Why I’m looking for a new camera? (Patreon)

This is an interesting one for me, anyone who follows my stuff will have seen me post on and off recently about moving away from my trusty 5D3.  But why, I hear you all say, your work is beautiful and couldn’t ever be bettered! Ah well that’s really kind, genuinely I can’t really put my finger on it but my current setup just feels tired.  That’s really the best I can say.

I try to play devil’s advocate and ask myself what am I unhappy about with the Canon 5d3? After all it stood me in solid stead for years and while now in its twilight years as far as tech goes it’s still the most used DSLR out there in terms of numbers of units sold.

I think it’s just getting like me, a bit cranky in certain situations and sometimes finds it hard to focus.  I’ve been looking at some of my recent images that I love the pose and composition but it’s just not as sharp as I’d like.  I’m always going to be a bit limited due to my obsession with only shooting in natural light, so I need a camera and lens combo that’s going to be pin sharp whatever the occasion. Don’t get me wrong, the 5d3 is sharp as a tack most of the time but I feel I could do with a little extra focussing assist now.  Also, some angles now are trickier to get so live view on an articulated screen sounds like a bonus as does Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity for previewing images etc.

So, I’ve been looking at the Canon R series, primarily the R6.  Why oh why oh why I hear you cry.  Well, the only other alternative would be a shift to Sony, but I’ve tried to use one on several occasions and the menu system may as well be in ancient Sumerian, I just can’t get on with it.  To me it’s the most unintuitive thing I’ve ever handled.  Plus I don’t want to shell out for an entirely new lens system – so Canon R series with its ability for me to still use my EF lenses and a familiar body and menu system is the winner.

Ah but which R!  Well the RP just seemed not man enough for me, the R I didn’t like the funky little control slider method, the R5 is too expensive which leaves me the tasty just right porridge of the R6.  Megapixels on this were bugging me then I reminded myself that 99% of my work is viewed on a phone screen.  I rarely print and If I do it’s not billboard size so 20ish MP for what I do is perfectly fine. The eye focus seems too good to be true, the RF lens system produces some amazing quality from what I can see too.

I’m actually trialling an R6 plus the 851.2L RF lens this week in canons test drive program, which gives you 48 free use on pretty much any camera, lens or cinema camera until the end of Jan, you need to leave a deposit but this was too good an opportunity to pass up!

I’ll be posting some comparison stuff up to see how much of a difference it makes!

Wish me and my bank manager luck!