Well, I've finally done it, and ordered a new Canon R5.
Some of you may have seen my comments about looking into new cameras and gear in another post, A couple of days by the River Deben in Suffolk, and my apologies to Dave for the unintended hijack so I've set up a new thread to keep folks updated.
To continue from my comments, as many of you will be aware, I've been grounded by my falling apart body, but i've nothing but praise for the nurses, consultants, doctors and anyone else involved it working hard to resolve the situation.
We've all heard the old saying, the devil makes work for idle hands, well, include computer and mouse into that, and I've been researching into mirrorless cameras, which is the future, whether we like it or not.
Me, I'm intrigued and like the concept, but not the costs.....
Why the Canon R5?
Well, first and foremost, my son said go for it!
Some of you may be aware his partner walked out on him eighteen months ago, which almost rendered him homeless. While we would happily have taken him back, after a chat with my wife, his mother, I gave him a large chunk of my savings and agreed to be guarantor for his mortgage. I never gave any repayment terms, but he did ask how much, and has transferred some of the money back to me, enough to cover the R5.
I've been using Canon cameras for many decades, and I feel they are on a par with Nikon and the other big brand names, the only problem is, if you change to another brand, then you need to change all your lenses and other associated kit as well.
My research started with the cost of upgrading and also, many camera manufacturers also offer conversion kits, or adapters, so you can use your existing lenses on the new breed of cameras.
Also, my research shown that could I use my existing lenses, the cable and wireless remotes would work, so will the Speedlite flashgun. The only extra items required are the lens mount adaptor, and the memory cards, which are still the existing SD Card, or, the faster and more capable CF Express card, whereas the 5D4 will use a Compact Flash card.
Also, the battery pack for the R5 is the same is the 5D4, which I understand is the same as the 5D3.
This appealed.
However, the cost was still going to be steep.
My local postie, who we had for 20+ years, a very friendly chap, I never realised he did wedding photography, and offered to show me his cameras, which are Nikon, and how he managed to make the change to mirrorless.
We both agreed, Nikon, Canon or any of the other big names, you can't really go wrong.
After a very interesting three hours and numerous cuppas, and some time handling his cameras in the garden, and to play safe, I sat down to use them rather than stand and risk falling or dropping them, I was nicely impressed with what I saw.
There are some trade offs and caveats with electronic view vs live view, but I'm not one to be negative. Obstacles are there to be beaten, not beat you.
The one big downside, if it is a downside, is video. The final quality is good, however, when panning a moving subject, there is a noticeable lag. But then I don't do much video, and to be honest, my current 5D4 has some lag, because that in video mode uses the large TTF screen and not the optical viewer, which is live view.
I said obstacles are to be beaten, not beat you.
The video quality is superb, and a bigger plus, the electronic viewfinder shows the same as the large TTF screen, but the big bonus with the EVF, is you block out all the viewing intrusions that using a TTF screen came impose.
There will be more to this no doubt, as I start a new journey mirrorless, and I will be happy to share.
However, it is costly, and to make things more costly than desired, my nearest emporium haven't stock of the R5, so I've had to order from elsewhere, and not being able to go far, that means no trade in of my 5D4, which if I'm honest, I am reluctant to part with.
The new camera is on order, and should be with me in the next couple of days, all I need is for my leg to sort itself out.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Thank you so much for all your efforts Bob, WJ and Mike; enormously helpful advice and I've now ordered both cards .....
....... and taken out a mortgage for them LOL Also bought the 3 x manuals for the 5R which are around 900 pages long (like a version of War and Peace LOL ) but spiral bound to lay out flat so I can quickly reference any part of the manual I want to check on. The cards should arrive tomorrow, batteries (also bought a spare Canon battery) which are fully charged so hopefully can start sorting out settings soon. At least my brother is over from Aussie for a few weeks and he's a photographer although never used mirrorless so we'll both be trying to work out the differences.
Once again guys, really appreciate you taking the time to help me out; if you were living nearer I'd bake you some muffin cakes or scones as a thank you. LOL.
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Regards, Hazel
HAZY said:Thank you so much for all your efforts Bob, WJ and Mike; enormously helpful advice and I've now ordered both cards ..... SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO SDXC card up to 300 MB/s UHS-II Class 10 U3 V90 SanDisk Extreme PRO Cfexpress Card Type B, 128GB, Up To 1700MB/S, for RAW 4K Video ....... and taken out a mortgage for them LOL Also bought the 3 x manuals for the 5R which are around 900 pages long (like a version of War and Peace LOL ) but spiral bound to lay out flat so I can quickly reference any part of the manual I want to check on. The cards should arrive tomorrow, batteries (also bought a spare Canon battery) which are fully charged so hopefully can start sorting out settings soon. At least my brother is over from Aussie for a few weeks and he's a photographer although never used mirrorless so we'll both be trying to work out the differences. Once again guys, really appreciate you taking the time to help me out; if you were living nearer I'd bake you some muffin cakes or scones as a thank you. LOL.
You're welcome, and you won't be disappointed. Looking forward to your first R5 images, and 4K vids.....
With being busy having the family being over from Australia I haven't had much time to test out the Canon R5 and only opened the boxes a few days ago ! Only had time to do the basic set up with time/date etc., and I followed an online tutorial on how to set the BBF which seems to work but only time will tell ! It is quite a daunting experience moving up from a 5Dmkiii as that didn't even have touch screen like the 5Dmk4 so a whole new ball game for me and my old and slower working brain these days ! I did notice when attaching the 100-500mm lens for the first time yesterday with the 1.4x TC that it only fits if you extend the zoom to minimum 300mm and same with the fact the zoom therefore will not fully retract. To be honest I would only use the TC if sitting in a hide for a longer period or had the camera set up on tripod for a longer period of time; most of the time I will be walking around with the very capable 100-500mm lens. When I have more time I will study the manuals I have purchased which is the 3 x volume 900+ pages spiral bound version to continue setting up. I feel like I'm in a different universe with this camera and a bit like the saying "all the gear .... and no idea" at the moment. LOL. Don't expect many photos for about a year most likely !!!! I did take a quick pic of a chaffinch on the balcony. Onwards and upwards and to first get the relevant software loaded for next job.
remember this photo is only the first pic and only pic I've quickly taken with the 100-500mm taken and I'm still working blind here. LOL. Does prove it's not a dud camera or lens though !!
Well done Hazy! Excellent first shot. As you say there is plenty to learn, with touchscreens and such. I hope you enjoy your reading material - shouldn't take more than a few months to read through it ... . It's all new and takes some getting your head around, but well worth the effort. Sorry I can't comment on the TC fitting, I am sure another R5 member will help. Main thing ... Enjoy ...
Just edited my post and rspb have removed my post and say content is under review; must have thought I was multi-posting with editing it a couple of times - duh !!
My post has been deleted by rspb ,..... I edited it twice so they must have thought I was spamming, I give up !
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All been restored after I wrote to Kylie !!
Hi Hazy - sadly the use of the TC with the 100-500 lens does have the issue of only fitting when the lens is extended to 300mm. The biggest issue for many people is that it makes the camera/tc/lens combo rather large for bags etc. Personally, I used the LCD screen only to set the camera up in the first instance with the choices I wanted, having a quick browse through all the menus etc - but since then I always use the viewfinder to make changes, review pictures etc when I'm out wildlifing, particularly because it saves e from having to keep getting reading glasses out. It also means I can keep the lcd screen folded in and protected, safe from scratches.Well built as my R3 is, the flip out movable lcd screen seems awfully vulnerable.
I really only ever use the screen when I'm doing night photography on a tripod or landscape or portraiture on a tripod and using a remote release. Im pretty sure the R5 works the same way but its worth getting the Canon app for the smartphone - it can be used as a remote control, change settings and focus etc (obviously not zoom). It can also be used to import pictures from the camera if you get the urge to share a picture quickly.
You will get used to it all quickly enough.
HAZY said:remember this photo is only the first pic and only pic I've quickly taken with the 100-500mm taken and I'm still working blind here. LOL. Does prove it's not a dud camera or lens though !!
I'll echo BD's reply, a perfect first photo, even the detail on the poor chaffie's legs is clear.
I only use the back screen to briefly view, lock or delete photos and check and adjust camera settings, preferring the EVF to view the subject, which for me, removes glare and any external light influence on aligning the subject. Unlike many DSLR's, you can use the EVF for video, and not have to rely on the backscreen.
If you have the Canon RS-80N3 remote release, it will work perfectly with the R5, and likewise the Canon RC-6 wireless remote.
It is different, and probably what I'd liken to my first experience when moving from cropped sensor to full frame, you'll soon adjust to it.
You're hooked, go and get those photos/video, enjoy it and share those moments.
Well with the family away and before one returns tomorrow, I've been having another "play" and now downloaded the camera firmware to update it a tad, have linked it to my smartphone although it's taken a few attempts to get the firmware as I am working on a Mac and struggled a bit with the dmg file until I could get it to open FIR - if I am stating this correctly. !! all good now but lots of learning to do. I'm a bit like a dog with a bone and tend to keep trying until I achieve what I need to do which often takes longer than it should. LOL. I'm pretty much on Program setting at the moment but will get round to using the other settings and then set the C1, C2, C3 like I had on the 5Dmkiii. I had the electronic viewfinder on the Panasonic bridge camera so have seen this before. I probably need to recharge the battery now but did buy a spare one at £114. !!! Didn't want to risk a compatible version. Work in progress but thanks again for your brilliant tips and advice, as always, much appreciated guys.