Made the big leap today....unexpectedly!

[Bigpikle]

Hi all - just a quick intro as I joined the R6 II club today slightly unexpectedly!

I've been a keen photographer for 35 years but work, family and other hobbies slightly sidelined it the last 10. My near-antique 5D mk1 and bag full of EF glass has sat mostly unused for much of that time sadly, replaced with my Ricoh GRD's and phone cameras. That was until today when I dragged it all to my local Wex Photo store to trade it all in for a..................................................................................................................... Sony A7

I walked into the store to find it was an open day I had no idea about, packed full of shoppers and reps from many companies, including Canon. After dropping off my stuff I went to chat with the only rep with nobody around him and spent 20 mins getting hands-on with the R6 II and new RF L glass I hadn't seen before. Long story short, an impossible to refuse huge discount on body and lens saw me order a R6 II and 24-105 f4L in place of my trusty (read heavy archaic dust magnet) 5D and the original 24-105L!

Still slightly nervous about the purchase as I had decided this combo was well outside my price range and had only read a little about the R6, and was fully intent on deciding between an A7 III or IV, probably with some Tamron zooms. The Canon just felt great to hold and play with and the bonus of a 24-105 as a kit lens again, rather than the 28-75 options with the Sony, and the 8 stops of IBIS feels like its the right choice. I just retired very early and this kit is going to be primarily for travel photography as we now spend a lot of time travelling the UK and soon Europe, in our campervan. Small size, minimal kit to carry and flexibility of this setup will hopefully prove it was the right decision to blow the budget and stay Canon???

Hoping to learn and be inspired by everyone here as I start the journey into mirroless and all the new tech as well as rekindling my love of spending more time taking photographs.

Damon

 

[lostnomore]

Thanks for sharing how you ended up with Canon after first considering Sony! I for one have never like Sony ergonomics. That alone has kept me away from that system. HOWEVER, I'm very envious of how their glass is considerably cheaper than their Canon equivalents (of same focal length and max. aperture.)

 

[Bigpikle]

HOWEVER, I'm very envious of how their glass is considerably cheaper than their Canon equivalents (of same focal length and max. aperture.)

Thats probably my biggest worry, but I just ditched a big bag of lenses incl 17-40, 24-105, 70-200 F4's, several Canon primes and a lovely Sigma 105 macro, and dont really plan to do all that again. I could see myself adding the 100-400 and maybe the 15-35 or a wide prime, but that will have to wait for a while now!

 

[Tim Mayo]

Welcome Damon and thanks for joining up here. I have two young boys and definitely find it challenging to get out and take photos as often as I did before they came along, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The oldest is 3 this year so I might take him to an airshow I have the Sony a1, a7 IV and the Canon R5 since I run two forums but I prefer the feel of the R5 in my hands and the much faster and more affordable CFexpress Type-B cards. I had the R6 Mk II on hire for a few days recently and it's a cracking camera, the 40 FPS and pre-shooting is brilliant for bird photography. Congratulations on your retirement. I've probably got another couple of decades to work at least!

 

[GaryM]

I like these stories…..it is nice to be photographically active at a time when there are so many great cameras and lenses available to inspiring and long time artists or hobbyists. I foretell some truly amazing images down the road.

 

[TonyB]

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the Canon R club. I switched from a full Nikon mirrorless system a few years ago and really haven't looked back. I checked out Sony but when I held one and tried to navigate the menus, I immediately knew it wasn't for me. The R5, on the other hand, had the AF performance I wanted and felt good to hold. A bit larger than the Nikon Z7II, but bonded pretty quickly.

I think you'll find the RF lenses to be superb, especially the 24-105L - killer lens. Do not ignore the non-L lenses, especially the primes. I've had great success with the 16mm f/2.8 and just added the 85mm f/2. Canon's If I was traveling, needed more reach and looking to stay lightweight, given the R6II's excellent high ISO performance, I wouldn't hesitate to look at the RF 100-400. As for the price of the L series lenses, Nikon's S or Sony's GM's, they are all really expensive and close enough in price where I didn't find that reason alone to compel me to avoid Canon. Same with the 3rd party issues. I think Canon and Nikon will likely take the same approach and not license any 3rd party lenses that compete with their offerings. Sony opened their mount up a long time ago to get people to switch to mirrorless but I wouldn't be surprised if they start to pull back on some of that, if their contracts allow them to.

Enjoy the new camera and congrats on the early retirement.