The move to Sony
At the Vechtdal Rally the Canon EOS RP ran out of road: autofocus too slow, sensor struggling in poor light. Why the switch went to Sony, which lenses came along, and what the bag looked like a few months later.
It was during the 2023 Formula 1 at Spa that I first became acquainted with Sony. Some members of the Dutch Shooters showed me how the Sony works compared to my Canon EOS RP. I was enormously impressed by that. I had rented an RF lens for the day so I could compare how much it would differ from the EF lenses I had.
Later in 2023 I went to South Africa and there I ran into some limitations of my Canon and the older lenses I had. After I exchanged the EF lenses for RF lenses, I noticed that was already much better. In particular, sharpness and autofocus were better matched to the body. I decided to give it another chance in 2024.
During the ELE Rally, I noticed that the lenses worked well, but the RP’s sensor struggled in poor light. A month later during the Vechtdal Rally, I really needed the speed of the autofocus and burst and it couldn’t handle that. He was just too slow so on the fast parts, such as the jump on the dirt track, I just had to be lucky to be on time.
The Sony
So I decided to trade in my Canon and all the lenses for Sony. After some searching and comparing, I chose the Sony A7C II as my body. Especially because of the combination of AI and autofocus, which should make it self-learning when it comes to recognizing different objects. In terms of lenses, I went with the Sony 24-105mm f/4 and 70-200mm f/4. That was the same combo I had with the Canon and I liked it, especially for motorsports.
For wildlife, I chose the Tamron 150-500mm, a lens that allows you to zoom in incredibly far for an affordable price and excellent sharpness. As an added bonus, I added the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 to the set, giving me a wide angle in the bag as well. Also make sure you have enough batteries, which is never wrong, of course. You can go for an original Sony battery or a battery from Jupio, for example, which are a bit cheaper.
I was able to try out the set right away at the GTC Rally and there I was really surprised at the quality. What a camera and what lenses! I am going to have a lot of fun with this!
Evolution in the bag
After several months, the current setup changed. In addition to the Sony A7C II, I have added a Sony A9 and thus own two full-frame bodies. In terms of lenses, I have the Tamron 35-150mm and Tamron 150-500mm. The 35-150mm in particular is a wonderful lens! Basically every focal length I use a lot in motorsports, but also as a secondary lens in wildlife, in one lens. The best of these is the aperture, which starts at f/2 at 35mm and sits at 150mm at f/2.8. Actually the perfect lens!
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