Initial thoughts on moving to the R3 from Canon DSLRs

Falxon wrote:

Hey folks, I thought I'd give my experience on the transition from DSLR to mirrorless. I know there are a fair amount of these posts over the years, but now it's my turn. 😁

First, some quick background to give some context. I'm a long-time Canon DSLR user since the film days (just recently sold my Elan 7E with eye control), but I was a hobbyist for most of those years, so all I cared about was my own satisfaction and enjoyment of the images. All that to say, sharpness was important but I had never even heard the term "critical sharpness."

10-12 years ago I started doing some semi-professional work with corporate clients (events, headshots, the usual), as well as covering some small bands. I bought into the DSLR ecosystem with the 40D, then the 7D, and finally the 5D3 and 7D2, which are my current cameras. I also acquired quite a fair number of L glass and started to care more about critical sharpness. I also got a 100-400L and started doing some birding

If this was the MK1 100-400 that lens was borderline on being sharp enough at best

a friend of mine had one and he never got good results with it unlike some other lenses he had

- nothing fancy, just small local Ohio songbirds. I always struggled with critical focus, even with good stabilization and posture, and with short shutter speeds. My hit rates were not what I wanted, and I fully admit that skill may be a component of that, but I don't think it was 100% of that.

Recently, I had gotten so frustrated with dealing with AF microadjustments and focusing challenges (especially when I want to be in the shot and have my wife shoot) that I just stopped shooting, even for income. So I did what every proper photographer should do - I decided to solve the problem by spending money on gear. (Only half kidding.)