I picked up an R8 to be a backup and compact alternative to my R3. I LOVE it. I got tired of changing lenses all the time on my R3, so the R8 allows me to have a second focal length mounted. I usually use it with an aftermarket RP battery grip (readily available) that makes it hold better and gives me twice the battery life. I don't miss the IBIS, because I always mount lenses on it that have IS anyway (RF 24-105L, RF15-35L). If I need IBIS I just use the R3. Now I don't need to take my R3 when I just want a light camera and lens combo. If this would be your only camera, and you wish to pair non-stabilized primes (you are moving from EF and want to adapt your prime lenses), I would recommend saving a bit more for the R6II. You will be happier with the IBIS and the camera's form factor. However, I don't think people how awesome this camera is to get a low-cost second camera to avoid lens changes. It is SPECTACULAR for this. I never thought I'd be able to justify a second camera for this purpose. But this extra $1500 has really improved my photography and makes it much easier to shoot my primary subject (my kids sporting events and all other kid related events that they constantly have and take all our time 😛)
I bought my R6 at the worst time. About half a year before they said there wont be third party lens support. If only I had known... That being said I now have some of the expensive canon glass and they are great. Sure you can get high quality stuff but at a hefty price. So the good cameras and lenses are gated for the rich. It sucks when money and lens selection are the only negative factors because it feels like they could be easily solved if Canon just wants to.
I am going on almost ten years now as a photographer and your videos were some of the first that I learned I could trust. I love that I still get to see your name and immediately know I can trust the review to be thorough and close to ASMR grade relaxing.
Thank you so much for the detailed review. So many reviews attempt a stylish cinematic approach when I really only want the camera footage and details. Your polite and calm demeanor is also greatly appreciated! I'm definitely upgrading to this camera from my Canon M50. Thank you for helping in my decision making process!
@@ernestwilk3276 The M50 was an amazing Camera. I recommend it to anybody wanting to get into filmmaking or photography. Though, the R100 may take it's place for affordability.
I just picked up the R8 with the 24-50 kit lens. I recommend getting a kit lens if offered. Mine was half the cost than when bought separately. My first impression was that it is so tiny. The tip of my index finger completely covers the directional pad. I bought the Vello battery grip to help out and it works great. Took me about an hour of practice to get the right manual focus settings. Using peaking and the arrow aids. I set the top right of the touchscreen so i can use my thumb to move the point. I'm using Zeiss EF classics and Contax Zeiss adapted. Works well so far. The autofocus on the RF lens is crazy good. The smaller batteries and lack of IBIS are the biggest cons. For the price, its phenomenal. This is what the R should have been.
Excellent, highly professional review - subscribed. I'd take an r8 despite the lack of ibis, poor battery etc as every review I've seen on RU-vid raves about the AF.
Why do i get the sense that just about everyone who has used this camera really likes it, but most don't have it and are really negative towards it. It seems like everyone is a professional photographer in the comments section
It's great to see a "value" RF camera but with no third party lenses for RF mount it's a tricky proposition given the cost of RF glass currently. So the question is who would buy this camera?
Probably the same type of people who bought the RP back in 2019. Serious hobbysts on a budget like Chris said. I had a 60D and upgraded to the RP on launch and loved it. If I had like a 70D or 7D and wanted to upgrade right now and buy a brand new camera the R8 would be it.
@@LuigiVN I think EF mount was very different - had been around for years by then - loads of cheap good used and third party options for glass. I think Nikon suffers from this too. if you're moving to a new mount then there's no advantage staying loyal to the same brand as you can get adapters for canon glass for nikon and sony too
I bought an R8 because it's compact I do a lot of wildlife photography. I don't see any of its problems emphasized reviews the first thing I noticed was the battery indicator doesn't tell you when the battery is low so the camera just shuts off in the middle of a video or still shot it's a tiny battery not the only issue that I am having I didn't think only having one SD card would be a problem until my pictures were erased while downloading my tablet judging from the comments people like this camera that's exactly what I bought it
Just to add a bit more user experience- i sold my R6 in order to buy this more compact and lighter R8. I was so sure i’d love it, and have a number of RF lenses that have IS so figured i wouldn’t miss the IBIS. I’m a long time user of Canon cameras, having moved through apsc dslrs, then full frame, then on to mirrorless with the R6 and most recently the R7. Chris, I’d agree with most of your observations. In particular, i too find the raw files do seem sharper, i’m guessing due to Canon tweaking the anti-aliasing filter or sensors bin lenses. I had to return my R8 due to there being a defect with the autofocus on my body (it would freeze up or get stuck occasionally when using any of the non-zone focusing options. But the two issues i’d like to raise for all considering it are first the raw files now seem to have more contrast being baked into them straight out of the camera( as viewed in LR). Second, if you opt to use those small function buttons around where your thumb sits, because they are so close to your thumb and nearly flush to the camera body, it is very easy to accidentally bump them and thereby throw off your settings. Between these issues and the short battery life, i don’t think i will buy another one and not sure what i’ll move to for my full frame needs.
Andrea, By nonzone focus settings i mean those several focus spots to the left of all the options - a very small spot, spot, then the spot with for additional squares on each side of the spot. If i set up the focus to use any of those settings the camera’s focus would lock focus on a subject but then it would occasionally stay locked or frozen at that distance when i moved it to a different subject (further or closer from me) and tried to refocus. Sometimes it would get ‘unstuck’ if i tried repeatedly to force it to shift. But as often, i would have to turn the camera off and turn back on to get it to refocus. For all of this i was using single focus, to continuous focus mode. Does this sound like what you are experiencing?
@@craigcarlson4022thank you Craig, in my case it’s different as focus would jump to minimum distance and everything is blurred and stays blurred while the focus motor tries to regain the right distance until I switch off and on again. The similar part is that this has happened when using the non-zone areas you described. The different outcome may be related to different lens used. I have this problem when using Tamron 150-600 g2. It’s quite rare and that’s why I did not sent the camera to repair. But I was very curious and asked you more details as it is the first time I read about an issue very similar to mine.
Andrea, ok, best of luck sorting out your focus issues. For what its worth, i was finding my focus issues with Canon RF lenses. I never tried adapting a Canon ef or third party lens, so can’t comment on differences therewith.
To me the no ibis is a non factor. I’m finding the digital stab is good enough on my r10. The biggest annoyance seems to be battery life. You’d definitely need to buy at least 1 extra.
Nice review ! although only comparing the R8 with other Canon cameras is a bit of a weird take considering all the awesome cameras that are on the market these days. Ironically, the first camera that I wanna point out is a Canon camera, and that's the R7. It's oddly priced exactly the same as the R8, but has all the features that the R8 doesn't: large(r) battery, IBIS, AF joystick, dual card slots and overall better build quality. Sure you loose on a bit of image quality, though it's more a matter of trade of. You loose a bit of dynamic range and high ISO noise performance (still decent levels) but you get quite a bump in resolution. You don't get 40fps shooting, but close enough you get 30 (feature that I doubt most buyers would take advantage of at this pricepoint anyway?). The R8 doesn't get a full mechanical shutter though, only electronic front curtain and it's limited at 6fps while the R7 does 15 with a full mechanical one, honestly I'd say this is a much more usable package. And for video you mostly get the same things, only exception being that the 4K60 mode has a crop. For 200 bucks less you also have the recently released Fujifilm X-S20 which has quite an impressive array of features and specs, especially in video having 6.2K open gate video, IBIS and a larger battery. If you absolutely need pro features AND a full frame sensor within that kind of budget, you have either the choice of getting a new Nikon Z5 which has pretty much everything you'd want except for solid video specs and fast burst speeds (even though I'd say that 5fps is acceptable for most things outside of action), or a Sony A7III which is also limited albeit not as much as the Z5 (you still have much better video and twice the framerate with a more dependable autofocus. But it's more expensive than the Z5 even used)
Just got this R8 on sale for 999€ and gave my rp in exchange for 500€. This absolutely blows it out of the water for autofocus and image quality. And the camera feels faster to operate in every aspect. Low light performance is also much better than rp. And battery life is ok for me i get 400 - 600 shots with one battery charge.
I tried it out at the shop today because they were on sale (1500€ / 1300 GBP) and I thought it would be great for party shots with lower light or for portrait shots vs. the R7 I already own. And my FF lenses would give better detail on the larger sensor. I love it is small, but I did not buy it in the end. The grip is not deep enough for me and when you mount one of these hefty RF lenses you need to keep the combo by the lens. Too much torque on the wrist, pinching on the body. The extra grip device that is talked about here .... I don't understand... I'd get an R6 instead. But if you'd put a small lens on it like the 28, boy this is a lovely package for street photography!! So light and nimble, absolutely gorgeous shots. But for vacation shots, portrait or party shots, those larger FF lenses are bigger and heavier and then the R8 doesn't make too much sense to me. You're holding a lens with a body attached to it... I'm not used to that...
I sold sony a7iii and bought r8 .It is a better camera for my needs ,but i have also lumix s5 and i can confirm that the image quality and dr from lumix is better than my new r8
Been watching your reviews for a long time. Great job. As someone who has consistently shot family videos for about 8 years, and my wife who takes photos as well, the R8 is like a dream camera. Just sold my original R waiting for the R8 in the mail. Anxiously.
if you look even at r6ii, the best stabilization is achieved when using stab in lens with inbody stabilization. The stab in lens is more important. Vloggers will most likely use a zoom lens, and all rf zoom lens have IS and give you 5+ stops. So i would'n take the lack of inbody IS as serious disadvantage. The light weight of R8 wins for bloggers imo.
i love the specs of the camera.. i really do, and the "affordable" price of around $1500 is a great price for a mirrorless camera with its features but when i look at the control layout.. i see just another rebel camera body, but with better features obviously. but theres no way i'm giving up my 5dII and 5dIII for it. so the R6II will be on my horizon.. unless i get a really solid deal on the mark I R6..
don´t forget Canon is using of "Amazon". You have a product and then you oooonly have to add 300 EUR to get a MUCH better camera, then again 300 then again 300 and tadaaaaa suddenly you're at the R5 for 3.500 EUR. Congratulations :-). I´ve purchased the R8 as a second camera + webcam and for those purposes the camera is a dream and I like it very much. If I could buy only one camera the R5 is unbeatable in my view.
I bought this R8 cause I already own the R6 Mark II and use it for video. So a cheaper body with the same sensor and video specs as 2nd cam, sign me up. I own about 10 other Canon camera bodies including the RP and the SL2 that both uses the same batteries as this R8, so the battery life of the R8 didn't concern me since I already own 10 batteries for this. But I will agree with others that if I was just buying a standalone camera and staying with Canon, I'm not sure the R8 would be my choice. Not that there's anything wrong with it, just that I think the R7 makes a good case and if I really need full frame, I think I'd just stretch my budget and get the R6 Mark II.
If you set it to NTSC mode in the menu you can do 180 here too. We're not likely creating content for broadcast on low end cameras, so PAL/NTSC is a pretty pointless distinction. I wish they would have all frame rates available all the time and let us intelligently pick the one we want to use.
Actually no, it has no RAW Video support at all, you only get clean HDMI through the micro HDMI in the camera. The r7 can get 10 bit 4:2:2 on your Atomos but nothing off the r8 sadly, you'd need the r6 Mark II , that would make it the go to for me but fuji just released an AF Ai update that makes it as sticky as Canons and also offer a new camera with 6k at 3:2 open gate, up to 12 bit raw to your Atomos. The only downside to that is fuji glass can be at little off on some batches, so you'd need to make sure its good and sharp if you get some new glass that you didn't already have for it. I was gonna buy the r8 for sure but you'd be stuck with Clog3 which is morbid to color grade and clog2 lacks the available dynamic range the camera can provide, so now the decision is to save for the r6 mark II or just get the new Fuji camera coming out now, for me anyway
Hi Chris, thanks for all the careful reviews you make. I hope you can use this camera to retest the entry level rf zooms like the 24-105, 15-30, 24-240 and the latest 24-50…testing them in a high density sensor such as the R5’s is not helping users to make a well-informed decision in my opinion. I notice your viewer base who actually make comments on your videos (UK / Nikon die hard fans for the most part?) to particularly enjoy denigrating Canon each time you call one of their lenses ‘mediocre’. Just check comments on your most recent video on the 24-50. To be honest, being brand agnostic and appreciating good value for money options, I think these kit lenses do the job well for what you pay and can help someone on a tight budget to get started.
EOS R is on a weird planet but to be honest, even if it is not the fastest on AF, I feel good about the 30 mp and a decent battery . The problem is that Canon would not make a "niche" 30 MP again...either R6MKII or R8... it is kind of frustrating.
R and RP are the mirorrless of 5DIV and 6DII. And aftter that they replace R( high Mpx FF) with R5 and RP (Low Mpx FF) with R6. R5 and R6 are the successors of 5Ds and 6Ds. They with make 30Mpx R6x someday. LOL
great review. I'm still thinking which camera I should buy. I'm debating between the EOS R8 and the Fuji X-S20. I know, the one camera is Full Frame and the other camera is APS-C. But for me as a hobby photographer, the question is whether to take full-frame with expensive lenses or APS-C with low-light limitations, but cheaper and more versatile (third party) lenses.
@@ekevanderzee9538 mostly it's an hybrid. I shoot mostly Street Photography and Architecture. But sometimes I shoot Landscape and Portraits. So There are Pros and cons for APS-C and Fullframe. The Fuji looks perfect because of the body and the control dials. Also it has lots of Features (IBIS, better AF, 6k Video for example). The Canon is Full Frame, has the great Canon colors, it's easy to use and the AF is outstanding. But no IBIS and smaller battery. In the End I definitly can make with both cameras amazing picutres. My previous Camera is the EOS M50 (use it over 4-5 Years). It's a great camera for beginners, but I recognize that I pushing the limits when it comes to low light, Video and handling (more than one control dial would be good). Still it's a great camera for beginners.
@@mehdi9675 Avoid Canon. I used them for a long time and I won't deny that their top end bodies are really good. I can never see myself using them again though. There are three issues for the beginner / intermediate user (and Pro). First is the cost and range of glass. I shoot Sony FF and Fuji. Both systems have big ranges of glass. On Fuji the Viltrox 75mm f1.2 for instance is virtually free of chromatic aberration , incredibly sharp and you can buy it for £440. Second is the Canon cripple hammer. I don't see why anybody would buy the R7, R8 etc. The XS 20 will be a great tool with all the controls and features you need. Pus terrific lens range. IBIS is a big plus. Then there is colour science. Sony isn't so good. Fuji is better than Canon IMHO and with their film simulations, in camera for jpeg and in editing apps for RAW you will be lightly pleased. All the current systems have strengths and weaknesses. On your use case autofocus / tracking at the highest level are not essential so the XS 20 will be more than good enough. And better than Canon as would the XT4 / XT5 / XT3 and XS10.
Hey chris, will you try to take a look at the new Canon RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3? From afar it looks like a very neat small lense to throw on your camera for walk around photos. Question obviously is, is it sharp? The new RF lenses often use the same housing for the lense and tend to do post correction magic wizardry but that leads often to blurry corners.
I wonder what the use case of that lens will be. First look: narrow focal range and slow. Combined with high MP camera's, a fast prime will do everything as you can easily crop towards the 50mm fov.
@@ekevanderzee9538 mainly as an alternative when you want a compact lense on your R5/R6 with some flexibility. Ya know, instead of buying a second apsc body when you just do small walk arounds and dont want that chunky 24-105 f4 on it. However, it depends on the lenses quality. Looks like its the same "tube" as with the 35 f1.8 but extends... seen this a lot from canon (e.g. the 16mm uses the same housing as the 50mm 1.8 ) ... i am very curious on the review
Really dont see the point of that slightly silly lens with 24-105 STM being available- with excellent zoomrange, good image quality ,compactness and reasonable price
@@christopherfrost Hi Christopher, could you please consider doing a lens review of the Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens and a video comparing the Nikon and Canon mirrorless 400 2.8 lenses to the Sony 400 2.8 mirrorless lens? Cheers, Scott
I hereby provide a different perspective to third party rf thingy. Try to find something from Nikon Fuji Sony and their Chinese third party friends offer the size weight aperture af and image quality of R8 + 16mm + 35IS + 50. I can fit the combo into a non camera sling bag.
Even you manage to find something remotely similar, very unlikely as fast or as reliable af, you will definitely not find the counterpart camera body offer 4k60 ff
I used to a loyal user of Canon but the prices of Canon lenses in Hong Kong are the world most expensive. I am considering either Nikon or Sony mirrorless for my next camera.
I see the R8 centred on the sensor and processor. For my taste, I prefer to have other features that impact daily usability such as double card slots (and fast accessible ones), stabilisation, battery life, larger viewfinder, joystick, weather sealing… not saying it’s not a good camera but not my cup of tea either.
Great video as always! I own a Canon M50, and I wanted to upgrade to a R8, will I regret it? I think M line is dying, the series M lenses only works for Canon M cameras, but new RF lenses works on the newer Eos R crop sensor cameras. That's why I think is better to invest in the R8 and RF lenses, what do you think?
Canon R6 is going for $1,299 on Canon Refurbished USA now, so for a like-new body with a full Canon 1 year warranty, the R8 will be a hard sell unless you've had a bad experience with refurbished (I haven't yet, and I've purchased many items from Canon Refurbished).
I was inclined to buy this camera but learned that in certain situations there can be a degradation of bokeh, caused by the lack of a mechanical shutter. I don't know how serious this problem is.
Ibis is overrated in most cases, for most people , most of the canon lenses are already image stabilized so the extra you get is only a stop or two tops from the built in ibis….
I wanted to buy this R8 but Im really curious with the effect of its first curtain / electronic shutter in strobe photography. No one demonstrate this in youtube. Does it matter if I use F1.4/1.8 + 1/8000 shutterspeed using strobe?
While in silent/electronic shutter mode, flash photography is not available. Long story short, it won't trigger any flash mounted on the hotshoe or any other way. That is on the R6 ii, so this one is the same
Id have grabbed a s aback up for my R5, however anything not using a lp-e6nh is no going to work as I don't want 2 battery system(s) and those batteries are tiny. IMHO
@@responsibleliving6071 I've always used stabilized lenses. RF 35 F 1.8, RF 85 F2 and RF 100-400. Very sharp and absolutely no problems at all. Battery life is not the best. That's a fact. Enough for a few hours in the forest or a car shoot though. I've bought 2 extra batteries (non-canon) for a few bucks. Then you're good to go for everything
There is no need. to test FF vs APS-c. for the differences between FF vs APS-c is just physics .. all things being equal as the same Sensor tech and same MP the FF body with the same lens will resolve more detail as the APS-c body has to enlarge the image on the sensor more when you view the image...the difference of detail resolved between the 2 formats gets less and less, better the lens is.. the APS-c will need the lens set 1 stop faster F stop to have the same depth of field as the FF ..The APS-c body will crop the field of view by x1.6 so a 50mm lens will have the FOV of an 80mm lens ..the FF body at the same exposer will have 1 stop better noise...if you had 2 lenses as sharp as each other on their respective formats and had a 80mm F1.8 lens on the FF and 50mm F1.2 lens on the APS-c and the FF is set at F1.8 250th sec 200iso and the APS-c set at F1.2 250th sec 100iso the 2 images will have the same FOV the same DOF the same noise and the same brightness and same IQ..they would be about identical ..but for the APS-c to achieve this the APS-c lens will be at least as big and probably more expensive as the FF lens..there is no free lunch
It only really matters if you have a fast moving subject in the frame, if it's super fast moving you want to use the mechanical shutter all else electronic works just as good.
Funny how often you say "lower budget Camera". The Eos R costs less and has been a Beast few Years ago. 😄 It is a Mid-Range Camera. Just less than the R6m2 but low budget is the 500$ cheeper RP and R.
@@michaelbell75 Eos R8 in UK starts from £1699. Lumix s5II starts from £1900. If now I would be buying FF new camera under £2000 Lumix S5II seems like way better choice than R8.
I was waiting for you review and the Cam is all a noob to pro guy like me can ask yeah it have a lot of artificial cut from canon because como of even the r10 have joystick hehehe but the same day I was ready to click in buy Amazon my PC(Main hobby) die :(..... Soo not photography dream this year for me. 😢
"Canon hammer". Tested this camera. FF=so what, if there is shit battery and memory slot inside battery slot, and UI could hand been better with button placement. Compared to my Canon 90D there is lot of usability downgrades.
I had the a7c and swapped. The a7c is an older camera… in certain ways it has better tech for photos with IBIS built in, and the larger battery. Video specs the R8 wins out. What persuaded me to change is the much much better ergonomics and user interface of the Canon. The a7c is just uncomfortable to hold and use, and the menus look tired. Canon has better touch operation on the screen too.
