MPB Meets: Lifestyle Photographer James Lloyd Cole

MPB caught up with architecture and lifestyle photographer James Lloyd Cole, who borrowed a Sony A7 III to shoot in Scotland—with some stunning results. Over to you, James.

Since the release of the Sony A7 III a few years back, I’ve been itching to use mirrorless gear. The advanced focusing systems with flawless eye tracking in mirrorless cameras make old DSLRs feel like ancient history.

I’ve gone from having to think about focusing on moving subjects quite a lot with my old camera, to simply not thinking about it anymore with a mirrorless. That is key. Keeping my attention on the composition and subject, and not even thinking about the equipment.

Other things I’ve been loving and finding useful are the electronic viewfinder, to see your exposure live. No more of those tedious test shots, or accidental overexposures, every once in a while. Even simple things, like charging your camera in the car, finally cameras feel modern. With DSLRs, you still have to remove the battery and charge it separately through the mains. So old-fashioned.

In short, mirrorless allows me to think more about my work, and less about my gear. That is the most important thing to me, and probably you too.

I’ve always bought equipment used. If a lens is designed to last years and years, I never saw the point in buying a new one for more money, when it performs the same as a used one, and you reduce electrical waste at the same time—bonus!

I’m a busy guy, so waiting around for private buyers on my old gear is a hassle. Luckily, MPB offers great trade-in prices, while being fast and simple. Part-exchanging gear is a breeze.

When buying from MPB, you get a free warranty included on all of their kit, for extra peace of mind.

I tested the Sony all over Scotland. A place that felt special to return to, as it’s where I went for one of my first ‘photography trips’ when I got into this space.

It was exciting to revisit classic Scottish icons, and new gems, while being able to see how my progression and speed of workflow has come on since then, with help from the Sony A7 III, 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, 16-35mm f/2.8 GM and 70-200mm f/4 G OSS.

I am really pleased with the images I created, from fairytale castles to lonely cottages in wild valleys, it was everything you dream of when picturing a Scotland adventure.

The body and lenses are wonderfully sharp, and it has a much better dynamic range than my old DSLR. The Sony GM zooms are so sharp in fact, I find it hard to tell it’s not a prime. The files were also a joy to edit, as you can play with them as much as you like and not reduce the quality. After years of listening to the hype, I now know for sure, mirrorless is the way forward.

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