Portrait Photography How To

Even though mirrorless cameras are taking over, there are still plenty of DSLRs out there and the debate continues on which format is better for taking pictures. Pro photographer Julia Trotti jumps into the fray with the below video where she pits the Sony A7 IV mirrorless camera against the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV in a portrait shootout.

"Today I am demonstrating the differences between DSLR and mirrorless cameras at a portrait photoshoot and sharing some of the reasons I decided to switch to mirrorless," Trotti says. "I hope you enjoy seeing all the side-by-side comparison photos between Sony vs Canon. Let me know what you think of the differences/similarities in the comments. For my mirrorless camera I'm using the Sony A7 IV with the 35mm f1.4 GM and for my DSLR I'm using the Canon 5D Mark IV with the Canon 35mm f1.4 II lens."

Trotti switched from DSLRs to mirrorless over three years ago but was still curious how her (formerly) trusty 30.4MP full-frame Canon 5D IV held up against her new go-to mirrorless model, the 33MP Sony A7 IV full-frame camera. For her shootout test in the video below she photographs portraits of a model in a series of locations and then compares the results later.

"I want to mention that this is not, specifically, a Sony vs Canon video, even though we do have a lot of comparison images to look at," Trotti explains. "This is a DSLR vs mirrorless comparison and the reason why I made the switch to mirrorless. Almost all my points when talking about the Sony A7 IV that I'm using can be applied to Canon mirrorless cameras Fujifilm, Nikon and other Sony cameras as well."

So how did the older DSLR stack up against the new mirrorless model? Well, we're not going to play spoiler here; you'll have to watch the video to find out. But we will say that Trotti seems pretty happy with her choice to switch to mirrorless and has no regrets.