pictures and Video??? May be All is Fake plus and the dark Nikon D850 is the Better...check your pictures,please! I am confused...
Sony is camera for portrait,how you say Nikon d850????