Need advice regarding buying an EOS RP

Hello everyone,
Background:
I am a novice photography hobbyist. Loves to take photos of everything and share some of them to my Instagram account. I started with an OMD EM10 MKIII, superb little camera, but after using it for a year switched to Fujifilm X-T30. There were no issues with my Olympus, and there were no justifications for the switch, just wanted to try an APSC camera. Love the Fuji camera but now I want to try a full-frame Camera.
Question:
I have gone through many reviews and discussions and finally rounded upon RP. This is not the final choice, as I will be taking around 3-4 months to save up enough money to buy this camera. So the plans can change in the future. So for now, I would like to buy the EOS RP to try their new 600mm RF lens and their 35 mm RF lens.
I would like to shoot animals, landscapes, snapshots, and videos. I do understand that the above two lenses are not the optimal choices but I don't want to try the adapter and other lenses seem to be very expensive.
So could you please share all the bad things you have experienced while shooting with an RP? I couldn't find too many negative things so want to have some external perspectives.
Thank you

just wait until you have enough money for an R6.

IBIS is a big deal, imagine all the cheap EF primes suddenly becoming stabilised.

Also with the f/11 you want good ISO performance in which the R6 dominates the RP.

RP will just give you a serious case of GAS on the long run imho, making you carve more for the better bodies.

Funny Valentine wrote:

just wait until you have enough money for an R6.

IBIS is a big deal, imagine all the cheap EF primes suddenly becoming stabilised.

Also with the f/11 you want good ISO performance in which the R6 dominates the RP.

RP will just give you a serious case of GAS on the long run imho, making you carve more for the better bodies.

OP is a novice who likely just wants an entry level camera. The R6 is $1500 more than the rp...

@OP, the canon rp is a great choice for beginners, I don't think you'll be disappointed. GL

For my hand size I really needed the EG-E1 mini grip. Apart from that, it performs as expected. Just make sure you're running the latest firmware

Thanks guys for the comments,
@bionet, thanks for pointing out the silent shutter issue, I do like the silent shutter in my Fuji. I guess needs to read more about it.

>a cheap USB PD power bank will help.
Already have it

>I would think about getting a Tamron or Sigma 150-600 instead of the dark 600/11, though these lenses are a lot bigger and heavier and probably a little softer at the log end.
I am not too fond of the large and heavy lenses that is why I chose to go with 600/11.
Thanks for your suggestions

Also, I am currently living in Japan. The camera prices in here are higher compared to the prices in the US.

For example, the Canon EOS R6 body alone costs around 2856.19 USD.
For the EOS RP, the kit of EOS RP + RF 35 mm + EF lens adapter + Extension grip comes around to approximately 1600 USD.  The kit without the adapter roughly costs the same.
So my overall budget is roughly 2000 USD for the 35mm + RP + 600mm. Hopefully, the prices will come down in the near future.

I own a RP and it's a great camera. I'm also a hobbyist photographer. So you won't be disappointed with RP I guess.

However, I have a small suggestion for you. RF 35mm is a great lens for the price and no problem with that.

But, RF 600mm is best used with R5/6 IMHO. RP won't give you satisfactory results with this lens in my guess. I may be entirely wrong, but this is my feeling.

So I would like to see some used EF telephoto glass in that price point and use it with RF EF adapter. Canon adapted lenses work perfectly fine with RP and I never had a problem with any of the EF lenses I own.

This is just my 2¢.

I have the RP kit with the 24-240 RF and the 35 RF.  Super happy with that set up.  Don’t know about the grip being needed. I’m 6’4” (193 cm) tall and can palm a basketball. I have no issues with the camera body size.

Bad things?  Be careful with your focus if your subject doesn’t completely fill the focus square. Noticed this first using spot focus on a bird where the focus square was slightly larger than the birds head. It tended to focus on something contrasty behind the bird that was also in the square.  When it’s close to your subject, it’s hard to tell in the EVF that you missed focus.  Didn’t notice until loading on the computer.

Now you can magnify just the focus point in the EVF and manually fine tune the auto focus, which is great,  but you have to be on one shot af and hope your subject sits still.  Maybe your 600 mm will put you close enough where this isn’t an issue.

Overall, agree with others.  Great for a hobbyist like me who’d rather spend the $1,500 price difference vs the R6 on food and clothes for my kids.

IBIS, to me, is a bit overblown. The RF lenses you’re looking at are stabilized.  If you’re as much of a novice / hobbyist as me - you don’t have a huge collection of old un-stabilized lenses laying around just waiting to adapt. For the rare occasion that light doesn’t allow for handholding, I’ll bring the tripod.  Funny how photography survived so long without IBIS and now we can’t live without it.

@souvikdgp, thanks for the suggestions.
Some nice photos in Flickr loved the Flying Geese photo.
Considering the price range of RF 600mm what other lenses would you suggest? some EF lenses from Sigma/Tamron?
Also I chose RF 600 and RF 35mm lenses due to image stabilization. Would be nice to have that.

kesariraju wrote:

@souvikdgp, thanks for the suggestions.
Some nice photos in Flickr loved the Flying Geese photo.
Considering the price range of RF 600mm what other lenses would you suggest? some EF lenses from Sigma/Tamron?
Also I chose RF 600 and RF 35mm lenses due to image stabilization. Would be nice to have that.

I'm not a big fan of 3rd party lenses as they give compatibility issues at times. But again that's only me. Yes, you can try Sigma 150-600 C as an alternative. But, my vote will be Canon refurbished EF 100-400 MK II. I know it's pricey and almost double than 600 RF(Canon runs very attractive sales from time to time). But it's worth the price.

I like my RP and have not had any problems.  Here are the only drawbacks, which are just part of a smaller less expensive camera:

1. It uses a smaller battery which is different from almost every other canon full frame body.  This gives you less battery life and is not upward compatible.

2. It is very short, so many buy an extension for the bottom to provide support.  A plus for packing, a minus for needing extra stuff.

3. If you use a RF 600mm on this, then you may need a tripod/monopod as it will be a big lens on a small body with no IBIS, although it does have IS.

Having said that, the RP is still the best full frame for compact form and great price.  I wouldn't use it for sports, but I have not run into any other limitations using it.

Other thing you might want to consider:  Buying a used EOS R, as the prices should be through the floor once the R5 and R6 are out and a lot of people will be selling them.  The main difference here is the standard battery, larger grip and more MP.

richardperson wrote:

I like my RP and have not had any problems. Here are the only drawbacks, which are just part of a smaller less expensive camera:

1. It uses a smaller battery which is different from almost every other canon full frame body. This gives you less battery life and is not upward compatible.
2. It is very short, so many buy an extension for the bottom to provide support. A plus for packing, a minus for needing extra stuff.
3. If you use a RF 600mm on this, then you may need a tripod/monopod as it will be a big lens on a small body with no IBIS, although it does have IS.

Having said that, the RP is still the best full frame for compact form and great price. I wouldn't use it for sports, but I have not run into any other limitations using it.

Other thing you might want to consider: Buying a used EOS R, as the prices should be through the floor once the R5 and R6 are out and a lot of people will be selling them. The main difference here is the standard battery, larger grip and more MP.

EOS R is a better option in every way. But wanted to point out a small advantage of RP over R and that's the availability of focus stacking in RP. This will be immensely helpful in case someone finds interest in macro photography. Just thought of pointing it out.

kesariraju wrote:

Hello everyone,
Background:
I am a novice photography hobbyist. Loves to take photos of everything and share some of them to my Instagram account. I started with an OMD EM10 MKIII, superb little camera, but after using it for a year switched to Fujifilm X-T30. There were no issues with my Olympus, and there were no justifications for the switch, just wanted to try an APSC camera. Love the Fuji camera but now I want to try a full-frame Camera.
Question:
I have gone through many reviews and discussions and finally rounded upon RP. This is not the final choice, as I will be taking around 3-4 months to save up enough money to buy this camera. So the plans can change in the future. So for now, I would like to buy the EOS RP to try their new 600mm RF lens and their 35 mm RF lens.
I would like to shoot animals, landscapes, snapshots, and videos. I do understand that the above two lenses are not the optimal choices but I don't want to try the adapter and other lenses seem to be very expensive.
So could you please share all the bad things you have experienced while shooting with an RP? I couldn't find too many negative things so want to have some external perspectives.
Thank you

If you go with the RP I would definitely get the 24-105mm f4-7.1 lens.  I feel like that range is so versatile and would be good for landscapes since you'll stop it down and get the most out of it.

I've been doing photography for over 60 years, and have an associate degree in commercial photography.  I've used everything from a Brownie to a Hasselblad, and even a bit of View Camera for film, and Canon 10D to 7D2 crop frame and 6D2 full frame.  A bit less than a year ago I bought an RP.  I wouldn’t recommend the RP for birds in flight, sports or fast moving children, but for just about everything else I shoot, I love it, and even though it could be better for fast moving children, it almost always nails focus on my grandchildren's eyes.  I use older adapted EF lenses on it and they work without a glitch.  Handling and ergonomics on this camera is superb, and personally, I really think the camera has a feeling that is reminiscent of my old Pentax Spotmatic film cameras, despite all of its advanced features.  Everything is just so intuitively accessible.  And the focus bracketing is an incredible bonus.  I think you’ve chosen a nice starter kit, but don’t rule out the adapter and used EF lenses.

And,by the way, get at least one extra battery.  I have three extras, but so far have never needed more than one extra, but I have come close to draining two in a day.

@bionet thanks for the explanations.

Buttons are customizable

I usually adapt to the default way rather than customizing my own.

1/4000s is still 2 stops faster than a classic manual focus SLR, 4/5 FPS is also a lot faster (depending on how fast you could use the film advance lever )

Still has not used 1/4000s, I think my Fuji can reach 1/4000s but have not yet faced such a situation.

and it has spot metering, once a feature of pro bodies. Plus a 1 GB buffer and the ability to shot endless bursts in Raw until the card is full, if the card is fast enough.

Maybe I am wrong, but I thought spot metering was a common feature, both my Olympus and Fuji have it. My max speed is 1-2 photos per minute, I can't comprehend anything beyond that. Personally I would like to capture the moments with my eyes and then just take a photo to remember it.

@JustUs7 thanks for your comment.

Noticed this first using spot focus on a bird where the focus square was slightly larger than the birds head. It tended to focus on something contrasty behind the bird that was also in the square. When it’s close to your subject, it’s hard to tell in the EVF that you missed focus. Didn’t notice until loading on the computer.

Interesting. Noted, thanks for pointing this out.

IBIS, to me, is a bit overblown. The RF lenses you’re looking at are stabilized. If you’re as much of a novice / hobbyist as me - you don’t have a huge collection of old un-stabilized lenses laying around just waiting to adapt. For the rare occasion that light doesn’t allow for handholding, I’ll bring the tripod. Funny how photography survived so long without IBIS and now we can’t live without it.

My first interchangeable lens camera (OMD EM10) had an IBIS, so I kind of like having it. Recently I used a XF 35 mm F2 lens on X-T30, which didn't have any stabilization. Didn't face any issues. But there were a few situations like shooting a small stream, which would have turned out better if I had some sort of stabilization.

But, my vote will be Canon refurbished EF 100-400 MK II. I know it's pricey and almost double than 600 RF(Canon runs very attractive sales from time to time). But it's worth the price.

@souvikdgp thanks for your comment, but I can't afford it .

But wanted to point out a small advantage of RP over R and that's the availability of focus stacking in RP. This will be immensely helpful in case someone finds interest in macro photography.

Noted, thanks for pointing this out.

The camera is a tad slow to 'wake up'. So I just touch the shutter button and it's good. The EVF could be brighter, but it isn't a big heartburn issue.

@NormSchultze, thanks for your comment. I am just a hobbyist so this is not much of an issue, but thanks for pointing this out.

1. It uses a smaller battery which is different from almost every other canon full frame body. This gives you less battery life and is not upward compatible.

2. It is very short, so many buy an extension for the bottom to provide support. A plus for packing, a minus for needing extra stuff.

3. If you use a RF 600mm on this, then you may need a tripod/monopod as it will be a big lens on a small body with no IBIS, although it does have IS.

@richardperson, thanks for pointing this out. As for using a tripod, I do have one a SLIK GX7500, it's not that big, but I tried traveling with it twice and was not at all comfortable.

I read kenrockwell's review - https://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/eos-r/lenses/600mm.htm#spex

Here he points out that with enough light handholding up to 1/60th of a second is possible with EOS RP. I think I would mostly follow the 1/focal length rule, so I am assuming it's ok for me. Again thanks for your comment.

The RF 35mm f/1.8 is a good choice, but the 600mm is too big and specialised for me. If I were in your place I would look for a kit with one of the two 24-105mms or the 24-240mm.

@Sittatunga, thanks for your comment, I really liked the 24-240 kit(based on reviews), but it's out of my budget. Between 24-105 and 35mm, I would choose 35 mm, just my preference.