The EOS R, my thoughts on Canon’s Mirrorless camera!
The Canon EOS R why all the hate? I've read a lot of negative reviews of the EOS R. Many YouTubers / Photographers have dissected this camera, talked about the specs, and how they were disappointed about this camera. The only positive reviews have seen so far are from pro photographers who are somehow affiliated to canon, some are official ambassadors so it's a bit hard to listen to what they have to say about the camera when you know they are a part of the family. Before we go any further, I am not a Canon ambassador, I am not paid to say what I am about to say, and I got this camera on loan from Canon for 2 weeks. Now that you have the info you are free to continue to read this article or not.
The only way to know if a camera is any good... is to test it. I know it's not easy, I personally go to conventions, official launch parties at my local camera store or ask my rich friends if they can borrow me some gear. We are all different, our needs are different, I don't think there is a camera out there that would satisfy all types of photographers. 2 weeks, with the EOS R and the 24 105 f4 RF L lens... unfortunately I didn't have a ton of photoshoots, but I had a couple and I took the risk (or not) to have this camera, and this camera only on 4 different shoots in 4 different locations.
I will not talk about the video quality of the EOS R, 1.8 times crop in 4K and No 1080p at 120 fps is enough for me to not consider it as a serious video camera.
So let's dive into this, coming from a 5D Mark III and IV I feel at home. The menus are pretty much the same there is nothing more to say... I love Canon menus, they are easy to understand.
Things have changed on the top, some buttons and dials have disappeared. In the back no joystick, and a new touch bar that I deactivated. Canon wants to give its customers a customizable camera, I understand, that's cool, but in two weeks I didn't have time to really dive into this.
I mainly use the joystick for focusing on my Mark III so I was a bit disoriented at first. But then using the touch screen instead is pretty intuitive and you quickly get used to it. The camera body is not too small, I just hate how close the buttons are to one another... I have to admit muscle memory wasn't in my favor here, I accidentally touched the video record button up a few times because it is now on the top panel. It took me half a day to get used to the electronic viewfinder. It is nice and detailed, your eye can stay glued to the viewfinder because a lot of information is available there. Another little thing that bothered me in use is the sensor below the viewfinder. If anything goes in front of it... like your hands. When it thinks you are actually looking inside the viewfinder the screen goes black. Not great when you wish to review your photos, I accidentally had my hands in front of that sensor a few times and got that annoying black screen from time to time.
What about that tilting screen? My back is happy about it, I do not have to bend down, or lay like a carpet on the floor to compose my low-angle shots and that's a good thing... for me.
Alanna Baker (Toulouse - La Cartoucherie)
Canon EOS R + RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM 1/200sec f4 ISO250 - 24mm
Allegra Bird (Bordeaux - Château Pape Clément)
Canon EOS R + RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM 1/200sec f4 ISO400 - 35mm
But what about the Images?
Alexandra Vadon (Toulouse - Hôtel Le Grand Balcon)
Canon EOS R + RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
1/80sec f4 ISO400 - 53mm
They are great, colors, depth nothing new here, If you have worked with the Canon 5D Mark IV, I don't think there are any differences. Dynamic range, no improvement for me there either, but I am not a pixel peeper. I love the image of the 5D Mark IV so I was also pleased with the image the EOS R produces. 30.3 megapixels is more than enough for the type of work I produce, and that is really all I can say about the image. So my question is simple what is Revolutionary here?
Alexandra Vadon (Toulouse - Hôtel Le Grand Balcon) Canon EOS R + adaptor + EF 50mm f1.4 1/160sec f1.8 ISO1250 - 53mm
I am a dance, sports, portrait photographer... A single card slot, is not a deal-breaker, because on important big shoots I will work tethered. But, I used to cover live events, and the 8 fps isn't great if you are a sports photographer and if you use continuous autofocus, I have some bad news for you, it drops down to 5 fps.
I don't do a lot of live events anymore, and when I do, and if I need a higher frame rate in burst mode, I will turn to the 1DX.
What about the praised AutoFocus?
The focus and AutoFocus are great, snappy, and responsive, having all these focus points for me is really something I enjoyed, combined with the tilting touchscreen and I was able to frame a lot of low-angle shots faster and with ease. The ee detector is accurate, I will give it a 7 out of 10. It was hunting from time to time, depending on the lighting conditions of my scene.
Like I said earlier, I didn't test the AutoFocus in video mode even though this video was filmed with the EOS R and cannot say much about it. But you can see that it sometimes struggles to find me in the frame... Maybe If I have it again I will concentrate more on the video capabilities.
I cannot say anything positive about the size and weight of this camera, with the adapter and the up & coming R lenses that are bulky and heavy, I believe we didn't really gain much there, and earlier in this article, I mentioned how weird it was for me to get accustomed to the closeness of some of the buttons.
Marina Kudryashova (Bordeaux - Marché de Lerme)
Canon EOS R + RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM 1/200sec f4.5 ISO160 - 24mm
So Would I consider owning this camera?
I don't know... there are a few things I do love, the autofocus combined with the tilting touch screen are the first things that come to my mind... but this means an overall body that is maybe less robust, and of course not weather sealed at all. My EF lenses with the adaptor worked great on the EOS R, so that is a good thing. The image produced by this camera are lovely, and I could definitely use it on my paid gigs. But I don't think I would consider it as my main camera. This sits in between the 6d mark II and the 5D Mark IV, it is not a mirrorless version of one of these 2 cameras. I don't think it is really aiming at professional shooters, so I do understand why people cringe when looking at the price tag. But then in Canon's defense, because it's sitting between the 6D and 5D at 25OO euros in France (body and adaptor), the price makes sense.
To sum it up, there is one thing that for me is the true revolution here, it is not the camera, It is the new mount.
The upcoming R lenses are really the things I am curious to see from Canon. They perform amazingly. I had only for a couple of hours a few weeks back the 50 RF lens F1.2L ... and it is an amazing piece of glass. The 24 - 105 isn't fast enough for me at F4, but it performs pretty well too. but I will develop my thoughts on this lens in a future video.
So basically I am waiting for a higher-end version of this EOS R... Dual card slot, higher burst rate, no crop in 4K video, and 120fps in 1080p minimum. I cannot believe Canon hasn't got something better coming for us next year. The Olympic games are coming, and huge announcements are usually made by Canon before them so fingers crossed. If you own this camera what are your thoughts? If you don't have it would you consider buying it? Professionally?