My 5D gone mirrorless...options & time for some man maths?
Discussion
I bought a Canon 5D to see if I liked FF, and been enjoying it over the last year or so. Unfortunately my, ahem, cutting edge 5D decided to spit out it's mirror (even my camera is a critic!) and thinking about going FF mirrorless (I don't mean not gluing the mirror back in- I'll have a go at that soon). I've also got a 40D and 450D (that I bought for eldest to use) so worth a tenner*, as learnt my lesson on glass v bodies I run EF 24-70 f2.8L as walkabout lens, and EF 70-200 2.8L IS USM (mki) +x2 extender (Mk1ii) for those sportier event moments (nifty 50, Samyang 14mm, and a couple other EFS for kids to uses). I quite like the idea of the lighter body and FF hence thinking of options.
Toying with something a bit more recent and I've had a google Nikon doesn't float my boat and the Canon R doesn't seem to be worth the money (and the interface sounds meh); Sony seems to be good secondhand option for bodies but the equivalent lenses seem to only just come out and are still outside what I can justify spending for my level of talent (or lack there of), with this in mind my option for mirrorless adoption are:
Sony A7, A7II or A7R + adapter ring and keep EF lenses +~£700 to £900 cost to change
or
Canon RP + adapter ~£1k keep EF lenses (and maybe pick up the update) once they drop to a more budget friendly
or
just stick to the Canon mirror but update to:
5Dii ~£500
or
5Diii ~£1k
What would you do (or have done) and why?
Toying with something a bit more recent and I've had a google Nikon doesn't float my boat and the Canon R doesn't seem to be worth the money (and the interface sounds meh); Sony seems to be good secondhand option for bodies but the equivalent lenses seem to only just come out and are still outside what I can justify spending for my level of talent (or lack there of), with this in mind my option for mirrorless adoption are:
Sony A7, A7II or A7R + adapter ring and keep EF lenses +~£700 to £900 cost to change
or
Canon RP + adapter ~£1k keep EF lenses (and maybe pick up the update) once they drop to a more budget friendly
or
just stick to the Canon mirror but update to:
5Dii ~£500
or
5Diii ~£1k
What would you do (or have done) and why?
- As you can tell I'm not an early adopter, and do like Canon (I say warmth, some might say slightly soft default), I intend to stick to secondhand now after doing that initial newbie new buy (and then the sinking realisation that bodies depreciate at greater rate than a full RRP Mclaren)
I sold my Canon 5D MkIV and 7D MkII after I tried the EOS R as I preferred it to both. I really like the ergonomics, the EVF, everything about it. I also really like the new RF lenses so those have replaced all but a few of my EF lenses.
Looking at your options, I would suggest that the RP will work best with your existing EF lenses...it will be native, no compromises.
The Sony cameras are great, but will the adaptors work as well with your Canon lenses? The RP will be flawless.
But...you will lose FPS going with the RP (or R) and while on the Canon photography forums you can see amazing wildlife (incl. birds in flight) shots, there is some skill involved to get them. Canon are going to release a Pro Mirrorless body eventually to go with all the wonderful RF lenses coming out and it'll no doubt be faster, but very expensive too. All of which means, DSLR's will be more economical at this stage if you need speed.
Looking at your options, I would suggest that the RP will work best with your existing EF lenses...it will be native, no compromises.
The Sony cameras are great, but will the adaptors work as well with your Canon lenses? The RP will be flawless.
But...you will lose FPS going with the RP (or R) and while on the Canon photography forums you can see amazing wildlife (incl. birds in flight) shots, there is some skill involved to get them. Canon are going to release a Pro Mirrorless body eventually to go with all the wonderful RF lenses coming out and it'll no doubt be faster, but very expensive too. All of which means, DSLR's will be more economical at this stage if you need speed.
Wonderman said:
I bought a Canon 5D to see if I liked FF, and been enjoying it over the last year or so. Unfortunately my, ahem, cutting edge 5D decided to spit out it's mirror (even my camera is a critic!) and thinking about going FF mirrorless (I don't mean not gluing the mirror back in- I'll have a go at that soon). I've also got a 40D and 450D (that I bought for eldest to use) so worth a tenner*, as learnt my lesson on glass v bodies I run EF 24-70 f2.8L as walkabout lens, and EF 70-200 2.8L IS USM (mki) +x2 extender (Mk1ii) for those sportier event moments (nifty 50, Samyang 14mm, and a couple other EFS for kids to uses). I quite like the idea of the lighter body and FF hence thinking of options.
Sony A7, A7II or A7R + adapter ring and keep EF lenses +~£700 to £900 cost to change
or
Canon RP + adapter ~£1k keep EF lenses (and maybe pick up the update) once they drop to a more budget friendly
or
just stick to the Canon mirror but update to:
5Dii ~£500
or
5Diii ~£1k
What would you do (or have done) and why?
1st - the original 5d is known to spit its mirror out for a long time they used to fix them (recall) not sure if they still do.Sony A7, A7II or A7R + adapter ring and keep EF lenses +~£700 to £900 cost to change
or
Canon RP + adapter ~£1k keep EF lenses (and maybe pick up the update) once they drop to a more budget friendly
or
just stick to the Canon mirror but update to:
5Dii ~£500
or
5Diii ~£1k
What would you do (or have done) and why?
As for the mirrorless question I went sony with an A7r and then an a7rmk2 with metabones and my canon lenses, works fine for landscapes and general stuff , but the sny menu and ergonomics isnt a patch on canon even after using them for years I prefer my 5d4.
Not tried the RP but the R is a very nice camera I'd happily swap the 5d4 for it.
RobDickinson said:
1st - the original 5d is known to spit its mirror out for a long time they used to fix them (recall) not sure if they still do.
As for the mirrorless question I went sony with an A7r and then an a7rmk2 with metabones and my canon lenses, works fine for landscapes and general stuff , but the sny menu and ergonomics isnt a patch on canon even after using them for years I prefer my 5d4.
Not tried the RP but the R is a very nice camera I'd happily swap the 5d4 for it.
Thanks, I had a look before I posted and appears they stopped the repair in 2016. There are a few threads on how to fix it so will give it ago as nothing to lose.As for the mirrorless question I went sony with an A7r and then an a7rmk2 with metabones and my canon lenses, works fine for landscapes and general stuff , but the sny menu and ergonomics isnt a patch on canon even after using them for years I prefer my 5d4.
Not tried the RP but the R is a very nice camera I'd happily swap the 5d4 for it.
I'm not in your league so the R is overkill/ over price for my comfort zone at s/hand around GBP 1.7k without EF adaptor hence not an option the RP is more classic Canon ergonomics too.
Off to get the superglue before I break out the c/card!
What do you want to get out of switching to mirrorless?
Last year I traded my 5D and bag of L lenses for a Fuji X-T2, because I wanted a smaller and lighter set up. I didn't really feel like any of the FF mirrorless options were enough of a reduction in size/weight when using comparable lenses. So I switched to Fuji and am still pleased with the decision. A few months ago I ended up using a 5D and 18mm f1.8 lens (as I had forgotten my camera) and it felt huge and clunky compared to the Fuji. The 5D files do have a special quality though. However for what I shoot (sports/travel/family) the significantly better autofocus on the Fuji gets me more keepers.
If you want to keep things cheap, get another Canon, as people seem to be trading them in left, right and centre for mirrorless systems.
Last year I traded my 5D and bag of L lenses for a Fuji X-T2, because I wanted a smaller and lighter set up. I didn't really feel like any of the FF mirrorless options were enough of a reduction in size/weight when using comparable lenses. So I switched to Fuji and am still pleased with the decision. A few months ago I ended up using a 5D and 18mm f1.8 lens (as I had forgotten my camera) and it felt huge and clunky compared to the Fuji. The 5D files do have a special quality though. However for what I shoot (sports/travel/family) the significantly better autofocus on the Fuji gets me more keepers.
If you want to keep things cheap, get another Canon, as people seem to be trading them in left, right and centre for mirrorless systems.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff