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Archive 2023 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

racoll
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p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I moved to the R6 back in December 2020, coming from primarily using the 7D2 and 5D3. I was initially hesitant to do so and had planned to buy a 5D4, but after reading about and seeing videos of the capabilities of the AF system, that sealed the deal for purchasing the R6. I thoroughly enjoy using the camera and find that it outperforms my 7D2 in almost every way. I still feel that my 7D2 acquires moving targets (or targets in general) in front of busy backgrounds faster but once the R6 locks on, there's no comparison. The AF system amazes me each time I use it, and my keeper rate has really increased significantly. It is an incredibly well-rounded camera and a pure joy to use! The 7D2 is no slouch by any means and is a very capable camera, but being able to lock onto a subject's eye and maintain focus and track as well as the R6 does is game changing for me. I can't imagine what we'll have in the next several years. It also took less time than I thought it would to get used to the EVF and I have come to prefer it and its usefulness in low-light situations.

DSLRs may be "dead" in terms of continued R&D, promotion, and production, but I think they are thriving among photographers who do not want to make the jump to strictly mirrorless systems, and definitely on the 2nd-hand market where a lot of them have been sold by photographers switching to mirrorless. The prices for DSLRs have dropped drastically in a lot of cases, making a lot of formerly expensive pro-level models like the 5D4 much more affordable and well within reach of a lot more people. The mid-level and beginner bodies can be bought for a song these days, and the bottom line for all of them is that they are still outstanding tools that perform brilliantly. I still enjoy using my DSLRs on occasion (I took my 40D out the other day--still a beautiful and capable camera!) and will for the foreseeable future, but the abilities of the R6 make so many more things possible in more settings, and I am very excited by that. I am very happy with making the R6 my primary system and it is what I now use most of the time by far, but I will use whatever system (SLR, DSLR, Mirrorless, and, yes, smartphone...) that accomplishes what I want and makes me happy in the process.

Andy

Mar 09, 2023 at 06:10 PM

Rivermist
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p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I started the transition early on (2019) as I had some of my most-used EF lenses (mark 1 24-105 and 100-400) needing a refresh. It made more sense to go to Rf than to buy new EF lenses with the writing on the wall for DSLRs. My camera was a 5D mk3, so moving to any RF was not going to degrade the image quality, maybe only missing some advanced AF features. I chose the RP so as to not sink too much money in an early R system camera, I have now moved on to the R6 mk2, very mature gear. As and when RF lenses became available I retired the EF equivalents, a process that was complete a year ago. Apart from the sticker shock of the 100-500, I went for the f:4 L zooms instead of the f:2.8 L ones (more compact and affordable), and for primes the non-L are sufficient for my needs (16, 35, 85) and pleasant to use with great MFD. I sold the 5D 9 months after starting using RF gear, so many advantages in the WYSIWYG viewfinder content and additional helpers to get more pictures well exposed straight out of the camera. One significant comfort factor, as I need glasses to see anything close-up, is that I can do picture review in the viewfinder, so I don't have to take the camera away from my eye, put on glasses, check the shot on the rear screen, remove glasses and look into viewfinder again as I did on the 5D. Seems trivial but it changed the flow very much for the better.

Mar 10, 2023 at 04:34 PM

Imagemaster
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p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

lensfan wrote:
For me worst thing about mirrorless compared to DSLR: you can keep DSLR 'always on' and ready to shoot, while mirrorless need infinity to wake up.

Exaggerate much? If I want to, I can keep my R6 II on all the time. When in sleep mode, it only takes a second or two to be ready to shoot after half-pressing the shutter button. I always carry 3 to 4 spare batteries.

Your DSLR can't shoot in electronic silent-shutter, nor can it show you the same exposure you see in the OV that you sensor sees.

Mar 10, 2023 at 06:36 PM

bisticlz
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p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I do a lot of in-studio shoots with strobes and I’m having a real hard time not having an optical viewfinder. I know it’s just something I have to un-learn and get used to the digital preview but sometimes the difference in white balance between the modeling lights and the actual flash makes it hard to judge.

Mar 10, 2023 at 07:43 PM

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p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I've had my R6 for nearly 2 years now, but kept my 6D because I liked using it so much. Some of the improvements between the two cameras are subtle and it is only after longer use that I am appreciating the R6 more. Since I have been using Fv I find the camera easier to operate. There are small improvements in IQ, and hi ISO is better. I still only have my EF glass and won't buy RF glass until the older stuff dies. My Sigma 70-200 2.8 EX is 21 years old now and still works perfectly on the R6. I also think there are some improvements in the exposure system, I find the need for ex comp less that with the 6D. The 6D is still a great camera and I still use it but there is no doubt that the R6 is a better machine.
Is the improvement worth the $A3,600 I paid for the camera and adapter? Realistically no, but I'm still glad I upgraded, sometimes the heart beats the brain.

Mar 10, 2023 at 08:29 PM

PhilPDX
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p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

One of the few positive things about mirrorless is the autofocus and that you don't have to micro adjust lenses. The rest is marketing hype in my opinion. What particularly sucks is the battery life. I sold my R5 because I only got 150 images out of a fully charged battery no matter what I tried. When I sent the camera in for repair, Canon told me it's "within the specs". Yeah, right... . I will wait for at least another generation or two before I will try mirrorless again. Until then my 5DS will do an outstanding job.

-Phil

Mar 10, 2023 at 09:45 PM

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p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I bought an R3 as a drop-in replacement for my 1D Mk III, used for wildlife (mainly birds). It continues as a second body and I continue to use my 1Ds Mk III DSLR for everything else. In this role, the R3 has been a screaming success. The animal detection and eye detection, taken together, have proven useful in focussing on the bird instead of the foliage. It can track around the image (the 1D Mk III could not, but Nikon’s D850 DSLR can). It has focus points across the whole frame, and it can focus very slow lenses at more than just the centre point. It has 15 years of advances in sensors, particularly high ISO performance.

It will be my primary, probably only, camera for adventure travel. Up to now, I did not have a single body which combined high frame rate, full frame, and ≥21Mpx resolution in one body. I can now shoot video with my EF lenses for the first time. It is much lighter than the 1Ds Mk III. I was never going to buy another Canon DSLR given reports of them spending their early years splattering oil all over their sensors: not for the adventure travel trips of a lifetime.

However, I have occasionally shot some “targets of opportunity” with the R3 that are not birds, so far landscapes and some flowers. The gamut and dynamic range limitations of the viewfinder are obvious, and do interfere with the way I like to visualise – in the viewfinder – when doing that type of photography. With my old RX1 compact mirrorless, that was never a problem because I held it out in front of me and was watching the actual scene and just using the rear LCD for framing. I can see these inferior EVFs (yes, the R3 EVF is probably one of the least inferior ones you can buy) triggering a move back to a more static, tripod-based approach for many people who visualise as I do. For the moment it’s a very good reason for me to continue with the 1Ds Mk III, since my own style is very handheld. I will have to adapt to the EVF when travelling, and eventually for everything when the 1Ds Mk III becomes nonviable to due body or lens failure. And of course there’s the siren call of the gorgeous high ISO performance of the R3.

This means that the core lenses I use for landscape, botanical and urban subjects will now remain EF lenses for the foreseeable future. This was the old plan B anyway, when wildlife and travel would have been a standalone Sony system separate from my main Canon one.

Battery performance is not as good as on the 1Ds Mk III, but I can live with it. I have tested the viewfinder lag, and, for me, the 60Hz viewfinder refresh is fast enough so that’s what I’ve been using. (Some people can detect that 16ms lag and will have to turn on the 120Hz “smooth” refresh, which consumes more power.) The new charger no longer runs from a car 12V socket as the old one did.

Edited on Mar 10, 2023 at 11:50 PM · View previous versions

Mar 10, 2023 at 10:53 PM

Zenon Char
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p.3 #8 · p.3 #8 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

Gochugogi wrote:
I still still enjoy shooting with the R, although I also own the R7 and R6 MK II. It's a much maligned camera on these boards but I love the image quality and the file size is perfect for landscape. Even like the touch bar and prefer it over a joy stick. Wish the R6 MK II had the same sized CMOS as the R...

I think R7 AF is wicked. There was a bird on a pond which I think had to be 200 yards from me and it snapped in on its head. There are a few things I don't like about it but for the price.

I did get used to the R's bar and made use of it. Me too. 30mp is the sweat spot for me but I have been impressed by the R62.

Canon EOS R6m2 RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM lens 105mm f/7.1 1/1000s 400 ISO +0.7 EV

Mar 10, 2023 at 11:32 PM

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p.3 #9 · p.3 #9 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

Out of its infancy?

Interesting question. I have been using Canon pro bodies for many years, although I have not used any of the 1dx bodies. I have all the bodes 1d through 1dmk4, 20d, 6d2, and the 5dsr, as well as a few point-and-shoots. I also have lots of EF L glass. 18 months ago, I purchased an R3 then last year; I purchased an R6 for my students. I can tell you without hesitation the R3 is the finest camera I have ever used. It is fast, easy to use, adapts all of my EF glass, and creates brilliant images. The R6 is also amazing, and I use it often. There is no going back. Now I only use my 1dmk4 for daytime field sports. It still is amazing for that application. Canon mirrorless has definitely arrived.

Mar 11, 2023 at 11:23 PM

MichaelFrederickPhoto
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p.3 #10 · p.3 #10 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I actually really miss the DSLR feel, I shot a Nikon D810 before my R6. I converted from landscape to portrait/headshots so I needed the AF of mirrorless to make my life easier.

The R6 is 100% fine for that but I missed the girthy/mechanical feel of the D810. I miss the colors/resolution. At the time of the buy, I couldn’t afford the R5 with the lenses I needed.

My local BB has a D850 on the floor and I love to shoot with it. I find the AF is “easier” in that I miss the put the marker on the subject and boom, done, none of this electronic hunt.

I recently added a Fuji X-H1 as a fun/personal camera and the AF is more D810 than R6, I LOVE it.

Mar 12, 2023 at 11:34 AM

TeamSpeed
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p.3 #11 · p.3 #11 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

GatorRoll wrote:
It is safe to say that Canon mirrorless is out of its infancy and has developed enough that it has come into its own as a system.

Canon has had mirrorless ILC bodies for a decade along with mirrorless shooting with focus etc for even longer, through various rendition of live view.

Canon was out of the mirrorless infancy quite some time ago methinks. Now if you mean full mirrorless FF, then yes the R and Rp marked the end of infancy in that one space.

Mar 12, 2023 at 12:21 PM

Gochugogi
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p.3 #12 · p.3 #12 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

themb3life wrote:
I actually really miss the DSLR feel, I shot a Nikon D810 before my R6. I converted from landscape to portrait/headshots so I needed the AF of mirrorless to make my life easier.

The R6 is 100% fine for that but I missed the girthy/mechanical feel of the D810. I miss the colors/resolution. At the time of the buy, I couldn’t afford the R5 with the lenses I needed.

My local BB has a D850 on the floor and I love to shoot with it. I find the AF is “easier” in that I miss the put the marker on the subject...Show more →

You can always disable tracking and servo on your R6 and use single-point AF in one-shot mode like a DSLR.

Mar 12, 2023 at 12:34 PM

Rivermist
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p.3 #13 · p.3 #13 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

PhilPDX wrote:
One of the few positive things about mirrorless is the autofocus and that you don't have to micro adjust lenses. The rest is marketing hype in my opinion. What particularly sucks is the battery life. I sold my R5 because I only got 150 images out of a fully charged battery no matter what I tried. When I sent the camera in for repair, Canon told me it's "within the specs". Yeah, right... . I will wait for at least another generation or two before I will try mirrorless again. Until then my 5DS will do an outstanding job.

-Phil

(from another Phil) - surprising that the numbers are so bad, any details on which features were on? It is true that mirrorless uses more power then DSLR, but my 3-year experience with the RP (LP-E17 small battery) tells me that I have still managed some hundreds of pictures before changing to the spare battery, and seldom used more than one spare despite having an extra fail-safe third battery. This is using mostly RF L IS zoom lenses, Fv mode, the viewfinder (more power hungry than the rear screen from what I have read). Relative to DSLR I use much less the picture review feature (since you see the picture before shooting), only checking if I'm worried about blurs, people and such, but not needing to see every shot. Even the RP comes back to life very quickly, so one can set it to sleep after 1 minute, just have the reflex of half-pressing the shutter button as I bring the camera up to the eye. I do not have enough experience to speak for battery life for my newer 6Dmk2 yet, could IBIS alone be the battery drain factor compared to the RP or other non-IBIS cameras?

Mar 12, 2023 at 12:35 PM

Gochugogi
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p.3 #14 · p.3 #14 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I average about 400 RAW images per change on my R6 MK II. I could get about triple that amount from my 6D MK II. It's not an issue for me, albeit I have to carry a spare battery whereas before I rarely needed to. I suspect heavier use of AI servo and tracking eat into battery life more than my mostly one-shot DSLR days.

Mar 12, 2023 at 12:44 PM

Mike_5D
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p.3 #15 · p.3 #15 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

Mirrorless battery life is all about screen-on time. Shot count is almost irrelevant. If you walk around all day with the camera awake and ready to shoot, only occasionally shooting a single frame, you will get very few frames per battery. If you blast away at a sporting event, you'll get thousands of frames per battery.

The screen and sleep timeout periods you choose, and especially ECO mode, can have a big impact on shot count in my first scenario but not much in the second. Engaging airplane mode can help extend battery life too.

Mar 12, 2023 at 12:55 PM

TeamSpeed
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p.3 #16 · p.3 #16 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

I can get 400-500 shots in my R6 with no issues, and during a nine hour event, went through 3 batteries. If you only get 150 per battery, there are either features that weren’t shut off like continuous AF, wifi, gps, etc, something wrong with the batteries, or issue with the body.

I get more than 150 on my M50 battery even, and that is a tiny battery with about 1/2 the capacity of the lpe6.

Mar 12, 2023 at 12:58 PM

Rivermist
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p.3 #17 · p.3 #17 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

TeamSpeed wrote:
I can get 400-500 shots in my R6 with no issues, and during a nine hour event, went through 3 batteries. If you only get 150 per battery, there are either features that weren’t shut off like continuous AF, wifi, gps, etc, something wrong with the batteries, or issue with the body.

I get more than 150 on my M50 battery even, and that is a tiny battery with about 1/2 the capacity of the lpe6.

Good points, I forgot about the W-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc.. since I never, ever use them. As we all have experienced from our iPads, cell phones or watches, those are big battery drains

Mar 12, 2023 at 02:20 PM

EB-1
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p.3 #18 · p.3 #18 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

Mike_5D wrote:
Mirrorless battery life is all about screen-on time. Shot count is almost irrelevant. If you walk around all day with the camera awake and ready to shoot, only occasionally shooting a single frame, you will get very few frames per battery. If you blast away at a sporting event, you'll get thousands of frames per battery.

The screen and sleep timeout periods you choose, and especially ECO mode, can have a big impact on shot count in my first scenario but not much in the second. Engaging airplane mode can help extend battery life too.

I get 2000-2500 easily on the R5, but I travel with 6 batteries minimum and sometimes 7-8.

EBH

Mar 12, 2023 at 02:42 PM

Jeff Nolten
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p.3 #19 · p.3 #19 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

EB-1 wrote:
...

EBH: You get 2000+ on a single battery with the R5? Any suggestions how we can emulate that?

Mar 12, 2023 at 02:51 PM

Mike_5D
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p.3 #20 · p.3 #20 · Experience from DSLR to Mirrorless

EB-1 wrote:
I get 2000-2500 easily on the R5, but I travel with 6 batteries minimum and sometimes 7-8.

EBH

That's a lot of batteries. Are you away from power for extended periods?

Mar 12, 2023 at 03:18 PM

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