EOS R first impressions - post your hands-on impressions here

1. Can anybody here elaborate under what circumstances we end up with banding in the photos? Is it the similar kind of banding that 5D3 has?

2. Also, anybody had the chance to compare the image quality vs a 5D4 in terms of shadow detail and ISO performance. I think I have seen one on DPR, but a real-world samples would be nice. I like the noise on the 5D4, much better than my 5D3. Wonder how R does on that regard.

3. Are old flash units like the 580 and 430 EX from Canon work with the R seamlessly? I suppose I will have to make sure the remote triggers are compatible for off-camera shooting.
 
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1. Can anybody here elaborate under what circumstances we end up with banding in the photos? Is it the similar kind of banding that 5D3 has?

2. Also, anybody had the chance to compare the image quality vs a 5D4 in terms of shadow detail and ISO performance. I think I have seen one on DPR, but a real-world samples would be nice. I like the noise on the 5D4, much better than my 5D3. Wonder how R does on that regard.

3. Are old flash units like the 580 and 430 EX from Canon work with the R seamlessly? I suppose I will have to make sure the remote triggers are compatible for off-camera shooting.
Banding for me, like the one Northrups reported early on, happens ONLY with flash use. Less with small, very cheap basic triggers and severe with my Broncolor RFS 2.2.
 
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I'm still experimenting with my EOS R, but I see banding in very high contrast scenes in which the shadows are lifted by 3+ stops. Enabling Dual Pixel seems to solve or nearly solve the problem at low iso (100-400) and mitigate it at 800 and higher iso. Oddly, though, the results with Dual Pixel are not always consistent. Still, even with the banding, the EOS R noise performance in high contrast scenes is better than the 6D or 5DSR. Also odd is that the problem seems more pronounced indoors - with or without lights - than outdoors. Perhaps it's just less noticeable because the outdoor scenes are more irregular in terms of texture and lighting. For astro landscapes, the EOS R shows hints of Canon's tell-tale magenta blotches, but it is significantly better than the 6D or 5DSR.

I have been shooting a 5DSR for landscape and general photography, and a Pentax K-1 for astro landscapes and some general work. As I said , the 5DSR shows more noise than the EOS R, but gotta love the extra megapixels. For astro landscapes, the 36mp Pentax has a little less noise than the EOS r, but it is easily corrected. The EOS R focuses better in the dark and than the Pentax, and like Canons in general it has better color out of the camera. Considering the other advantages of the EOS R, I'm leaning toward replacing the Pentax with the EOS R.
 
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He said it happens a lot. There'll be critiques online, but nobody reports issues directly to Canon. Who knows?

There have been at least a couple folks here who urge people to comment directly to Canon, but those urging are usually ignored. Some folks here seem to think that Canon spends their time reading forums such as this one. I guess they don't. Please report issues directly to Canon.
 
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jd7

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Just found a better way to set up my Touch Bar.

I have Kelvin adjustment with sliding. And touch right I have the Histogram and touch left I have the Level. That works so much better than using the info button to toggle histogram and level in the viewfinder.
I'll be very interested to hear whether, over time, people find ways to make good use of the touch bar. It doesn't seem to have been well received so far - and of course it's possible it just wasn't a great idea by Canon - but I cannot imagine Canon included it without having given it a lot of thought hard and done plenty of research/testing on whether user's were likely to find it useful. Maybe it's just a matter of time for people to get used to it and work out the best way to set it up for them?

As someone who shoots in Av much of the time (unless shooting with a flash), my thinking is aperture on the front dial, iso on the top dial, the buttons on the end of the bar for AF modes, and slide to cycle through viewfinder info settings such as histogram on/off (is that possible?). If not possible, perhaps slide for shutter time (for when I'm not in Av)?? Anyway, the control ring would be available for shutter time ... although I'm not sure about the idea of shutter time on the control ring ... seems like that might be odd but would need to test. Another option would be the "obvious" one of using the control ring for aperture, leaving the front dial for shutter time. Question is whether I would want a setting I change a lot to be on the control ring on the lens rather than the camera body. I doubt I would, but again I guess I would need to try it out to be sure.

Oh well, I should stop wasting time thinking about how I might set up a camera I don't own and am not planning to buy in the near future! (Still not sure if the EOS R is for me or not, but will probably keep an eye on price in the New Year.)

Edit: Exposure compensation is another function I'd want easy access to somehow. Maybe setting that for swipe on the touch bar would work?
 
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I'll be very interested to hear whether, over time, people find ways to make good use of the touch bar. It doesn't seem to have been well received so far - and of course it's possible it just wasn't a great idea by Canon - but I cannot imagine Canon included it without having given it a lot of thought hard and done plenty of research/testing on whether user's were likely to find it useful. Maybe it's just a matter of time for people to get used to it and work out the best way to set it up for them?

As someone who shoots in Av much of the time (unless shooting with a flash), my thinking is aperture on the front dial, iso on the top dial, the buttons on the end of the bar for AF modes, and slide to cycle through viewfinder info settings such as histogram on/off (is that possible?). If not possible, perhaps slide for shutter time (for when I'm not in Av)?? Anyway, the control ring would be available for shutter time ... although I'm not sure about the idea of shutter time on the control ring ... seems like that might be odd but would need to test. Another option would be the "obvious" one of using the control ring for aperture, leaving the front dial for shutter time. Question is whether I would want a setting I change a lot to be on the control ring on the lens rather than the camera body. I doubt I would, but again I guess I would need to try it out to be sure.

Oh well, I should stop wasting time thinking about how I might set up a camera I don't own and am not planning to buy in the near future! (Still not sure if the EOS R is for me or not, but will probably keep an eye on price in the New Year.)

Edit: Exposure compensation is another function I'd want easy access to somehow. Maybe setting that for swipe on the touch bar would work?
I really like the slide for Kelvin adjustment and tap each side for level and histogram, it’s much faster than info-toggle, and I can combine them however I like.

I use the top rear wheel for EC, on RF lenses I will be using the control ring for that, and perhaps iso on the rear wheel.

For AF modes I use direct selection with one of the buttons on the rear top right.

I love having the same scroll through functions on the small
MF.n button top front, excellent idea and it’s what I loved about the 1dx2 also, so nice to see Canon implement it in the R.
 
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jd7

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I really like the slide for Kelvin adjustment and tap each side for level and histogram, it’s much faster than info-toggle, and I can combine them however I like.

I use the top rear wheel for EC, on RF lenses I will be using the control ring for that, and perhaps iso on the rear wheel.

For AF modes I use direct selection with one of the buttons on the rear top right.

I love having the same scroll through functions on the small
MF.n button top front, excellent idea and it’s what I loved about the 1dx2 also, so nice to see Canon implement it in the R.

Now you say it, top rear wheel for EC makes sense. It could be EC when in Av mode, and shutter time when in M mode.

Anyway, it sounds like there certainly are a lot of ways you can set up the R if you want to play around with it.
 
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I bit the bullet recently, had a trip to Japan planned and for a while I have been feeling not too enthusiastic about lugging my 5 series SLR and lens around with me, even for day trips in my town and for a few years now Ive been feeling it was having a negative impact on my photography, so have been eyeing mirrorless for a while but wasn't impressed with EVF offerings at the time and they all seemed a bit too dinky back in day.

I have a 5D MkIII after owning all previous 5 series but hesitated with the MkIV due to cost as I am not a professional, but was watching the price each month anyway. I guess the upgrade itch was there in the background. The EOS R was released at an attractive price point, I felt the EOS 5D range was starting to get a bit carried away after the original. The initial negative reaction to the EOS R specs, didnt impact me too much, I don't shoot video and in all my 10+ years I have not needed to use a backup memory card slot. I felt a bit more cautious about the lower spec weather sealing however. So overall it felt a good time to upgrade especially with the revolution of the RF mount. I bought the EOS R during my trip and plan to sell my 5 series and EF lenses to recoup the cost. I paired the EOS R with a 50mm 1.4 EF via Canon adapter and later the 35mm RF (it was released later in my holiday so had to buy both).

First thought when doing a trial in the shop (but had sort of made my mind up already so would have to be pretty bad to put me off) was the EVF was pretty and attractive but with a noticeable queasy lag when panning, I guessed the indoor low light was causing it (later discovered you can trade battery for EVF responsiveness). And wow the EVF displaying the preview really messes with your head, especially while walking! I turned that off eventually too.

Second thought, EVF start up lag... hmmm would have thought they would have ironed that out by now especially after hearing people describe it as instant. There is a lag once everything has gone to sleep to save power and you press the trigger and wait and the photo moment has gone. Probably the biggest disappointment at the moment as I like street photography. To compensate I found myself half-pressing the shutter release now and then while walking trying to pre-empt photos, not ideal. I did turn off power saving mode and set the sensor not to turn off but after an hour or two my camera turned into a small nuclear reactor. Haven't played around further but would be nice if there was a sweet spot that veered more to EVF alterness at the sacrifice for a touch more power but say have it sleep once it hits a certain temp. Maybe a firmware request?

Third thought, ouch the battery! Power consumption is in a different league to SLRs (which in turn were in a different league to my EOS 3 film camera!). I guess I hadnt put much thought into it as it took me completely by surprise and left me without power for a part of the day. I quickly bought a second battery (the new version for the EOS R - they can use USB-C charging via a PD spec'ed power bank for future). Two batteries saw me through each subsequent day but I had to get into a routine of daily charging which could be a problem in more remote adventures. Something I'm not sure about yet, I guess it is a wide-symptom of the electronic age. The battery pack would be one solution but I can't see getting more than a couple of days out of it and you end up with an SLR sized camera to boot. What would a solution be for a week trek say?

Forth thought, ergonomics... felt good in the hand, surprising weight to it too so I think saving on size is probably more the big impact. Button and options-wise.. hmm it took some getting used to, not like my transition from film then through the 5D series, I was particularly disturbed by the AF point selection and Exposure Compensation but eventually settled on absolute & top-right of the touch screen for AF points. However I can't reach the far left easily with my thumb (I like to jump to the extremes for rule of third compositions) so hope they make an even smaller area option! I would have liked to be able to turn off the back display and just have it active as a touch control of the AF as I am now paranoid about battery consumption! Came across the freaky AF point resetting to the bottom right/left corner a few times and thought it was my nose or something, relieved to hear it is a bug. That brings me onto to resetting the AF selection point to centre, really wish there was another option other than pressing the delete button, it is far too much of a thumb stretch and just doesnt feel seemless. Loved pressing in the joystick on the 5D to do that, maybe a touch and hold on the touch screen could do something similar in future?
I had hoped the touch bar thing would control Exposure Compensation as it was the most obvious thing when I looked at it, so for me it remains un-used. I find the back dial a bit awkward for exposure compensation and although my 35mm RF has the dial assigned for that I find it a bit strange to have a huge dial for jogging between + - 1~2 but as yet it doesnt feel natural to reach for the lens, especially as my EF lenses do not have the extra dial (i went for the basic adapter). Not fussed about the mode dial people have mentioned before, I tend to stick to AV mode and only need to change on specific occasions when I would be setting up other aspects of the camera anyway.

Fifth thought, mmm the photos do look good especially in the glowing EVF. I could sense a noticeable leap in DR from my MKIII and I didnt have to worry so much about trying to do HDR stuff (ie two RAW shots) as I could see I could push and pull easily. Back home and viewing on a 4K screen in Lightroom, the images are fantastic, loving the sharpness and noticeable detail increase and dynamic range. This is from the low range 50mm 1.4f EF with adapter and non-pro 35mm RF. Imagine what the other lenses are like! I do appreciate the larger pixel quantity as even if I rarely crop I love to zoom in on details and scan over photos, especially landscapes and city scenes, so I can imagine myself being tempted 3 years down the line upgrading in future if they bring out higher pixel models now they no longer have the problem with mirror vibrations.

Which brings me onto my Sixth thought, especially with the 35mm RF lens it makes for a great walk-around/travel camera, especially for packing into a bag, so it certainly ticks the main priority of the purchase. I threw on a Black Rapid "street" strap as the Canon strap was horrible and cut into my neck as there is still a fair weight to the camera, I`ll probably save my full-width Black Rapid I use on my 5D for when I buy a larger lens for the EOS R.

Last thought, hang on does the EOS R have exposure associated with AF point?! Obviously the world would be on fire if it really did, but I am pretty sure as I use the touch pad to move the focus point around, the exposure changes, or is that just the EVF adjusting its visibility based on focus point? Maybe Canon accidently forgot to disable that £xxxxx feature on my model :p
 
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jd7

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I bit the bullet recently, had a trip to Japan planned and for a while I have been feeling not too enthusiastic about lugging my 5 series SLR and lens around with me, even for day trips in my town and for a few years now Ive been feeling it was having a negative impact on my photography, so have been eyeing mirrorless for a while but wasn't impressed with EVF offerings at the time and they all seemed a bit too dinky back in day.

I have a 5D MkIII after owning all previous 5 series but hesitated with the MkIV due to cost as I am not a professional, but was watching the price each month anyway. I guess the upgrade itch was there in the background. The EOS R was released at an attractive price point, I felt the EOS 5D range was starting to get a bit carried away after the original. The initial negative reaction to the EOS R specs, didnt impact me too much, I don't shoot video and in all my 10+ years I have not needed to use a backup memory card slot. I felt a bit more cautious about the lower spec weather sealing however. So overall it felt a good time to upgrade especially with the revolution of the RF mount. I bought the EOS R during my trip and plan to sell my 5 series and EF lenses to recoup the cost. I paired the EOS R with a 50mm 1.4 EF via Canon adapter and later the 35mm RF (it was released later in my holiday so had to buy both).

First thought when doing a trial in the shop (but had sort of made my mind up already so would have to be pretty bad to put me off) was the EVF was pretty and attractive but with a noticeable queasy lag when panning, I guessed the indoor low light was causing it (later discovered you can trade battery for EVF responsiveness). And wow the EVF displaying the preview really messes with your head, especially while walking! I turned that off eventually too.

Second thought, EVF start up lag... hmmm would have thought they would have ironed that out by now especially after hearing people describe it as instant. There is a lag once everything has gone to sleep to save power and you press the trigger and wait and the photo moment has gone. Probably the biggest disappointment at the moment as I like street photography. To compensate I found myself half-pressing the shutter release now and then while walking trying to pre-empt photos, not ideal. I did turn off power saving mode and set the sensor not to turn off but after an hour or two my camera turned into a small nuclear reactor. Haven't played around further but would be nice if there was a sweet spot that veered more to EVF alterness at the sacrifice for a touch more power but say have it sleep once it hits a certain temp. Maybe a firmware request?

Third thought, ouch the battery! Power consumption is in a different league to SLRs (which in turn were in a different league to my EOS 3 film camera!). I guess I hadnt put much thought into it as it took me completely by surprise and left me without power for a part of the day. I quickly bought a second battery (the new version for the EOS R - they can use USB-C charging via a PD spec'ed power bank for future). Two batteries saw me through each subsequent day but I had to get into a routine of daily charging which could be a problem in more remote adventures. Something I'm not sure about yet, I guess it is a wide-symptom of the electronic age. The battery pack would be one solution but I can't see getting more than a couple of days out of it and you end up with an SLR sized camera to boot. What would a solution be for a week trek say?

Forth thought, ergonomics... felt good in the hand, surprising weight to it too so I think saving on size is probably more the big impact. Button and options-wise.. hmm it took some getting used to, not like my transition from film then through the 5D series, I was particularly disturbed by the AF point selection and Exposure Compensation but eventually settled on absolute & top-right of the touch screen for AF points. However I can't reach the far left easily with my thumb (I like to jump to the extremes for rule of third compositions) so hope they make an even smaller area option! I would have liked to be able to turn off the back display and just have it active as a touch control of the AF as I am now paranoid about battery consumption! Came across the freaky AF point resetting to the bottom right/left corner a few times and thought it was my nose or something, relieved to hear it is a bug. That brings me onto to resetting the AF selection point to centre, really wish there was another option other than pressing the delete button, it is far too much of a thumb stretch and just doesnt feel seemless. Loved pressing in the joystick on the 5D to do that, maybe a touch and hold on the touch screen could do something similar in future?
I had hoped the touch bar thing would control Exposure Compensation as it was the most obvious thing when I looked at it, so for me it remains un-used. I find the back dial a bit awkward for exposure compensation and although my 35mm RF has the dial assigned for that I find it a bit strange to have a huge dial for jogging between + - 1~2 but as yet it doesnt feel natural to reach for the lens, especially as my EF lenses do not have the extra dial (i went for the basic adapter). Not fussed about the mode dial people have mentioned before, I tend to stick to AV mode and only need to change on specific occasions when I would be setting up other aspects of the camera anyway.

Fifth thought, mmm the photos do look good especially in the glowing EVF. I could sense a noticeable leap in DR from my MKIII and I didnt have to worry so much about trying to do HDR stuff (ie two RAW shots) as I could see I could push and pull easily. Back home and viewing on a 4K screen in Lightroom, the images are fantastic, loving the sharpness and noticeable detail increase and dynamic range. This is from the low range 50mm 1.4f EF with adapter and non-pro 35mm RF. Imagine what the other lenses are like! I do appreciate the larger pixel quantity as even if I rarely crop I love to zoom in on details and scan over photos, especially landscapes and city scenes, so I can imagine myself being tempted 3 years down the line upgrading in future if they bring out higher pixel models now they no longer have the problem with mirror vibrations.

Which brings me onto my Sixth thought, especially with the 35mm RF lens it makes for a great walk-around/travel camera, especially for packing into a bag, so it certainly ticks the main priority of the purchase. I threw on a Black Rapid "street" strap as the Canon strap was horrible and cut into my neck as there is still a fair weight to the camera, I`ll probably save my full-width Black Rapid I use on my 5D for when I buy a larger lens for the EOS R.

Last thought, hang on does the EOS R have exposure associated with AF point?! Obviously the world would be on fire if it really did, but I am pretty sure as I use the touch pad to move the focus point around, the exposure changes, or is that just the EVF adjusting its visibility based on focus point? Maybe Canon accidently forgot to disable that £xxxxx feature on my model :p
Interesting comments Londonxt. I have been getting tempted by the EOS R but I haven't had much chance to play with one yet (only a few minutes here and there) and these sorts of comments make me think I might stick with my DSLR for now and see what the next generation R brings (whenever it might arrive). I don't care about video and I'm not especially bothered by only one card slot, but things like the EVF v OVF, battery life and ergonomics/usability are important to me.

What do you think of the RF 35/1.8 IS? Have you compared it to lenses such as EF 35L II or Sigma 35 Art at all?
 
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Interesting comments Londonxt. I have been getting tempted by the EOS R but I haven't had much chance to play with one yet (only a few minutes here and there) and these sorts of comments make me think I might stick with my DSLR for now and see what the next generation R brings (whenever it might arrive). I don't care about video and I'm not especially bothered by only one card slot, but things like the EVF v OVF, battery life and ergonomics/usability are important to me.

What do you think of the RF 35/1.8 IS? Have you compared it to lenses such as EF 35L II or Sigma 35 Art at all?

Hi, I am afraid I haven't been able to compare with those lenses, but on my 5d ive been using the EF 24-70mm f2.8 MkII, EF 135mm 2f, Zeiss Milvus 50mm 1.4f and 40mm 2.8f pancake for a long time and the 35mm compares favourably in my view (stick my neck out and suggest sharper than the 24-70mm at 35), certainly better than the 40mm pancake but with similar portability (would love a native RF pancake)! Not that I have any charts to prove anything just going over my shots on Lightroom! Even the EF 50mm 1.4 with adapter, so much lighter and lovely sharpness, I`ll be more than happy to use that over the EF 24-70mm and Zeiss.

With regards to the EVF it became 2nd nature very quickly with no qualms in low light and outdoor scenarios as i don't do much quick panning shots, birds and people seemed to move across the view finder smoothly in most lighting conditions and you can sacrifice battery power for more EVF responsiveness if you need but I found I didnt need to. Love viewing photos in the EVF with all the information juxtaposed, very bright and clear and a good visibilty of DR so I stopped using the back screen for that. I turned off the auto-preview however as it is a bit disconcerting seeing your view of the world through the EVF suddenly freeze or change angle slightly when you take a shot! Was like a strange VR experiment. The EVF power up time after sleeping is definitely the big drawback for me as it frustrated me more than a few times and I missed shots. I havent played around with the Power Saving settings that much yet but while travelling I needed the power saving mode so left it as the default. Maybe after I bought the 2nd battery I could have disabled the power saving mode and for just casual street shooting nearer home i will be able to get away with it but I havent tested the impact on EVF startup times yet.

One thing I didnt mention but should is that the AF is pretty amazing when I think about it, because it covers the whole EVF and reacts so quickly even in low light (was doing a lot of dusk shooting) I sort of didnt notice it was there! The touch pad is vital here but the left side distance and centering default option currently left me frustrated as it stops it from being perfect (although it reminded me what a beautiful partnership it would have made with the much missed Eye Control Focus of the EOS 3). I played with the face focus briefly as its not something Ive really thought of using before but was impressed how it tracked the person and even objects, definitely a lot of potential there but its very new to me.
 
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jd7

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Hi, I am afraid I haven't been able to compare with those lenses, but on my 5d ive been using the EF 24-70mm f2.8 MkII, EF 135mm 2f, Zeiss Milvus 50mm 1.4f and 40mm 2.8f pancake for a long time and the 35mm compares favourably in my view (stick my neck out and suggest sharper than the 24-70mm at 35), certainly better than the 40mm pancake but with similar portability (would love a native RF pancake)! Not that I have any charts to prove anything just going over my shots on Lightroom! Even the EF 50mm 1.4 with adapter, so much lighter and lovely sharpness, I`ll be more than happy to use that over the EF 24-70mm and Zeiss.

With regards to the EVF it became 2nd nature very quickly with no qualms in low light and outdoor scenarios as i don't do much quick panning shots, birds and people seemed to move across the view finder smoothly in most lighting conditions and you can sacrifice battery power for more EVF responsiveness if you need but I found I didnt need to. Love viewing photos in the EVF with all the information juxtaposed, very bright and clear and a good visibilty of DR so I stopped using the back screen for that. I turned off the auto-preview however as it is a bit disconcerting seeing your view of the world through the EVF suddenly freeze or change angle slightly when you take a shot! Was like a strange VR experiment. The EVF power up time after sleeping is definitely the big drawback for me as it frustrated me more than a few times and I missed shots. I havent played around with the Power Saving settings that much yet but while travelling I needed the power saving mode so left it as the default. Maybe after I bought the 2nd battery I could have disabled the power saving mode and for just casual street shooting nearer home i will be able to get away with it but I havent tested the impact on EVF startup times yet.

One thing I didnt mention but should is that the AF is pretty amazing when I think about it, because it covers the whole EVF and reacts so quickly even in low light (was doing a lot of dusk shooting) I sort of didnt notice it was there! The touch pad is vital here but the left side distance and centering default option currently left me frustrated as it stops it from being perfect (although it reminded me what a beautiful partnership it would have made with the much missed Eye Control Focus of the EOS 3). I played with the face focus briefly as its not something Ive really thought of using before but was impressed how it tracked the person and even objects, definitely a lot of potential there but its very new to me.
Thanks Londonxt. It's primarily the reports about the AF accuracy (at least for stationary and slow moving subjects), plus the new RF mount and particularly the new RF 24-105 and perhaps the RF 35, that have really got me interested in the EOS R. The slighter smaller size and lighter weight of the EOS R are nice too - and the sensor would be a step up over my 6DII - but those things wouldn't be enough on their own to make me pay up for an R. As for the RF 35, I'm not sure I could give up my 35 Art (and I wouldn't keep two 35mm primes) even if I had an R, but I'll certainly be keeping an eye on RF 35 samples and reviews if I do go with an R at some point.
 
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