5252 S PTEMBERSEP 2019 |COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 379
CANONEOSR
★★★★★
£3,269•From http://www.jessops.comINAFEWshortmonths,thenascentmirrorless
cameramarkethas becomeaburgeoningone.
No sooner had Nikon thrownits hat intothe
ring with its superb Z7 and Z6 (Shopper 377)
than Canon joined the fray, announcingthe
EOS R: amirrorless,full-framecamerathat
might just sound the death knell forits
consumer-grade full-framer,the EOS 6D MKII.
Apart from its luxuriouslydimensioned
sensor,the EOS Roffers plenty forkeen
photographers.There’s ahigh-endautofocus
system, afast burst mode and acapable 4K
videomode,includingafewvideofeaturesthat
might even make the pros sit up and listen.
The EOS Rcosts £2,339,includingthe
mount adaptor but no lens, or £3,269 with the
mount adaptor and a24-105mmf/4 RF-mount
lens, the configurationwe used forthis review.
That makes it alot more expensivethan the
lower-resolutionNikon Z6 (£1,994,including
the FTZ mount adaptor), but quiteabit
cheaperthan the Nikon Z7 (£3,089with the
FTZ mount adaptor). The Sony A7R III,
meanwhile,has a42.4-megapixelsensor and
will set you back £2,490 body-only.AHAPPYSIGHT
It’s no surpriseto see atouchscreen,and the
vari-angle,3.2in displayisaparticularlygood
example.Bright, colourfuland responsive,we
found it easily visible in bright sunlight,but
many will justifiablypreferthe viewfinder.
This might be the best in its class. The
0.5in viewfinderhas 3.69 million pixels, and
feels incrediblyfine-grainedand detailed,
makingit easy to gauge if your subjectis
sharp.It’s fast, too, which makes shooting
fast-moving scenes abreeze.Shoot in the EOS
R’s top-speedcontinuousmode of 8fps and
the image freezeswith every frame,but it’s
the only minor compromiseyou make forVERDICT
Canon’smirrorlessfull-framecameraisapromising
firsteffort,especiallywithitsexcellentkitlensMIRRORLESSCAMERA
having an
electronic
viewfinder,rather
than abulkier
optical one.
The rear-facing
touchscreenis joined by
atop-mounted black-and-
whiteLCD,which shows
your currentsettings.Usefully,
this includesalamp.The screen is
auseful inclusion,not least forthose who
prefertouse manualmodes,as it means the
bright, detailedtouchscreencan be turned off.TAPOUT
Anext-generation camera brings with it
next-generation controls:alongsidethe
touchscreen,there’s an innovative touch bar
on the rear.This can be used in afew different
ways:apokeof theextremesof thebarequals
abutton-press,while swipingyour finger in
one directionor the other makes it analogous
to being arear-mounted controldial.
Unfortunately,wedidn’t like it much.
There’s no feedback,so you can’t tell if your
input has been registered and –for the same
reason –you can’t tell how many ‘clicks’ you
have offered if you’re swipingat the touch bar
rather than poking it. The fact that it’s
touch-sensitivealso means you’ll want to use
the safety lock to stop it acceptingaccidental
inputs. That means pressingthe leftend of
the touch bar forasecond to wake it up,
which is hardly any good if you want to
make alightning-quick adjustment.
The more traditionalcontrolswork much
better.Knurled controldials foryour index
finger and thumb provide controlover
aperture,shutter or exposurecompensation,
and are easily reached.Things are –incomparisonto
professional cameras
–just atouch fiddly.
The rear buttons,
includingthe oft-reached-for
AF-ON,exposurelock and focus
area buttons, are shapedto allow them to
follow the curved lines of the EOS R’s body.
That makes them aestheticallypleasing,but a
little difficultto hit accurately when your eye
is pressedto the viewfinder.
Other controls–such as changingthe
burst or self-timer modes,adjustingwhite
balanceor changingthe metering mode –
don’t get dedicated buttons and must be
accessedvia the onscreenQuick Menu.SHORTLIVED
The traditionalbugbearof mirrorlesscameras
–battery life–emergesfrom its cocoonagain.
It’s rated at just 300 shots, althoughyou will
almost certainlysee more than this. We shot
600 still frames in an afternoonwithoutthe
battery exhaustingitself,althoughthe LCD
indicator suggested we had just aquarter of
the charge remaining.If you want to shoot
over multipledays withoutcharging,aspare
battery is ano-brainer.Abattery grip (£329)
is also available.
All of the usual wirelessmodes are in
evidence and workedas advertised,although
the efficacy of the 802.11 wirelessconnection
betweenthe cameraand our test phone bears
drawingattention to;the lag betweenthe
phone’s preview and the scene itself was
particularlyshort.
The new mirrorlessform factor brings with
it anew lens mount,the RF-mount.There’s
also anew series of lenses, as well as amount
adaptor forCanon photographerswho already
have EF and EF-Slenses. EF-Slenses are
designedforCanon’s APS-C camerassuch
as the EOS 7D MKII. Attach one of these
lenses and the EOS Rwill detect it and
automaticallyproduceacroppedimage
appropriatetoanEF-Slens’s image circle.
Still, anew lens mount is agreat excuse to
pick up some posh new glass, and Canon has
releasedafew R-mount lenses, with plans for
more.Our review cameracame with the
RF-mount24-105mmf/4, aclone of Canon’s