Canon EOS R Features and Usability

I’ve been using the EOS R now for about a week. I really like it, but it does take some time to get used to. Here’s a summary of my likes and dislikes so far. I’m very interested in your thoughts – if you’ve been able to try one, or if you bought one and have been using it, what do you think?

Likes:

1. Smaller and lighter to carry, but it still feels good in my hand.
2. Focus seems more accurate than with my DSLR.
3. Love the lower light capabilities.
4. Love the shutter – no vibration at all allows me to shoot handheld at low shutter speeds with better results. It sounds really nice!

Dislikes:

1. I understand the new lens mount reasoning, and I agree 100% with why there is a new mount and new lenses – I just hate to have a new system of lenses that I will want to own at some point.
2. The new dials, and controls in general, work differently. I’m mostly ok with how they work, and why things are different – I just don’t like having to have different controls from my 5D Mark IV. Going from body to body is a bit awkward to get used to. Over time I’m sure I will be fine with it, but I don’t like learning new ways to do things. This is especially true with manually moving the focus point around the screen. It’s a bit more cumbersome, and with many more potential focus points, it’s not as fast as I can do on the 5D.
3. Battery life doesn’t seem as good compared to the 5D Mark IV (and that is not as good as the 5D Mark III). I’m realizing that, if I don’t want to change batteries often, I’m going to need a grip so I can shoot for longer stretches between battery changes.
4. Related to battery life, the mirrorless viewfinder is a bit of a pain because it shuts off when you take your head away from the eyepiece, and turns back on when you move your eye to the camera. I understand why this is done, but I don’t like the lag/delay when I put my eye up to the camera for the viewfinder to turn back on. The 5D is faster in this way. Especially for sports photography, this is going to be a pain.
5. I’m really not a fan of the movable screen. I know some people love this feature, and other cameras have this – but for the kinds of photography I do (sports & outdoors) I’d rather have a fixed screen. I have a feeling that this feature will be problematic if the screen gets bumped or banged.

I guess my dislikes list is longer than my likes list, but that doesn’t mean I’m not satisfied with the EOS R. I really like it overall, and I believe mirrorless is a technology that will get better and better, and some of my dislikes will not even be issues with future models. I’m anxious to see what the next model Canon builds will be like. Will it be higher resolution and faster? Well, that’s the direction things are going, so I would say yes.

Here are a few shots I’ve taken with the EOS R this week. I’m planning to take some HS football photos next week, so I’ll be sure to include some action to evaluate how much better the servo mode focusing is, if it is better.