Canon RP Still relevant in 2022 ? 30 March 2022

 

Canon EOS RP with RF 24-105mm STM lens Multi shot pano stitched in Photoshop

Sony acquired the SLR A mount when it purchased Minolta’s camera assets in 2006 and  used this mount for mainly APSC  DSLRs and numerous SLT (fixed mirror) models from 2007-2016. Sony did reasonably well with the  A  mount cameras in the process building market presence. But DSLRs and SLT models were not part of a long term plan for Sony which was the first major camera maker to make full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (FFMILC) starting with  with the A7 and A7R in 2013.  

Canon and Nikon had built up a very strong market presence with their well regarded line of APSC and full frame DSLRs. But Sony’s success with MILCs would have sent a strong warning message to the product development people at Canon and Nikon…..”Join the full frame mirrorless segment of the market or Sony will have your lunch”.

So better late than never, they did, Nikon with the Z6 and Z7 in August 2018 and Canon with the EOS R in September 2018 and the RP in February 2019.

The problem for Canon and Nikon was that Sony had a five year head start over them in FF MILC development.

Canon needed to jump start their product catalogue somehow. So they built new bodies but re-used existing imaging sensors.   The EOS R got the 31 Mpx sensor from the EOS 5D.4,  the EOS RP got the 26 Mpx sensor from the EOS 6D.2 and the EOS R6 got the 20 Mpx sensor from the EOS 1DX.3.

As a consumer I have the impression that Canon might have brought the R and RP to market with less than ideal preparation. Both cameras had significant weaknesses when released although subsequent firmware updates have rectified some of the deficiencies.

The RP is now on FW 1.6, indicating an ongoing  firmware upgrade programme from Canon.

So three years after it was introduced, is the RP still relevant in 2022 ?

I think the answer to that question is a qualified “Yes”.

I think that as long as prospective buyers understand the role which the RP is best suited for in the RF mount system, they can be very pleased with what the RP has to offer.

That role is to provide an entry point to the ever growing RF mount system at a budget friendly price. In fact the RP is no larger or more expensive than many APSC and Micro Four Thirds models.

But a moderately priced entry point is no use to anybody unless it delivers a good level of features, capability, performance, image quality and ergonomics.  And for the most part the RP does just that. 

EOS RP with RF 24-105mm STM. The RP is not the first camera I would select for birds in flight but it can do BIF decently well as long as the bird is not flying fast directly at the camera.

It’s not perfect. There are some well publicised downsides but in my view none of these constitutes a deal breaker.

Let’s get these out of the way.

*  Battery The LP-E17 battery is very small for a full frame MILC. Carry at least one spare at all times.

* Sensor The sensor has some well known and often bemoaned weaknesses. Specifically dynamic range at ISO 100 is not wonderful and is in fact a bit less than some APSC sensors.  Note however that as ISO setting increases, dynamic range of the RP decreases less than most other sensors. At the same time digital noise increases more gradually than many other sensors as ISO increases.  All this means that compared to its peers the sensor in the RP is less capable at low ISO settings but comparable at high ISO settings.

The sensor does require accurate exposure however. It does not tolerate overexposure well due to the limited dynamic range. But it does not tolerate underexposure very well either. Underexposed dark tones can get very noisy and blotchy if they need to be pulled up much in post processing.

Notwithstanding these cautions, in general photographic use the sensor works just fine.  Resolution, detail, color and tonal rendition are excellent. There are thousands of 6D and RP users who don’t care about  DXO Mark scores or Photonstophotos DR charts. These happy camera users  have been out and about making millions of excellent pictures with this sensor since 2017.

* Frame rate   The latest bunch of uberkameras from Canon, Sony and Nikon can fire off still photos at 30 frames per second, each separately metered and focussed. The RP manages just 4 frames per second at full speed with AF and AE on each frame. This is not the best camera for birds in flight or professional sports. But it is pretty good for just about anything else.  Even the majority of moving subjects are managed well thanks to Canon’s excellent dual pixel autofocus system.

* Video capability   It does good 1080p and has been used extensively by professional vloggers. Most videos are viewed on screens of low resolution so the RP’s well publicised deficiencies in 4K are of no practical relevance for most vloggers and viewers.

* That pesky AF-On button   In my assessment the only actual mistake in the control layout of the RP is the location of the AF-ON button. Look at a photo of the back of the RP alongside the R5. The AF-ON button on the R5 is in the correct place. It is easily pressed when needed but I have never  pressed  it inadvertently in over a year of frequent use of the R5. The location of the button on the RP makes it all too easy to press inadvertently at any time when holding, carrying or using the camera.  But it is more awkward to press when required. I just de-activate the button and forget about it.

Some reviewers have complained about a whole basket of features which the RP lacks, such as twin card slots, IBIS  and  thumb stick. The lack of such things never stopped anyone from getting their photo. It’s a budget model in the full frame world  and needs to be evaluated as such.

Now for the good stuff.

The RP is made in Japan as are all the RF mount cameras to date and appears to be very well built. The body feels solid with no flexing.  Teardowns have revealed that the internal components are well designed and built and the outer shell is fitted accurately, although full weather sealing is not provided.

I have not read any complaints about reliability on user forums.

Although there are fewer external control points than you find on an R5 or R6 those which are available on the RP are well positioned and (with the exception of the AF-On button noted above) easily operated. The main controls required in capture phase of operation are located just where my fingers want to find them.

Overall the RP implements the concept of das wesentliche (which is usually taken to mean  just the essentials or something like that) much more effectively than any Leica camera which I have used.

The camera is comfortable to hold. Adults with small to medium sized hands can get a full five finger grip on the handle. The Canon EG-E1 accessory grip improves the holding experience even further especially for users with big hands while maintaining access to the battery and memory card.

Why is the RP so comfortable to hold with the EG-E1 grip attached ?

	R5	RP
Grip height  mm	67	76
Shutter button height  mm	79	86
Total height   mm	101	103
Back of handle, rear tilt	Approx. 10 degrees	Approx. 20 degrees

 

 

We can see from the little table and the photo of the two cameras side by side that there are two things relevant to holding comfort and secure grip,

1. Grip height. This is the height of the front of the handle below the forward lip which separates the gripping fingers from the index (operating) finger. You can see that grip height of the RP is 9mm higher than that of the R5 even though the overall height is only about 2mm higher. This gives fingers 3,4,5 more handle on which to get a secure grip.

2. Back of handle, rear tilt.  I rarely see this discussed in reviews or on user forums but it has a big effect on holding comfort and security.  You can see that compared to the R5, the RP with the grip has double the rear tilt on the back of the handle. When using the R5 up to the eye, the right wrist has to rotate forward about 20 degrees while the RP allows the wrist to be held almost straight. Young people with flexible joints might not consider this a distinction worthy of  mention but us older folks and anyone with restricted wrist movement will immediately find the RP with grip much more comfortable than the R5 or any camera with a near vertical back of handle.

The RP with grip extender allows the user to hold the camera with less need for forward rotation at the wrist than the R5

The viewing experience is very nice via either the EVF or fully articulated touch screen monitor. Both are very clear and sharp with good color rendition and good rendition of highlight and dark tones. Touch control works well for just about every available function in the menus, during capture or review.

Performance is good for an entry level camera. Autofocus is acquired promptly and is very accurate in one shot or servo operation.   Overall responsiveness is not at the super fast level of the R5 but is still entirely adequate for the great majority of photographic assignments.  When using the RP I never feel the camera is holding up my capture workflow.

At 4 frames per second with AF and AE on each frame, using a Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB 170MB/s card,  the RP fires 80 C-raw shots before slowing, indicating the buffer is full. Buffer clearing then takes about 10 seconds. Those are pretty good figures for an entry level model.

Face and eye detect work quite well and are reliably accurate, however as you would expect neither of these functions operates at the level of the R5. There are no separate settings for human/animal/bird/car detection. However many of the advanced AF settings from the higher spec models have found their way into the RP. These include Tracking sensitivity, Accel./decel and Initial AF point.

Button and dial functions are user configurable with a huge array of options, allowing the camera to be set up for individual preference.

The C1, C2, C3 Custom modes allow immediate access to three pre-set function groups for different usage cases.

EOS RP with RF 24-105mm STM. Rainforest at ISO 12800 hand held

Summary

The Canon EOS RP is a solid entry level offering giving access to the huge catalogue of Canon RF and EF (with adapter) lenses. For the enthusiast photographer on a budget it represents good value and a sensible place to begin learning about full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens photography.

The camera itself delivers modest levels of specification, capability, image quality, performance and ergonomics.  Some APSC models such as the Fujifilm X-T4 or one of the higher end Sony A6xxx models (if you can get one) offer higher specifications and performance. However these models are more expensive than the RP and not significantly more compact. 

The Fujifilm APSC models offer no upgrade path should one be desired. Sony users appear to be better placed as APSC and full frame models use the same lens mount. But the image circle of APSC E mount lenses is too small to cover full frame sensors. So a Sony A6xxx user wanting to upgrade to full frame will have to buy a new body and FE lenses, making the prospect of an upgrade pathway more illusory than real.