Canon R6 I R6 vs R7

[tbar23]

I am quite new to photography, but have ramped up considerably over the last year. After years of dabbling, I got more serious last year and purchased my first non-phone camera since a 2000-era Nikon D40 DSLR - bought when my kids were born almost 20 years ago.
Not sure how serious I would get, I opted for the EOS Rp.
The Rp has been used for astrophotography as well as general-purpose (e.g. travel, events - prom / graduation, and family get-togethers).
In preparation for an African safari this summer, I purchased an RF 100-500mm lens and have started enjoying sports photography.
I’m also anticipating both photos and videos of my son next winter - where he does big air slopestyle ski events.
Current lens collection includes: RF 100-500, RF 50 F1.8, RF 24-105 F4-7.1 STM and a Rokinon 14mm F2.8.
So what’s the question, you ask:
Last night I read extensively about Canon’s other mirrorless cameras including the R, R5, R6, R7 and R10.
I am intrigued by a number of features, but the three that seem the most important to me are:

1. in-body image stabilization
2. improved auto-focus
3. improved video capability

With that list of feature priorities, the R drops off the contention list, and I don’t think the R10 is enough of a step-up from the Rp to consider.
The R5 is quite intriguing to me, but let’s be honest, I’m still a newbie, and it isn’t clear that a $3900 body makes sense for me (haven’t ruled it out, though).
Roughly, that’s the process that has narrowed me down to R6 vs R7.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the implications of a crop-sensor, but for safari, it seems like the extra reach out be fantastic. And assuming I understand things correctly, the downside is that I’m effectively slowing the lens down about a half-stop due to less light gathering capability of the smaller sensor.
With a $1000 incentive, I’m wondering how this group would think about comparing the R6 to the R7 and what use case would push you one direction vs another?
And perhaps a side question of what would push you to recommend an R5 over either of them.

Thank you!

 

[RedCobra]

The answer is: 45mps

 

[Dave Williams]

I have an R5 and I don't have a back up camera which worries me a little bit, especially for an upcoming 5 week road trip to South Africa.
I have ruled out the R7, I never was that keen on the 7D2 after I'd already gone full frame and the R6 just doesn't cut the mustard when you have an R5. Problem is you will also need to buy extra batteries, a CFexpress card of a reasonable size, a fairly fast Sd card and an external hard drive to store your photos as they are fairly large if you shoot in RAW...30mp even in CRAW.
Incidentally a 1.4 teleconverter would be a good idea to use with the 100-500 when you need more reach.
It's going to be expensive but it's a great bit of kit. Only you can decide if it's worth the expense, if you are going to be serious about photography I'd push the boat out!

 

[tbar23]

Thanks for both of your inputs.
I wasn’t crazy about the 1.4 teleconverter given its restrictions with the RF100-500 (Can’t remember what range it doesn’t work, but that was my concern).

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

Two factors stand out to me...
1. You're paying for what's likely a once in a lifetime African safari.
2. Your primary interests seem to be sports and wildlife.

Both of these scream R5 or R7 to me. Two things point directly to the R5:
1. The R7 likely will not ship until after you're in Africa.
2. It seems the R7's rolling shutter issue is more noticeable than the R5's which will definitely impact its usefulness for sports.

Just my 2 cents, but the 45MPs gives you a lot of room to crop, which helps if you don't want to use the TC.

 

[dougsmit]

The answer is: 45mps

Just my 2 cents, but the 45MPs gives you a lot of room to crop, which helps if you don't want to use the TC.

These are good points. Landscapes favor the 45MP but if you are cropping to a distant animal (elephant or bird at different distances) the R5 drops to 20MP if cropped to the 1.6x (remember you have to square it!) making the R7 a better choice. However I never suggest anyone take off on a big vacation with a new camera that they do not understand and the chance of getting an R7 before you leave let along enough before it to get comfortable is not reassuring. There are other factors besides MP count so no one can tell you what will be right for what you will be doing.

 

[RedCobra]

These are good points. Landscapes favor the 45MP but if you are cropping to a distant animal (elephant or bird at different distances) the R5 drops to 20MP if cropped to the 1.6x (remember you have to square it!) making the R7 a better choice. However I never suggest anyone take off on a big vacation with a new camera that they do not understand and the chance of getting an R7 before you leave let along enough before it to get comfortable is not reassuring. There are other factors besides MP count so no one can tell you what will be right for what you will be doing.

Yeah leaving for Africa Thursday, and the R7 "may" have arrived just in time. So, I got a second R5 with the intention of selling it when I get back. Looked into renting one as a second body, but it would have cost the same or more than buying another and selling it when I get back. Then I will get a second non R5. Maybe R7 (after i read lots of reports from real users) or a R5s or R1. I do have both the 1.4x and 2.0x to throw on the RF 100-500.

 

[tbar23]

An update here - I didn’t quite follow the general guidance as I just couldn’t bring myself to pony up the cash for an R5. Instead, I worked on getting one of the first R7s available and managed to have one in my hands on June 30 - 20 days before my departure. I spent those nearly 3 weeks reading up on wildlife settings for the R5 and R6 (not much out on the R7, yet) and practicing on hawks in my backyard.
Now back in the States, I am very very pleased with the decision. The R7 easily matches my capability, and I was appreciative of the ”extra reach” of the crop-sensor for this trip (using RF100-500, but no teleconverter).
I learned some new skills - such as back-button focusing and quickly learned just how difficult it is to photograph moving wildlife really well.
Here are two of my favorites from the trip:

 

[RedCobra]

My two R5s performed flawlessly for nearly 20k shots over 17 days. Still editing and culling, Found that if I need the reach of the R7, I just shoot in 1.6x crop mode then gigapixel the resulting photo 2x to get the 34mps. So, decided against the R7. The R5 is awesome.

 

[dougsmit]

Great photo and I'm glad the trip went well. I share the opinion that Gigapixel and other software have made it necessary to reconsider some of the assumptions we once made and realize there are many ways to reach our destination. I do not and will not have an R5 but do wonder what Canon will come up with next. The R7 was not aimed at R5 owners (the R1 will be) but it seems a good thing for people like me with the RP and people with older APS-C cameras when they get over their addiction to the mirror. I think it is safe to assume there will be cameras in five years will make current model seem like the dinosaurs we were proud to use ten years ago. If you have not tried it, run Gigapixel on some of the files you made with your first Canon DSLR. It did wonders for my 300D and 20D (an IR conversion which Topaz has given new life - sorry those images are not appropriate here but I'll be rethinking retiring it now due to the software even though I am not 'into' IR enough to have an RP converted. Where do you go next? I assume you will be busy sorting and processing for a while. I was gone for four days to Washington DC and taking it slow processing. I saw a YouTube video by a guy who explained how he ends up with 0.2% (or something similar?) keeper image which probably betters my rate when you subtract the duplicates, poor poses and just plain mistakes. It is interesting when an image you thought was perfect gets downgraded when you shoot the same thing only better. That is the hobby.

 

[tbar23]

@dougsmit - agreed. I didn’t know about Gigapixel - will check it out some more, but I’m with you. I started my photography journey late in life with an EOS RP. The R7 was a perfect upgrade. Might I graduate to R5 territory some day - maybe. My camera is not the weak link right now (probably wasn’t with the RP, either, but new gear is fun

 

[RedCobra]

Great photo and I'm glad the trip went well. I share the opinion that Gigapixel and other software have made it necessary to reconsider some of the assumptions we once made and realize there are many ways to reach our destination. I do not and will not have an R5 but do wonder what Canon will come up with next. The R7 was not aimed at R5 owners (the R1 will be) but it seems a good thing for people like me with the RP and people with older APS-C cameras when they get over their addiction to the mirror. I think it is safe to assume there will be cameras in five years will make current model seem like the dinosaurs we were proud to use ten years ago. If you have not tried it, run Gigapixel on some of the files you made with your first Canon DSLR. It did wonders for my 300D and 20D (an IR conversion which Topaz has given new life - sorry those images are not appropriate here but I'll be rethinking retiring it now due to the software even though I am not 'into' IR enough to have an RP converted. Where do you go next? I assume you will be busy sorting and processing for a while. I was gone for four days to Washington DC and taking it slow processing. I saw a YouTube video by a guy who explained how he ends up with 0.2% (or something similar?) keeper image which probably betters my rate when you subtract the duplicates, poor poses and just plain mistakes. It is interesting when an image you thought was perfect gets downgraded when you shoot the same thing only better. That is the hobby.

You tempt me to go back and Gigapixel some of the D60 (not 60D) and original 5D photos i have.