FINALLY can report back after fiddling with a demo model in-store for about a half-hour or so...keep in mind these are first impressions only and NOT necessarily final thoughts or review comments...
Mixed feelings about the camera overall. There are some things I agree with the early reviewers about, such as the camera feeling good in the hand, but there are others I disagree with, mainly the EVF - a lot of people were saying it's really good, and perhaps it is by EVF standards - don't have enough experience with them personally - but it still does not compare to a good old optical viewfinder in my honest opinion. That being said, however, I did appreciate the "live" exposure preview and depth-of-field preview you get with EVFs.
My first thoughts among actually seeing it. It is somewhat larger than I had hoped. Still smaller than a 5D but not a small camera by any means. It looks to be close to the size (footprint) of an 80D, with a thinner body but similar-size grip. The positive is that the camera felt comfortable to hold (with the 24-105) and use, even though my hands are on the large side.
I found out within seconds of shooting my first shots with it that there is a learning curve to using this camera, even being a long-time Canon shooter of their DSLRs and M-series cameras. I'm used to being able to pick up a new Canon camera, dial in settings and run off, but I had to figure things out on this one. As for the touch-bar, I have to put myself in the camp that doesn't care for it much. Like I said, I have larger hands and I found I was accidentally activating it when gripping it normally. In addition to that, I found it to be a bit laggy...which brings me to the shooting experience with the R. I found the touch-and-drag AF point function to be laggy as well...and when switched to "absolute" mode, not only was it laggy, but jumpy as well. However, shooting with the screen in "live view" mode, it's great. Screen is really nice, with a good refresh rate - silent mode is awesome, touch is responsive just like on the M cameras. The viewfinder shooting experience is not as good currently, but I think it may be something that may be able to be improved with future firmware updates.
AF experience - no significant issues with speed, seemed pretty quick, at least with the 24-105 stock lens - accuracy I found to be average, no better than a DSLR at least (disappointing). But maybe I just need to test it more first. Servo tracking, I need to test it more extensively to be sure but I wasn't very impressed during my quick test. Then again, adjustments may have been needed, so final judgment reserved there.
Image quality (with 24-105) - OK. Images I found to be a bit softer than I'm used to seeing from this class of camera, and even compared to the 5D4. But that may be more indicative of the lens (and its lack of sharpness at 105mm f4) than anything else. More testing needed, particularly with a better lens like the RF 50 1.2.
Misc:
- You cannot (at least that I know of) set the camera to operate like a DSLR, i.e., you use the viewfinder to take the shot with the screen off, and use the screen ONLY to view the image and have it switch off again. So you're either stuck with the camera in "permanent live view mode", or you must disable the screen and view EVERYTHING (including menus) through the viewfinder.
- In silent shooting mode, a couple notes. First, a white box appears to let the photographer know a pic has been taken and recorded. It is TRULY silent - meaning no sounds from the camera body at all. However, it does not take much movement at all to introduce distortion (rolling shutter effect). Shooting during slow panning is enough! Someone standing relatively still, perhaps moving only slightly, it works really well though. And, as we all know, only single-shot mode works.
- Don't know what Canon was thinking when they removed the click wheel in the back around the Q/SET button. The 6D2 has one...even my M6 has one...therefore, another adjustment of "muscle memory" required if shooting this camera along with a 5D or 6D or M5/M6. I usually have that set to aperture (in M mode).
I still think the camera, and the RF series in general, has great potential. It's clear that this is where the future lies. But as it stands, I would not replace a 5D4 with this...or a 5D3 for that matter. IMHO, the speed/responsiveness is just not there yet. A few somewhat puzzling decisions (e.g., lack of mode dial, reduction in buttons), and lag-time on switching AF points, slow down the operation of the camera compared to a 5D series and therefore if I need to get the shot, I'd still rather have a 5D in hand than an R. All that said, however, I'm still considering one as a travel camera/situations where speed isn't critical. In this case the R would complement rather than replace existing cameras. Some of the issues I pointed out may be able to be pinned down/worked around with more time with the camera, while others will need to be fixed in EOS R version 2.0 (or a new firmware release).
Mixed feelings about the camera overall. There are some things I agree with the early reviewers about, such as the camera feeling good in the hand, but there are others I disagree with, mainly the EVF - a lot of people were saying it's really good, and perhaps it is by EVF standards - don't have enough experience with them personally - but it still does not compare to a good old optical viewfinder in my honest opinion. That being said, however, I did appreciate the "live" exposure preview and depth-of-field preview you get with EVFs.
My first thoughts among actually seeing it. It is somewhat larger than I had hoped. Still smaller than a 5D but not a small camera by any means. It looks to be close to the size (footprint) of an 80D, with a thinner body but similar-size grip. The positive is that the camera felt comfortable to hold (with the 24-105) and use, even though my hands are on the large side.
I found out within seconds of shooting my first shots with it that there is a learning curve to using this camera, even being a long-time Canon shooter of their DSLRs and M-series cameras. I'm used to being able to pick up a new Canon camera, dial in settings and run off, but I had to figure things out on this one. As for the touch-bar, I have to put myself in the camp that doesn't care for it much. Like I said, I have larger hands and I found I was accidentally activating it when gripping it normally. In addition to that, I found it to be a bit laggy...which brings me to the shooting experience with the R. I found the touch-and-drag AF point function to be laggy as well...and when switched to "absolute" mode, not only was it laggy, but jumpy as well. However, shooting with the screen in "live view" mode, it's great. Screen is really nice, with a good refresh rate - silent mode is awesome, touch is responsive just like on the M cameras. The viewfinder shooting experience is not as good currently, but I think it may be something that may be able to be improved with future firmware updates.
AF experience - no significant issues with speed, seemed pretty quick, at least with the 24-105 stock lens - accuracy I found to be average, no better than a DSLR at least (disappointing). But maybe I just need to test it more first. Servo tracking, I need to test it more extensively to be sure but I wasn't very impressed during my quick test. Then again, adjustments may have been needed, so final judgment reserved there.
Image quality (with 24-105) - OK. Images I found to be a bit softer than I'm used to seeing from this class of camera, and even compared to the 5D4. But that may be more indicative of the lens (and its lack of sharpness at 105mm f4) than anything else. More testing needed, particularly with a better lens like the RF 50 1.2.
Misc:
- You cannot (at least that I know of) set the camera to operate like a DSLR, i.e., you use the viewfinder to take the shot with the screen off, and use the screen ONLY to view the image and have it switch off again. So you're either stuck with the camera in "permanent live view mode", or you must disable the screen and view EVERYTHING (including menus) through the viewfinder.
- In silent shooting mode, a couple notes. First, a white box appears to let the photographer know a pic has been taken and recorded. It is TRULY silent - meaning no sounds from the camera body at all. However, it does not take much movement at all to introduce distortion (rolling shutter effect). Shooting during slow panning is enough! Someone standing relatively still, perhaps moving only slightly, it works really well though. And, as we all know, only single-shot mode works.
- Don't know what Canon was thinking when they removed the click wheel in the back around the Q/SET button. The 6D2 has one...even my M6 has one...therefore, another adjustment of "muscle memory" required if shooting this camera along with a 5D or 6D or M5/M6. I usually have that set to aperture (in M mode).
I still think the camera, and the RF series in general, has great potential. It's clear that this is where the future lies. But as it stands, I would not replace a 5D4 with this...or a 5D3 for that matter. IMHO, the speed/responsiveness is just not there yet. A few somewhat puzzling decisions (e.g., lack of mode dial, reduction in buttons), and lag-time on switching AF points, slow down the operation of the camera compared to a 5D series and therefore if I need to get the shot, I'd still rather have a 5D in hand than an R. All that said, however, I'm still considering one as a travel camera/situations where speed isn't critical. In this case the R would complement rather than replace existing cameras. Some of the issues I pointed out may be able to be pinned down/worked around with more time with the camera, while others will need to be fixed in EOS R version 2.0 (or a new firmware release).
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