The most versatile type of photographic device in my
experience is a top-of-the-range bridge camera with a built-in EVF and a full
set of controls for an enthusiast user.
But this camera type has been almost completely abandoned by
camera makers. The remaining few models still on the market use outdated
autofocus and image processing technology.
So my quest for a versatile, do-most-things-with-one-lens
package has turned to the mirrorless interchangeable lens (MILC) sector which
provides an abundance of options using the latest technology.
Our requirements for an all purpose photography kit will
depend on our preferred subjects and photographic endeavours.
Those who specialise in professional sports and similar
pursuits will be best served by high end camera bodies and big, expensive telephoto
lenses.
But for general photography, travel, social occasions,
street, documentary, amateur sports, casual portraiture and lifestyle
photography a more compact and versatile kit is desirable.
I have no allegiance to any camera brand. Nobody lends me cameras to review. My
preferences are independent and beholden to nobody else.
My current preference for this role is the Canon EOS R7 with
RF-S 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM lens.
Neither the camera body nor the lens is perfect but I remind
myself that perfect is the enemy of good and in practice I find the R7+18-150mm
kit is easily good enough for a wide range of photographic purposes.
For landscapes we need enough pixels to render detail. The
R7 sensor has 32.3 megapixels which is plenty.
The sensor needs enough dynamic range to render both
highlights and dark tones faithfully.
Photonstophotos measures dynamic range at ISO 100 in the
order Sony ILCE6700 > Canon EOS R7 > Fujifilm X-T5 > Pana-Lumix
G90. The actual difference between these
crop sensor models is so small that we are unlikely to notice it in practice.
Although most full frame cameras have a bit more dynamic range it is my
experience that the DR of the crop sensor models is quite enough in all but the
most extreme conditions.
In front of the sensor we need a lens good enough to resolve
all the pixels on the sensor without degradation by uncorrected aberrations.
The RF-S 18-150mm does an excellent job of this. Even though it is a compact
8.3x kit zoom which some reviewers like to damn with faint praise it is in fact
optically very capable, with high resolution across a large central zone at all
focal lengths and a bit of softness in the corners where it mostly goes
un-noticed.
For street photography we want a compact kit which does not
attract too much attention to itself. After spending a lot of time on the
street I have noticed that if I go forth with the Canon R5 with the RF 24-105mm
f4 mounted, this kit does attract attention and comments from passers-by about
professional looking cameras.
But when I use the R7 and RF-S 18-150mm, people notice that
I am taking photos but appear no more concerned than they are about people
making photos and selfies with their smart phones.
The R7 uses a recent version of Canon’s excellent dual pixel
autofocus system which makes it very suitable for photographing and tracking
moving subjects of all kinds. The only downside is that the smaller than full
frame sensor and small lens aperture make it difficult to render backgrounds
out of focus.
The camera can fire at very high frame rates making it
possible to capture the decisive moment even with fast moving subjects.
The RF-S 18-150mm lens can focus very close with good image
quality. With the added benefit of body and lens stabilisers working together,
hand held macro photography is easily
managed.
Some reviewers and commentators have offered the opinion
that the R 7 + RF-S 18-150mm kit is not suitable for indoors and low light
work, because of the small aperture of the lens. And in past times this might have been true.
But now we have Adobe Denoise AI and other AI driven de-noise editing programs
which allow us to make high quality pictures even at very high ISO sensitivity
settings. I frequently use this kit in
low light and have no problems producing good pictures provided I use Raw
capture and Denoise AI.
What about video ? Neither my photo practice nor this blog
are about video but many reviewers have praised the video capabilities of the
R7.
Is there anything the R7 with RF-S 18-150mm cannot do well ?
The main one which I have encountered is an inability to
render backgrounds softly out of focus in some situations. With some subjects
there can be a post processing partial fix for this. If the subject and
background can be clearly differentiated in Photoshop it is easy enough to
darken and blur the background. If done carefully this can produce a reasonably
convincing result.
The other thing is that the lens does not give us an
ultrawide or long telephoto capability. But that problem can be solved if we
are willing to carry two extra lenses. The most compact solution comes with the
Canon RF-S 10-18mm ultrawide zoom plus the Canon RF-S 55-210mm medium
tele-zoom. Each of these lenses is small, light and capable of producing high
quality images. For more reach at the long end the Canon RF 100-400mm f5.6-8 works
very well on the R7 but takes us well out of the “compact” realm.
Can the R7 be improved ?
It sure can.
The main things I hope to see on an R7 Mark 2 are:
* A control layout like the R6 and R10 with the top rear
dial where my thumb wants to find it, not concentric with the thumb stick which
still feels wrong to me after extensive use of the camera.
* A new sensor with faster readout to reduce rolling shutter
effect when using the E-Shutter.
* Nature and wildlife photographers have also said they
would like to have a battery grip for the R7. The simplest way to do this would
be for the R7.2 to use the R6.2 body, although that is 6mm wider, 8mm higher and
58 grams heavier.
Canon RF mount
alternatives.
I prefer the control layout of the less expensive R10 to that on the R7. But the R7 has more
pixels, IBIS, a degree of weather sealing, uses the large LP-E6NH battery,
closes the shutter when a lens is removed, has a bigger buffer and faster frame
rate. This makes the R7 more capable as a versatile all-rounder.
Photo gallery All photos were made with the R7 and
RF-S 18-150mm lens.
No comments:
Post a Comment