In the Field: Sony A7 III for Cityscape Photography

Cityscape photographer Douglas Jubic is an expert in capturing the essence and colour of Chicago's iconic sky skylines, using techniques from long exposures to silhouettes. In this article, Douglas Jubic explains why he upgraded to the Sony A7 III for his skyscape photography. Over to you, Douglas.

Photography has been part of my life from a very early age. My father had a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Camera and Kodak Brownie 8mm Movie Camera that he would use to take family pictures and movies. There wasn’t a family vacation that one of those wasn’t being used. Many years later, I digitised the movies. It’s so great to have those to watch today. My children, now grown, loved watching those movies of my childhood. My first picture was taken on my father’s Polaroid camera on vacation at the Jersey shore. I was able to capture a lightning bolt as a storm passed through one evening.  And from there I was hooked! I still have my father’s cameras and that first photo. My wife purchased my first Canon film camera and the tradition continued to capture family photos. Eventually, I would purchase a Canon digital camera.

Today I enjoy shooting a wide variety of subjects. Whether it’s cityscapes, landscapes, astrophotography, or urban exploration, I find them all fascinating. I love finding the beauty in the everyday… regardless of what or where that may be. As a result, I have a variety of gear in my gear. Around a few years ago, I made the switch from Canon to Sony for my camera. Go, team Sony! During that gear switch, I was first introduced to MPB. I’ve been a loyal customer ever since. I had a Sony A7R III and Sony A7R IV ... until recently.

I use the Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM, 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lenses. Surprisingly, I don’t have any prime lenses in my kit. I love the Sony cameras for their low-light photography abilities. Living close to Chicago, they are perfect for night cityscape shots. And they are also perfect for those times when I want to capture the Milky Way.

I also shoot with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone. I love the different perspectives the drone offers, as can be seen in MPB's Mavic 2 Pro review. Using Google Earth to search for shooting locations makes it all that more interesting. And finally, I have a GoPro Hero8 Black and an iPhone. When I’m out shooting, I try to capture something with each of the pieces of gear I mentioned. I like how it makes you approach subject matter differently based on what you’re shooting with.

I borrowed the Sony A7 III camera and the 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM A lens. Although I already had Sony cameras I was interested in seeing the combined low-light capability of the A7 III and Sigma f/1.4 for video. I was also interested in using a prime lens. As I mentioned earlier, all of my lenses are zoom lenses. And with those you can get a little lazy with your distance to the subject. Walk closer? No, I’ll just zoom in.

Getting acclimated to the Sony A7 III specs was relatively easy, since I already had Sony. The menu system was also the same, so getting everything set up to my preferences was simple. If you’re a first-time Sony user, their menu system takes a little getting acclimated to.

Using the Sigma lens was a bit different from what I was used to. In some cases, you’ll see a shot that looks relatively close to the subject but as the photographer, you’re really further away and zoomed in. With the 50mm lens, I had to get closer to the subject in order to get the footage I wanted. And I liked that.

The combination of the camera and lens was everything I hoped it would be. Low light capability, even at higher ISOs, was amazing. The focus was lightning-fast in every scene I was shooting. And the bokeh the f/1.4 delivers is fantastic.

I loved the camera gear. When I was making the decision to borrow it, I was interested in seeing whether I liked the Sony A7 III enough to trade in my Sony A7R III and I did. After I returned my borrowed gear, I sold my A7R III to MPB and used those funds to order the Sony A7R IV. So now I have the Sony A7R IV and A7 IV. Photography is an expensive hobby but being able to trade in my gear made that decision much easier.

You can find out more about both these cameras in our Sony A7 IV review and Sony A7R IV specs overview.

There is so much beautiful architecture throughout the city. Whether it’s from the air with a drone or along the lakefront of Chicago with a camera, you really can’t go wrong with location. Then it’s a matter of what you want to accomplish with the composition.

Longer night exposures are great for getting the reflections/shine of the skyscrapers across the water. And it makes the details in the skyscrapers really pop, too. The longer exposure also captures some dramatic effects in the sky with the cloud movement. Chicago isn’t short on windy days to move those clouds.

Purchasing the Sony A7 IV got me one step closer to the dream gear. Using the prime lens I borrowed from MPB made me think about prime lenses. I currently don’t have a gimbal in my kit, so I’ll look to purchase one in the future.

Read more camera gear guides on the MPB content hub.