What made you switch to Canon RF mirrorless?

[pcassel]

I try to keep ISO at around 500 to minimize the need for noise reduction.

If I could I would but I can't so I don't.

 

[esheato]

I was rocking a 1DsMkII and was happy with it, but kept hearing about all these new cameras. I did a little research and had my doubts about the EVF and some other features….but thought to myself, maybe I should go see what they’re all about? Did a little more research and kinda settled on the R6II having the features I was interested in. Went to the store and played with it and was blown away. Really, truly felt like a different game, and I felt utterly left behind. Came home and talked to the lady and the more I thought about it, the more I felt like the photography world was changing, and I wasn’t keeping up. What really sold me was when I looked up the introduction date of the 1DsMkII was 2004! Yeah, I was definitely being left behind!

So I brought it home and while there’s a steep learning curve because things are so different, I’ve been happy. RF lenses are insanely good too. If I could just win the lottery to afford it all…

 

[pcassel]

Before moving from the Ds to the Rs, I'd heard adverse criticism of the EFV as the aspect most often potential buyers and some owners, were skeptical about.

My personal experience is that I'm perfectly happy with the R7 and R6ii's EVF unless I switch back and forth from them to a DSLR with the optical VF. Then and only then do I find the EVFs less desirable then the DSLR.

Now with the DSLRs all gone, the chance to do a side by side has left leaving me wholly satisfied with the Rs.

 

[AntonLargiader]

unless I switch back and forth from them to a DSLR with the optical VF. Then and only then do I find the EVFs less desirable then the DSLR.

My experience is opposite. I shot with my old DSLR the other day and didn't see the draw. My EVF cameras can adjust exposure in the EVF and do so much more. I never notice any kind of EVF lag in what I do.

 

[RW2024]

My move to Canon R started with a gifted Canon EOS T7 (2000D) for Christmas 2023. My wife got the idea from noticing me researching digital photography gear in the fall and wanted to surprise me. It was a wonderful surprise as I hadn't picked up a camera in 20+ years and was looking to get back into the hobby. What I learned in the first few days is that I needed better autofocus and the convenience of IBIS that the T7 lacked. I went back to my research and ended up purchasing a EOS R7 with a 100-400 F/5.8-8 as my focus is wildlife. The benefit is I still set up the T7 for landscape (tripod & remote shutter) photos and while I am waiting for the right light, go about shooting the surrounding wildlife with the R7.
I must say, it is a fun way to spend an afternoon/evening.

 

[Japeg]

Wanted one for the silent shutter, but needed to wait until performance finally outstripped my 1dx ii bodies. The R3 met those requirements.

 

[Crysania]

Long story short: ISO and AF

The longer storty:

I got my first DSLR, a Sony a230, in 2011 with no thought to what I might ever need. It was light and cheap and so I got it.

Over the years I upgraded, got more interested in shooting professionally, and finally upgraded into the Sony mirrorless world. When I had the right gear for the job (at the time a Sony a9ii and 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II) I went professional, shooting local dog sports trials. It was when I was doing this that I discovered one of the Sony's limitations. If I wanted to shoot at 20fps (which I did for dog sports), I was limited to 25,600 ISO. Anything higher and I had to use mechanical shutter at only 10fps.

I knew someone who shoots national events and she was using Canons (mostly the R3) and did some demos in a webinar of the Canon r6ii. I knew I couldn't afford the R3 (at that time...should be able to get one this spring!) and I saw the AF system. I rented the r6ii and 70-200 f/2.8 for a vacation (dog-centric vacation so lots of shooting options) and played with it for a week and at the end I knew that it was the right gear for me. I sold all the Sony stuff and made a switch to Canon last summer.

So the #1 reason was I could stay in mechanical shutter and push the ISO to the right level for indoor shooting (usually seems to be around 40k but can be a bit higher) and I also think the AF system is superior to Sony's a9 series cameras. So here I am!

I found the transition pretty easy as I was already coming from mirrorless. It was just a matter of finding the right things in the menus (and I had someone who showed me her settings so I could see where they were located). I was using an EVF before mirrorless (I had a Sony DSLT camera so moved to EVF in 2016) and so I felt comfortable with it from the get go.

 

[Philnick]

The EVF was why I sought out my R7, coming from the 80D.

I had gotten spoiled by the ability to shoot in manual exposure mode on my Powershot G5X, with the EVF showing me what my exposure would look like.

Eye AF and tracking were the icing on the cake. When the AF misbehaves, I hit the magnify button and focus manually - I keep my R7 set to "back-button focus," so the shutter button won't re-focus after I've already focused manually.

 

[Dean Wilson]

the ability to shoot in manual exposure mode on my Powershot G5X

I remember when I got my first DSLR and I was intimidated and didn't know how to shoot in manual mode, until...I realized there is no difference between shoot manual mode in a DSLR and my old SLR that was totally manual (even ISO)!

 

[Philnick]

And the much-vaunted optical viewfinders in SLRs and DSLRs give no indication of how bright or dark the picture you're taking will look other than from an exposure gauge. The effect of your shutter speed, f/stop and ISO are boiled down into an exposure readout as a number or the position of a needle, dependent on what parts of the viewfinder image are even taken into account.

In a electronic viewfinder (EVF) or with a LiveView screen you're simply shown how bright or dark the picture you're taking will look, making manual exposure intuitive.

Further, with DSLR's you can't even focus manually as a practical matter, as they don't have the split or microprism focusing aids SLRs had on their ground-glass, forcing you to rely on autofocus, even when it's misbehaving. With a mirrorless, if the AF system is not staying on your desired subject, just hit the magnify button and focus manually (keep your camera set for "back button focusing" so that the shutter doesn't trigger auto-focus, undoing your work).

The irony is that the Powershot "bridge cameras" with EVFs are actually much closer to the mirrorless experience in these respects than the DSLRs are!