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Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

swldstn
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

Today I shoot with both the Sony GM | GM II and Canon RF L family of lenses but deciding give up this expensive approach to what now is a hobby and try to migrate to a single lens mount rather than continue to buy the best of the best in both product families. My favorite primes that overlap are 35/1.4, 50/1.2, 85/1.4, and 135/1.8 as well as the holy trinity of Sony’s 16-35/2.8 GM II, 24-70/2.8 GM II, and 70-200/2.8 GM II vs Canon’s RF 35/1.4L, 50/1.2L, 85/1.2L, 135/1.8L IS and the 15-35/2.8L IS, 24-70/2.8L IS, and 70-200/2.8L IS. For now I won’t compare the longer zooms or big white telephoto primes.
I do also own macro lenses in both families and the Canon 100mm f/2.8L is more up to date than the Sony 90mm f/2.8 G but do think Sony may do an upgrade at some point. Image quality wise I’m not sure there is a real difference.

On Canon I like that their holy trinity has image stabilization for all three members and that they offer stabilization for their 135/1.8 as well. For Sony the lack of a f/1.2 at 85mm is not a big issue since Sony fleshed out GM and G lenses at 14mm, 20mm, 24mm, and 35mm years ahead of Canon. The Canon family members can be heavier but that is not true 100% of the time but are typically larger. The full size full frame bodies are now pretty comparable if I use the Canon R5/R5 Mark II and the A7RV for comparison and both families take battery grips if the situation requires. For now I’m not including the EOS R3 or EOS R1 and Sony A9III in comparison since they are all only 24 Mpixel cameras. Also since I shoot landscape, architecture, portraits, wildlife, birds, and events, only the A7RV tips the scale for sensor resolution. 45 vs 50 Mpixels for everything else feels pretty comparable ( just an opinion ) if I include the Sony A1 and the Canon R5 Mark II.

So I know this is a Sony forum but looking at the mirrorless market today and not five or ten years ago what do you think Sony’s advantages are going forward? I know third party lenses are a huge advantage for new users or users on a limited budget but this comparison has limited the influence of 3rd party glass. So what the advantages of going forward with Sony or Canon? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Note: I do now consider Sony’s small compact C bodies and lenses targeted for those bodies really important but it’s almost looking to me like a separate product category in a lot of ways since I’ve built a travel kit and none of my GM or GMII lenses have made it into that bag.

Thank you for your time.

Sep 30, 2024 at 12:22 PM

tctmp
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

Sony's biggest strength has always been the sensors. A1's sensor is still the best in the market. Now someone may argue Canon may have improved and the gap is insignificant. But that's not the question. The question you are trying to ask is that 5 years from now, if you have to bet on one company, which one will have the best sensors then.

Sep 30, 2024 at 05:48 PM

Surfnsun
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

I’ve always believed in choosing glass first, and that’s what keeps me in Sony’s camp. I’m running an a9 with the 35 GM and 70-200 GM II, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been happier. The a9’s speed and AF are a dream for what I shoot, and the lens variety just fits my needs perfectly. Adding the 50/1.2 is next for me—I feel like it’ll fill in exactly what I’m missing!

Sep 30, 2024 at 06:55 PM

chez
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

I’d love to hear the OP answer his own question. I think very few here have access to both lines of lenses like the OP…so many are giving advice from only one side.

OP, what is your opinion given your experience with both systems?

Sep 30, 2024 at 07:15 PM

Dj R
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

I’ve shot them all extensively. I agree with the above. What do you think?

But the pliability of the files, Sony wins handily even in 2024. The size and weight of the pro glass…. is a thing for me. And Sony being so secure, financially, that helps. They will always be ahead.

Sep 30, 2024 at 09:16 PM

darrellc
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

I used to shoot Canon but gave up on them long ago due to lack of innovation, except in times of existential threat. Current Canon offerings seem great, I've been tempted. But Canon will coast if the market allows (probably a pretty smart biz strategy given their advantages in distribution and brand). Sony seems to have innovation in their DNA - pace has lessened recently but I think dSLR tech has matured so that's probably smart too. I'd consider Sony the more likely to innovate absent something radical happening - like DJI entering the mirrorless market successfully. Then I'd expect Sony/Canon/Nikon to react - sure hope something like that happens, I'm bored with my kit - haven't felt GAS for a couple of years!

Edited on Sep 30, 2024 at 09:56 PM · View previous versions

Sep 30, 2024 at 09:54 PM

aCuria
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

35/1.4

As far as I can tell from the reviews, that Canon RF 35/1.4L is a disappointment, the EF 35/1.4L is sharper. Conversely, the 35GM is very good, its also lighter and sharper than the EF 35/1.4L.

50/1.2

Both the Sony and RF versions are very good

85/1.2

Sony does not make a 1.2 so if you want this Canon wins.

135/1.8

Both are very sharp, but the Canon variant wins imo because it has IS.

16-35GMii / RF15-35L

The Canon variant is 1mm wider and has IS, but the Sony variant is considerably sharper. I don't think IS is very useful at this focal length for photography, but for video IS is probably useful.

Having 15mm is always useful, but the RF version is considerably softer, and there may be a causal relationship here...

24-70/2.8

There is a comparison here

which indicates GMii > RF > Z > GMi for edge to edge sharpness

That said, the RF version has IS which I suppose is good for video if the 24-105/2.8 is too heavy

70-200/2.8

Optically, (GMii == Z) but the RF version is softer in the corners.

The GMii is by far the lightest, and has the best weight distribution for hand-holding. I think Sony has the best lens in this category.

The RF variant does collapse down smaller, but that's a very minor advantage imo. I would still want a backpack with the shorter RF lens because of the weight, and small backpacks can handle the longer GMii just fine.

Longer lenses

swldstn wrote:
Today I shoot with both the Sony GM | GM II and Canon RF L family of lenses but deciding give up this expensive approach to what now is a hobby and try to migrate to a single lens mount rather than continue to buy the best of the best in both product families. My favorite primes that overlap are 35/1.4, 50/1.2, 85/1.4, and 135/1.8 as well as the holy trinity of Sony’s 16-35/2.8 GM II, 24-70/2.8 GM II, and 70-200/2.8 GM II vs Canon’s RF 35/1.4L, 50/1.2L, 85/1.2L, 135/1.8L IS and the 15-35/2.8L IS, 24-70/2.8L IS, and 70-200/2.8L IS....Show more →

Sep 30, 2024 at 09:54 PM

swldstn
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate the feedback. I’ll see if I can give you my input so far.
First as I get older I do appreciate the image stabilization Canon includes in the full range of their holy trinity and their 135mm but got involved with Sony because of the range of primes from 14mm and up. In reality the widest RF I actually own is the 50/1.2L. At 35mm I actually use the EF 35/1.4L II adapted to RF. Don’t know when Canon will fill out its line. Also admit that Sony’s refresh of their holy trinity made the Sony lens family attractive again. Without it I may have considered moving away from them. Of course appreciate the reduced weight Sony has achieved with their lenses but not sure I want to spend $1800 to get a GM II version of their 85/1.4 refresh even though it a lens I’m sure I would enjoy. There I’m ok with only f/1.4 but a f/1.2 would have tilted the scales more in favor of doing an upgrade.

As far as camera bodies the new EOS R5 Mark II interests me and I’m not sure I want to wait for Sony to produce an A1 II in mid 2025 to get pre-capture. Also not sure I want to spend $2000 more on the A1 II than the Canon body since I think the A1 II will cost $6500. That is why I’ve considered selling one of my A1’s and EOS R5 to buy a EOS Think R5 Mark II.

So you can see why I go back and forth. Of course I’m fickled. As a total system I favor Sony but that is also because I have also adopted their compact bodies and their smaller full frame bodies and lenses for travel where I don’t really think Canon competes. Their products in this space convinced me to sell all the Fuji gear I owned that originally got me interested in mirrorless.

Interested in hearing more. Thank you.

Oct 01, 2024 at 09:35 AM

molson
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

I found the Canon RF L-series lenses were all exceptionally good, even the 15-35mm f2.8L IS (and 14-35mm f4L IS). Across the board, the build quality of the L lenses was better than the Sony or Nikon glass, as are Canon's high-end camera bodies. Where Canon comes up short is the limited range of high quality lenses in their current lineup - no really wide primes and no 200-600 zoom. I also found that Canon's non-L RF lenses were quite disappointing compared to the competition.

If the current selection of RF lenses covered everything I wanted, it would be my system of choice, especially considering their superior colour science and image stabilization.

Oct 01, 2024 at 10:02 AM

tctmp
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

swldstn wrote:
Thank you all for your input. I appreciate the feedback. I’ll see if I can give you my input so far.
First as I get older I do appreciate the image stabilization Canon includes in the full range of their holy trinity and their 135mm but got involved with Sony because of the range of primes from 14mm and up. In reality the widest RF I actually own is the 50/1.2L. At 35mm I actually use the EF 35/1.4L II adapted to RF. Don’t know when Canon will fill out its line. Also admit that Sony’s refresh of their holy trinity...Show more →

With the amount of money you have already sunk in both systems, I say just get the R5II instead of wasting brain cells thinking and having second thoughts, and losing money on all the selling and buying.

Oct 01, 2024 at 11:35 AM

RustyRus
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

Buy the damn R52-

Its awesome-

Its 4 Grand- You have 25K tied up. Sell some stuff if you want but you know you are going to anyway

Seriously though I moved from Canon to Sony and have been extremely happy. I never liked the Sony platform for various reasons and have enjoyed the output on the Canon.

My stand out lenses are the 50 1.2L- Has some vintage character and some amazing flaring-
the 70-200 (either) due to the compact size
The 85 1.2 is also just pure magic.

You can't go wrong with Sony, they have an amazing lens lineup but nothing from the lenses really excite me all that much. They have perfected lens design to the point of no return IMO-

If you will shoot more with a new system, make the switch. Canon is great- If not going shoot the abundance of glass you already own and be happy

Oct 01, 2024 at 11:59 AM

tonychen
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

Well said. I would like to add that for mirrorless camera, most performance metrics depends on the sensor as read out speed affect focusing, fps etc.

However, does everyone need the latest and greatest performance? The answer would be no. For example, most people don't need a global shutter, but it's nice to have.

Canon or Nikon gears are great too. I don't see a need to have two systems for amateur photographer.

tctmp wrote:
Sony's biggest strength has always been the sensors. A1's sensor is still the best in the market. Now someone may argue Canon may have improved and the gap is insignificant. But that's not the question. The question you are trying to ask is that 5 years from now, if you have to bet on one company, which one will have the best sensors then.

Oct 01, 2024 at 12:57 PM

swldstn
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

tonychen wrote:
Well said. I would like to add that for mirrorless camera, most performance metrics depends on the sensor as read out speed affect focusing, fps etc.

However, does everyone need the latest and greatest performance? The answer would be no. For example, most people don't need a global shutter, but it's nice to have.

Canon or Nikon gears are great too. I don't see a need to have two systems for amateur photographer.

That is one of the reasons I made my original post. Have decided to finally let go of one of my mounts and trying to decide which to keep. Both systems have attributes in their favor but in the end need to make a decision. Will finally divest of one once I come to a decision. 😢

Right now I’m leaning toward the Sony because I believe it has more versatility to support varies travel and full size camera bodies with its array of sensors and packaging but there are definitely RF lenses I like. We will see. I’m looking to do this over the next few months.

Oct 01, 2024 at 01:17 PM

tsdevine
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

This is more intangible, but being a Canon shooter until 2013, I felt that Canon seemed to have an idea of what a customer should want or need. If you as a customer were aligned to their vision, it worked pretty great. But if you weren't fully aligned to the vision of what they believed you needed.....maybe it didn't work as great. I don't really have a feeling Canon has changed in that regard.

In terms of Sony, I feel there is a broader tent, more chance of innovation...even if it has some rough edges. There are multiple lens providers, often making different tradeoffs on their product lines. I feel Sony is a little more open on pushing the envelope. Maybe that doesn't feel as "safe" as Canon. But as an amateur, I value that drive. I sort of feel Canon was more like that at the start of digital. And I'm not saying here that Canon doesn't innovate at all.

It's more that since Canon became number 1, it has focused on defending. Where when it wasn't the leader, it was more on offense. I feel Sony is a little more on offense. (Sorry to use an American football analogy, although this analogy applies to most sports.)

Again, not saying my perception is accurate or factual, it's just my perception. I'm not stating that it's reality.
It's just how I feel about the 2 brands. YMMV.

Oct 01, 2024 at 01:28 PM

Ross Martin
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

swldstn wrote:
Thank you all for your input. I appreciate the feedback. I’ll see if I can give you my input so far.
First as I get older I do appreciate the image stabilization Canon includes in the full range of their holy trinity and their 135mm but got involved with Sony because of the range of primes from 14mm and up. In reality the widest RF I actually own is the 50/1.2L. At 35mm I actually use the EF 35/1.4L II adapted to RF. Don’t know when Canon will fill out its line. Also admit that Sony’s refresh of their holy trinity...Show more →

My opinion, since you already have so much money sunk into all the gear, just go ahead and buy a Canon R5II and test it out. I think your reaction to that body will inform your decision about what to keep and what to get rid of. So for now shelve the decision of which brand, and get the R5II asap and go out and have fun shooting it. Then you will know what to do next.

Cheers,
Ross

Oct 01, 2024 at 01:35 PM

mogul
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

Canon's vision is control of the mount, while Sony's vision embraces chaos. Pick your vision of the future.

Oct 01, 2024 at 02:42 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

Well I shot Canon/Nikon?Pentax/Olympus/ Leica and pretty much anything else you could think of. Now im more about the industry than the brand and I made a lot of money on Nikon/Canon but I lost tremendous interest in both of them when Sony came out with the A7R and did not help both my Nikon D800 had to go in to fix the AF accuracy but more about that Nikon/Canon completely lost me without going mirrorless. Pissed me off they were doing nothing to innovate at all and took a lot of time to actually go mirrorless. I lost complete interest in both brands and at this point in my life no way I would buy either again. I like Sony I like how they innovated and kept Photography fresh with new product and certainly making there own sensors. Not sure I would call myself. fanboy but certainly my preferred brand and I would sell everything I had in other brands to stay in Sony. Today Sony makes great lenses and there product line has improved a ton and with the only global shutter out there than they get my money. So im no help here as I won't even look at Canon or Nikon. Ive done that switch systems way too often and im done. No matter what these other brands have im still making money and getting by with Sony. It ends there for me

Oct 01, 2024 at 02:56 PM

swldstn
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

In the film era I shot primarily Pentax until AF came along then I switched to Canon EOS. Wanted to shoot Nikon but really couldn’t afford the Nikon lenses. When the DSLR came around I kept with Canon since before I chose which digital SLR camera I wanted I shot a combination of Canon film and Canon small digital bodies. Then for DSLR I shot exclusively Canon upto an including the 1DX.
Fuji came along and their Xpro-1 was how I got into mirrorless and for years I used Canon DSLR along side Sony’s introduction into full frame mirrorless. Then for about 3-5 years shot only Sony FF mirrorless until Canon came out with EOS R and bought back in and since have always had a foot in both camps.

Oct 01, 2024 at 03:46 PM

engel001
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

I have gone a similar pathway starting from Canon FD and entered the digital era with the Digital Rebel and 20D, subsequently EOS-1DS2 and 5D2 and -3. Now I own a EOS R which I purchased inexpensively (Canon refurbished sale) and two Sony cameras, the A1 and A7cr with several GM primes, the 12-24mm G, and the 24-70mm GM ii. I started with the A7R in 2013.

Fewer and fewer EF lenses have remained with me and the last holdouts are the f/4 L zooms 16-35mm IS and 70-200mm IS ii. Really no reason to keep either except the adapter to either EOS R or Sony FE with integrated polarization filter which is so convenient. The EF 135mm L and 100-400mm have also stayed. The EOS R was my cheap travel and hiking setup with only the f/4 L zooms 15-35mm and 700-200mm. I also got the excellent 85mm macro. Since all three have lens-based IS, this compensates for the lack of stabilization in the EOS R. I just like the compactness of these zooms. If the A7cr had not been introduced, I wouldn’t be questioning my continuation in the EOS universe. Voigtlander APO primes and a few Sigma i Series compact primes are in my compact travel kit and have no peers in the Canon R lens world.

An upgrade to the EOS R5 Mk2 defeats the compactness of my chosen Canon lenses somewhat and a downgrade to the R8 makes no sense, as it lacks both body IS and the familiar level of sensor resolution. It looks like I will keep the EOS R around a few years longer. As with you, the dilemma is when to divest of Canon entirely. I would miss the compact collapsible R 70-200 f/4 L IS the most, as it has no correlate in Sony. The Batis 135mm occupies that space in my Sony setup.

Oct 02, 2024 at 04:43 AM

Steve Spencer
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Sony GM|GMII vs Canon RF L lens families

engel001 wrote:
I have gone a similar pathway starting from Canon FD and entered the digital era with the Digital Rebel and 20D, subsequently EOS-1DS2 and 5D2 and -3. Now I own a EOS R which I purchased inexpensively (Canon refurbished sale) and two Sony cameras, the A1 and A7cr with several GM primes, the 12-24mm G, and the 24-70mm GM ii.

Fewer and fewer EF lenses have remained with me and the last holdouts are the f/4 L zooms 16-35mm IS and 70-200mm IS ii. Really no reason to keep either except the adapter to either EOS R or Sony FE...Show more →

Have you considered the Sony 70-200 f/4 G II. It is a nice collapsible zoom with great macro capabilities and only a little larger than the Canon.

Oct 02, 2024 at 04:50 AM

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