Kyle,
Thanks for the update. Good to hear how an accomplished photographer such as yourself is adjusting to some of the new features and the different UI.
Just saw a rumor about the high rez version of the R that says it might be up at the 75MP range. That is amazing resolution-wise, but I am worried that might keep the DR and higher ISO noise performance at the same levels as that of my existing 5DSr. In that case I would have to seriously consider whether it is worth stepping down in resolution to 30MP to have something that is a little better with DR and high ISO. So I remain very appreciative of your wonderful updates on how you are getting on with the R whenever you can find time, realizing you have a busy schedule to also contend with.
ML
I have the same concerns about going to 75MP. I'm starting to feel like 30 or so might be the sweet spot for balancing detail and noise. Looking forward to seeing what comes next though.
So I spent the last 2 weeks travelling in Israel, Jordan and Egypt with the EOS-R, the 24-70 f/2.8LII and the 15-35 f/4L. Being on a tour, most of my shots were hand held in sub-optimal lighting. I had to rely on ISO to hand hold in some dark places and the DR to pull detail out of dark areas. Overall I really enjoyed using the camera. Using the touch screen to focus really helped when I handed the camera to someone else for a snapshot: just tap the screen to focus it. I've been really happy with the malleability of the files and shooting properly exposed images at ISO 6400 gave me manageable amounts of noise. Some samples below.
At the same time, with 2 weeks of steady use some of the rough edges start to show up. A few niggles:
- I like being able to twist the screen when I put the camera away so that it is protected in the bag. However, when I'd grab the camera and try to take a quick shot I'd usually forget to twist it back. Since I use the screen for focus point selection I ended up doing a lot of focus and recompose until I'd eventually pull the camera away from my face and twist the screen around. I have the upper right corner of the screen set to do my focus point selection and it usually worked fine while I was looking for the view finder it was sometimes a little squirrely. I still need to get used to this.
- The light sensor is annoying. Take a picture and then look at the screen. Try to pinch to zoom to look at details and your fingers trip the proximity sensor and the screen goes off. Try again trying to make sure your fingers don't get near the sensor. Even worse, this happens then the screen is swung away from the camera as well. Probably my biggest complaint.
- The touch bar is pretty worthless. I set the lock button to lock/unlock the bar (and nothing else). I was using it for changing the display (tough right to toggle the level, touch left to toggle the histogram, slide to zoom). I just can't touch it accurately enough while looking through the viewfinder. Something more tactile would help.
- I have the control ring adapter and am using the control ring for aperture control. It is nice to have 3 dials to control speed, aperture and ISO. I did find, though, that I had a tendency to accidentally change the aperture. On a tripod this would matter less, since I move more slowly and check what I'm doing better. There were a few times I looked at shots and saw to my surprise that the aperture wasn't what I wanted.
So that said, I'm heading to Chicago for Christmas. I'm still debating whether to take the EOS0R or 5DSR. I should bring the latter - but I kind of want to bring the former...
So here are some challenging samples:
1) This scene in Tel Aviv was completely back lit. I had to push the shadows hard (2 stops or so) to bring out detail.
2) Handheld indoor shot of a 2000 year old boat discovered in the sea of Galilee. Shot at ISO 4000.
3) handheld shot inside a dark church at ISO 6400