# When to switch from EF to RF ?



## s66 (Feb 16, 2019)

I've a bunch of lenses and currently a 5DmkIV and a 7DmkII.
I'm actually pretty happy but I'm missing 2 things: a significantly wider lens than a 16-35 and I'd like a second FF body.
in an EF world that would be easy: another 5DmkIV and an EF11-24 and I'm lighter quite a bit of money.
But then comes along RF... in principle esp. the very wide lenses should benefit most from the RF's shorter flange distance, but they don't make it yet.
Same for the R: it wants to either use a smartphone's GPS or an GP-E2 mounted on the hotshoe. [I used to have a GP-E2 on an 5DmkIII, not a fan at all]

I don't have to have the second FF body, but it avoids lens swaps in dirty places and far more importantly, allows for more time taking pictures (instead of "playing" with gear).
The lens at a point will become more pressing. As there's too many far too large things I can't back away from I encounter. Probably won't need the 11mm, but I need better than 16mm too often and have too often to compromise too much from what I wanted to get in the frame. I know the drawbacks of the perspective effects really wide lenses give already on a 16mm and it's only going to be worse, but well ...

I know I'd be perfectly happy with the EF solution, but it'll start to nag at a point that I'm "missing the boat" with the RF system.
No GPS is for what I do not an option, so I'd need to buy a GP-E2 and deal with the size of it, the AA batteries, not forgetting to turn it on, ... all-in-all not a nice solution.
Moreover it'll bring back really bad memories of the horrible copy of the 5DmkIII I used to have - really hated that body.

With Canon focussing on the lower end RP, and on lenses they'll probably sell more copies of than any of the extremely wide ones ... when do I stop waiting for them to start selling what I want/need ?

Also is there any hope a "next" RF body will have proper in-body GPS receivers ?
Or will it remain a kludge with a bulky GP-E2 on your body or a bluetooth connection to a phone that's prone to call it quits in far too many conditions to rely on it working at all times?

I'm leaning to going the EF path more and more, and sell it on if and when I get the feeling I'm missing the RF boat.

Opinions ?


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## jd7 (Feb 16, 2019)

s66 said:


> I've a bunch of lenses and currently a 5DmkIV and a 7DmkII.
> I'm actually pretty happy but I'm missing 2 things: a significantly wider lens than a 16-35 and I'd like a second FF body.
> in an EF word that would be easy: another 5DmkIV and an EF11-24 and I'm lichter quite a bit of money.
> But then comes along RF... in principle esp. the very wide lenses should benefit most from the RF's shorter flange distance, but they don't make it yet.
> ...


In the end it is just going to come down to your personal preference ... but another way to look at is there probably isn't a really bad choice either.

That said, if you want an 11-24 but you don't need really need a second FF body right now, why not get the 11-24 but hold off for a while longer on deciding on the body? I realise it would be another EF lens in your kit rather than RF, but on the other hand you could use it with a drop in filter adapter if/when you get an R system body, which would have its advantages. That doesn't seem such a bad way to go if you are keen for the wider lens in the near future (at least assuming you don't have an eye on the RF 15-35/2.8 - which you didn't mention and is only 1mm wider than your 16-35 so I'm assuming it's not the lens you are looking for).

If you did that, you'd have your lens and could take your time deciding about a second FF body. Rumour is there will be a new model within the next 12 months (as you probably know) so if you can wait for it, you would at least see what it has to offer. Otherwise, 5DIV is obviously a good body you are familiar with, or R would get you into the R system with essentially the 5DIV sensor combined with a lighter and smaller body which seems to have more accurate AF provided your subject isn't moving much, but with an EVF (good or bad for you?), poorer battery life, lack of GPS, etc. (Or look at other brands if you think they have a better option for you.) The perfect choice might not be available, but even so there are good cameras available so in the end pick your poison 

For my own part, the new RF mount and the reports of the EOS R's AF accuracy with wide aperture lenses and AF frame coverage got me excited but as time has gone by, I've become a bit less enthusiastic. Not saying I won't end up with an RF mount camera some day (it wouldn't surprise me at all if I did - no doubt they will continue to improve) but for now I'm back where I was before the EOS R came out, which is being unenthusiastic about EVFs and not keen to move to a camera with relatively poor battery life, so in no hurry to jump on the mirrorless bandwagon.


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## Grimbald (Feb 16, 2019)

I had similar thoughts, especially for a super wide angel lens. Nevertheless I bought the 11-24 just very recently for a very good price (1900USD) for the following reasons:
- I expect full compatibility with the RF mount anyway once the release their pro version with an adapter, so the glass is not "useless". Depending on what you want, the filter solution of the EF to RF mount might be even a big advantage.
- If I stay with Canon in the future, I will not just through away my 5d Mark IV/6d just because I bought a new RF body. And it still would be nice to be able to use the lenses on different cameras.
- When they release a fast ultra wide angle lens that goes wider than 14mm, it will probably cost 3000-4000 USD. However, that will most likely take them at least 1 year if not longer to finally release glass like this. There are rumors for a fast ultrawide lens and I'm sure Canon plans something in that regard, but most certainly their priority for glass is the mainstream and more common one for now. I could imagen that they annouce development of such freakish glass once they anounce their pro RF bodies. 

The body I find harder to answer, depending on your needs and what you wanna do with it, a second hand 6d or 5d might be good enought?


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## bhf3737 (Feb 16, 2019)

RF is a camera and lens system. I have got EOS-R and 5DSR and zero RF lenses. That is, the control ring mount adapter is glued on the EOS-R. All my existing EF lenses, 11 to 400mm, work the same or even better (in terms of image quality) than being used on a comparable DSLR. Perhaps some users report that they are a tad slower but I haven't noticed any. Canon brand flashes and remotes (with the exception of RC-6 remote that I replaced with the BR-E1 bluetooth version) also work fine. 
Is there any advantage to switch to RF lenses? Ok, we expect RF lenses be a bit lighter and smaller (e.g. just announced RF 70-200mm) compared to their EF counterparts but we expect them to be more expensive, too. 
I won't replace my current EF lenses until: (1) get the evidence that RF lenses can produce better image quality; and (2) there are enough new specialty lenses (like RF 28-70mm f/2) that I may need/want; and (3) age and/or fatigue force me to use a lighter system.


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## Random Orbits (Feb 17, 2019)

The the 2019 lens release schedule full, any lens that you would want that is not in 6-lens release will be next year at the earliest. And if Canon comes out with a 11-24 or something wider, then you can probably assume that it'll come at the 11-24 launch price of $3000. Is that something that you're willing to spend to be an early adopter or is it better to spend 2000-2500 for the 11-24 now or sell it for 80-90% of what you paid in a few years.

If you need a second body for work, then a second 5D4 makes sense. I used to have both the 5D3 and the 7D2, and the only thing I liked better on the 7D2 is the frame rate. When I got the 5D4, I ended up selling the 7D2 even though I had originally intended to sell the 5D3 and keep the 7D2. I love having GPS on the 5DF4 because it really helps knowing what I was taking pictures of in national parks without having to write down notes, but when the R came out, I bought it to replace the 5D3. So now I have a 5D4/R combo. The 5D4 will be used for the kids' sports and serve as the primary camera for long vacations (GPS and battery life), but the R has taken over for portraiture and casual use. It focuses more accurately than the 5D4 (when not using the center AF bank), has wider AF point coverage, doesn't require AFMA and it's smaller. A lot of people complain about not having the joystick, but I have yet to hear a good way of using a joystick to choose amongst 5000+ AF points. The joystick is good from dozens to maybe a couple hundred, but thousands? It's much faster to just use the touchscreen to get it close and either drag it onto the target or use the dials to move it. What may people don't consider is that you can use the dials to move the AF point in increments across the screen (1 for up/down, 1 for left/right), and they skip points. The direction pad can then be used to fine tune the placement. I tried using the dials/pad a few times and just settled on using the touchscreen. It is much faster, but it is a different workflow.

Many of us R/RF adopters did it because the lenses are compelling. If you plan on only having EF glass for now, I'd skip the R or RF. Once a better body better than the 5D4 arrives, then the 5D4 will be sold, and I'll just have RF bodies with the R serving as the backup. But I'll need to have the R body that can replace the 5D4 for sports before I'll consider getting the RF 24-70/70-200/100-400.


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## Ah-Keong (Feb 18, 2019)

s66 said:


> I've a bunch of lenses and currently a 5DmkIV and a 7DmkII.
> I'm actually pretty happy but I'm missing 2 things: a significantly wider lens than a 16-35 and I'd like a second FF body.
> in an EF word that would be easy: another 5DmkIV and an EF11-24 and I'm lighter quite a bit of money.
> But then comes along RF... in principle esp. the very wide lenses should benefit most from the RF's shorter flange distance, but they don't make it yet.
> ...



Actually, I am in a kinda similar position in yours. I am planning in getting a 1DXmkII to pair with the 7DmkII and a say 16-35mm f/4 lens for general landscapes.

Looking at the new lens releases like the 15-35mm, 28-70mm f/2, I am considering getting EOS RP for travel purposes and also a backup while the DSLR options would remain as the main arsenal. There is also native adapter(s) from Canon to mount EF lenses until the EF system becomes obsolete in the future say 5 years from today.

Meanwhile I would wait for the RF body and electronics design and development to become more stable as electronics tend to refresh faster than optics.

The trigger point would be a mirrrorless version of a Canon 1DXmkII or similar to Sony a9. I think by then, the EF mount would really go into museum....

Believe the Nikon "D6" would be the last iteration of the DSLR flagship which is kinda eerie as the last iteration of Nikon SLR is F6 I believe?


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## AlanF (Feb 20, 2019)

You won't regret the 5DIV. It's a workhorse of a camera and very reliable. Although I prefer the 5DSR for high resolution, the 5DIV is my go to when conditions get tough or for action. It's being heavily discounted now too.


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## JPAZ (Feb 24, 2019)

Love my 5Div but it is sometimes too big and heavy for grab and go travel stuff. So, I'll lean on my M5 for those situations. I've also brought the M5 along as a "back-up" with the converter for those times when there is no option to go back and get a shot later. But, despite all the improvement in the M line and the better lens options, I am never quite as happy with the output. There's a reason I changed to FF some years ago. So, I am sitting looking at my entire M5 and lens entourage right now, really thinking of selling it all and jumping into an RP to replace my M5 for those reasons. A little bigger? Yes. A little heavier? Yes. Less than wonderful battery life? Yes. But a FF secondary kit seems to make sense to me just now.


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## JPAZ (Feb 25, 2019)

JPAZ said:


> Love my 5Div but it is sometimes too big and heavy for grab and go travel stuff. ............... So, I am sitting looking at my entire M5 and lens entourage right now, really thinking of selling it all and jumping into an RP to replace my M5 for those reasons. A little bigger? Yes. A little heavier? Yes. Less than wonderful battery life? Yes. But a FF secondary kit seems to make sense to me just now.



I am going to jump to the RP. Just put my M stuff up for sale.


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