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Moving on from a 5d4 - how's Canon R vs. Sony systems nowadays?

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mbtan

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Hello!!

I have a basic 5d4 hobby kit from 2017 and I think it's a good time now to finally move to mirrorless, as lugging around a big and heavy DSLR increasingly feels dreadful as the years roll on. It's gotten bad enough that my last several trips I've brought nothing but my iPhone lol.

Haven't really been following the enthusiast gear scene the last few years; how is the Canon R system looking nowadays compared to the Sony Alpha and FE system? Read the reviews for the R5 and R6 Mk2, and A7 IV and A7R V so I have a good idea about the camera bodies, but what about the lenses and accessories?

I have the ff. Canon gear besides the 5d4 body: Canon EF 24-70 f4 L IS, Canon EF 16-35 f4 L IS, Canon EF 50 f1.8 II, Canon 600EX II. Are any of these worth using with a Canon RF body?

Overall, what would be an honest recommendation between shifting to either Canon or Sony mirrorless systems?

Thanks and would greatly appreciate your thoughts

M
 
mbtan said:
Hello!!

I have a basic 5d4 hobby kit from 2017 and I think it's a good time now to finally move to mirrorless, as lugging around a big and heavy DSLR increasingly feels dreadful as the years roll on. It's gotten bad enough that my last several trips I've brought nothing but my iPhone lol.

Haven't really been following the enthusiast gear scene the last few years; how is the Canon R system looking nowadays compared to the Sony Alpha and FE system? Read the reviews for the R5 and R6 Mk2, and A7 IV and A7R V so I have a good idea about the camera bodies, but what about the lenses and accessories?

I have the ff. Canon gear besides the 5d4 body: Canon EF 24-70 f4 L IS, Canon EF 16-35 f4 L IS, Canon EF 50 f1.8 II, Canon 600EX II. Are any of these worth using with a Canon RF body?

Overall, what would be an honest recommendation between shifting to either Canon or Sony mirrorless systems?

Thanks and would greatly appreciate your thoughts

M
Click to expand...
the Canon EF lenses and 600ex II work great on Canon R

Maybe order from one of the big online camera retailers or Best Buy where you can return a camera body within 14 days if it's not to your satisfaction (size / weight / controls, etc)

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless
 
mbtan said:
Hello!!

I have a basic 5d4 hobby kit from 2017 and I think it's a good time now to finally move to mirrorless, as lugging around a big and heavy DSLR increasingly feels dreadful as the years roll on. It's gotten bad enough that my last several trips I've brought nothing but my iPhone lol.

Haven't really been following the enthusiast gear scene the last few years; how is the Canon R system looking nowadays compared to the Sony Alpha and FE system? Read the reviews for the R5 and R6 Mk2, and A7 IV and A7R V so I have a good idea about the camera bodies, but what about the lenses and accessories?

I have the ff. Canon gear besides the 5d4 body: Canon EF 24-70 f4 L IS, Canon EF 16-35 f4 L IS, Canon EF 50 f1.8 II, Canon 600EX II. Are any of these worth using with a Canon RF body?

Overall, what would be an honest recommendation between shifting to either Canon or Sony mirrorless systems?

Thanks and would greatly appreciate your thoughts

M
Click to expand...
The RF mount forced Sony to up their game which they did. Was it enough? Eh, maybe not.

But the RF lenses are limited, expensive, and Canon keeps sending Cease and Desist orders to third parties so I doubt that's being fixed anytime soon. Whereas the Samyang tiny series justify the E-mount by themselves. (Fair warning, you will play the copy game)
 
Couldn't say for sure. My impression is Canon lenses adapt well, especially but not only to Canon. You lose at least some of the size/weight gain of going to mirror-less if you stick with dslr lenses. However, to some extent using your current lenses might soften/spread out some of the financial blow of going to a new system.

I'm a Sony owner, haven't had Canons recently. If you go Canon, I'd expect there would be some familiarity in system handling, etc. You may need to look more closely at lenses in your considerations. Sony has more available, especially considering 3rd party, Canon may have coverage for what you want but it might be rather more expensive. Sony has more body models available. The A7C is a smaller ff body without a comparable offering from the other brands. Some folks don't like it's feel and handling, otoh, there's a fair range of smaller and lighter lenses that go well with it.

Aps-c or the even smaller sensors permit smaller, lighter and often less expensive systems. Sony has, again, a broader range of lenses with 3rd party offerings. They haven't rushed to bring out new body models. Canon has, maybe, suggested it's forward aps-c path but not sure, haven't been watching them.

It's probably worth spending some time with the new gear, maybe even rent some to see how you like it, they all have different handling and ergonomics.
 
mbtan said:
Hello!!

I have a basic 5d4 hobby kit from 2017 and I think it's a good time now to finally move to mirrorless, as lugging around a big and heavy DSLR increasingly feels dreadful as the years roll on. It's gotten bad enough that my last several trips I've brought nothing but my iPhone lol.

Haven't really been following the enthusiast gear scene the last few years; how is the Canon R system looking nowadays compared to the Sony Alpha and FE system? Read the reviews for the R5 and R6 Mk2, and A7 IV and A7R V so I have a good idea about the camera bodies, but what about the lenses and accessories?

I have the ff. Canon gear besides the 5d4 body: Canon EF 24-70 f4 L IS, Canon EF 16-35 f4 L IS, Canon EF 50 f1.8 II, Canon 600EX II. Are any of these worth using with a Canon RF body?

Overall, what would be an honest recommendation between shifting to either Canon or Sony mirrorless systems?

Thanks and would greatly appreciate your thoughts

M
Click to expand...
I am an ex-Canon shooter with little love left for Canon, but... The R5 is a very good camera. The autofocus is impressive. I recently seriously considered moving back from Sony to Canon, but in the end I decided to double down on Sony. The AF on the R5 is as good as the one on the Sony A1, but IMHO Canon doesn't have any exciting lenses. They are all expensive and pretty big. Sony on the other hand has a ton of alternatives. Tamron makes some amazing little lenses that are relatively small and relatively cheap without sacrificing much. The 28-75 f/2.8 G2 is fantastic, but when I am on vacation the 30-150 f/2-2.8 is my go-to lens. Canon doesn't have anything like that and wont have anything like that for years, if ever. So instead of moving back to Canon I got an A7RV which has a much improved AF and an A1 which is a dream. If I were you I would switch to Sony
 
mbtan said:
Hello!!

I have a basic 5d4 hobby kit from 2017 and I think it's a good time now to finally move to mirrorless, as lugging around a big and heavy DSLR increasingly feels dreadful as the years roll on. It's gotten bad enough that my last several trips I've brought nothing but my iPhone lol.
Click to expand...
That won't change much, full frame mirrorless can still be a big system to carry.
mbtan said:
Haven't really been following the enthusiast gear scene the last few years; how is the Canon R system looking nowadays compared to the Sony Alpha and FE system? Read the reviews for the R5 and R6 Mk2, and A7 IV and A7R V so I have a good idea about the camera bodies, but what about the lenses and accessories?
Click to expand...
A7IV and RV are big cameras. They won't be alot smaller than your 5D. You might want to check the A7C instead, if your problem is related to size.
mbtan said:
I have the ff. Canon gear besides the 5d4 body: Canon EF 24-70 f4 L IS, Canon EF 16-35 f4 L IS, Canon EF 50 f1.8 II, Canon 600EX II. Are any of these worth using with a Canon RF body?
Click to expand...
If the issue is size, you don't want to be adapting DSLR lenses. The body + adapter will be basicly as big as a DSLR. The lenses will be as big as they were before.

Back to the iPhone?
mbtan said:
Overall, what would be an honest recommendation between shifting to either Canon or Sony mirrorless systems?
Click to expand...
I think you have to be honest with us (or at least yourself) as to why you want to update your gear, and what are your priorities.
mbtan said:
Thanks and would greatly appreciate your thoughts

M
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for your inputs.

I hadn't realized the Canon RF lenses are in fact bigger and heavier than the equivalent EF versions, so that's definitely something to consider. I won't mind too much the heft of a full-frame mirrorless as I like the feel of a "proper" camera, but I might consider shooting with primes more to lessen the weight, for example.

As for APS-C, I had a 30D long ago and I was hesitant to spend too much on EF-S lenses as the build quality of the EF-S lenses left a lot to be desired compered to the EF (L) lenses, even the best ones like the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8. Hence my preference for full-frame systems.

As to upgrading from the 5d4 -- it's still a great camera after 5 years but by now it's clear that the future is in mirrorless systems. I would rather spend my money now on lenses in this system rather than one that is clearly a dead end. And of course, all the innovations are now on the mirrorless side, of which the most interesting to me is autofocus performance.

I tried the Sony A7R V in the store yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised that the ergonomics seem to have been significantly improved since the A7R2 or A7r3 -- mainly that the grip is bigger and the buttons seem better. I remember thinking years ago that the earlier versions felt a bit toylike compared to the 5d4.

Doesn't seem an easy choice at all lol, both systems are clearly excellent though the cost for Canon is much higher.
 
mbtan said:
Thanks for your inputs.

I hadn't realized the Canon RF lenses are in fact bigger and heavier than the equivalent EF versions, so that's definitely something to consider. I won't mind too much the heft of a full-frame mirrorless as I like the feel of a "proper" camera, but I might consider shooting with primes more to lessen the weight, for example.

As for APS-C, I had a 30D long ago and I was hesitant to spend too much on EF-S lenses as the build quality of the EF-S lenses left a lot to be desired compered to the EF (L) lenses, even the best ones like the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8. Hence my preference for full-frame systems.

As to upgrading from the 5d4 -- it's still a great camera after 5 years but by now it's clear that the future is in mirrorless systems. I would rather spend my money now on lenses in this system rather than one that is clearly a dead end. And of course, all the innovations are now on the mirrorless side, of which the most interesting to me is autofocus performance.

I tried the Sony A7R V in the store yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised that the ergonomics seem to have been significantly improved since the A7R2 or A7r3 -- mainly that the grip is bigger and the buttons seem better. I remember thinking years ago that the earlier versions felt a bit toylike compared to the 5d4.

Doesn't seem an easy choice at all lol, both systems are clearly excellent though the cost for Canon is much higher.
Click to expand...
For smaller lenses try the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2, the Sony 28-60mm f/4-5.6 and the Samyang 35mm f/1.8. Small, light, cheap and optically excellent!
 
mbtan said:
I have the ff. Canon gear besides the 5d4 body: Canon EF 24-70 f4 L IS, Canon EF 16-35 f4 L IS, Canon EF 50 f1.8 II, Canon 600EX II. Are any of these worth using with a Canon RF body?
Click to expand...
i would rent an rf-mount body and see if it works good enough for you, with those lenses, although i'm not sure that you'll see much in the way of weight differences.

no question that it should have better more accurate af than the 5d4, if you get something like an r5/r6/r6ii.

if it's a long-term question, all of the platforms have their advantages, so you'll have to be specific.
 
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No longer familiar with Canon's lineup (my last Canon was a 1DsIII), I couldn't recommend one over another. I'll just note that one of the things I'm really enjoying with my Sony kit is the availability of a broad range of competitively priced and often optically excellent third-party lenses from Samyang, Tamron, Tokina, and others.
 
mbtan said:
Thanks for your inputs.

I hadn't realized the Canon RF lenses are in fact bigger and heavier than the equivalent EF versions, so that's definitely something to consider. I won't mind too much the heft of a full-frame mirrorless as I like the feel of a "proper" camera, but I might consider shooting with primes more to lessen the weight, for example.

As for APS-C, I had a 30D long ago and I was hesitant to spend too much on EF-S lenses as the build quality of the EF-S lenses left a lot to be desired compered to the EF (L) lenses, even the best ones like the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8. Hence my preference for full-frame systems.

As to upgrading from the 5d4 -- it's still a great camera after 5 years but by now it's clear that the future is in mirrorless systems. I would rather spend my money now on lenses in this system rather than one that is clearly a dead end. And of course, all the innovations are now on the mirrorless side, of which the most interesting to me is autofocus performance.

I tried the Sony A7R V in the store yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised that the ergonomics seem to have been significantly improved since the A7R2 or A7r3 -- mainly that the grip is bigger and the buttons seem better. I remember thinking years ago that the earlier versions felt a bit toylike compared to the 5d4.

Doesn't seem an easy choice at all lol, both systems are clearly excellent though the cost for Canon is much higher.
Click to expand...
Some RFs are heavier than EF, like the 100mm macro L. Two more elements. 100g more. But some are maybe as light if not lighter, especially stuff like the 800mm F11 which has no equivalent in EF.

A mirrorless body is lighter, but it's mostly the lenses that add the weight and bulk. An RP with a 35mm Rf will for sure be lighter and smaller.

The future for Canon might be mirrorless bodies but that doesn't mean the 5Div is suddenly a bad camera. But you cite an important point: it's not so much the lack of mirror that makes mirrorless attractive, but the fact that those cameras get the new features, not DSLRs. Like the AF. I wouldn't go so far as to say dead end, as all bodies are computers and will deprecate over time, but if you stay in this you'll probably inevitably be in mirrorless.

I use a lot of EF glass on my R6, but I have been amazed at the quality of the RF NON-L lenses. Aside from weatherproofing frankly I think they are great values, certainly compared to the L's. Whereas in the past I might not have considered the non Ls, now I use a couple of them, and have been very happy with the results. Slower sometimes, but that doesn't matter as much with the newer bodies, which to some extent make up for it with better NR and IBIS.
 
mbtan said:
Thanks for your inputs.

I hadn't realized the Canon RF lenses are in fact bigger and heavier than the equivalent EF versions, so that's definitely something to consider. I won't mind too much the heft of a full-frame mirrorless as I like the feel of a "proper" camera, but I might consider shooting with primes more to lessen the weight, for example.

As for APS-C, I had a 30D long ago and I was hesitant to spend too much on EF-S lenses as the build quality of the EF-S lenses left a lot to be desired compered to the EF (L) lenses, even the best ones like the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8. Hence my preference for full-frame systems.

As to upgrading from the 5d4 -- it's still a great camera after 5 years but by now it's clear that the future is in mirrorless systems. I would rather spend my money now on lenses in this system rather than one that is clearly a dead end. And of course, all the innovations are now on the mirrorless side, of which the most interesting to me is autofocus performance.

I tried the Sony A7R V in the store yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised that the ergonomics seem to have been significantly improved since the A7R2 or A7r3 -- mainly that the grip is bigger and the buttons seem better. I remember thinking years ago that the earlier versions felt a bit toylike compared to the 5d4.

Doesn't seem an easy choice at all lol, both systems are clearly excellent though the i cost for Canon is much higher.
Click to expand...
I don't think RF lenses are bigger or heavier than the older eqivalent EF lenses
 
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