ON TRIAL CANON EOS R8
It's clear that in the early days of the EOS R full frame mirrorless camera system Canon was finding its way a bit, and the first models weren't quite as cohesively executed as we'd come to expect with the brand's DSLRs. Then it realised it really didn't need to do things any differently than it had been doing with the DSLRs and, bingo!… here we are with Canon back at its best in terms of balancing value propositions with model differentiations. So the EOS R8 arrives as an ‘entry-level’ to the full frame line-up, although with the bigger sensor, everything is relative so there's still a price tag of just under two-and-a-half grand. However, comparatively speaking, the next step up is the EOS R6 Mark II which will set you back another two grand and, as the R8 has the heart of the R6II, it's not too much of a spoiler to state at the outset that it's hard to beat for value. And, by the time you read this, discounting will make the bottom line even keener.
We've been here before with the EOS 6D and then the even better value Mark II model; and once again Canon is proving itself a master at balancing the give and the take, while avoiding any likelihood of cannibalising the sales of the model above. The 6D and 6D II certainly never put any dents in the huge successes of the 5D versions that were around at the same time, and despite the significant price difference, it's still hard to see the R8 laying a glove on the R6 II. What it will do, though, is convince many owners of EOS ‘APS-C’ format DSLRs to move up to the bigger sensor, and it will also make converts from other brands who may well find it appealing enough to upgrade from a smaller format mirrorless camera.
As the R8 has the same 24.2 megapixels CMOS sensor and ‘DiG!C X’ processor as the R6 II, what Canon gives you is the same image capture options (and, of course, image quality), advanced autofocusing system and video capabilities. What you go without – compared to the R6 II – is in-body image stabilisation, dual memory card slots, a bigger buffer memory, a higher-res EVF, and a more enthusiast-orientated control layout (so, for example, there's no joystick controller). The weather protection also isn't to the same standard and Canon is a bit coy about exactly how well the R8's body is sealed, but it has something rather than nothing at all. The R8's main plusses are its significantly smaller size and reduced weight – not much over 400
