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