Looking for any advice on upgrading from a Eos SL1 to a mirrorless system. I’m a serious hobbyist but haven’t upgraded for a while. I started with a film Canon AE-1, then to Nikon Coolpix 990, Canon D60, 5DMII and then the Eos SL1. I really love the lightweight SL1, but realize that since Canon has ditched the DSLR for the mirrorless path, perhaps it is time to upgrade. I mainly do landscape, nature, some portrait but only as hobby for friends and family. I am wondering what your thoughts are on the R8 as an upgrade?
An almost inconceivably large upgrade.
I would love better autofocus and better low light abilities.
Even R10 would offer better low light capability, and R8 is better again. The real benefit is to be gained using something like DxO Photolab for noise reduction - I have taken photos with R10 at ISO 12800 and R8 at 25600 (probably beyond the range of SL1) with acceptable noise.
I still love my EF 24-105 L lens as a workhouse. I would also use a EF 70-200 L. I understand you can get a RF adapter - so the bottom line questions are:
1) SL1 to R8 - thoughts and advice? Other bodies you would suggest. Again, hobbyist work and looking to keep with the smallest and lightest set up.
The obvious thing to consider is lost reach. Your 70-200 currently gives you a FF equivalent FoV of 320mm on SL1, so dropping back to 200mm on R8 is a significant change. The flip side is having 24mm instead of 38mm is also a significant gain. A R10 would maintain the status quo for you.
Otherwise R8, or R10 (I have both) would be light years ahead of your SL1 in every respect except cost, especially for nature/wildlife/birds. The AF of these cameras is vastly better than any Canon DSLR except perhaps the latest 1D cameras, the subject & eye detection is almost unbelievably good, the burst rates (for moving subjects) of up to 40fps for R8 and 23fps for R10 can get a shot that would rely on pure luck with SL1, the size and weight of either would be comparable with SL1 and both have nice deep grips which is useful for larger lenses. The customisation options would be mind boggling to you compared with SL1. Any R camera would be a significant learning curve for you - it was a big change for me moving from 6D ii and M5 to R10 & R8.
2) RF adapter - any concerns to using? I would like to keep my EF lenses and not replace with RF lenses.
The adapter would certainly work, but my suggestion would be to aim to move towards a RF lens for your most used lens (probably EF 24-105L) to be congruent with your goal of "smallest & lightest" - the adapter adds about 25mm/1" and 100g. I have owned both EF 24-105L and the Mk ii, and my RF 24-105L f4 is noticeably better than either in every respect except cost. I might suggest that even the RF 24-105 STM would compare favorably with an original EF 24-105L (but smaller and lighter).
3) If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… would anyone just say keep shooting away with the SL1 since it it doing fine?
Depends what you want and if you think that SL1 is limiting you. Both R8 & R10 are VASTLY more capable, so they would open doors that you never knew existed - like perhaps BIF or astrophotography (for R8), which you probably never considered trying with SL1.
4) I’ve seen numerous mentions of poor battery length - how many shots are you getting on a full charge?
It depends. If you are playing with settings, reviewing each shot etc etc, perhaps 200-300. But if you are shooting decent bursts, rarely reviewing and not playing with settings, and turning the camera off between "uses" you may get thousands. I walked around Australia Zoo with R8 + RF 100-400 for over 6 hours and took over 4,000 shots and was well into my second battery. I would suggest that the 150-200 mentioned above is probably worst case - I don't think I have ever got that few.
I would also suggest that contrary to the mention above, that there really isn't much difference in battery life between R8 and R10.
Any advice and suggestions are very much appreciated. Thanks.
M
I have R8 + RF 24-105L f4 fitted and R10 + RF 100-400 fitted in my bag as well as RF 15-30, and this is truly a lightweight and extremely capable setup - far more capable than me. These RF lenses are excellent value, especially the 100-400 which punches well above it's price would suggest.
I might suggest that the comment above about R8 being similar to 5D ii is probably incorrect. I would suggest that R8 surpasses 5D iv in most respects except robustness and weather sealing (and battery life & probably buffer depth). The 24Mp sensor has a few less pixels but is arguably better for low light, it shows great detail, has "better-than-most-Canon-DSLR" dynamic range and the R8 AF, subject detection & tracking, as well as burst speeds are way ahead of even 5D iv, never mind an ancient 5D ii. Happy to be corrected, but I don't think that the commenter has any R cameras or lenses, though considerable experience with DSLRs.
