p.1 #1 · Which Canon mirrorless body pairs best with my EF lenses?
I’m considering moving from my Canon 6D to a Canon mirrorless body and would love some advice from people who have actually used EF lenses on the R system.
My current EF lenses are:
EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (Version I)
EF 28-80mm f/2.8-4L USM
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM
EF 35mm f/2 IS USM
EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM (non-IS)
I’m currently considering the R6 Mark II, R6 Mark III, R5 Mark II, and possibly the R3.
My biggest question is how well my older EF lenses would hold up on the higher-resolution R6 Mark III and R5 Mark II sensors.
In particular, would the EF 17-40L and first-generation EF 24-105L noticeably struggle with the 32.5MP R6 Mark III or 45MP R5 Mark II? I’m primarily a still photographer and generally don’t crop heavily.
I could also buy the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM as part of a camera + lens kit and gradually transition to RF glass.
For those who have used these EF lenses on the R6 III/R5 II (or other high-resolution R bodies), how do they perform in actual use?
Also, if you were in my position, which body would you choose given this particular EF lens lineup?
p.1 #2 · Which Canon mirrorless body pairs best with my EF lenses?
Welcome to FM!
You'll gain significant AF improvement with the R bodies, particularly if you photograph action or people, where the subject/face/eye detection allows shooting wide open with the subject anywhere in the frame and produces sharp images.
Whether you'll notice image quality issues with some of your EF lenses really depends on the final uses of the images. If you resize the images (oversample them) down to 6D resolution, you'll basically have the same results, though oversampled images tend to be a bit sharper. If you're going to use the full resolution of the R6III or R5II, yes, it will better reveal existing lens weaknesses, compared to the 6D.
I'd consider replacing the 17-40 with the RF 16-28/2.8 if you primarily use the wider end of the range, or perhaps the 14-35/4 if you need the full range. In the 'normal' range, you could consider the RF 28-70/2.8. Much, much smaller and lighter than the vintage 28-80L. Both the 16-28 and 28-70, despite being non-L lenses, are not 'cheap' kit style lenses of the EF era. They're very capable.
Body choice really depends on your requirements, which you haven't outlined. The best 'all rounder' is the R5II: high resolution if needed, stacked sensor with comparable performance to the R3, which is eminently usable for action/sports, current generation AF features, some of which the R3 lacks, current pre-capture capability, if needed. After this, it's a toss up depending on what you need. R6III would be the next most capable 'all rounder' but gives up e-shutter speed because it's not a stacked sensor. If primarily shooting sports, there's an argument for the R3, but I'm not 100% convinced it's a better choice than the R5II.
Most of your lenses are pre-2010-2012, which is the transition point between newer EF lenses that have virtually no performance losses on RF mount, compared to older generation lenses. Canon publishes a chart of lens compatibility with all of the camera manuals and you will see that the older EF lenses generally result in lower fps rates in mechanical and EFCS modes, though apparently they also somewhat impact high e-shutter frame rates. But if you don't need 12fps mechanical/EFCS, then this performance tradeoff might not be a significant factor for you.
I transitioned from EF with the R6II and currently use the R5II. I photograph mostly social events and sports but also have interest in general travel photography, urban and natural landscapes. If the R6III would have had a stacked sensor, I probably would have gotten it instead. But I don't regret the R5II other than it not having a lower resolution full RAW option for the times when I don't need or want 45MP.
It would be helpful if you could provide more information about what you typically photograph.
p.1 #3 · Which Canon mirrorless body pairs best with my EF lenses?
The only EF lenses I tried on my R5 were the 100-400L V2, the 24-105F4L v1, and the 16-35F4L.
All of them worked just fine on the R5, but I eventually sold all but the EF 16-35 F4L due to it's superb image quality, and bought an RF 100-500L, and a RF 24-105F4L.
Though I had a relatively good EF24-105L copy, I find the RF version to be far superior in IQ.
If you decide to stay with any EF lenses you can get a used, guaranteed EF 16-35 F4L at MPB, and it will leave the EF 17-40 "in the dust" https://www.mpb.com/en-us/product/canon-ef-16-35mm-f-4-l-is-usm
A word of caution. Mixing a number of EF and RF lenses could lead to a lot of adapter fumbling. With all EF you can leave an Adapter permanently on the camera, but with a mix, unless you buy an adopter for each EF lens it could become a lens switching hassle.
p.1 #4 · Which Canon mirrorless body pairs best with my EF lenses?
pulseimagez wrote:
I’m considering moving from my Canon 6D to a Canon mirrorless body and would love some advice from people who have actually used EF lenses on the R system.
My current EF lenses are:
EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (Version I)
EF 28-80mm f/2.8-4L USM
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM
EF 35mm f/2 IS USM
EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM (non-IS)
I’m currently considering the R6 Mark II, R6 Mark III, R5 Mark II, and possibly the R3.
My biggest question is how well my older EF lenses would hold up on the higher-resolution R6 Mark III and R5 Mark II sensors.
In particular, would the EF 17-40L and first-generation EF 24-105L noticeably struggle with the 32.5MP R6 Mark III or 45MP R5 Mark II? I’m primarily a still photographer and generally don’t crop heavily.
I could also buy the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM as part of a camera + lens kit and gradually transition to RF glass.
For those who have used these EF lenses on the R6 III/R5 II (or other high-resolution R bodies), how do they perform in actual use?
Also, if you were in my position, which body would you choose given this particular EF lens lineup?...Show more →
The EF 17-40 and the EF 24-105/4 both kinda suck, so I would not be using them.
My 85/1.8 was good on the 5DsR so should be fine on any lens but stopped down somewhat.
Overall those lenses are not so much $$$, so you should be buying a body for what you need in the future not those lenses.
On a budget the R6 II is not a bad camera at all.
Both the 16-28 and 28-70, despite being non-L lenses, are not 'cheap' kit style lenses of the EF era. They're very capable.