Hey, it’s Jay P. Morgan here with The Slanted Lens. We’re doing a little walkabout down here in Hollywood with our R8, Canon’s new full-frame, kind of entry level, full frame camera. There’s some great things about this camera you’re going to want to know because it makes it really worth the money. And there’s some things about it that perhaps limit it a little bit. So let’s take a look at what makes it great and what makes it limited. Let’s get started as we walk about here in Hollywood.
Let’s take a look at some of the specs here on the R8. The R8 shares the same processor, same autofocus, same 24 megapixel sensor as the R6 II. Which, I love it when Canon does this because they took a great camera… (We reviewed the R6 II. Take a look at that video. It’s worth looking at.) We love the picture off that sensor. We love the autofocus. It was really good and they’ve taken that now into the R8. But not everything about the R8 is the same as the R6 II. They’ve really taken some of the features away to make it more affordable. But in making it more affordable, it’s just an entry level full frame sensor camera, that people who are looking for that less expensive camera to get into that full frame sensor on an RF Mount can get into this camera. So I think it’s a great entry point for people.
Let’s talk about the ergonomics of this camera. I love the fact that it’s very lightweight. It’s got a great grip. I can hold onto this very comfortably. I don’t feel like I’m going to drop it. It’s deep enough for my fingers to really hold on to. I do like the fact that we have in a smart hot shoe, to be able to put a Tascam on here which gives you XLR capabilities to lay sound back to the camera. That’s a new addition to Canon cameras. I’m glad they kept that with the R8. It has the micro HDMI cable or input. Which I wish it was larger. But that is what it is. Otherwise the body is just a lighter weight body. It feels not as sturdy as some of the other cameras. Certainly not as sturdy as the R6 II. So that’s an area that they’ve slimmed it down just a little bit. There’s not a lot of buttons here to be able to change. We’re obviously missing that joystick, the autofocus joystick on the back. We’ve got the flip out screen. So if you’re going to vlog you can do that. Which makes this camera really useful if you’re getting into tight places or vlogging. I love the flip out screen. That’s really worthwhile. The only other thing I wish the camera had was a few more buttons so I could program things a little more easily, giving myself access to things quickly. It does have the multi-function button on the top to be able to scroll through several different functions. And that is useful. It’s touch screen on the back. It gives you the ability to jump into the menus pretty quickly through the queue setting. I do like that. I’ve gotten used to that on the R. So I’m kind of used to working that. But I miss a lot of the kind of buttons and the different controls on the top of the camera that we’re not getting with this camera.
So let’s take a look at some of the positives of the R8. Because there’s some great things about this camera I think you really like. And then let’s take a look at some of the drawbacks or the downside of being able to get the camera with a full frame sensor at fifteen hundred dollars.
So I switched to the f/1.2 50 millimeter and I wasn’t getting any kind of chromatic aberration as I’m looking back towards that sun. It was beautiful. But I did get it with that 24-50mm, getting a pretty heavy chromatic aberration. It’s very purple looking back there. You can see it in some of these images. But look at that 50mm, it’s a beast on this camera. It really is a beast.
So there are some great positives about the R8. Number one is the price point. You’re coming in at fifteen hundred dollars, which for a full frame sensor is a pretty good price point. I mean, when I say entry level people are going to go, fifteen hundred dollars! I know that’s not cheap. But for a full frame sensor it’s one of the least expensive entry points into that full frame sensor market. Also, you get great autofocus for this camera because it shares the same sensor as the R6 II. So you get that same color science, which is beautiful. It gives you a great image. You get the same autofocus modes. Those autofocus modes are incredible. Everything from people to cars to animals. That whole array as Canon has made that better and better in their cameras. They put that and left it here in the R8, which is incredible.
The video capabilities on this camera are actually very good. You’ve got an over sampled 4K at 60 frames a second with no crop. You also get an 8-bit H.264 and a 10-bit H.265. The image quality of this camera does stand out. Let’s take a look at some of those images.
So in order to get to this price point let’s look at some of the things they took out of this camera. Number one is there’s a single card slot. There’s no in body stabilization in the camera at all. And that’s been in a lot of the Canon cameras. So that doesn’t surprise me. The one that does surprise me a little bit is there’s a low resolution viewfinder. It’s almost 25 percent less than the R6 II. So it’s, you don’t see the crispness in the viewfinder and it’s definitely noticeable. That’s something that really is a step down from the R6 II. A single card slot. So you have one card slot. You have to access the card slot from underneath the camera inside the battery compartment like the old rebel series. I don’t love that. If I’ve got it on a tripod or something and I need to change a card it’s hard to get in there and change that card. I mean, that is almost for me, two cards it’s not as big of a deal as people make it out to for me. I usually shoot on a single card. I’ve not had cards fail. But I buy pretty decent cards. So I’ve never found that to be an issue. But I think putting or having to put the card in the bottom is kind of an issue for me.
So the battery is, for me, the biggest drawback of this camera. It’s a battery called the lpe17. It’s smaller than the old rebel battery. And is certainly very small compared to the one in the R6 II. So it cuts down the battery life. You can get about 290 shots on this camera. I have always carried an extra battery on every platform I’ve ever had. Quite frankly, I’ve always carried two extra batteries. So you’re going to want extra batteries with this camera. You’re not going to be able to go out for a day shoot and just use a single battery. It’ll never work for you. So in that way you’re going to have to calculate that into the cost. You’re going to need extra batteries for the camera. So the R8 doesn’t have an autofocus joystick, which I do miss. Because, I like to put on a single spot autofocus to be able to move that around quickly. So I missed that on this camera. Also, the EVF is significantly less than the R6 II. It has a 2,360,000 dot EVF. Whereas, the R6 II has a 3,690,000 dot. So a significant difference there. You’ll see that difference as you look through it. It’s just nice to have that nicer EVF, if you’re doing video especially and if you want to be able to look at your images.
So let me wrap this up. I think this is a wonderful camera for people who are going to get into the market and want a full frame sensor and you can’t afford to jump up to the R6 II. In saying that I think that for Canon this really fills, it checks a box, that is needed in the market. A little less expensive full-frame camera. And I love the fact that it does that and it really delivers great autofocus and great picture quality. Those two things, I think, are probably the most important things to me. I can live without a lot of the other things. But if you can afford to step up to the R6 II I think that’s probably a better choice for you if you have the money. So look for the comparisons we’re going to do with this camera and other cameras that kind of fall into this category. It almost stands alone with regards to this price point and a full frame sensor. But we’re going to do some camera comparisons with other cameras. So get out there and take some images. You’re going to love that R8. Keep those cameras rollin’ and keep on clickin’!
