Lenses: Canon vs Nikon vs Sony

We find that generally, Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses are very close in performance, with Sony a fairly distant third.

Anyone who takes a lot of photos and is into photography is going to have a strong opinion on which lens is better: Canon, Nikon or Sony. This is an important question because you will find that you can have a really good camera or DSLR, but if your lens does not perform well, you are going to be disappointed in the results.

We recently did an evaluation of lenses by Canon, Nikon and Sony. When we did our comparisons, we were really comparing sensor noise. We also were looking at overall picture quality of course, which includes such factors as sensitivity, dynamic range, noises and color fidelity. Of course, dynamic range and color is very difficult to discern unless you are using a lab to really measure it reliably. When it comes down to judging the performance of these lenses by the eye, you really have to look most closely at sensor noise.

We took a look at a bunch of cameras from the big three, and some of them were the Nikon D3x, Canon 5D MKII and Sony A900. In our view we did not see a major noise difference in these three cameras and lenses, at least up to ISO 800. At ISO 1600, we could see that the Sony would not do as well as the Canon and the Nikon. The fact is that many Sony cameras have more noise at higher ISOs. In our view, from ISO 1600 to 6400, the Canon and Nikon are about the same.

As far as dynamic range and color rendition, we didn’t think there was that big of a difference between them.

Overall, we think that Sony cameras and lenses offer great value for the buck, but generally, they are noisier cameras. On the other hand we find that many Canon and Nikon cameras are about the same in noise. Their similarity is a bit spooky actually! There is simply not enough difference between them to really prefer one over the other. We have seen Canon cameras that will go to ISO 25600, but that is just for the rights of bragging in the camera wars and there is really no practical use for it.

So overall, Canon and Nikon lenses and cameras have a bit of an edge, but Sony is also a fine value. If you are in need of a very good quality Sony, Canon or Nikon lens or camera, please check our selection at www.focuscamera.com.

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