Trying to decide between R5 and R7 for a travel camera

So here's the background story. Got an R3 earlier this year (upgraded from a 5D3 and an R6), primarily to shoot sports and airshows. Absolutely love it.

Brought the R3 on a 2 week trip to Europe (London and Paris) back in August, along with a RF 24-105 f/4L and RF 16 f/2.8. Took about 1000 landscape/scenery/family photos during the trip, and while the results were fantastic, I've decided that the R3 body is just way too bulky and heavy to be carrying every day while traveling, and to be honest many of the features of the R3 - primarily high frame rate shooting and vertical grip - were wasted on vacation.

So now I'm toying with the idea of buying a second smaller and lighter body. This new body would probably be used as my everyday primary-use camera as well as the one I would bring on trips, so the R3 would be relegated to more specialized applications or where weight/bulk would not be an issue. Will be shooting 4K video as well as stills. As a result, I'm looking at both the R5 and the R7.

The way I see it, The R5 has the benefit of a 45MP full-frame sensor that would be more versatile with wider focal lengths while the R7 has higher pixel density and is a little lighter. Also, the R5 does ALL-I video compression while the R7 only does IPB.

Which would you recommend for my needs, and why? For me the price is not really an issue. Currently I'm strongly leaning towards the R7, but the draw of that 45MP sensor is what's really making me hesitate.

Thanks in advance guys!

Interpol said:

So here's the background story. Got an R3 earlier this year (upgraded from a 5D3 and an R6), primarily to shoot sports and airshows. Absolutely love it.

Brought the R3 on a 2 week trip to Europe (London and Paris) back in August, along with a RF 24-105 f/4L and RF 16 f/2.8. Took about 1000 landscape/scenery/family photos during the trip, and while the results were fantastic, I've decided that the R3 body is just way too bulky and heavy to be carrying every day while traveling, and to be honest many of the features of the R3 - primarily high frame rate shooting and vertical grip - were wasted on vacation.

So now I'm toying with the idea of buying a second smaller and lighter body. This new body would probably be used as my everyday primary-use camera as well as the one I would bring on trips, so the R3 would be relegated to more specialized applications or where weight/bulk would not be an issue. Will be shooting 4K video as well as stills. As a result, I'm looking at both the R5 and the R7.

The way I see it, The R5 has the benefit of a 45MP full-frame sensor that would be more versatile with wider focal lengths while the R7 has higher pixel density and is a little lighter. Also, the R5 does ALL-I video compression while the R7 only does IPB.

Which would you recommend for my needs, and why? For me the price is not really an issue. Currently I'm strongly leaning towards the R7, but the draw of that 45MP sensor is what's really making me hesitate.

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If the price is not an issue, the R5 will clearly be better for landscape/travel/family photos.

Interpol said:

Thanks in advance guys!

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I have an R5 but as a birder bought an R7. Went to Europe this fall and I brought the R7 and the 18-150mm kit lens with an adapted 10-18mm EF-s lens. Superlight and small combo, gives really surprisingly good IQ, and IBIS helps indoor at ISO1600 I get steady shots with some care.

I will never bring the R5 with me on trips again, the R7/2 lens combo worked very well, in a very small package.

--
Andréas Berglund
delapsus resurgam

I have used the R7 as a travel camera and for that purpose it is perfect. I take the 18-150 kit lens and the 24-240 plus either the 35mm f1.8 or the 50mm f1.8. I have taken in a very small bag with just the kit lens with solid results.

The M6II is actually the perfect travel camera, but if you don’t want an M, I’d go for the R7.

...the RP for travel. The ultimate!!!

R7 has crop, it's effective 75MP+ in terms of what the R5 can do.

The R3 "outguns" the R5 already in low light, AF, FPS, etc, where FF excels. You can reuse your glass on the R7.

However comma, not to throw a monkey wrench, have you considered a standalone camera? The X100V and G5X Mark II are noteworthy.

Also, it should be noted, I suspect, and it's rumored, that an M6 II form factor crop sensor R is coming early next year. Think R60. It's also rumored it comes with a 35mm equivalent lens, think RF-S 22mm. Might be worth waiting the sideline a bit here, money aside, having 3 bodies (and especially systems), is not efficient. I've done it, it doesn't work out well. It's the middle child out syndrome. Heads up.

Andreas Berglund said:

I have an R5 but as a birder bought an R7. Went to Europe this fall and I brought the R7 and the 18-150mm kit lens with an adapted 10-18mm EF-s lens. Superlight and small combo, gives really surprisingly good IQ, and IBIS helps indoor at ISO1600 I get steady shots with some care.

I will never bring the R5 with me on trips again, the R7/2 lens combo worked very well, in a very small package.

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That RF 18-150 is a winner. It's the same optical formula as the EF-M 18-150, which is awesome, for a super zoom.

Beware of the R60 and RF-S 22mm f/2 STM, don't say I didn't warn ya'll in advance. Pair an RF-S 18-150 with that? 2 lens combo that goes anywhere. Did the M6 II 22mm pancake and 18-150 for take it everywhere do almost anything generalized combo. Only thing that trumps it is a point and shoot in terms of compactness for power. Be nice if Canon gives us a G1X Mark IV this year to give us a new compact king. The R60 is a given, the G1X IV? I give it a coin toss given the smartphone competition of late, but, Canon needs to do something for the G7X III successor, and a crop sensor is a logical route as they can keep it in-house with DPAF. Then they can do 4K, and DPAF, something the G7X III lacks (contrast detection presently).

Alastair Norcross said:

The M6II is actually the perfect travel camera, but if you don’t want an M, I’d go for the R7.

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This side of 2023, I agree wholeheartedly here. But, if Canon does an R60, with say an R50 sensor, DIGICX, with say an M6 II form factor, and an EF-M 22mm equivalent? Top it off with say a slower, less shutter shock prone shutter? Business right there. May not be 32MP, but it ticks all the boxes with say an RF-S stock lens paired (either).

I think they will, in the next 6 months at that. The Wedding and other photography conventions are in February, mind you. That's less than 90 days out.

I do a lot of Dark and low light, so r5 for me

If you are happy with the field of view your current lenses provide on the R3, then I‘d clearly go for the R5. But if small and light is the priority then APS-C is for sure a better choice but I‘d also wait for an M-style body to really save on weight and bulk. Or, look at a system like Fuji, where there is more glas dedicated to APS-C, which further reduces the overall size and weight of what you need to carry around.

I find that when I travel (Europe, SE Asia, New Zealand) , a R5 and RF 24-105 f/4 will cover 90% of my shooting requirements. Sometimes I will bring a second lens (longer or wider or faster) depending on where I am traveling. With a cropped sensor body such as the R7, there really isn't an equivalent RF 24-105 f/4 so that body would not be a good option for me except possibly for a safari or a region where wildlife would be the primary subject.

You stated that a R3 with RF 24-105 f/4 and 16 f/2.8 have served you well except for the bulk of the R3 so I would think a R5 with 24-105 and 16 would be an ideal set-up for you.

RLight said:

Alastair Norcross said:

The M6II is actually the perfect travel camera, but if you don’t want an M, I’d go for the R7.

Click to expand...

This side of 2023, I agree wholeheartedly here. But, if Canon does an R60, with say an R50 sensor,

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What’s an R50 sensor? In fact, what’s an R50? Is that a rumored camera? I’ve lost track of the rumors.

RLight said:

DIGICX, with say an M6 II form factor, and an EF-M 22mm equivalent? Top it off with say a slower, less shutter shock prone shutter? Business right there. May not be 32MP, but it ticks all the boxes with say an RF-S stock lens paired (either).

I think they will, in the next 6 months at that. The Wedding and other photography conventions are in February, mind you. That's less than 90 days out.

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RLight said:

R7 has crop, it's effective 75MP+ in terms of what the R5 can do.

The R3 "outguns" the R5 already in low light, AF, FPS, etc, where FF excels. You can reuse your glass on the R7.

However comma, not to throw a monkey wrench, have you considered a standalone camera? The X100V and G5X Mark II are noteworthy.

Also, it should be noted, I suspect, and it's rumored, that an M6 II form factor crop sensor R is coming early next year. Think R60. It's also rumored it comes with a 35mm equivalent lens, think RF-S 22mm. Might be worth waiting the sideline a bit here, money aside, having 3 bodies (and especially systems), is not efficient. I've done it, it doesn't work out well. It's the middle child out syndrome. Heads up.

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I recommend the G5XII along with maybe a R5 RF24-105 and RF 16. For me though I would bring the G5XII (I fits in my coat pocket, includes a flash and provides good images) with the R5, RF 24-240, RF 15-35f2.8. I have them all and I am pleased with what they do.

Thank you for the recommendations and advice everyone. Your input has been very helpful. And yes, I do also travel with a Sony RX100 VII as a backup or when I'm OK with traveling light for the day.

I think what I am most conflicted about is the higher MP count of the R5 versus the higher pixel density of the R7 as well as the challenge of finding a good 10-11mm RF-S lens to cover the wide end. But then I need remind myself that when I'm on vacation, I'm there to relax and have a good time and not worry about getting crucial, hyper-IQ out of my photos.

Here's a sample of one of my photos taken in Paris with my R3 + 24-105.

MMACory said:

...the RP for travel. The ultimate!!!

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I would've recommend the RP as well, but 4k video was a requirement. The RP does support 4k, but without useable AF. You need to be fine with manually focussing while filming to enjoy the RP.

RLight said:

R7 has crop, it's effective 75MP+ in terms of what the R5 can do.

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No, it's not effective 75Mp. You may as well say it's effective 150Mp in terms of what a medium-format Hasselblad can do. That'd be a meaningless extrapolation.

--
https://www.instagram.com/quarkcharmed/
https://500px.com/quarkcharmed

Interpol said:

Thank you for the recommendations and advice everyone. Your input has been very helpful. And yes, I do also travel with a Sony RX100 VII as a backup or when I'm OK with traveling light for the day.

I think what I am most conflicted about is the higher MP count of the R5 versus the higher pixel density of the R7 as well as the challenge of finding a good 10-11mm RF-S lens to cover the wide end. But then I need remind myself that when I'm on vacation, I'm there to relax and have a good time and not worry about getting crucial, hyper-IQ out of my photos.

Here's a sample of one of my photos taken in Paris with my R3 + 24-105.

Click to expand...

Note with the same RF lenses, your effective focal lengths will be multiplied by 1.6, so 24-105mm will turn into 38-168mm FF equivalent. In other words, you'll lose on short end of your range.

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I have R5 and bought R7 recently as my trip camera, R7 with apsc lens is quite lighter than R5 with FF lens, my combo for trip is RF 24mm 1.8 (until RF-S 22mm comes out) 18-150mm and 100-400mm for birding. On body only I can definitely felt the difference in weight between R5 and R7.

Ideally I would love the RP/R10 as travel cam as they are even lighter, as my last trip to overseas was on M50 with 18-150, 11-22 and 22 which I really like in terms of size and weight. But since I shoot video so having clog 3 is a must for me.

It might be a bit far out there, but I went for a Fujifilm X-H2s for my personal stuff - it's basically a mini R3.

I use my R3's professionally, so wanted some segregation for what I use personally. Some of the recent Fujifilm primes are absolutely gorgeous. Whilst it's not exactly small, compared to the R3's and RF lenses, it feels like a compact travel setup.