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Moving to Canon RF; R5, R5 II, or R6 III in 2026?

  
 
Recklesscoding
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p.1 #1 · Moving to Canon RF; R5, R5 II, or R6 III in 2026?


Two months ago, one of my Nikon Z lenses was stolen. The insurance payout prompted me to rethink my system, so I sold my Z8 and kept my Zf. I used Nikon DSLRs for years, but I’m unhappy with their current mirrorless lineup. I don't shoot wildlife (anymore) or video—Nikon's main focus nowadays—and instead focus on portraits, kids' sports, landscapes/astro, street, and travel.

The Z8 was great for events, but its human Eye-AF often missed the iris, focusing on eyelashes or eyebrows instead. It was also too tall for my liking when traveling. The Zf is a better size (when a bottom plate is added), but 24MP feels too low for 2026, and the lack of a joystick and proper 2 card slots make it feel more like a backup camera than a main body.

Long story short, I decided to give Canon RF a try. The R5/R6 bodies have the perfect size for me. I have never had a Canon before, but I always respected them for reliability, colours, and striking that balance between sharpness and character —unfortunately, for me Z lenses lean a bit more on sharpness than I would like when it comes to portraits/ family shots. I know all about the closed mount and honestly I don’t care about that.

After a stolen lens made me reconsider my gear, I sold my Nikon Z8 (too bulky, inconsistent Eye-AF focusing on eyelashes) and kept my Zf as a secondary body (lacks joystick, 24MP feels low). Nikon focuses heavily on video and wildlife, whereas I shoot portraits, kids' sports, landscapes/astro, and travel.

I'm switching to Canon RF for the body ergonomics and planning a 3-lens kit:

  1. RF 15-35mm f/2.8L (Landscapes/Astro)
  2. RF 24-105mm f/4L (Everyday/Travel)
  3. RF 70-200mm f/2.8 Z + 2x TC (Portraits/Events)

Future additions: RF 45mm f/1.2 (cheap and love its rendering) and probably the RF 85mm f/1.4 VCM (small-ish and fast 85mm).

Which body should I pick?
R6 III (€3,600 w/ 24-105 & 100-400)

  1. R5 (€2,700 w/ 24-105 f4L): Great resolution/DR, best price, but older AF. It is an even older model than my Z8!
  2. R5 II (€3,550 w/ 24-105 f4L): Best AF, blackout-free EVF.
  3. R6 III (€3,600 w/ 24-105 f4L& 100-400): Shop in Andorra with 3 years Spanish/ European warranty. Resellable extra lens, but lower sensor and EVF resolutions feel like a compromise of me chasing local warranty and value for money.

The R5s are from a reputable grey seller. I have used them before and trust that they will honour their 3 years warranty. I will be buying the other lenses for sure from there.

Any input on the camera —or lenses will be appreciated

Edited on Oct 18, 2026 at 05:20 PM · View previous versions



Oct 18, 2026 at 04:36 PM
rscheffler
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p.1 #2 · Moving to Canon RF; R5, R5 II, or R6 III in 2026?


I'm biased and vote R5II. It's a really great all-rounder camera and the best such option from Canon, IMO.

I also have the R6 and R6II. I have used the R3 briefly and the R1 a fair number of times. I have not yet tried the R6III.

The main reason I vote R5II is for the seemingly small but potentially real benefits the stacked sensor provides. As you mentioned, best AF (and responsiveness) of the options you listed and blackout free, smooth and practically real-time EVF. There are other benefits, such as the general usability of e-shutter without much worry about rolling shutter artifacts appearing, or really much need to work in EFCS and how it can ruin bokeh at very high shutter speeds. The stacked sensor also offers an advantage when shooting e-shutter under artificial lighting. You generally don't need to worry about image banding due to light flicker when using shutter speeds above the frequency of the light sources. You just activate the anti-flicker function on the R5II and it takes care of it (most of the time). It's a camera you can leave in e-shutter nearly all of the time in my experience with it. Given the sensor in the Z8, this is probably old news to you, so depending on how you used the Z8 and what you liked about that camera, the R5II would be the closest Canon equivalent. While the R6III has an impressively fast sensor readout for an FSI design, it's still slow enough to potentially throw some roadblocks when used in e-shutter.

I'm also a big fan of the 70-200Z with the 1.4x TC. I have not yet tried it with the 2x. I have used the 2x with the 100-300 and thought it wasn't as great as that lens was with the 1.4x. That said, it was still significantly better than any previous experiences I had using a 2x with the previous EF system. If you go R5II, you'll have more pixels to crop away and maybe you can get away with just the 1.4x?

IMO, buy once, cry once and just get on with enjoying it.



Oct 18, 2026 at 04:54 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #3 · Moving to Canon RF; R5, R5 II, or R6 III in 2026?


R5 II would be the most appropriate. It makes little since to be stuck with 2020 tech like the R5.
I would also suggest the 1.4x rather than the 2x.

EBH



Oct 18, 2026 at 05:44 PM







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