Keep using EF lenses or swap to RF version?

[tpatana]

Kinda talking out aloud, but also looking for opinions and angle/thought I might have not seen myself.

This question is specifically for my indoor sports shooting, all other shooting types are more clear.

I used to have 1DX and 5D4, and usually I had 70-200 on 1DX and Sigma 85mm Art on 5D4 (often used by assistant). If/when shooting teams/poses, would usually swap to 24-70mm on the 5D4.

I sold the 5D4 and bought R5, and currently for RF lenses I have 28-70 and 35mm/1.8.


Sports hasn't started yet, but I'm thinking/planning how I would use the lenses, and if I should buy more. Too many options, hence writing them down helps to narrow down.

Option1: Don't buy anything, use EF 70-200 on R5 with adapter, and use Sigma 85mm on 1DX
Pros: no need to buy more lenses
Cons: Would RF 70-200 be better for quality? fps? AF performance? smaller too


Option1-B: Sell EF70-200 and buy RF 70-200.
Pros: better quality lens (marginally?)
Cons: Can't use 70-200 on 1DX anymore even if I wanted. ~$1k extra money.


Option2: Buy RF 70-200
Pro: can use 70-200 on both bodies on their native mount
Cons: same lens twice, lot of money too


Option3: Sell Sigma 85mm and buy RF 85mm DS (I'm kinda eyeing that lens for other shooting too...), use EF70-200 on 1DX and RF85mm on R5
Pros: I'd get awesome portrait lens too
Cons: Lot of money. Main lens (70-200) would be on older body (not that 1DX is a slouch)



I like each of the option for different reasons.

Any thoughts that would make me lean towards any of those? Option1 is my current state, and sports hasn't started anyway so in a way I have lot of time to think about this, no need to do rash decisions. But also lenses are mostly sold out, so getting in order earlier would get me lens sooner.

 

[tpatana]

I guess one alternative option using current lenses would be:
1DX with EF 70-200
R5 with RF 28-70

At 70F2 it wouldn't be _that_ much different than 85, which I usually used at F2.0 when shooting. And this would give immediate flexibility to zoom out if need to take people/wider pics, and probably for the actual action it would be always at 70mm. One item on this option I don't favor is that my assistant is usually the person to shoot for people (since I'm from Finland, we don't like people, so I concentrate on the sports/action and assistants take the people/background/etc pics). So this option most likely I'd be using 1DX and assistant on R5. They are already fairly skilled on 1DX and 5D4, but R5 does need more learning curve to use.

 

[Drumbatter100]

Kinda talking out aloud, but also looking for opinions and angle/thought I might have not seen myself.

This question is specifically for my indoor sports shooting, all other shooting types are more clear.

I used to have 1DX and 5D4, and usually I had 70-200 on 1DX and Sigma 85mm Art on 5D4 (often used by assistant). If/when shooting teams/poses, would usually swap to 24-70mm on the 5D4.

I sold the 5D4 and bought R5, and currently for RF lenses I have 28-70 and 35mm/1.8.


Sports hasn't started yet, but I'm thinking/planning how I would use the lenses, and if I should buy more. Too many options, hence writing them down helps to narrow down.

Option1: Don't buy anything, use EF 70-200 on R5 with adapter, and use Sigma 85mm on 1DX
Pros: no need to buy more lenses
Cons: Would RF 70-200 be better for quality? fps? AF performance? smaller too


Option1-B: Sell EF70-200 and buy RF 70-200.
Pros: better quality lens (marginally?)
Cons: Can't use 70-200 on 1DX anymore even if I wanted. ~$1k extra money.


Option2: Buy RF 70-200
Pro: can use 70-200 on both bodies on their native mount
Cons: same lens twice, lot of money too


Option3: Sell Sigma 85mm and buy RF 85mm DS (I'm kinda eyeing that lens for other shooting too...), use EF70-200 on 1DX and RF85mm on R5
Pros: I'd get awesome portrait lens too
Cons: Lot of money. Main lens (70-200) would be on older body (not that 1DX is a slouch)



I like each of the option for different reasons.

Any thoughts that would make me lean towards any of those? Option1 is my current state, and sports hasn't started anyway so in a way I have lot of time to think about this, no need to do rash decisions. But also lenses are mostly sold out, so getting in order earlier would get me lens sooner.

I am in the same predicament. I have 7 L lenses and wondered if it’s best to swap now as the ef lenses still have a resale value. I think as time goes on more and more people are going mirrorless and the older lenses will lose value.

 

[Drumbatter100]

I am in the same predicament. I have 7 L lenses and wondered if it’s best to swap now as the ef lenses still have a resale value. I think as time goes on more and more people are going mirrorless and the older lenses will lose value.

 

[tpatana]

I am in the same predicament. I have 7 L lenses and wondered if it’s best to swap now as the ef lenses still have a resale value. I think as time goes on more and more people are going mirrorless and the older lenses will lose value.

Yea that's good point too. Although I expect to keep my 1DX for long time, it's great body anyway so I can have it as backup when I need hammer or something, so I'll probably keep some of my EF lenses even though I'll be slowly shifting most of my shooting to RF bodies and lenses.

 

[Hutch]

Canon has discontinue a couple of dozen EF lenses and there there are going to be a lot of folks who will continue to buy or have existing bodies. I think there will be plenty of demand for used EF and am going to take my time converting over entirely until the price of RF start coming down or go on sale.

 

[Shotbycurtin]

I jumped to RF lens as I was concerned about values going down and the man maths worked out for me at present. If making the change dont be too hasty in light of poor availability, certainly in the UK. Also if you are using the latest l series EF glass, the differences in performance are not as great as you may expect. The obvious differences for me are more compact and marginally faster AF.

 

[Tappa]

Yea that's good point too. Although I expect to keep my 1DX for long time, it's great body anyway so I can have it as backup when I need hammer or something, so I'll probably keep some of my EF lenses even though I'll be slowly shifting most of my shooting to RF bodies and lenses.

The 1DX is a great camera but I found out the hard way that there are no repair parts available for it. Mine bit the dust with nowhere near the shutter actuations it was good for. No parts=no fix. It's now sitting on a shelf in my closet. Needless to say that's why I'm the proud owner of the r5 with EF lenses.

 

[Dave Williams]

The 1DX is a great camera but I found out the hard way that there are no repair parts available for it. Mine bit the dust with nowhere near the shutter actuations it was good for. No parts=no fix. It's now sitting on a shelf in my closet. Needless to say that's why I'm the proud owner of the r5 with EF lenses.

I'm amazed there are no parts available for the 1DX, can't surely be that different from a 1DX2 or 3 for most bits surely? Is it Canon that have said this and have you tried other authorised repairers?
I know in the UK Canon's CPS issues statements on gear that is no longer supported, but you can get the item repaired elsewhere as some places buy up all the parts and sit on them for years to come.

 

[Dave Williams]

I see no need to rush in to buying RF glass unless it offers a unique reason which only a few do at the moment. EF glass actually performs better on my R5 than it did on the 1DX2 and 5D4 for reasons connected to auto focus and aperture and I don't think RF glass would be any better in terms of IQ. I think one thing to consider with old glass is whether parts would be available should they be needed ( see above comments on the 1DX) but on the positive side you can pick up some EF bargains compared to buying in to new lenses.
I am delighted with my RF100-500 and will keep that until a better option is available but the RF 800 f11 although unique in terms of price and weight was not much to my liking as a lens and I have no wish to replace the one I had stolen.

 

[tpatana]

I recently bought RF70-200. For now I'm also keeping the EF version so I can shoot R5 + 1DX with the same lens.

One big change from R5+adapter+EF70-200 to R5+RF70-200 is the size when packed. Takes almost half the space (length-wise) in backpack. It was never really a problem, just nice delighter how small it packs.

 

[Dave Williams]

I recently bought RF70-200. For now I'm also keeping the EF version so I can shoot R5 + 1DX with the same lens.

One big change from R5+adapter+EF70-200 to R5+RF70-200 is the size when packed. Takes almost half the space (length-wise) in backpack. It was never really a problem, just nice delighter how small it packs.

Reduced size is a positive but the RF version won't accept a TC whereas the EF one does so that's a counter balance negative in my view.
Then there's the price too!
.

 

[Chris Summers]

Currently I have a Canon R and R7 and several RF lenses; 16mm, 35mm, 50mm, 24-105mm, 70-200mm and 800mm. I still own EF and EFs mount lenses in other focal lengths and don't foresee replacing them for a couple of reasons. I also shoot with the Canon M system and can adapt the EF lenses to be used on either the RF or MF mount cameras. Some I just don't use very often so why bother replacing them as I will take a loss on the sale of the older lenses. Like my 100mm macro. I shoot macro a few times a year so just using it with the RF adapter is not a big deal. Same for my Canon EF 85mm f/1.2.

 

[ChRiSiS]

I have both a R5 and a R7, along with a whole set of legacy EF glass (L and non-L). I have built up a collection of RF lenses (50 1.8, 14-35 L, 24-105 L, 24-240, 70-200 2.8L, 100-500 L as well as the RF-S 18-150 kit lens that came with my R7).

I don’t know that i really see any IQ difference between my RF 70-200 f2.8L and my EF 70-200 f2.8 L IS II. Both are outstanding i that regard. However there are reasons I gave my EF lens to my son for his birthday (to use with the 5D IV that he purchased from me. The RF lens is MUCH smaller. Compared to the EF lens plus adapter the RF lens is tiny (or the EF lens is enormous). In addition, the RF 70-200 f2.8 coupled with the IBIS in the R5 and R7 is simply unparalleled in MY experience.

I am able to handhold at 1/4 second f2.8 and 200mm using this lens, allowing me, for example, to get really beautiful, creamy shots of water flowing over a waterfall without using a tripod or rest. This is dramatically improved compared to what I am able to do with the adapted EF lens on the R5 for example.

Chris

 

[RDM5546]

I still have my 7DII and 5D4 as I love them and they do make good backups and are useful in niche cases. I have 14 L lenses to go with them.
Then I got EOS R, R5 and R7 with just the Trinity of three lenses in f2.8 to start and adapting my 14 L lenses. I found the RF lenses to be better and expanded slowly. Before I knew it I was where I am now. I may trim some of my L lenses or not. My 11 RF lenses are fantastic and I do have the RF135 on order at B&H. Duplication is useful at times. Trimming my EF lenses makes sense but it is not easily done. In a couple of years I will know what I do not really use.