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Canon EOS 'R' for astro??


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Anyone using the Canon EOS 'R' for astro use??

Care to share your thoughts???

I am torn between a Canon EOS 5D MkIV and the EOS R - part of me thinks mirrorless is the future and part of me likes the tried and tested.

It will predominantly be my daytime camera but sometimes used for Aurora timelapses, Milky way widefield etc.

I don't think an intervalometer is available for the R which might be a deal breaker.

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13 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

Anyone using the Canon EOS 'R' for astro use??

Care to share your thoughts???

I am torn between a Canon EOS 5D MkIV and the EOS R - part of me thinks mirrorless is the future and part of me likes the tried and tested.

It will predominantly be my daytime camera but sometimes used for Aurora timelapses, Milky way widefield etc.

I don't think an intervalometer is available for the R which might be a deal breaker.

I can't comment on the relative merits of either camera for astro, but are you aware Canon have started phasing out EF lens production? While there is a lot of 'legacy' equipment out there, development effort is now firmly on the 'R' series. (I'm assuming when you say 'R' ,you mean the R6 which pricewise is similar to the 5D but has the latest features including in-body stabilisation).

Here's a link to a list of EOS lenses discontinued this year just to give you an idea of quickly the situation may be changing:  EOS discontinued lenses 2021

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I can't speak specifically about Canon cameras, or using them for astro -- but I've used Nikon DLSRs for years for professional photography work. and now am using a Nikon mirrorless. Mirrorless is definitely the future! I wouldn't consider a DLSR now. Mirrorless all the way 😁

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Hi David,

I'd strongly advise you to try a mirrorless camera before buying, despite the many advantages of mirrorless cameras an EVF is not for everyone. If you can get on with the EVF then it's mirrorless all the way.

Other than that, the R and 5DIV have the same 30 megapixel sensor so should have broadly similar performance. 

The 5DIV has the usual canon ergonomics and would be instantly familiar from your old 5D, the R has the touch-bar that nearly everyone one hates!

The 5DIV is currently way overpriced if you are buying new (similar price to the R6),  the R is around 1K cheaper at Wex just now, used prices are a bit closer but 5DIV still too pricey

 

 

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I think there is no deal breaker between the two apart from maybe battery life which is up to 3x longer with the 5D 4 and the EOS R cant auto focus with EOS lenses using the adapter at f/8 (when using a TC for instance). In other respects the R6 will do all you need and has a flip out screen as a bonus.

Alan

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2 hours ago, Alien 13 said:

EOS R cant auto focus with EOS lenses using the adapter at f/8

I don't think that's correct, Martin Bailey has a video of his EOS R with a 100-400mk II L EF lens + 2x teleconverter still able to auto focus at f11

https://martinbaileyphotography.com/2019/08/31/autofocus-with-extenders-on-mirrorless-cameras-podcast-674/

 

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6 minutes ago, Rob63 said:

I don't think that's correct, Martin Bailey has a video of his EOS R with a 100-400mk II L EF lens + 2x teleconverter still able to auto focus at f11

https://martinbaileyphotography.com/2019/08/31/autofocus-with-extenders-on-mirrorless-cameras-podcast-674/

 

Thanks, not seen that I stand corrected..

Alan

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For astrophotography, Canon has brought out a special version of their mirrorless cameras (Canon EOS Ra), which has a suitable filter instead of the regular one. Myself, I think that I would use one of the ZWO/QHY/Touptek IMX571 cameras instead, more useful with scopes, cooled etc.

There are EF lenses aplenty, so the mirrorless Canon can use these existing lenses via various official adapters. Personally, I think that my next upgrade will me a 6D mk2 (or mk3, if it ever gets the light of day), because I love the long battery duration and fast AF on my 6D and 80D cameras. And if I want live view, I have this too at the press of a button.

And the new R lenses are painfully pricey!

N.F.

Edited by nfotis
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I might be facing a similar choice soon but it doesn't look like an obvious win for either, I expect an individuals shooting style and type of subject will play a part.

I dont know if you have seen this review but it did outline some of the important factors for me..

Alan

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5 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

Thanks for the info guys - it will probably only ever get used in the dark with a 14mm lens.

I still cant decide!!!

There are some interesting looking lenses coming out for the 'R' series - an f1.0 35mm lens could be very useful for night skies, and there is a third party affordable (APS-C format lens) which is available now  - manual focus but f.95. These do depend on how deep your pockets are, but expect a lot more lenses to appear over the next 18 months.

If you want to stay at the affordable end of superzoom, the 600mm f11 lens at £749 seems to offer value for money and would just not be possible in the EOS format.

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Good choice David,

I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you have some experience with it, I am sure there are a lot of people thinking about the move to mirrorless.

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12 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

There are some very nice R series lenses out now and en route.

I think I am decided now on the R6 - I will use my L series lenses until the R series ones are out and about.

 

They are out and about, but they are very, very expensive.

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13 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

They are out and about, but they are very, very expensive.

I noticed that, almost double the price of the equivalent normal L lens and heavier too in some cases..

Alan

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1 hour ago, Alien 13 said:

I noticed that, almost double the price of the equivalent normal L lens and heavier too in some cases..

Alan

Mostly they seem to be 20-30% more in cost, which I put down to the fact it is still a relatively new system and I would expect prices to drop as the 'R' series becomes more popular. I'm waiting for an affordable 7dmk2 equivalent. I'd like an R6 but can't justify the cost, and when you seem the new features launched on the R5 and R6, the older models already looked outdated. No signs of any 'R' series models with APS sensors though, so whether Canon steer that towards the M series remains to be seem - that is one model range though that is being killed with lack of lens range.

A useful website for camera prices if you have not come across it before:  camerapricebuster

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I remember toying with the idea of buying a Canon EF100mm Macro lens a few years ago.

It was a nice lens and well specified and used to hover around the £550 - £700 price range before it went up

towards £800 ish if memory serves me correctly. And this was only a couple of years ago.

The same lens in the new RF mount is retailing at close to £1500 😟 !!

Which basically means they have now lost me as a potential customer.

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Yeah, the only practical reason to buy an R body for people with lots of good L glass like me is to get it with the EF lens adapter. Not for the R lenses.

I still hope that Canon will release an 6D Mk3, as (probably) the final full frame dSLR for me. But until my 6D and 80D give up the ghost, I don't expect much to change (these days, I shoot more photos with my phone, I have to admit).

Especially for astrophotography, I see no point spending money on non cooled cameras without a suitable form factor. I *may* buy the Astromechanics adapter for EF lenses, though.

N.F.

 

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18 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

I remember toying with the idea of buying a Canon EF100mm Macro lens a few years ago.

It was a nice lens and well specified and used to hover around the £550 - £700 price range before it went up

towards £800 ish if memory serves me correctly. And this was only a couple of years ago.

The same lens in the new RF mount is retailing at close to £1500 😟 !!

Which basically means they have now lost me as a potential customer.

You have to consider the relative placing of the two systems in the camera market. The EF mount has been around since 1992, has a large user base across a range of entry to top end camera models. Over 100m lenses have been sold by Canon alone, and there  are several third party manufacturers of compatible, high quality lenses. By comparison, the 'R' series has been launched at the higher end of the market and has a significantly smaller user base. Being an early adopter always costs more, my 7dmk2 was around £1500 new, but I bought for around £980 around 15months later. You can see the same pattern with the RP model, which is down around 25% from launch price. I expect  the price of RF lenses to fall as the user base grows, but it really needs more affordable cameras in the range for that to happen any time soon.

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1 hour ago, Shimrod said:

You have to consider the relative placing of the two systems in the camera market. The EF mount has been around since 1992, has a large user base across a range of entry to top end camera models. Over 100m lenses have been sold by Canon alone, and there  are several third party manufacturers of compatible, high quality lenses. By comparison, the 'R' series has been launched at the higher end of the market and has a significantly smaller user base. Being an early adopter always costs more, my 7dmk2 was around £1500 new, but I bought for around £980 around 15months later. You can see the same pattern with the RP model, which is down around 25% from launch price. I expect  the price of RF lenses to fall as the user base grows, but it really needs more affordable cameras in the range for that to happen any time soon.

 

My suspicion is that Canon will  try hard to push the R bodies (these will be used as "gateway drug"), with the slimmest margins possible.

The greatest margins are always in lenses. And Canon doesn't offer low cost lenses, yet - they want to establish quality first, to prove that someone can shoot better technically photos than the EOS system and the classic EF lenses. Hence some unusual 'halo' lenses like the monster RF 24-70/2 , to tempt existing users into the R platform.

N.F.

 

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From what I have read the standard EF lenses actually perform better on the R6 body, so I cant see a reason to give them up for a long time. I hope they introduce a crop sensor R body soon.

Alan

Edited by Alien 13
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I still haven't pressed the 'BUY' button - its not like me to suffer paralysis by analysis but I want to be sure that the R6 will do all that I want it to do.

One thing I have discovered is that all images are treated to a dose of noise reduction and it cannot be turned off !!!!! This might be a deal breaker 😞 

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3 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

I still haven't pressed the 'BUY' button - its not like me to suffer paralysis by analysis but I want to be sure that the R6 will do all that I want it to do.

One thing I have discovered is that all images are treated to a dose of noise reduction and it cannot be turned off !!!!! This might be a deal breaker 😞 

I have just gone through a similar process with a new mobile phone...

Interesting that there is some noise reduction as I was beginning to warm to the R6 for its superior focusing performance although another barrier for me would be the poor battery life meaning that it would realy need a grip and those new LP E6NH batteries are not cheap at £115 a pop.

Alan

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