Jman13
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 p.3 #9 · R8 II arriving Sept 15. | |
Yeah, I usually really like PetaPixel's reviews, but I really think they missed the mark on this one, and it feels like they don't want to step on anyone's toes. To not even mention the R6 II as one of the options reeks of "we can't point this out because it'll reveal how ridiculous the pricing here is."
I was very pleased to see both Gordon Laing and Jared Polin call out that there are other cameras now at this price point that do not sacrifice the things this camera sacrifices.
It's a shame too, because it really is a very good camera, and it has a lot going for it, but where they've priced it, it's just so hard to recommend. Sure, you could view it as a slightly more compact R6 II, but it's only marginally smaller. It's a very good, and even very complete camera, adding two major things the original R8 lacked in a focus joystick and IBIS. The R8 was an amazing camera when it came out, and was a wonderful value, but 2026 is not 2023.
When the R8 came out, Canon's cheapest full frame body was the RP, at like $1,200, but that camera had a much older sensor and very few high end features. Of those with those high end features, you had the R6 II at $2,500. The R8 packed the imaging and autofocus pipeline of that camera into a compact body for $1,000 less.
However, now, that same R6 II is now $2,000....and the R8 II gets closer to it, but still doesn't better it in any real way, and is now only $100 less. And that doesn't even mention the competition which now has very capable bodies that are far cheaper than they have any right to be (the Z5 II is a legitimate direct competitor to the R6 II, and therefore has the same no-compromise battery, EVF, mechanical shutter, performance and controls, and it is $50 cheaper at MSRP, though that camera is almost always going for $1600 or less).
While existing Canon users won't care about the competition, the fact the competition has the A7 IV also at $2,000 and the Z5 II at $1600 resets the bar a bit for what a ~$2,000 camera should look like, and it isn't something that has a tiny battery, one card slot, no full mechanical shutter and a 2M dot EVF. And even in Canon's own world, it's hard to justify. Now, I agree with some people that it is likely Canon discontinues the R6 II fairly soon so that it doesn't completely sink this camera, and perhaps they intended the R8 II to fill the R6 II's position in the lineup...but if so, they needed to find a way to put the LP-E6 series battery in there, and put a 3.6M dot EVF in there, etc.
Or, if they wanted it to be the 'small' slightly underspecced body, they should have priced it at $1,600. Yes, the Z5 II still would be a bit better value for many shooters, but it at least would make sense at that price in the market.
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