R8-no ibis vs. R6 MKll - Ibis

sportyaccordy wrote:

MikeJ9116 wrote:

IMO, the R8 is a camera designed and priced to bring people from DSLRs and other brands into the Canon ecosystem. It will probably even bring some Fuji users to Canon. For me it has taken buying into Fuji or Canon for APS-C off the table and staying with Canon for FF only. IMO, the only thing that is strange about the R8 is that Canon released an incredibly capable, small, lightweight camera that they didn't gimp much at a very attractive price point.

I respect your opinion, but disagree. I mean maybe that was Canon's intention, but I don't think the R8 is a big gamechanger for the RF system/user base. Canon RF is 5 years old now I think.... I'd wager if anyone hasn't moved over by now, odds are extremely high they never will.

I def don't see this luring Fuji users over either. Yes the R8 has better AF & marginally better IQ, but beyond that, for someone in that ~$3-4K system budget Fuji X is substantially better value, with better affordable lens selection, IBIS, the list goes on and on. Only thing this has over the R7 IMO is sensor size and lens selection, but Canon did the bare minimum with EF-S lens wise and seems keen to maintain that tradition with RF-S.

Obviously it's not a bad camera; there's no such thing in 2023 in this price range....... but it's definitely no slam dunk or head and shoulders easy choice in the marketplace.

All valid points. Long time photographers who know all these differences in cameras systems, lens choices, and all the 'little' specs that matter may not be woo'd by the R8. And that's fine. On your topic of "I'd wager if anyone hasn't moved over by now...", I've been a Canon shooter for over a decade and just got a R body in December. There's plenty of EF holdouts still to migrate over

I think where Canon is going to hit the home run are the first time buyers with a decent budget. There's a market for people who's kids are now playing sports and suddenly decide they want a "real camera" to shoot little Billy on the soccer pitch. Their phone has sufficed for everything till now, but with sports now they finally have a reason to need better.

They're at the point in life they can spend a few more bucks above the entry level stuff. In the few hours of research they are willing to invest shopping for the right camera, the R8 with the RF 100-400 for about $2k will tick a lot of boxes. If they know little about cameras, that evening of research will tell them 1) FF has better IQ, 2) more FPS is better for sports, 3) you want more telephoto reach, 4) the R8 has great AF for sports, 5) nothing else with a FF sensor at this price can keep up with the R8 for sports shooting.

Suddenly the R8 with a FF sensor, blistering FPS and AF, and a good 100-400 for cheaper than any other maker looks like a damn good deal. I suspect alot of these buyers will get the R8 with a kit lens and add the 100-400 and be done with buying camera gear for a decade. Maybe they get the photo bug and have a new hobby. Or maybe the camera only comes out on game days and Christmas. Either way, the R8 is what they spent their money on.

Of course, every one of my kid's sporting event I've been at the last few years I'm the only guy out there with a real camera. Occasionally there's a mom (it's always the mom) with an ancient rebel and kit lens snapping away. So maybe this market is bunk as well?