I added a Canon EOS R8 for some work situations because it’s the only affordable mirrorless camera with a usable silent shutter.  Yeah, that’s pretty much it.  After all these years I still don’t have a Nikon FF mirrorless because the older Nikon DSLRs still produce top notch images, and their files work perfectly in the older raw editing software that I use.  The Canon made sense, since it’s basically an RP mark II and I have a ton of batteries and adapters for it.  After all, the gear side of photography has always been one of those compromise triangles, and you have to use the tools that work for you and your workflow, budget, etc.  Here are some real world samples from the last month or so.

I’ve been shooting this in 100% electronic shutter low burst mode.  There are tiny tiny hints of banding moving across the frame depending on the light in the room, but it’s pretty much usable now.  The readout speed is also fast enough to not wobble/skew, and it can stop most human motion.  I’ve read that it’s a bit of a dynamic range hit, but this sensor (same as in the R6 II) still isn’t really going to give you the punchy contrast and malleability of a Nikon/Sony sensor raw image.  These Canon’s have always been designed to give you nice bright people photos with a color choice that is usually agreeable to many.  The tone curve and processing that’s baked into the raw files is something one just has to accept when shooting this brand of camera.  I’ve noticed that these .CR3 files take much longer to process on this now ancient desktop editing PC.

The pictures look a bit different from the RP, brighter with more mid tones.  It is sharper though, since Canon dialed back the megapixels from the RP and this is sitting on the sweet spot of 24, which has been more than enough for like 12+ years now and will continue to be so.  On default settings I’ve noticed the sensor is a bit more prone to fluorescent and LED light casts, having a bit more of a greenish tint to the light.  It’s crazy how in the DSLR days, Canon files were really so red and magenta tinted, but this generation of mirrorless sensors is moving in the direction of Sony/Nikon/iPhone files in terms of having a hint of green in skin tones.

The silent shutter came in real handy for this event with the US ambassador to the UN when she visited Clarkston.

Auto WB in the ambience priority preserving mode is really warm

This bright and airy food photo is really a hallmark of Canon’s metering, tone curve and overall rendering of their files.  Nikons and Sonys will give you a much darker file with more range to edit, push and pull–it depends on what you want from your files in the editing suite, and how much time you have to turn around images.

Even though I’ve built up so much muscle memory from manually focusing the Nikon 50mm ai-s, it’s still nice to have focus magnification in the EVF on the mirrorless cameras.  I mapped the punch in visual assist to the top directional button on the R8.  I’ve been using this setup on Canons since it was on my 5D mark II, and it’s still relevant on the new mirrorless tech.  It takes a bit of the digital edge off with its natural vignette and lens flare. These wedding shots are out of camera.

The Canon R8 (basically RP mark II with the R6 II “engine”) is a pretty nice camera.  Stationary 4K video is very sharp and nice and the frame grabs can work as still pictures in a pinch as well.  I don’t have the grip for this one (it’s on the RP though) so for big adapted lenses like the 85mm it’s a bit of a pain to hold, but I think I’ll keep it in its original form.  I’m sure it’s super light with the native 50mm 1.8.  On a side note the camera is small in real life but as a product itself, it photographs quite well.  The Canon design language recalls the sloped top prism hump of the 1Dx sports cameras.

This R8 doesn’t give me raw files that are a joy to edit or push or pull, no, it’s just an easy mode camera to deliver well exposed people photos right out of the box.  For some projects and outings, that’s a good thing.

One final thing, thank you ( /s ) Canon for finally moving the on off switch to the right side of the grip.  It’s not on the shutter button like EVERY other competing camera out there for the past 20 years, but I guess it’s close enough.  It replaces the “Lock” switch that was on the RP though so it does make it annoying switching from those cameras in my setup, but I guess I’ll take it.  I just don’t understand Canon.  They are the Toyota/Apple of the camera world in terms of popularity (and resale value), and still like to move things around willy nilly.  Some cameras the on/off switch is on the bottom.  Or up top in a non ergonomic friendly spot.  Apple has a history of flipping things too, like now swipe this way to delete or do stuff.  Guys, please learn from the design of Nikon cameras, pretty much perfected since like 2007 on the bigger DSLRs.