Review: Canon EOS R by Peter McKinnon

Canon Rumors Guy

Canon EOS 40D
CR Pro
Jul 20, 2010
10,776
3,157
Canada
www.canonrumors.com

tron

CR Pro
Nov 8, 2011
5,222
1,616
Just real views of an enthusiast. Something which is more meaningful than a technical review.
Maybe more meaningful for you if by definition you label a product "better" than another. But maybe I react like that since we already read many things so he didn't say anything new. And the fact that he "compared" 1DxII vs R didn't help.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
It's definitely not a review in the sense of comparing similar competing cameras, but I don't think you ever see full reviews from Peter. It's just reporting on his experience, which I think has value but maybe doesn't help people make their purchasing decisions. We all know what it does and doesn't have a this point, so user experience is one of the few things left to explore. I'd more curious to see the short film he made with the R.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0
Aug 26, 2015
1,380
1,042
He just reached the point of self-contradiction. Suddenly 120fps is not that important, when he could have lightened the load a lot earlier with the 5D IV for instance. The controls are just simply more logically placed in any of the DSLRs.

Credit where credit is due, he's been doing great stuff and has earned himself a lot of respect. (same for Devin Graham, etc.)
 
Upvote 0
Jan 29, 2011
10,675
6,121
When you take a single video/painting/image from a creator without any background or understanding of that creator it loses most meaning, context is everything.

Now Peter does has a very good/close relationship with Canon and there is no doubt there is a touch of the sales team in there and he is, he would agree, a bit of a gearhead, but as a creator he has always been honest and open about his process, he has taken the time to explain not only his techniques but the thought process behind the decisions about those techniques. He is motivational (for some) and his comments on his motivation are very important for his brand, if he says he is feeling like he is going into auto pilot with his video making I believe him, he raises some interesting creative questions as well as gear questions. 'Struggling' artists tend to make better art, if you are forced to rethink your creative process it can make you a better creative, he is looking at the gear from a content creative point of view and how each feature, or missing feature, will interact with his creative process and for me that is a more interesting point of view than a straight review.

You can take it either way, model X doesn't have Y feature is a good thing (obviously it isn't), or because model X doesn't have feature Y I have to work on my creativity (but I'm going to keep my old camera that does have feature Y anyway for when I need it). Or even, Canon came out with something new, buy buy buy.

I like that he at least talks about his creativity and his process. About what he thinks of his creativity and his output.

Over caffeinated? Watch his videos, he is a coffee addict and aficionado!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0

vaotix

EOS R, 80D
Sep 4, 2018
28
8
Boston, MA
I was surprised by this. I like Peter's work and know he's been mostly using the 1Dx Mk II for a while now as his main camera and a 6D Mk II as his vlogging camera. Didn't think he'd consider switching to a camera that's missing some of the controls the 1DX has with fewer fps in 1080p video.

But his reasoning makes sense. He's producing so much content every week, I understand the desire to try something new and find new ways to challenge yourself. He mentions in the video that he filmed the entirety of his new short film with the EOS R he was loaned by Canon. Seems like that was enough to make him feel like it's possible to switch for the new year. This makes me more confident in the EOS R as my next camera, but obviously I'm going to wait for more actual full reviews first.

I honestly think the EOS R is going to play out a lot like the 6D Mk II did. Panned by a lot of people when it's announced and before release, but then after release vloggers and others flock to it and people realize it's actually a really great camera. To that end, I'm disappointed when I see the comments section of any article or YouTube video that praises the EOS R. They're all filled with comments accusing the person making the content of being a shill, paid by Canon, or a rabid fanboy - like it's impossible for anyone to have a positive opinion of this camera or something. Not everyone cares about 4k 60 fps. I rarely shoot video at all and am just a stills photographer so I don't care that Sony cameras do 4k 60.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

vaotix

EOS R, 80D
Sep 4, 2018
28
8
Boston, MA
He just reached the point of self-contradiction. Suddenly 120fps is not that important, when he could have lightened the load a lot earlier with the 5D IV for instance. The controls are just simply more logically placed in any of the DSLRs.

Credit where credit is due, he's been doing great stuff and has earned himself a lot of respect. (same for Devin Graham, etc.)


He already owns and uses a 5D Mk IV as a backup camera. It's listed in the gear list of every YT video he puts out.

I don't think the 120 fps thing is a contradiction. He's saying he's trying to challenge himself to not rely on slowmo b roll so much so he can become a better photographer and learn new things. He also did a followup video to this yesterday and said he's not getting rid of any current cameras. He'll still have the 1DX Mk II to do 720p video if he needs/wants to.
 
Upvote 0
Jan 29, 2011
10,675
6,121
He already owns and uses a 5D Mk IV as a backup camera. It's listed in the gear list of every YT video he puts out.

I don't think the 120 fps thing is a contradiction. He's saying he's trying to challenge himself to not rely on slowmo b roll so much so he can become a better photographer and learn new things. He also did a followup video to this yesterday and said he's not getting rid of any current cameras. He'll still have the 1DX Mk II to do 720p video if he needs/wants to.
Just a small correction, the 1DX MkII does 120fps in 1080.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0
Aug 26, 2015
1,380
1,042
He already owns and uses a 5D Mk IV as a backup camera. It's listed in the gear list of every YT video he puts out.

I don't think the 120 fps thing is a contradiction. He's saying he's trying to challenge himself to not rely on slowmo b roll so much so he can become a better photographer and learn new things. He also did a followup video to this yesterday and said he's not getting rid of any current cameras. He'll still have the 1DX Mk II to do 720p video if he needs/wants to.
Of course he does not, it's called endorsement, gear allowance, etc. whatever you call it, everybody is entitled to fully believe everything what the internet says, the other brands are no different, they just don't have people like them with this many followers. At least he is not doing a Scott Kelby.
 
Upvote 0
I honestly think the EOS R is going to play out a lot like the 6D Mk II did. Panned by a lot of people when it's announced and before release, but then after release vloggers and others flock to it and people realize it's actually a really great camera. To that end, I'm disappointed when I see the comments section of any article or YouTube video that praises the EOS R.
I agree to some extent, but I feel like the EOS R was better received than the 6D II - the 6D II really got raked over the coals by most reviewers while the EOS R at least has a few people talking about its virtues from day 1, even though many were chastised for doing so! I agree though, I think it will be a sleeper hit.

The more I look at the R the more I like it. I really like the drop in filter adapter - a drop in polarizer could potentially let you polarize really wide scenes and make some of the wider bulbous glass more versatile. I did see another review of the camera which had a really interesting point for those using tilt shift lenses. Face/eye tracking still operates in manual focus lenses but it will show you the focus assist diamonds on your subject so you can tell if you've got focus on the eye even without AF. This was the video - skip forward to 6:35 or so for that commentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hEKMFN8Y8Q
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0
Aug 26, 2015
1,380
1,042
They need to sort out the firmware though, the two-year-old 5D IV got hardly any complaints about Live View AF... I wonder if the huge increase in available AF points made the problem more difficult even with the newer Digic 8 processor.


I also don't like how the aperture works with adapted lenses, I don't recall seeing that with a 5D IV.


It seems that it is optimized for the RF lenses where the aperture can open and close much faster than EF.
 
Upvote 0