New major firmware for the Canon EOS R should arrive soon

Jun 12, 2015
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Do people really find it needed to add eye-AF? I haven’t had a single fail to focus on the eye with just the box over the face anyway, at f1.2...

Same here. As a R user, I have scratched my head every time I’ve seen or read a rant of the “horrible” eye AF. I find face detect to do the job of nailing the eyes in focus every time, even at f1.2. Many “reviewers” obviously haven’t even bothered to try out the face detection.
 
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cellomaster27

Capture the moment!
Jun 3, 2013
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I don't own an R yet (waiting for next level up), but I can say definitively that I miss the touchscreen AF point control from the M series as I use 5D4s. Once you are able to whip the focus point around so quickly at will, you don't want to go back. I think people who need to rapidly move the point from one side of the screen to another recognize this, but lots of people are just poking the AF point one or two notches in a direction, and a joystick might feel more positively controlled for those folks. This might explain the diverging preferences. I certainly hope that a pro model in the future doesn't go joystick at the expense of touchscreen AF point control!

I've thought that maybe adding an additional touchsensor/screen in the same location as the joystick might work? Trying to squish your thumb on the screen between your face and the camera while keeping a finger on the shutter release isn't the most convenient thing. Albeit I do love the functionality. But in practical application.. see if you agree with me!

When you're shooting in weather that makes your hands numb and cold and you are wearing gloves of sorts, you do not want to use a touchscreen. Rain or ice or dirt, the joystick has proved itself well for me thus far. And if you are moving only a few notches, the touchscreen is probably going to suffice. Trying shooting moving objects or having to change your composition often and quickly.. with the joystick, you might be slower but you'll be accurate. With the touchscreen, I usually make a few swipes before I place it right where I want it. (still better than Sony!!) You gotta think about subjects without eyes. But I do hope that Canon can see the value in what Sony is offering and do something about it. I don't have the EOS-R but on my M5, it can get annoying pretty quick. Yes, as tech gets better so will the user's ability to execute commands with ease but for now, I think former tech works better for me with all things considered.
 
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Jun 12, 2015
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Needed? No. Want it? YES! If we are talking about needed features, our old camera already exceed our photographic abilities.

EyeAF allow us to work faster and concentrate on other aspect of photography in wedding/engagement/portrait (lighting, posing, composition, etc). It would be amazing to take picture of kids. Joystick and touch AF isn't fast enough to focus on moving kid.

Just because you don't use it doesn't mean other people don't want it.

EOS R eyeAF definitely need the FW. It's isn't as fast as Sony and focus single focus. It really trailed behind Sony eyeAF.

Did you try face detection in AI Servo?
 
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Jun 12, 2015
852
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I've thought that maybe adding an additional touchsensor/screen in the same location as the joystick might work? Trying to squish your thumb on the screen between your face and the camera while keeping a finger on the shutter release isn't the most convenient thing. Albeit I do love the functionality. But in practical application.. see if you agree with me!

When you're shooting in weather that makes your hands numb and cold and you are wearing gloves of sorts, you do not want to use a touchscreen. Rain or ice or dirt, the joystick has proved itself well for me thus far. And if you are moving only a few notches, the touchscreen is probably going to suffice. Trying shooting moving objects or having to change your composition often and quickly.. with the joystick, you might be slower but you'll be accurate. With the touchscreen, I usually make a few swipes before I place it right where I want it. (still better than Sony!!) You gotta think about subjects without eyes. But I do hope that Canon can see the value in what Sony is offering and do something about it. I don't have the EOS-R but on my M5, it can get annoying pretty quick. Yes, as tech gets better so will the user's ability to execute commands with ease but for now, I think former tech works better for me with all things considered.

The touch screen works very well with gloves on, much, much better than my iPhone. The gloves has to be quite thick before they give you an issue.
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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Needed? No. Want it? YES! If we are talking about needed features, our old camera already exceed our photographic abilities.

EyeAF allow us to work faster and concentrate on other aspect of photography in wedding/engagement/portrait (lighting, posing, composition, etc). It would be amazing to take picture of kids. Joystick and touch AF isn't fast enough to focus on moving kid.

Just because you don't use it doesn't mean other people don't want it.

EOS R eyeAF definitely need the FW. It's isn't as fast as Sony and focus single focus. It really trailed behind Sony eyeAF.
But when the face detect doesn’t miss children’s eyes running in backlight at 1.2, what more is needed?
 
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Oct 26, 2013
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The most annoying thing about the R is the implementation of the touch and drag focus. It works, but I like it better on my M5. I really do hope they improve its usability in the next firmware update.

Yes, it works better on the M5, but that is almost certainly because the M5 sensor is considerably smaller.
 
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gbc

Oct 19, 2018
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You know, despite all the negative press the R received I keep coming back to it as a great potential backup/secondary camera to my 5D IV. I mean, it takes the same battery, has nearly the same sensor, costs less, takes up less space, is lighter... I do think there is a really nice niche there.
That's exactly how I've been using it. I've even started leaving my 5D IV at home on occasion when I only want to take one body (though I do make sure to bring a couple extra SD cards. For an important professional assignment, I'm not yet comfortable with it enough to make it the only camera and I'd still take the 5D in that scenario, but for the casual shoot this is a great option, and the wireless file transfer seems to work a lot better than the 5D, which for me hasn't worked in months, maybe due to the latest iPhone update, not sure.
 
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But when the face detect doesn’t miss children’s eyes running in backlight at 1.2, what more is needed?

I used my it for a month and it hasn't been my experience. I get missed eye if they move especially shooting at @1.4

How active was your kid? If my kids sat still like a bride, Canon's eyeAF isn't an issue.

EOS R don't track that well if the subject is far away or moving a lot
 
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Jun 12, 2015
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Yes, it works better on the M5, but that is almost certainly because the M5 sensor is considerably smaller.
I don’t think so. The problem for me using the “absolute “ setting, and the upper right corner, was that I couldn’t reach the left part of the focusing area without loosing the grip. Further, in absolute mode, the focus point has a tendency to jump to corner while unintended by me.

The “relative” setting is ok, but slower in use, and a bit fiddely.

On the M5 it is much easier to move the focusing point all over the AF area, without loosening the grip of the camera.
 
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Jun 12, 2015
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I don't have problem on face detection but rather the AF keeping up with kids or moving subject. It's also single shot only.
Canon 24-70 II 2.8, Sigma 14-24, 105 1.4 Art
The AF with native RF lenses are way superior to EF lenses, but I have been very satisfied with the AF on my L series primes on the EOS R. I haven’t tried any of the EF zoom lenses on the R yet.
 
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Moving the AF point on the R with the touchscreen is far faster than any joystick.

No it's not. I've shot 5 weddings and over 10,000 frames with the R now. The 5Div is miles faster and more accurate. Especially considering I can start moving the AF points as soon as I start lifting the camera.

I say this, even though I feel, on balance, this is the best camera Canon has ever made.
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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I used my it for a month and it hasn't been my experience. I get missed eye if they move especially shooting at @1.4

How active was your kid? If my kids sat still like a bride, Canon's eyeAF isn't an issue.

EOS R don't track that well if the subject is far away or moving a lot

Hm, weird... yeah my oldest plays soccer so that’s pretty erratic, and my daughter is always the equivalent of a bouncy ball shot out of Canon into an elevator, always, works great.

And it also works on a swing where the 1dx2 struggled with any type of AF setting.
 
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cellomaster27

Capture the moment!
Jun 3, 2013
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The AF with native RF lenses are way superior to EF lenses, but I have been very satisfied with the AF on my L series primes on the EOS R. I haven’t tried any of the EF zoom lenses on the R yet.

When you say native vs non native canon lenses on the EOS-R is "way superior", in what ways? Focus lock or AF speed? If focus lock, in general or having tested them in the same scenario? AF speed for EF lenses should be the same and doesn't account for superiority in terms of AF lock.. ? Are you using a third party adapter?
 
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