I'm not a big fan of mirrorless cameras. In fact, there are many things I don't like about them. That said, I'm not a technophobe. I am always open to new technology. I started using Photoshop in 1992. (Great deal! Got it bundled with a desktop scanner.) I bought my first digital camera (a crappy 1.4 MP Olympus D600) in 1998 to use for location scouting instead of my Polaroid. The Polaroid was better, but this was sometimes fun. The Olympus E10 came next in 2000, followed by the Canon D30, then the 1D, etc. I have in fact owned every !d-series camera since the inception, with the exception of the 1Dx2 - the resolution increase was not enough to justify dumping my 1Dx. I also currently own a 5Ds.
I borrowed the EOS R from Canon CPS and used it for six days of a week-long catalog/ad shoot in Miami a couple of weeks ago, so this is "real world" use, not just plinking in my back fields. One day was a scout day, five days were the actual shoot (with this camera -- I had to return it before the shoot was finished). Three of those days the R was intermixed with my 1Dx and 5Ds on location, depending upon the shot, and two days it was used exclusively tethered with Capture One in a studio setting. So, these are my perspectives shooting what I would normally shoot, in the settings in which I would normal shoot with Canon's mirroless camera.
WHAT I LIKE
- Fast focusing, regardless of lens! I have a lot of Canon lenses, but also three Sigma Art lenses: 50, 85 & 135. All the Sigma focused flawlessly shooting, usually, between 2.8 and 4.
- I love being able to use the viewfinder for video. This client has me shoot short video clips which they edit for social media. For video, there is a Digital IS mode which worked fairly well hand holding the Sigma 50. I also used a DJI Ronin gimbal occasionally with the camera which worked well and plugged directly into the camera's USB-C, though I found the gimbal a little clumsy at times.
- Camera is solidly built. It actually feels more solid than my 5Ds -- in a way like a compact 1Dx.
- The R is not stupidly small. Just because you can make a camera in a smaller form factor doesn't mean you should. In fact, give me an R that is based on the 1Dx and I'll be happier.
-Image quality is excellent. Yes, there are those out there who will whine "but it doesn't have the dynamic range of a Sony". Who cares? For my shooting (both fashion and landscape for my personal work), I have NEVER encountered a situation where I wish I had more dynamic range.
-Face detection was very good.
-The focus point changed color according to the mode. One-shot was green, Servo was blue. Loved having that bit of extra confirmation. In fact, the Servo mode was so fast and accurate, I often shot with that rather than One-shot.
-The EF-to-R adapter I used worked flawlessly. (I did not use any R lenses. I have 8 EF lenses and in the real world I would not get rid of those anytime soon.)
-The EVF shows a relatively accurate view of your exposure, though not as good as the back LCD when you review a shot.
- Focus points cover nearly the entire frame.
WHAT I DISLIKE or HATE
- It's mirrorless. I have a love/hate with mirrorless, though I have to admit, after having the camera for a week in a real shoot situation, I grew to like it more than I thought.
-If you are a long-time Canon user, the ergonomics are pretty unintuitive. In fact, I believe strongly they should design the next R model with a nod to the 1Dx.
-No Thumbdial. This really slowed me down at times. I never used or programmed the Multi-Function Bar. When changing the focus point, it takes too long with out the joystick or the thumbdial and I prefer being able to do that with my eye to the viewfinder, not looking at the rear LCD. In fact, I usually used the rear LCD with the menu interface (f-stop, shutter, ISO, etc.) and not as live view. .
- Too many menu driven options, not enough dedicated buttons. There should be AT LEAST buttons for ISO, WB, Drive, and focus mode. Take a look at the new Olympus OM-D E-M1X. Now THAT is mirrorless camera designed, ergonomically, for a pro. Not only is the vertical grip built-in (a la 1Dx), it has multiple buttons for quick selection. Canon, Nikon & Sony should pay attention. And with the M1X grip, it's better sealed, more versatile and more comfortable to hold. One should not have to buy a separate battery grip -- my main complaint with the 5Ds.
- Battery life. This falls under one the reasons I hate mirrorless. In my days in the studio where it was my only camera, I changed the battery three times. The 5D4 without grip (I've used it for the same studio shooting a number of times, both from lensrentals.com and CPS) will last almost an entire day on one battery. If you were to buy the EOS R, I would say not to hesitate to buy the battery grip. Which goes back to why Canon should build it in like the M1X.
-No depth of field preview (at least that I could find).
- The EVF, for some reason, darkens if you put a transmitter on top. I shoot in manual mode almost 100% of the time when I shoot fashion. If I am shooting available light or with reflectors, no problem. However if I want to use my Elinchrom ELB500 for a small pop of fill, the EVF darkens by about a stop or so. Even though my exposure is dialed in manually, the EVF fights with me. The moment I turned the transmitter off, the viewfinder brightened.
- When I shot in the studio, I turned Exposure Simulation (or whatever it was called) off. That's where the EVF goes crazy. Rather than maintaining a consistent brightness, it was constantly going up and down, depending upon where I focused (usually the face). Also, white balance in the EVF is off, depending upon the ambient or model lights. I use Custom WB almost exclusively. The strobes were daylight balanced essentially however the EVF would render skin tones overly warm. If you turn off Exposure Simulation, the color balance in the finder should also be independent of your setting and give you a neutral balance.
-Viewfinder lag. While I figured a way to keep from loosing my view for too long (always keep shutter partially depressed) the delay can be jarring when trying to shoot movement. During my studio days, one of the models I shoot regularly is a great mover. I usually crank out shots at about 1 second per frame -- I use smaller fast recycling strobes. At first I was missing shots because the anticipation and then distraction of the frames was tough to deal with. However, after about 1/2 I'd gotten used to how to anticipate what she was going to do as well as the delay in the finder refresh.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
While a week living with the EOS R didn't make me want to rush and buy one immediately, I can say "Never Say Never" (a little homage to James Bond). I was especially thrilled with the camera for video (not that I shoot a lot, so it was great for my purposes). My greatest dislike was the viewfinder darkening when using a strobe transmitter and syncing an HSS strobe outside. That is still an odd occurrence, though one that Canon could probably fix with firmware. I have been a Canon user for 38-years. I know NOT to expect the pinnacle with the first iteration of anything. The D30 came before the 1D. The EOS 630/650 came before the EOS-1. The AE-1 came before the A-1. So, perhaps the next camera will be the 1Dx Pro-like camera. I'm not in the least sorry I used it for the week. I did find it massively frustrating to have so many options be menu driven or touch-screen versus a dedicated control. Would I buy one? Maybe. Maybe not. A 5D4 may be more suitable for a third body. (I still love my 1Dx and 5Ds.) But, it sure did feel nice in the hands and generally did what was needed, if not in an occasionally irritating manner.