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Canon 5DS R & 24-70mm f/2.8 L II

versus

Sony A7R II & Zeiss 24-70mm f/4

versus

Sony A6000 & 16-50mm OSS

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Canon 5DS R
Sony A7R II
Sony A6000

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September 2015   Sony    Zeiss    Canon      Better Pictures   All Reviews

 

Introduction         top

Sample Images   Intro   Specs   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

I was playing with the little Sony A6000 and 16-50mm OSS combination ($598 as a kit), and it seemed as if this combination's corner sharpness was better than the $4,300 Sony A7R II and Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS combination I had just reviewed (the Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS is notoriously soft on the sides).

I realized that both of these combos have the same equivalent lenses (24-70mm equivalent), and then realized that I was curious how a DSLR, the 50 MP Canon 5DS R and the equivalent EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II ($5,700) would compare. I was curious how today's hottest 42MP mirrorless camera and its top Zeiss lens would compare with the world's best DSLR.

I had three cameras:

Sony A6000 and 16-50mm OSS.

Sony A7R II and Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS.

Canon 5DS R and 24-70mm f/2.8 II.

 

All were shot at f/8 at 1/250 at 24mm (or 24mm equivalent on the A6000).

Both the Sonys had both optical and sensor stabilization, and the Canon had no stabilization of any kind.

Click anything for the camera-original © JPG file.

 

Full Frames (just for reference)

Click anything for the camera-original © JPG file.

Sony A6000 and PZ 16-50mm OSS

Sony A7R II and Zeiss 24-70mm

Canon 5DS R and 24-70mm f/2.8 L II

 

Center Crops

Click anything for the camera-original © JPG file.

These are all shown at the same print size.

If these are 6" (15cm) on your screen, then printing the complete image at this same high magnification would result in 80 x 55" (6.5 x 4.5 feet or 2.1 x 1.4 meter) prints!

Sony A6000 and PZ 16-50mm OSS

Sony A7R II and Zeiss 24-70mm

Canon 5DS R and 24-70mm f/2.8 L II

 

Corner Crops

Click anything for the camera-original © JPG file.

These are all shown at the same print size.

If these are 6" (15cm) on your screen, then printing the complete image at this same high magnification would result in 80 x 55" (6.5 x 4.5 feet or 2.1 x 1.4 meter) prints!

Sony A6000 and PZ 16-50mm OSS

Sony A7R II and Zeiss 24-70mm

Canon 5DS R and 24-70mm f/2.8 L II

 

Analysis

Overall

Click anything for the camera-original © JPG file for your own analysis.

Overall, there's no real difference here for rational print sizes. You may see more barrel distortion in the Canon shot because it's the only camera here that doesn't compensate in-camera for lens distortion.

 

Center

Click anything for the same camera-original © JPG file for your own analysis.

This is mostly a test of sensor resolution, and as we expect, the 42MP Sony A7R II has more pixels than the 24MP Sony A6000, and thus looks sharper at the same print size. We expect that because most lenses are perfectly sharp in the center at f/8, so the only difference is the sensors.

The 50 MP Canon 5DS R doesn't have that much more resolution than the 42MP Sony A7R II, but it looks sharper here because there's more sharpening applied in-camera as I set them. No big deal; 42 and 50 MP are pretty much indistinguishable if everything else is the same — which it never is.

 

Corner

Click anything for the same camera-original © JPG file for your own analysis.

This is mostly a test of lens performance.

The reason the Sony A6000 & 16-50mm OSS look about the same as the Sony A7R II and Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS is because the Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS is pretty soft in the corners, so the better performance of the 16-50mm OSS renders the $598 combination about the same as the $4,300 Sony combo. Ouch, sometimes the truth hurts — sorry Sony.

The really scary part is what happens when you compare the Sonys to Canon, and the 5DS R completely wipes them both off the map here due to better lenses AND better sensor resolution.

The Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS is uncompetitive at 24mm, while the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II is the world's sharpest midrange zoom.

The Canon 5DS R wins today, although if we chose other lenses like the superb Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 or 55mm f/1.8, then the Sony might win. Hmm, actually the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II is so good it's probably also better on the Canon 5DS R than those other lenses on the A7R II.

 

Recommendations

If midrange zoom sharpness is critical to you, the Sony A6000 & 16-50mm OSS are about as good as the Sony A7R II and Zeiss FE 24-70mm f/4 OSS combination — for less than one-seventh the price!

If you really want the best, then man-up to the Canon 5DS R and 24-70mm f/2.8 II.

The key discovery here is that the $598 Sony A6000 & 16-50mm OSS combo is about as good Sony's top of the line, so I potentially just saved you $3,700.

 

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Mr. & Mrs. Ken Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.

 

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17 September 2015