Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsWow, what a camera! - but there are downsides
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2021
I traded in my aging Canon D50 SLR, and made the jump to mirrorless with this EOS RP after reading Ken Rockwell's review on it. I wanted ultra low light capability, shallow depth of field for separating backgrounds, and live view that showed me my exposure in real time.
What I got exceeded my expectations in every way. The shutter is much more quiet, the image quality is astounding, and the autofocus - THE AUTOFOCUS! In the past, I've had bad luck with front-focusing and back-focusing lenses, especially my 50mm 1.8. The mirrorless camera design is immune to focus tuning calibration issues, so every focus is spot on, even with an ultra-shallow DOF.
Took it out on a millpond for some fall pics, and it did everything I needed, and did it well. A camera is only as good as the photographer, but it helps if the camera doesn't get in the way. I usually bracket my shots with high contrast pictures, but I was able to see in the viewfinder what I'd get when I underexposed slightly to bring out the blue in the sky, and that's exactly what I got. NIce!
I coupled this with the 24 - 105 F4 lens, because I wanted a decent close-up focus capability, and I wanted the ability to use the full frame shallow depth of field to separate people from backgrounds for portraits. I also tried it on my old cheap 50mm 1.8 lens, and - wow. Just wow.
The only con? Short battery life. Buy extras. Mine crapped out after a few hours on the water, but I had a backup so it wasn't a problem. That's about it. This camera has wicked low light capability at high ISO with very little noise.
Best camera I've owned by a long shot, and significantly better than my old DSLR. I'm now a fan of mirrorless!
*** 2/1/2022 update ***
Now that it's winter, I've had some experiences that have changed my opinion on this camera. For one, the battery life was not good when I first got it during the summer: but in cold weather, batteries hold up for less time. This made the poor battery life on this camera downright dismal.
The bigger problem is with their new STM lenses. All their mirrorless lenses use the new STM system, which is much more quiet than the old USM technology. However, this technology is "focus by wire," which means there's no mechanical linkage between the focus ring and the motor - it's all digital. You turn the ring, and the motor responds based on the sensors.
When the lens focus motor stopped working on a cold outdoor shoot in the wind, there was no manual focus option available to me and the camera became nothing more than a brick as I turned the focus ring with no results.
I have sold the camera and lens, and I have a 6D Mark II on its way. No more short battery life. No more loss of manual focus backup in cold weather. Even better, I regain compatibility with my wife's DSLR lenses.
It was a fun experiment, and in theory the mirorless camera was better on paper. However, the limitations of this model and STM lens design in the winter were not worth the live preview, quiet shutter operation, and lack of viewfinder blackout. At least not to me.
