Nikon or Sony

Nikon or Sony.

NIKON or SONY.

Apart from having both these camera brands i just had to test them against each other at a local football game. Basically i was trying to validate the reason why i would need to invest in another Sony camera, considering i already own four of them.

My main Sony camera bodies are the Sony A6000 series with various lens, but i purchased the A6300 to quench my GAS. ( Gear acquisition syndrome.) in order to really try and justify the £900 price tag.

So off i went with no really major sports lens, but on the A6300 it was the 55-210 F:4.5-6.3 variable aperture.Not the ideal lens i would admit, but the fact that it was a good sunny day and i knew that i could get away with things on the lens. Also i had my trusty Nikon D5300 with a Tamron 70-300 F:4-5.6 aperture which i have used before and honestly never let me down.

Really?? you may think that i am mad shooting with a camera that only shoots 5FPS, surely i have gone mad and what shots would i get??. Well i have used this camera at a motor racing event and was quite surprised at the results, so surprised that i nearly fell off the chair with the results. But honestly doing any sort of sports should be with a Canon 7D MK2 or the latest Nikon D500 both that shoot like a Gatling gun on speed.

So it also begs the question that has been answered numerous times, can a Mirrorless camera keep up with a DSLR, but a basic DSLR like the D5300 which in all intended purposes is a enthusiasts camera, far from a sports camera, but where doe the Sony A6300 come into the frame. Well its fast bloody fast 11FPS and a focus system that dwarfs the Nikon for focus points 425 VS 39 on the Nikon D5300.

Nikon D5300 39 Focus points.

Sony 425 focus points.

But according to the experts the DSLR catches action better than any mirrorless camera, well lets see.Some of these shots are from the game and i have to say that the A6300 was awesome and fast. The Nikon D5300 was also awesome and here is the point, yes get ready for it. The Nikon got more in shot just slightly more than the A6300. Hey maybe it was me and i was not focusing the camera correctly, but i did what was required and i got the results from both of these cameras.

Using the A6300 was a dream and i was wowed at the shots and how fast it tracked, it was bloody amazing. I had total confidence in it when the action got fast and even though the lens was not the best, it did get the results. As for the Nikon D5300, even though it could not rally off the FPS as much as the Sony A6300, i conserved my shots and focused on certain areas of the game that was taking place. Again the D5300 did not fail me and when i reviewed the images back home it got me thinking about a few things.

The main question was to satisfy my GAS( Gear Acquisition syndrome.). Was the A6300 worth keeping after reviewing the results ? I was wowed by the camera and my GAS was kicking in but my Nikon D5300 sort of brought me down to earth, and the reason for that was this. I already own two Sony A6000 cameras that could probably easily have gave similar results,

Based on these questions and that fact that maybe £900 could be put to another use, decided to send the A6300 back, not that i did not want it, hell forbid i really would love this to be in my arsenal, but common sense prevailed. The main reason was not just reviewing the camera but the lens was also a major factor in the equation, my Sony lens was OK but not perfect. I fully believed that to really get the best out of the Sony A6300 or even the A6000's that i own i would have to invest in the Sony 70-200 f:4. which on an APS-C camera would give me 105-300 focal range at F4, not bad eh!!

Sony 70-200 F4

So if i wanted to get into sports more which i do, i would have to invest or chose either the Nikon system or Sony system. But the question i would put to anybody is this. Does your present setup get you the results that you want, YES?? then stay with that system, my main System is Nikon as i also have a D610 and it performs really good for action shots. I don't really try and fire off a large amount of shots as i keep my eye trained on the action and get the shots that i think are required.

So where does that leave my Sony system? Well it remains with me and i love the Sony A6000 that much i purchased two of them, no seriously i did. One of the major factors was Video, Nikon are in the dark ages with their stupid stupid contrast detect system for video. The Sony is king of video for me and i hardly use the Nikon's for video end of.

Nikon 200-500

So lens.. well there is more choice for the Nikon system and the price ranges are within most peoples budgets. The Nikon 200-500 F5.6 is a great lens and was a big surprise to everyone when it was released, but lets not forget the third party alternatives. I have used the Tamron 150-600 F5-6.3 and it was really good for the time i had it well worth the money and cheaper than the Nikon but don't let that put you off it performs as good and am considering purchasing it for my sports events.

Tamron 150-600

But in the end i really enjoyed the A6300 and have not really ruled out getting it. It is still expensive even now that the A6500 has came out but i could not justify the £1600 for the A6500, but there again the Nikon D500 is around the same price. However there are more alternatives to the question, the D7200 is still an awesome option and especially paired with the two lens mentioned it would basically give anybody a great action setup, and not costing the Earth..