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
PimperneBloke said:That looks seriously sharp Mike! Now stop it, or I'll get lens envy... I'm already looking at the 800mm 6.3 and Mrs PB is permanently frowning lol edit: not sure the honeybee is a honeybee?
That looks seriously sharp Mike! Now stop it, or I'll get lens envy... I'm already looking at the 800mm 6.3 and Mrs PB is permanently frowning lol
edit: not sure the honeybee is a honeybee?
You mean you're still in denial......
I was bowled over with the clarity of the lens, which sparked the potential green eyed look at swapping the remaining EF lenses for RF lenses.
It's never good to have such a fabulous emporium so close to one of the hospitals I have to attend.......
I'll agree with your questioning of the honeybee ID. It's a shame there isn't a Merlin bird app version for bees etc. Google lens kept changing its thoughts on different images of the same HB on the same lavender plant, but from different angles!
So I just left it at honeybee, that was the one part of the ID that seemed to crop up most. But if anyone has more definite thoughts, I'm happy to change my text accordingly.
Good luck with Mrs PB, and I and I'm sure others also, look forward to seeing your thoughts from the Nikon perspective.
Mike B said:that was the one part of the ID that seemed to crop up most
Isn't a honeybee a specific bee? Yours looked like one of the bumbly bee's to me, but you know me... stripybuzzy bee is as close as I get!!
I did think about saying "Mike said I should get a new lens", but not sure how much weight that would carry, especially as it's looking at pretty silly money. I may have to wait until I retire, but Mrs PB won't let me do that either ... she said something about bills to pay or some such nonsense... she's still working, so that's what her salary could cover
Love the results BD. Can I come up and borrow it?
Thanks Ed. Of couse you can borrow it ...
PimperneBloke said:Isn't a honeybee a specific bee? Yours looked like one of the bumbly bee's to me, but you know me... stripybuzzy bee is as close as I get!! I did think about saying "Mike said I should get a new lens", but not sure how much weight that would carry, especially as it's looking at pretty silly money. I may have to wait until I retire, but Mrs PB won't let me do that either ... she said something about bills to pay or some such nonsense... she's still working, so that's what her salary could cover
You know my bee identification skills, they're worse than yours. I'll go for "hairy stripybuzzy bee"
Mike B said:Some of you will have heard, I have another RF lens to the collection, and all EF lenses now swapped. The lens, a Canon RF 24-240mm, which fills the gap from the EF 24-105 to the new RF 200-800.
On a recent short visit to Gwithian Nature Reserve, I encountered an interesting phenomenon, with the R5, and the 200-800 lens whilst taking record shots of housemartins, swallows and others in flight. The R5 seemed to be struggling transferring the action to the CF Express card.
Though the day was hot and sunny, it's not happened before, and frustratingly, nor since, but then the weather conditions haven't been the same.
The remedy to resolve what I feel was a slow buffering problem, was to power off, but the R5 was still seemingly buffering, so removal of the battery solved that in an instant, and obviously any unsaved images were lost as well.
The R5 has two card slots, CF-E and SD, the SD being used to backup photos ASAP should the CF-E fail. I have since formatted the CF-E, cleaned the contacts, and ordered a new CF-E card.
I was hoping for the same conditions to try the R5 using the SD and likewise the CF-E after the formatting, to see what the differences would be. However, similar conditions a few days later, higher temps, but lower angle shooting (reduced direct sunlight influence) of owls in flight at an owl sanctuary, with no issues to report.
The tech
The belt and braces approach is a new Sandisk CF-E card ready to insert should the Delkin fail, with the SD card on standy.
Temperature is not likely to be an issue, certainly with stills. I use my R5 on Digger Alley filming insects in slo-mo (high frame rate stuff that really exercises the camera) with the camera sat on the sun-drenched sand in blistering heat and never had an issue. I HAVE had the camera lock up a few times over the years with all controls unresponsive (including the on/off switch) which can only be cleared by popping the battery out, and that's always when taking pics rather than videos, but the only image I lost in those situations was the last one (often the pic was there, but only half of it visible (if that makes sense)). I've never been able to pin down any reason (and probably never will) and have resigned it to the "One of those things you see occasionally with complex electronics" bin!
___
Find me on Flickr / All about your camera - The Getting off Auto Index
Whistling Joe said:I've never been able to pin down any reason (and probably never will) and have resigned it to the "One of those things you see occasionally with complex electronics" bin!
I do enjoy viewing your Digger Alley videos and photos on Flickr, and thank you for your response.I have to say, that I do feel your last sentence is probably the reality. Likewise, I didn’t suspect heat to be an issue, mainly because the lens and body were well within the designed operating temperature range and didn't feel warm to the touch. Also, I didn’t feel sunlight was an issue either, I've taken many rapid burst shots following the trails of swallows, housemartins and swifts at home and on my local patch, without issues, they are all pieces of the jigsaw that might point to something, or the actual problem.Brainstorming, leave no stone unturned.The CF-E card didn’t feel too warm either.I have seen with solid state memory devices in the past, where longer buffering times can be a sign of the card becoming tired and worn out. I was hoping to try a similar scene setup using the SD card to either confirm or rule that out.As for how many images I lost or didn’t lose, I’ve no idea. I did think at the time to note the shutter count on that particular battery, which was fresh on that morning, might give me an indication, but as often happens with action shots, many can be blurred or only part of the subject is in the frame. Those are often deleted before I download to view on a larger screen to scrutinise whether to keep or delete. The difference would be the removed images including any lost images.
Once again, many thanks for your feedback.
Just briefly, on the heat matter, I've 3 "official" Nikon batteries for my z8, and one of them generates significantly more heat than the other two.
PimperneBloke said:Just briefly, on the heat matter, I've 3 "official" Nikon batteries for my z8, and one of them generates significantly more heat than the other two.
Batteries normally under extensive and heavy use will generate heat. I'm presuming that you have some means of clearly identifying each battery, which will help to identify if one specific battery is having issues. They can also generate heat during a standard recharge cycle.
You should be able to view on the Nikon menu the shutter count before that battery is removed for recharging. A quick search suggests locating the menu 'orange spanner' icon, and the look for the 'Battery Info'. That will be a guide to the battery condition, but only a guide. The shutter count can vary depending on how often you use the focusing controls etc before taking the photo.
While the shutter count is only a guide and will vary depending on the type of use each battery will give, plus how long each battery is left in the camera just waiting to be used. if my R5 is going to be left unused for a prolonged period, then I will remove the battery to prevent it over discharging.
I will add, most modern devices today usually have a feature that will automatically prevent running the battery too low and becoming overheated, which can result in reducing the longevity of the battery cells.
If each battery pack is easily identifiable, to distinguish it from the others, does this battery
If the answer is yes to either or both questions, it may just be a simple thing like checking the battery contacts are clear of any dirt or grease film. Dirt and grease film will cause extra resistance, and while it may not be a lot, could be enough for the battery to generate more heat than the other two.
Probably the easiest temperature guide is the charging time, or best is something along the line of an IR thermometer (which work on the same principle as a no-contact medical thermometer), which can be purchased for sensible money or thermal imaging device, not as expensive as a thermal imaging scope, but costly enough.