Review – Canon EOS R for engagement shoots – Shinjuku, Tokyo.

HELLO!

Before we go on, this isn’t going to be a full on technical review.
I have no idea how to do those, and to be honest, I don’t feel like I have a super deep knowledge on technical capabilities or that I’m able to write up a full on review on any camera really.

Here’s what I look for in a camera – I want my gear to behave, not to cause me any back pain + not let it get in the way of working with my couples. 

Full disclosure – I’ve been a Canon user since my first ever camera. I learnt shooting on film with my A-1, moving on to DSLRs and I shot last year’s entire wedding season with my two Mark IV’s.

I started getting really curious when the mirrorless hype started to pop up and most my colleagues started switching their entire systems for these beautiful, silent little cameras. Panic strikes when you feel like you’re not part of the club, and all the cool kids have more modern cameras but still, I decided to wait for Canon to release it’s first kind before trying out any other mirrorless cameras. However, when Canon released their first mirrorless camera, the EOS R, it was hard to find a proper review online, especially coming from a wedding photographer’s point of view.

I feel like the EOS R has been massively overlooked + underestimated by the wedding photography industry here in the UK, so I decided to take a risk and try it for myself.  What I can tell you is that it is already my favorite camera that I’ve ever owned.

+ today I’ll be posting my first shoot with it, on the same day I bought it. Yep… the camera really is THAT intuitive!

So far, I’ve been able to shoot some personal work, a few couple’s shoots and two weddings with the Canon EOS R. My personal top favorite aspects from using this camera are:

the faster + better AF performance in low light. (sharp AF!)
the incredible dynamic range.
that I’m finally being able to (really) go above and beyond with high ISO.
it’s game changer live view speed,
the super lasting battery life (which had always been my main concern when switching to mirrorless).
the camera’s grip + how safe it feels when you hold it. (dudes, it is so light and easy to keep hold of it + once, i actually shot a wild dance floor of a wedding for a whole evening just holding the camera with my bare hands – no straps attached or anything.) 

Not having to switch my entire camera system by still being able to use all my current lenses is, of course, the cherry on top of it all.

I’m like, emotionally attached to my lenses. I personally have always thought that Canon’s creamy colours are unbeatable so it is SUCH a winning point for me that just by adding the little EOS R Mount adapter to the camera it allows you to still rock all your EF lenses with it.

Most of all, the EOS R camera is the most intuitive camera I’ve ever shot with. I bought it in Tokyo in one afternoon and on the same day, in the evening, I had a full couple’s shoot in the streets of Shinjuku with it. Keep in mind I never shot on any other mirrorless camera before this.

Shinjuku is an area in Tokyo known for being covered in millions of neon lights of different colours shining from every direction, so I was very intrigued about how the files were going to behave during editing.

I was mega impressed at how easy it was to correct white balance + exposure in situations when all sorts of crazy purple/green lights were reflecting on skin tones throughout the whole shoot.

I’m so curious to try it with the RF lenses now, which will of course be my first purchase after I buy a second body to shooting weddings with. My mind is already blown knowing that I’ll be able to change ISO + aperture + shutter speed at the same time when the EOS R is used with Canon’s RF lenses.

*needless to say, I obviously haven’t been sponsored by Canon to write any of this, they don’t even know I exist + this is all just my opinion, man. 

Thanks so much Steph + Valentin for hanging out with me in the streets Shinjuku for this couple’s shoot. I had a blast with you two and I can’t wait to be back in Tokyo soon!

Here’s some shots of my first couple’s shoot with the Canon EOS R: 

*please note I do add a LOT of “fake” extra grain in LR during my post processing because I personally like the look.  the camera’s performance in low light is so sharp I actually had unsharpen some pictures to get the look/style I initially had in mind for this particular shoot. don’t judge plz.