What made you switch to Canon RF mirrorless?

[RandyHanner]

I switched to the R6 from a 7D mkii for several reasons. One I couldn’t justify to the wife the cost of a 1DX mkiii. 2 I figured Canon was going to put everything into mirrorless and it would be more cost effective to be able to use my EF lenses on a R series and 3 because of the speed of the fps while shooting football and dancing.

 

[Only RF]

I switched to the R6 from a 7D mkii for several reasons. One I couldn’t justify to the wife the cost of a 1DX mkiii. 2 I figured Canon was going to put everything into mirrorless and it would be more cost effective to be able to use my EF lenses on a R series and 3 because of the speed of the fps while shooting football and dancing.

I sure wish I had the extra play money to have gotten into the 1DX line and R3. My wife has been great and behind my hobby but it is not her hobby so I draw the line. I never liked camera grips so I may have not like the size of those beasts. I may have adjusted after experiencing the AF performance. Like all ML's the R3 is smaller so better for me but until the lottery kicks in I doubt I'll see one.

 

[pcassel]

Many years ago I did some pro work under contract using a 4x5, 6x7 and a Nikon SLR dream setup. When I returned to Colorado, I had to return all the company’s equipment. I went to a Denver camera store determined to start buying what I’d had in that Nikon kit but blanched at what the cost would be.


The salesman had a Canon FTb (IIRC) which, along with a nifty 50 was well within my price range. From then on until the early 2000s, I did the usual upgrading sticking with Canon because I didn’t want to rebuy all my lenses and accessories. Curiously, starting in the mid 1990s, I used Photoshop but not for photography. The digital cameras of the 90s didn’t lure me away from film.


When Canon came out with the 10D the combination of that digital with PS caused my imagination to soar so I grumpily, and IMO, at a huge loss, sold all my film equipment and went digital. I sometimes play with the idea of buying another F1 but the feeling fades because w/o a darkroom, what’s the point (at least to me)?


I ended up with a 5D2 and now being a pure amateur who sold only at shows, I was stuck there seeing nothing that Canon was doing that interested me in an upgrade. Canon’s love fest with video is one I don’t share and IMO, it played at that while rival manufacturers such as Nikon or Sony passed it by but being an amateur, saw no reason to change brands. I never understood or saw the point of any AF because all my snapping was still – mostly landscapes. Living as I was in New Mexico, what landscape to shoot amounts to wherever you are. Setup. Wait for the light. Snap once and that’s it. But we moved and while I did some work here this isn’t a place to do landscapes if I want more than 10 shutter activations a year.


Through some odd luck an R10 with the 18-45 (?) kit lens fell into my lap for a few weeks. What a revelation!! Suddenly I can’t see living without AF because it not only works, it works with moving things. I had no idea how much tech changed from my 5D2 (2008?) and now. I ended up getting an R7 with the 18-150 kit because I wanted the sensor shutter, IBIS and the added res. I’m glad for the upgrade but likely would have been happy with just that R10 but the 18-150 lens instead of the little one.


I got a little GASsed and so ended up with inexpensive wildlife glass and thinking macro is all around me bought the 100mm RF 2.8. I found out I have miles to go to produce decent macro or wildlife. Owell. Learning should be for a lifetime.

 

[CrashPC_cz]

Heya. It seems that many users share the same experience. AF performance, ergonomics, UI and LiveView performance. Cannot agree more. Canon started to nail it around 70D/SL1 and even EOS M except for AF on M, and only got better in time. Have hard times with Canon portfolio lately, bud damn this is hard to sacrifice for other brands. So I am looking around what to do about my needs of 30Mpx+ compact IBIS abled body.

 

[Cxizent]

Just to buck the trend, I started out with Canon because I decided to make a YouTube channel and got sick of shooting video on my phone. And what camera did every YouTuber use and recommend for a hot minute: the Canon M50! It was great for video - good autofocus, and the kit lens performed decently in low-ish light environments (I was mostly filming inside a workshop). I actually didn't like the small size of it and ended up buying a cage just to hold it more easily.

At some point I went along on a photo trip out to the middle of the bush with some friends and one of them showed me astrophotography, and I was amazed! I started to realise that for photos, my tiny little M50 was just the tip of the iceberg for what was available.

I got the R6 with the RF 15-35mm f/2.8L and the RF 50mm f/1.8 and good god, I am still so impressed with this camera! I went with the R6 over the R5 due to wanting to mainly use it for video - the overheating problem was less pronounced, and the higher MP didn't really make 4k video look any better (I'm sure there are pixel-peepers who disagree), and of course the better low-light performance made astro photos and indoor video much easier!

I've tried a friend's Nikon DSLR recently that only reinforced my choices - to echo the sentiment of someone earlier in this thread, I'm sure that I could have learned their menu system, but I did NOT speak that language! Canon's menu system and articulating touchscreens are stupid good, and the ergonomics of the R6 are excellent - even for someone with long spindly fingers

I can't stop looking at pretty new lenses though - I'm talking myself into buying the 24-105mm f/4L... and maybe a macro lens, who knows?

 

[Bear]

Glad to hear you’re enjoying your Canon R6 and, should you go with the RF 24-105mm lens I think you’ll like it even at f4. Great lens. Unlike you though, I keep looking at those “pretty” Canon lenses and my bank account shows it. So many great Canon lenses to explore.

 

[OpusElenae]

I had a similar entry to Cxizent (we were friends before this forum; thanks for the invite, mate!), but I actually used to shoot Sony. In college and just after I had a couple Sony alpha DSLRs, but after my kiddo got mobile I found myself taking fewer and fewer pictures. Then along came YouTube, and the camera I had wasn’t making the grade for video, so I traded it in for an m50 kit and another lens. I started wanting to take more pictures and also have a better camera for both video and photo, so I saved for an R6ii, which I’m really enjoying. I still use the m50 for a b-camera, but will likely replace that with an R10 in the next year or two.

 

[JoeTheSnowPlowGuy]

I was firmly against going mirrorless. I was shooting a Pentax K50 and a Canon T3. My skills started progressing and I started thinking about going semi-pro. I wanted to get a Pentax K3 Mark 3, but the Pentax autofocus issues were making me hesitate. I picked up an R6 in Best Buy to play around with it and “see what the hype is all about”. I ordered an R6 Mark 2 a day later and haven’t looked back. Now I’m doing pro work, advancing my skills, with the camera and with post processing, learning, loving it, and wincing at the cost of being in the RF ecosystem. It’s expensive but those Canon colors and eye AF…

 

[lostnomore]

I was firmly against going mirrorless. I was shooting a Pentax K50 and a Canon T3. My skills started progressing and I started thinking about going semi-pro. I wanted to get a Pentax K3 Mark 3, but the Pentax autofocus issues were making me hesitate. I picked up an R6 in Best Buy to play around with it and “see what the hype is all about”. I ordered an R6 Mark 2 a day later and haven’t looked back. Now I’m doing pro work, advancing my skills, with the camera and with post processing, learning, loving it, and wincing at the cost of being in the RF ecosystem. It’s expensive but those Canon colors and eye AF…

It's interesting how you mention Pentax. My first DSLR was a K20D because it was more affordable than Canon and Nikon offerings. Pentax also had IBIS and weathersealing even at low price-points. But oh, that AF -- you couldn't rely on it to save your life!!! So after about 7 years it was 'goodbye' to Pentax and then 6 years of owning the Nikon D750 before switching to Canon mirrorless with the R6. The D750 blew any Pentax AF system out of the water and the R6 has done with same with the D750!! Yes, the RF ecosystem is expensive, but for jaw-dropping AF capabilities (among many other advantages over DSLRs), I hate to say, but it's worth it.

 

[JoeTheSnowPlowGuy]

It's interesting how you mention Pentax. My first DSLR was a K20D because it was more affordable than Canon and Nikon offerings. Pentax also had IBIS and weathersealing even at low price-points. But oh, that AF -- you couldn't rely on it to save your life!!! So after about 7 years it was 'goodbye' to Pentax and then 6 years of owning the Nikon D750 before switching to Canon mirrorless with the R6. The D750 blew any Pentax AF system out of the water and the R6 has done with same with the D750!! Yes, the RF ecosystem is expensive, but for jaw-dropping AF capabilities (among many other advantages over DSLRs), I hate to say, but it's worth it.

Pentax has a lot of good going for them. Their ergos are good. Their cameras are built like tanks. They prove that weather sealing doesn’t have to be a premium addition, and the colors their sensors (I believe some are Sony mfg.) produce are very good. I’ve heard the K3 Mark 3 really improved their autofocus, but I don’t see them succeeding as a DSLR company in a mirrorless world. Ricoh Imaging has the capabilities to produce magnificent mirrorless cameras, I think they need to accept that mirrorless has taken over and move on with it. I’d be interested to see what they can do.