EOS R5 or R6 Versus 5DMIV for Airshow,Sports and Wildlife thoughts .

What are your thoughts on going to a R5 or R6 from a 5DMkIV. I photograph Aircraft at Airshows mostly. I have a 5DMkIV and 7DMk2 with Sigma 150-600mm Sport lens. I do not do Video at all so don't worry about 8K video side of the camera. I have lots of EF-S lenses and a few Full frame lenses. My goal is to get extremely sharp pictures of airplanes flying at 300mph going in every direction from far away. Can you use EF-S or full frame lenses with adapters ? Is the R5 45Mp sensor that much better than the 20Mps sensor of the R6 for Still photo's and does it justify the extra cost ? I hear the battery life is only 250 shots which seems very low since I shoot a around a thousand shots per day at a big airshow and use two batteries per day on most occasions. The Cost of the new RF lenses concerns me. I dont want to spend $2500 for an 85mm lens. I need a wide angle up thru 600 mm for ground shots up to far away planes and I cant spend $20,000 on lenses no matter how good. What are your thoughts ?
 

AlanF

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I reserve my thoughts until the R5 and R6 have been properly reviewed. But, at this stage, do your 5DIV and 7DII give you enough keepers of high quality? Would eyeAF, which could be great for wildlife, be of any use to pick up a pilot's eye? The 5DIV will resolve more detail than the R6, and the 7DMkII not much less than the R5. I have never had problems photographing flying planes with your bodies and similar lenses. If your current set up is good enough, don't get caught up in the GAS for the sake of it.
 
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Aussie shooter

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I reserve my thoughts until the R5 and R6 have been properly reviewed. But, at this stage, do your 5DIV and 7DII give you enough keepers of high quality? Would eyeAF, which could be great for wildlife, be of any use to pick up a pilot's eye? The 5DIV will resolve more detail than the R6, and the 7DMkII not much less than the R5. I have never had problems photographing flying planes with your bodies and similar lenses. If your current set up is good enough, don't get caught up in the GAS for the sake of it.
Agreed. I think that for airshows(which will generally have pretty decent lighting conditions) both the bodies that you already have would perform fairly well. Although there is little doubt that the R5 and R6 have amazing AF systems that will likely outperform older dslr bodies
 
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Nelu

1-DX Mark III, EOS R5, EOS R
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What are your thoughts on going to a R5 or R6 from a 5DMkIV. I photograph Aircraft at Airshows mostly. I have a 5DMkIV and 7DMk2 with Sigma 150-600mm Sport lens. I do not do Video at all so don't worry about 8K video side of the camera. I have lots of EF-S lenses and a few Full frame lenses. My goal is to get extremely sharp pictures of airplanes flying at 300mph going in every direction from far away. Can you use EF-S or full frame lenses with adapters ? Is the R5 45Mp sensor that much better than the 20Mps sensor of the R6 for Still photo's and does it justify the extra cost ? I hear the battery life is only 250 shots which seems very low since I shoot a around a thousand shots per day at a big airshow and use two batteries per day on most occasions. The Cost of the new RF lenses concerns me. I dont want to spend $2500 for an 85mm lens. I need a wide angle up thru 600 mm for ground shots up to far away planes and I cant spend $20,000 on lenses no matter how good. What are your thoughts ?
For your type of shooting I think the R5 or the R6 will give you no benefits and even more, you'll have to use an EVF instead of OVF, which really sucks, for extended periods of time, in fairly bright light.
You have your cameras, you have your lenses and you don't have to worry about battery life.
To me, it's a no-brainer. Forget about the new cameras and go travel to some air shows somewhere..
 
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I just sold my 5D MK IV, its going to UPS shortly. My R is not very good for the type of photos that interest you, I expect R5 and R6 to be greatly improved. However, until we get actual users telling of their experience, I'd take many of those with advanced copies with a grain of salt. If they are too harsh, they will be booted from future advanced copies.
 
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Bert63

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For your type of shooting I think the R5 or the R6 will give you no benefits and even more, you'll have to use an EVF instead of OVF, which really sucks, for extended periods of time, in fairly bright light.
You have your cameras, you have your lenses and you don't have to worry about battery life.
To me, it's a no-brainer. Forget about the new cameras and go travel to some air shows somewhere..


I have an R5 on order, and I currently shoot an EOS-R and a 5D4 and I couldn’t disagree more with your assessment of the EVF. I use mine without issue.
 
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Bert63

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What are your thoughts on going to a R5 or R6 from a 5DMkIV. I photograph Aircraft at Airshows mostly. I have a 5DMkIV and 7DMk2 with Sigma 150-600mm Sport lens. I do not do Video at all so don't worry about 8K video side of the camera. I have lots of EF-S lenses and a few Full frame lenses. My goal is to get extremely sharp pictures of airplanes flying at 300mph going in every direction from far away. Can you use EF-S or full frame lenses with adapters ? Is the R5 45Mp sensor that much better than the 20Mps sensor of the R6 for Still photo's and does it justify the extra cost ? I hear the battery life is only 250 shots which seems very low since I shoot a around a thousand shots per day at a big airshow and use two batteries per day on most occasions. The Cost of the new RF lenses concerns me. I dont want to spend $2500 for an 85mm lens. I need a wide angle up thru 600 mm for ground shots up to far away planes and I cant spend $20,000 on lenses no matter how good. What are your thoughts ?

I shoot both those bodies albeit with Canon glass and not the Sigma. I also shoot an EOS-R. If I chose either of the two new bodies it would be the R5 for the resolution bump and all the other bits that raise it above the R6 - weather sealing, better EVF, better construction - etc, but I don’t know if I would go that way just for shooting air shows.

It would be nice to pair up the R5’s 45MP with the new 100-500L though...
 
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Nelu

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I have an R5 on order, and I currently shoot an EOS-R and a 5D4 and I couldn’t disagree more with your assessment of the EVF. I use mine without issue.
I have those too and also the 1DX Mark I and Mark III.
I shoot wildlife and BIF and there’s no comparison between the EOS-R and all the others cameras I own and use.
Can I still use the EOS-R for my kind of photography?
Sure, but I still very much prefer the OVF.
 
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Bert63

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I have those too and also the 1DX Mark I and Mark III.
I shoot wildlife and BIF and there’s no comparison between the EOS-R and all the others cameras I own and use.
Can I still use the EOS-R for my kind of photography?
Sure, but I still very much prefer the OVF.

Which was my point - to each their own. You stated unequivocally that the EVF sucks and I figured you were referring to the EOS-R. You haven’t actually looked through the new ones to see if it’s still true.
 
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Nelu

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Which was my point - to each their own. You stated unequivocally that the EVF sucks and I figured you were referring to the EOS-R. You haven’t actually looked through the new ones to see if it’s still true.
When I stated the EVF sucks, it was specifically for the OP’s kind of photography: air shows.
I think it’s the same for all fast-action photograph. I don’t mind it for landscapes and I prefer it actually for portrait photography.
Not for anything fast, not at all.
For wildlife is the worse because it’s highly impractical to use an EVF as a scope. It kills the battery and it strains the eyes.
Naturally, I was talking about the EOS-R, because I never got my hands on the R5 or R6.
I can only hope it will be better but that’s up to me to decide, not some random YouTube reviewers.
 
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AlanF

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When I stated the EVF sucks, it was specifically for the OP’s kind of photography: air shows.
I think it’s the same for all fast-action photograph. I don’t mind it for landscapes and I prefer it actually for portrait photography.
Not for anything fast, not at all.
For wildlife is the worse because it’s highly impractical to use an EVF as a scope. It kills the battery and it strains the eyes.
Naturally, I was talking about the EOS-R, because I never got my hands on the R5 or R6.
I can only hope it will be better but that’s up to me to decide, not some random YouTube reviewers.
And for those of us who do use the OVF as part of a ‘scope, it’s at the other end of a long telephoto with battery draining IS. I get very few shots from any DSLR I use because of that.
 
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Nelu

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And for those of us who do use the OVF as part of a ‘scope, it’s at the other end of a long telephoto with battery draining IS. I get very few shots from any DSLR I use because of that.
Interesting, so only DSLR's suffer from battery drain when using the lens IS, mirrorless cameras don't...never knew that.
Anyhow, what is the point of using the lens IS when:
  1. The lens is on a tripod
  2. The shutter speed for jets, BIF, etc is shorter than 1/2000s ?
 
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AlanF

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Interesting, so only DSLR's suffer from battery drain when using the lens IS, mirrorless cameras don't...never knew that.
Anyhow, what is the point of using the lens IS when:
  1. The lens is on a tripod
  2. The shutter speed for jets, BIF, etc is shorter than 1/2000s ?
The point is that bird photography with telephoto lens is battery draining when IS is on so you get less shots than the CIPA quoted. I get crap numbers from my DSLRs and even crappier ones from MILCs. BIF is only a part of bird photography, most of us for most of the time shoot perched birds, often in the shade. And, if you don't believe me, there are currently 21,293 posts on the birds portraits forum and 5,932 on the BIF threads here, which is why IS is used.
 
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Nelu

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...there are currently 21,293 posts on the birds portraits forum and 5,932 on the BIF threads here, which is why IS is used.
Well, while that might be true, considering the keepers rate for each category, I'm not surprised:)
Isn't the so-called "Mode 3 IS" on some super-whites supposed to only kick in at the time when the shutter button is pressed all the way?
I guess that would decrease the time the IS is actually being used, but maybe I'm wrong.
 
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AlanF

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Well, while that might be true, considering the keepers rate for each category, I'm not surprised:)
Isn't the so-called "Mode 3 IS" on some super-whites supposed to only kick in at the time when the shutter button is pressed all the way?
I guess that would decrease the time the IS is actually being used, but maybe I'm wrong.
It's nothing to do with the keeper rate - they are pretty much the same for me. Mode 3 is used less than you might think. Viewing static targets, when not using tripods, which is the rule for me, we have IS on to keep the subject still in the frame. For BIF, some have IS off or use Mode 3 but I am in the group that uses Mode 2, panning, because it helps keep the bird in the centre of the frame.
 
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The R5 has an much improved AF - photographing persons, animals is a pleasure. The Eye-AF works really great, if the eye is bigger than just a few pixels.
But for jets and planes the AF of the 7DII and 5DIV are great too. I also prefer OVF, as the EVF drains battery, and you need some spare batteries on the R5 if you shoot PIF (planes in flight) all day long. Actually, here are no big shows, but in the surrounding areas there are some maneuvers, where low level flights are taking place. A lot of time to wait and to drain battery when you follow the jets, to react quickly, if they come near to you. As I´m old, I use an monopod. In most cases my unstabilized shots are super sharp. On the R5 the IS drains a lot of battery, without it - just personally felt - the new batteries last 1.5-2 times longer. But this is just an feeling from using the R5 thre days on photographing jets with my great-grandson.
Also, the AF reaction on non-RF lenses feel quite equal. On the RF 70-200 with starting jets it was really fast.

Maybe, you can rent an R5 with an adapter, or ask one owner, if he lets you shoot some pics with his camera. then you can see, if it is right for you.
The 5DIV is still an very capable camera, and the 7DII is very fast. and in good light conditions, the 7DII will give you great shots.
 
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SteveC

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The 5DIV is still an very capable camera, and the 7DII is very fast. and in good light conditions, the 7DII will give you great shots.

Yeah, it's funny how prior cameras don't actually turn to useless junk when newer ones come out! They remain exactly as useful and capable as they were before.

Hmm, that might also be true of lenses.
 
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Yeah, it's funny how prior cameras don't actually turn to useless junk when newer ones come out! They remain exactly as useful and capable as they were before.

Hmm, that might also be true of lenses.
Of course!
Mostly, experienced shooters who know their equipment by heart, get great pictures - even if they use "outdated" gear. ;).
One of the CR-forum users has a true writing in his profile: "The best camera is that one in your hand". At bad photographic conditions also the best cameras and lenses fail. And to be honest - if an shot has the "WOW" in its message or its just beautifully composed or hit, it is not impaired, if there are some optical shortcomings.
 
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