What made you switch to Canon RF mirrorless?

[YangMills]

Sure, what works for me doesn’t necessarily work for others. For me, my R6 and R5 AF are giving a high proportion of in-focus shots for BIF, even fast lititle beasts like puffins, but it’s not my speciality. I’d like the AF upgrade but I’m going to put a few more 10s of thousands of clicks on the R6 and at least a couple more years before I even think about upgrading - and then I might go R3II if and when it appears.

 

[jdeb]

I have EF glass and wanted a smaller camera (RP) for longer events. The only thing I wished it had was a joystick. Now I need to thin out my gear, I have way too much.

 

[rjc1247]

Like many others in this thread, I started out with a Canon AE-1 many years, and many cameras, ago. My most recent one before getting the R5 was a 5D4 which I thought would be my "forever camera". Then along came the R5 with improved tracking, IBIS, exposure simulation, 45mp, etc. etc. Sold the 5D4 and a bunch of L lenses and went full steam ahead with the 5D and a bunch of new RF L lenses.

 

[Only RF]

I never liked MFA. I used Reikan Focal and needed distance for lenses. I once rented a Community college to tune longer lenses with the EF 1.4 and 2X. That facility rented out its areas for wedding, etc shoots and I did shoot pre and post ceremony shots. $50 an hr and I rented for 1 but I stayed there for over 3 hrs. The security guards could see from their office so they didn't care. It was a mid summer Saturday so hardly no one was around. Long foyer with a concrete floor so perfect conditions but still a major pain in the you know what. Even after MFA the nature of a mirror assembly still varies with very slight front and/or back focus.

I didn't mind using an adapter but I prefer not to. The new flange design puts the rear element closer to the sensor so less lightwave distortion. I had an 5D4 and a 7D2. I sold the 5D4 and picked up the R just about the time Canon did a major AF FW update. Even with the limited fps l I had so much fun with the R the 7D2 never came out of the bag. A few years ago I thought this is the future so I sold all my EF gear, got on the RF train and never looked back.

Recent crop with my R6II and RF 24-105 IS F4. Minimal PP.

_M3A1209 by MPC, on Flickr

_M3A1209-2 by MPC, on Flickr

 

[dmanthree]

No single feature caused me to switch. It was the combination of IQ, features, handling, etc. I looked at other brands but the Canon just felt better in my hands.

 

[JHG]

Very interesting to see so many advance shooters around here. Given the trend these days with higher end cameras, I would think very few people would go back to the SLRs unless they have a good reason for that? I learned to take pictures with my dad's Pentax Spotmatic, I think my first Canon was the retro style EOS 50e. The last DSLR for me was the dismal 60D, which was a big mistake IMHO as there was no stock of the 7D and I needed a camera for certain events urgently. Since then I haven't really bought anything except that I hired a couple of different 5D and 7DII. So when the R7 came out, I thought it might be a good idea as its well within my budget for casual shootings and I am pretty happy with it so far. The only pain is that I may need to invest more on those expensive RF lenses just to get the most out of the camera.

 

[ACEkin]

I decided it was time to switch to a smaller and lighter system from my 5DM4 The body and the lenses I had were getting difficult for my hands and arms, age! I used to use an M5 with its kit lens and that helped with the weight issue. But there was no sense in keeping the gear I did not use and I sold my 5DM4, 5DM3, and several L lenses over time after I switched to the R7. As for the weight and size, I am very pleased, almost as small and light as my M5. But, getting sharp images was a few hits and a lot of misses. The camera and the lens are now at the Canon repair service for warranty repair. I will report again after I get them back.

 

[AndrewC]

The AF system in the R5/R6 is what made me purchase my R6. I've shot Canon as my primary system since I bought my EOS A2 in 1994, and I was most impressed with its ability to track a subject by passing it off to each of the 5 focus points as the subject moved. I remember thinking how great it would be if the A2 could track a subject over the entire frame of the viewfinder. It was better when I got 45 focus points in my EOS 1vHS, and even better with the 61 points in my 5D MkIII and the 65 points in my 7D MkII years later. I also used the 10/20/30/40D, the 7D as well as the 5D MkII and those were all great cameras, but the AF on the 1vHS from my film days and the system on the 5DIII and 7DII were standouts. When I first tried the AF system on the R6 though, I was blown away by the fact that finally, it could track a subject across the entire frame and on top of that, it kept everything in sharp focus! I've had my R6 for almost 2.5 years and I'm still amazed by it. I continue to use my DSLRs (and film SLRs too!) alongside my R-system so I haven't switched as much as I've added another tool to my camera bag.

Andy

 

[benpk2]

I thought long and hard about changing to RF. I'd had the original 5D and then the 7D, but found that the weight of the kit I was carrying was becoming an irritant. I hit ebay and bought into M4/3. A really great system for certain subjects. The EM1 and EM1 Mk 2 were great cameras that felt good in the hand and had lots of tactile interfaces. The size for street worked well and if you avoided the horrible 60mm it was good for macro too (I used a Sigma 150mm 4/3 macro). Unfortunately Olympus Mk 3 did not tempt me, the fast primes removed much of the size and weight advantage and the announcement that they were selling up worried me enough that I looked elsewhere. The R5 with the high pixel count made me realise that I could crop almost in half and still have a M4/3 size image. The inbuilt IS and full frame were the deal makers. I sold the m 4/3 kit and bought an R5 with some cheap used EF glass to get me started.
I don't find the R5 as good in the hand as the OM1 and I would love some small native primes in the 100mm range, but the image results have been as expected. Higher resolution, better bokeh and better AF. I'm not going back, but I sometimes think about picking up a used M4/3 as second body so I can get the pro capture and the excellent night settings back.

 

[Nick L]

I am very long term Canon user (1980 with a Canon A1) I moved to digital with Fuji and Panasonic Video around 98-2003, I moved back to Canon with the 300D in 2004 and had a 450D 50D and a 5D 3 which I used for 8 years, when I saw the spec of the R5 I wanted an upgrade, I waited a year for the UK price to go down (which it did not!) and bought and R5 from Hong Kong, I have a number of EF L lenses that all worked fine but I found the EF 100-400L mk1 rather slow on the R5 I tried the Mk2 EF 100-400L but bit the bullet and bought the RF100-500L again from Hong Kong. I did look at the EOS R but was not impressed with it, I hope the R5 II offers a firm upgrade benefit otherwise I will stay with the R5, which is the best camera I have ever owned.