Canon Adds EOS R50 and EOS R8 to the Growing EOS R Mirrorless Camera System

[Loswr]

Question.

Is there a list that shows which shooing modes revert to 12 bit from 14bit?

I have a new r62 im getting to grips with but i've only seen this info mentioned in bits and pieces. I'd prefer to use 14bit modes only unless i really have no choice.

• mechanical = 14
• 1st curtain = ?
• 40fps= 12 bit (just like most bodies on the market?)
• Full electric shutter, low fps= ?

Im even curious about how that affects the r50 - since it has no full mechanical shutter ability

Thanks in advance!!

Not sure about the R50, but the R8 also has no full mechanical and is 14 bit with EFCS and 12 bit with full electronic at all fps settings.

 

[scyrene]

Do you really think a joystick is needed, given the sophistication of modern AF systems such as that in the R8?

All you need to do is to leave the AF spot in its default central position, over the subject, and then recompose. As long as you keep half-pressure on the shutter button, the subject will remain in focus, regardless of how you recompose, and regardless of where the subject moves. The joystick is pretty much a redundant feature these days. Moving the AF spot manually via a joystick or via the touch screen just slows you down.

A second dial is also no longer needed, because RF lenses have a control wheel that can be assigned to aperture, shutter speed, ISO or exposure compensation.

I must try that, I'm still using the joystick to get off-centre focus for eg flowers. As for the control ring, I'm never gonna be able to reprogramme my muscle memory, I never remember it's there (and obviously only present on most(?) RF lenses or the control ring adapter).

 

[Loswr]

Come on. You really think the R50 is aimed at people who use studio flashes?
It's a starter model for people who are unlikely to ever use anything other than a built-in flash or a cheap hotshoe flash.

Except there aren't any cheap hotshoe flashes from Canon for the R50, without the AD-E1 adapter. Still, I don't disagree – very few R50 users will put anything in the hotshoe, ever.

 

[splatrabbit]

So, basically, these are replacements/updates to the Canon RP and SL3/M50 from the looks of it. The thing I'm really curious about, not caring about video, is the 24.2MP sensor better than the 26.2MP sensor? I have a 5Ds and 6Mk2 with a dozen EF lenses, but I may want to get a small mirrorless with the 24-50 to carry around when I'm not actually planning on taking pictures. (Eventually, I'll rotate out the DSLRs for Mirrorless but those cameras still treat me well).

EDIT: Just noticed the battery is small... never mind, I prefer everything having the same battery if possible. I'm just going to go with my original plan and get an R7 for the same money. Yes, I know it's a crop sensor, I love to shoot woodpeckers in my back yard and it'll give me a bit more reach.

 

[bbasiaga]

Brian, it's the same as with mpg (l/100km).
You and I get different values with both.
But when comparing products / cameras / cars it is a standardized measurement. I'd call that far from "meaningless".
And I get upset, when people argue with wrong numbers / alternative facts / lies.
And then I'll correct it.

Well, I don't think anything i said was a "wrong number /alternative fact/lie".

The CIPA numbers differ from reality enough that I find little value in them, except as a gross estimation. I.e. a DSLR might say 800, and a mirrorless might say 300. That is a meaningful difference. But to decide to switch brands because one says 320 and the other 400 (pulling rough numbers from memory) is a recipe for disappointment. Looking at the mAh of the battery is a better general indicator, but even that is not fool proof. For instance we know a high performance EVF can draw much more juice than a middle spec one - so does that eat up the difference in battery capacity?

Interestingly enough, the car I currently drive gets the same gas mileage as my previous car, despite the window sticker estimations not overlapping at all. I drive the same roads and the same style as I always have. I was disappointed by the previous car, and pleasantly surprised by the new one!

 

[Sporgon]

is the 24.2MP sensor better than the 26.2MP sensor?

It will have greater dynamic range at low ISO but within the DR of the 26.2 I doubt there will be much in it. Resolution is basically the same. Later digic will offer better noise suppression at high ISO I guess.

 

[scyrene]

More content creator stuff, what a let down. Canon, when are you going develop a RF high resolution, professional build quality, top lcd screen, tilting (NOT FLIPPY) back lcd screen camera for us photographers? The R5 is not it, my 5ds-r has higher resolution.

Is there any meaningful difference in resolution between those two cameras? PS most people would still regard 45-50MP as high resolution. PPS photographers are "content creators" too

 

[entoman]

I must try that, I'm still using the joystick to get off-centre focus for eg flowers. As for the control ring, I'm never gonna be able to reprogramme my muscle memory, I never remember it's there (and obviously only present on most(?) RF lenses or the control ring adapter).

Focus-recompose works really well for most subjects - birds, animals, people, vehicles etc. The AF just needs something with a bit of contrast to lock onto. My R5 will lock onto almost anything except a plain unmarked surface, and the latest generation of Canons should be even better.

And you can always program one of the back buttons to engage single-spot AF for the rare occasions when focus-recompose doesn't work.

For flowers, fungi, lichens, landscapes and other static subjects I generally focus manually. Same applies for macro, where I usually employ the pre-focus and rock back and forth method.

 

[scyrene]

It will have greater dynamic range at low ISO but within the DR of the 26.2 I doubt there will be much in it. Resolution is basically the same. Later digic will offer better noise suppression at high ISO I guess.

It seems to be the same as in the R6II which due to AA filter tweaking resolves like the 5DIV (according to another thread). So I would say, definitely a bit better, in principle.

 

[entoman]

Canon, when are you going develop a RF high resolution, professional build quality, top lcd screen, tilting (NOT FLIPPY) back lcd screen camera for us photographers? The R5 is not it, my 5ds-r has higher resolution.

The difference in resolution between the 50MP 5DSR and the 45MP R5 is utterly insignificant, and the R5 will produce sharper images with more DR and less noise. I used a 5DSR for 5 years and have used a R5 for 2 years so I know what I'm talking about.

Personally, I don't feel a need for more than 45MP, although others including yourself may possibly find a benefit in even higher resolutions for a limited number of applications.

I'm with you regarding the rear monitor. I don't like the Canon flippy screen design - it obstructs the ports and the off-axis flipped-out screen makes it harder to track subjects when you glance back and forth between the screen and a moving subject when trying to keep track of it. It bugs me that Canon don't use a hybrid screen that remains on axis when tilting in either landscape or portrait mode, but can also flip out for video and reverse for storage. Panasonic do it, Fujifilm do it, Nikon do it, even Sony now do it I believe. But not the Big Bad Giant.

 

[splatrabbit]

The price of the R8 is quite underwhelming. You can buy an RP for 899 Euros. The R8 costs 1799 Euros, which is roughly twice as much. Is that the price you have to pay for an "entry level" full frame camera these days? When did 1799 Euros become "cheap"? Are full frame sensor still very expensive to produce in 2023? Back in the analogue days full frame was a standard, but in the digital world it still seems like a luxury.

I thought that the R8 might be a good second camera along a DLSR, but for that it is just too expensive. It misses IBIS and a mechanical shutter and has a horrible battery life. The R7 seems like a much more attractive page for me. It costs 1499 Euros and has IBIS and a mechanical shutter.

For 400 Euros more than the R8, you can buy a Panasonic S5 II, which seems a much better deal. Like the R7 it also has IBIS and a mechanical shutter, but also full frame and some other nice features. And it supports third party lenses including all Canon EF lenses with an adapter.

I'm in the same place as you. Wanted to enter mirrorless with R8 (I only have shot FF so far after 50 years with film and then digital), but the R7 seems like a much better camera for the price. And I think a crop sensor would be an interesting addition to my camera setup.

 

[Maximilian]

Well, I don't think anything i said was a "wrong number /alternative fact/lie".

Nonono! I wasn't accusing you! Sorry, if I got misunderstood.

With you I only wanted to discuss if numbers measured under scientific conditions are meaningless or not.
(even if not displayed in daily use)

The wrong "number / alternative fact / lie" argument was about those, that posted the wrong numbers, even if just copied and not personally changed.

I hope I could make that clear now. And you can agree with that opinion.

About CIPA standards:
Yes, I agree that one could argue if realistic and practical.
But at least it is a central measurement method and each company has to do it the same way.

 

[nunataks]

I slept on it after leaking all this stuff yesterday, and I still don't want the R8. I think Canon intentionally kept a lot of important features that could have been easily added out so they could say "oh look the R6 only costs $1000 more and has them all!" the thing is I don't want a camera the size of the R6 (I've owned one before, it's too bulky while still feeling plasticky). The fact that it has the R6 "innards" in it doesn't mean a lot to me when they just mostly reused a 5 year old shell to put them in. The RP which I've owned for months and just sold was frustrating to use because there's no direct ISO button (you can't even program the rear dial for it like on the R10, and while you can program other random buttons for it, it messes up the flow when you're out shooting), and the body itself is very unbalanced with larger lenses due to being longer than it is tall so the center of gravity is too far away from the hand grip.

 

[Loswr]

The RP which I've owned for months and just sold was frustrating to use because there's no direct ISO button (you can't even program the rear dial for it like on the R10,

I have ISO on the lens control ring. Works very well there, even though there are plenty of other ways to change it on my R3.

 

[gruhl28]

I would have seriously considered the R8 if it had IBIS. Without it I can't justify spending that much money. The comparisons to the Nikon Z5 are pretty disappointing. And the bigger battery, which I have in my APS-C 80D, would have been nice. Guess I'll be living with my RP for a while.

Reading Bryan Carnathan’s review, though, it does sound like a nice camera.

 

[Loswr]

Reading Bryan Carnathan’s review, though, it does sound like a nice camera.

Have you run across one of his reviews that doesn't make the subject camera sound nice?

 

[Czardoom]

Yes, I believe so; as I said, if they wanted to leave some space for another middle tier body, today they would have released an "R9".
I don't see them releasing a future R9 with specs inferior to R8; but still, I see a HUGE technical gap between R8 and R6/R6II, it's very starnge that Canon, that really loves to have plenty of cameras with same sensor/processor/af, just differentiate by body size, battery type, etc, wouldn't find a way to implement a camera in between...other then actually already having it, and being called R7...I may imagine that their strategy is "you want cheap FF there's R8, you want serious FF you'll start from R6 upwards, you need something in between? Buy aps, as we're gonna protect the ff line, we're not giving you pro functions in a semi-pro body for cheap like we did with 6D in the past".

...guess what? I exactly had a 6D, which is a camera tier that, at least today, is not expected to be available in R line.
The R8 (and RP), in comparison (at least just for the battery type), is way inferior to what the 6D was, despite being both the cheapest FF bodies you can buy. For the same price of a 6D they gave us a technical inferior entry point to FF, so price has not increased, but relative quality and features have dropped drastically.

The 6D had a launch price of $1899 in the USA in 2012 (some sources say $2099). The inflation rate since then is 1.29% - so a 6D today would cost.....
$2499. Gee...

 

[Deepboy]

I like the R as a body, good image quality, but some of its features are outdated.
The shutter is very loud and in silent mode, the rolling shutter is very bad.

This is a lot lighter, way more usable electronic shutter, AF is miles ahead, much better to use for travel on the street.
And its sensor is more advanced in terms of ISO and dynamic range, so overall IQ looks to be better.

I should have said SWITCH an R for an R8; if you start from scratch you may prefer r8, but if someone already bought R instead of the RP, it means he rather prefer a slightly bigger body, but with LP-E6 batteries, and would never switch to a R8.

Then, it always depends on usage, if you shoot in studio, you rather prefer more mpx of the R, the shutter loudness has no impact, same for the rolling shutter, same for weight, same for ISO, dynamic range at "studio iso" (95% 100iso, and usually never more then 400iso) I bet is practically indistinguishable, AF as well there's much difference but you see it in moving subject, if you shoot still portraits or still life then AF speed and precision is not an issue.

 

[Deepboy]

You could say the 6D was a product management mistake, because it had a better sensor than the much more expensive 5DIII at that time, and could completely replace the 5DIII for many use cases such as travel and landscape, at a lower price point and weight. Apparently Canon learned from their mistake. Imagine they'd give us an improved R5 sensor in a smaller package, same battery, top LCD, just sightly more fiddly buttons and slower AF at half the price.... It won't happen.

I had the 5DII, when 6D came out I immediately made the switch, I sold the 5DII for the very same price I paid the 6D, so it was a no-loss switch, but i got a newer camera, with same mpx count so no losses there, the sensor was better then 5DII and on par with 5DIII (actually very high iso were just a pinch better on 6D), and in the switch I passed from CF cards to SD cards which is a format I preferred, because in the past I had issues with bent pins both in 10D and in 20D, so I never trusted the mechanical strength of the CF ensemble.

Today I really would love to find an R series body matching what the 6D tier was, but it's not there, my R6, while sharing the "6" series name, is way superior in relative tier to a 6D, and RP (even being 6DII successor as it was sharing the sensor) and R8 are an inferior tier at least for the ML-E17 battery. No, they probably are never giving us again something like the 6D was.

 

[splatrabbit]

Didn't I read somewhere of a "new form factor" ?
Both cameras look quite conventional. (Not a drawback !)

Yeah, I thought so too. I was expecting something that looked like the Sony A7C.