The Canon Mirrorless Full Frame
[Canon EOS R pre-orders now open:
Sony opened up a new era in mirrorless with the full frame Sony A7 and Sony A7r in October of 2013. Though the early cameras were limited in many ways, over time Sony proved the advantages of the mirrorless design. It was just a matter of time before the two dSLR behemoths got into the game. Just weeks ago, Nikon announced their “Z” system, with the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7. Now, Canon has announced their first full frame mirrorless entry with the Canon EOS R. I am intimately familiar with both Sony and Nikon, having shot them for years. I consider myself fairly well versed in Canon products. In photography classes I teach, the majority of my students shoot Canon, forcing me to learn their cameras and systems. (And the Canon M50 is actually my favorite entry level mirrorless). I have pored over the specs and early reviews of the new cameras, attempting to compile all the relevant information about the differences in this post.
Everything should be read with the caveat that much is unknown until the final versions of the cameras are actually released, in use and reviewed. This post will primarily address what is known with certainty, and what can be reasonably inferred with high certainty.
Nikon squarely took aim at Sony’s two most popular full frame cameras, the high resolution Sony A7riii and general purpose Sony A7iii, and a full comparison can be read here. For now, Canon is launching with just one model, the Canon EOS R, priced at $2300. Considering the pricing and the specs, it’s clear that it’s meant to slow in between the A7iii and A7riii, in between the Nikon Z6 and Z7.
I won’t get into every spec of the different cameras, you can read those anywhere. I’m not a video shooter, and therefore will not be significantly detailing the nitty gritty of the video differences. My goal is to compare some of the key differences between the Canon R and the competing cameras from Nikon and Sony. My hope is to provide some information to help understand what they may get with each camera, what they may see in the future, and help decide whether it’s time to switch to mirrorless.
Canon R vs Nikon Z system vs Sony Alpha system
Before getting into the details of the camera bodies, the differences between the systems must be discussed. It’s been said that “you date the camera body but you marry the lenses.” A camera body is a commitment of just a few years while a system commitment may last decades. It’s foolish to buy into an entire system purely because one camera may have some small technical advantage over another. In terms of features and technology, the camera brands all tend to converge with each other over time but system differences can be more significant.
The most obvious difference is that the Sony mirrorless system is established. They launched the E-mount in 2010 and they started making full frame cameras and lenses for the E-mount in 2013. Nikon opted to abandon their former mirrorless system and start an entirely new system from scratch for their full frame mirrorless. Canon launched a mirrorless aps-c system in 2013, which they continue to develop. While Sony’s aps-c and full frame cameras share the same mount, Canon has launched an entirely new mount for full frame. The irony is that if you went back just a couple of years, the argument against Sony was the lack of lenses for the newish system. Now, Sony offers over two dozen first party full frame lenses and dozens more of native third party lenses. Sony’s lenses can be used on their full frame cameras and aps-c cameras. Nikon is launching their mirrorless system with just three native lenses. Canon is launching with just four lenses. Additionally, it appears that the Canon EOS-R and EOS-M systems are incompatible with each other: These new RF lenses cannot be used on Canon’s very own mirrorless aps-c cameras.
Lens Comparisons
Nikon plans to launch just three lenses this year but they have released a pretty aggressive road map indicating at least 9 lenses by the end of 2019 with more to follow in 2020. Sony already has over two dozen lenses along with dozens more third party native lenses.
Canon has been more aggressive in building a full system more quickly than Nikon, in the sense that they are starting with four lenses, three different adapter types, a new small flash that matches well with the smaller body, and a battery grip. (Nikon will release a grip in the future). On the other hand, Canon has not released a roadmap, so users are left guessing in terms of what lenses may come in the future and when.
Both Nikon and Canon are starting with a 35mm F/1.8 lens, though Canon’s has the added benefit of macro capabilities. (Sony doesn’t have a 35mm F/1.8 but Sony has a 35mm F/2.8 and a 35mm F/1.4 (reviewed here). Nikon is starting with a 24-70 F/4 standard zoom while Canon is starting with a 24-105mm F/4 standard zoom. Sony already offers both options (Sony 24-105mm F/4 reviewed here). Both Canon and Nikon are offering 50mm primes to start, a 50mm F/1.8 from Nikon and a 50mm F/1.2 from Canon. While they are both 50mm primes, they clearly serve very different needs and buyers. The Nikon 50mm F/1.8 is $600 and weighs 415 grams while the Canon 50mm F/1.2 is priced at $2300 and weighs a massive 950 grams. Nikon does have a 50mm F/1.2 on their roadmap for 2020. Sony doesn’t offer any F1.2 primes but they do already offer a consumer level 50mm F/1.8 (review here), pro level 55mm F/1.8 (review here) and pro level 50mm F/1.4 (review here). Neither Canon nor Nikon have anything telephoto or wide angle right away, while Sony already offers three native ultrawide zooms and five zoom lenses that are 200mm or longer.
For both Canon and Nikon, it’s the fourth lens that starts to get interesting. They both are seeking to differentiate their systems with a unique lens that you can’t get for dSLR and you can’t get from Sony.
In 2019, Nikon will release the Nikkor Z 58mm F/0.95 Noct lens. This lens is sure to be sensational and the ultra fast aperture will open up some very artistic shooting but the lens will also be very expensive, very heavy and manual focus. Canon will have a fourth lens upon release, the Canon RF 28-70mm F/2 L USM lens. While not as wide as a traditional 24-70mm lens, it is a full stop faster. It can essentially replace two or three 1.8 prime lenses. The downside is that the lens lacks any form of stabilization, it weighs a massive 1430 grams and is priced at $3000.
Given the weight and price of these special lenses, in addition to the lack of stabilization on the Canon 28-70 and the lack of autofocus on the Nikon 58mm Noct, I do not expect these lenses to truly have mass appeal. They defeat the purpose of mirrorless as a more compact system. I can’t imagine the Canon 28-70mm truly giving image quality significantly better than just using a 35mm or 50mm prime, and 1480 grams means that it is not a very convenient zoom lens.
Looking solely at native lenses, the Sony system has a huge advantage. Sony has reached a point where practically everything is covered by a native lens, from landscape to portrait to sports. If you don’t like adapting lenses, Sony will likely have a lens advantage for several years. Still, Nikon and Canon promise to offer some special lenses that you can’t get for Sony. As will be discussed below, Sony may never really offer primes faster than F1.4 while Canon and Nikon are both likely to offer 1.2. (And Nikon will offer even faster lenses with manual focus).
If you factor in adapters, the picture gets more complicated..
Adapters
Those interested in purchasing a $2000+ full frame camera probably already own interchangeable lens cameras and lenses. An adapter is therefore an important way to bridge your own lens collection to the cameras of the present and future. Even a perfect adapter has a bit of a downside — They are extra weight and bulk to carry, they make the camera bigger, and they introduce another point of potential failure into the system.
When Sony first introduced the e-mount system they offered two adapters from their a-mount system and neither was seamless. There was one simple pass-thru adapter but it could not provide fast phase-detect autofocus. (Early E-mount cameras didn’t even have phase detect autofocus systems.) There there was a big bulky expensive adapter with a pellicle mirror that could provide phase detect autofocus by effectively overriding the mirrorless autofocus system. As a result, there was no ideal way to transition from Sony A-mount to Sony E-mount without ultimately quickly buying new lenses. As the Sony system technology advanced, the pass-thru adapter became quite capable but only with about a dozen Sony lenses and a few more third party lenses. (It failed to provide autofocus to Sony’s many older screw drive lenses).
Nikon offers the FTZ adapter which should provide nearly seamless use with any Nikon AF-S lens. Nikon offers dozens of fantastic AF-S lenses already and third parties offer plenty more. According to reports on dpreview and other sources, autofocus with adapted lenses works just as well as native lenses.
Thus, the Nikon Z system may only have 3 native lenses by the end of 2018 but with a simple pass-thru adapter, a Nikon Z owner can get effective use of dozens if not hundreds of lenses.
The FTZ adapter can be purchased separately and will essentially be priced at $150 when purchased with camera.
Canon is going with a rather innovative adapter system, launching three different adapters.
All Canon EF and EF-S lenses have been fully electronic since 1987, and therefore they should all adapt essentially seamlessly. Canon is offering a basic adapter for $100. For $199, Canon is offering an adapter with a built-in control ring, essentially adding another customizable control ring to adapted lenses. For $299, Canon R users can get an adapter with drop-in filters (shown above). This can be a fantastic benefit to video shooters and to use of lenses that don’t accept traditional filters.
Somewhat oddly, while the Canon R can adapt every Canon EF and EF-S lens, it cannot adapt EF-M lenses. As EF-M lenses are designed for an aps-c sensor, that may not be a huge loss but M camera users may be disappointed to find they can’t use RF lenses in the future. Looking in to the future, that makes it more difficult to a shooter who might want to own corresponding full frame and APS-C cameras, as they won’t be able to share native lenses.
Canon and Nikon are both utilizing closed mount systems — they are not sharing the mount design with others, meaning third party lenses and adapters will need to be reverse engineering. It may take some time before we see such products. Sony already has good third party support. There are adapters that allow excellent use of Canon EF/EF-S lenses on Sony bodies, though the Nikon to Sony adapter is rather poor.
In summary:
Sony Alpha Lens System:
Superior library of native first and third party lenses. Excellent adaptability of Canon’s huge library of lenses.
Canon RF mount lens system:
Only four lenses to start but they include a couple of fast premium options. Excellent adaptability of huge library of EF and EF-S lenses. No roadmap so future native lens availability is unknown. APC-S and Full frame mirrorless have two totally different mounts and lenses will not be compatible with each other.
Nikon Z mount lens system:
Only three lenses to start, none of which are particularly unique but published roadmap is impressive. Adapter support for dozens if not hundreds of Nikon F-mount AF-S lenses.
Lens Conclusion:
Native lenses are inherently better than adapting lenses, giving Sony a bit of an advantage. Still, if you are already invested in a system, the ability to continue to use your existing lenses is a major factor. If you are deeply invested in Nikon F-mount, you have a strong incentive to stay within the mount. If you’re already a Sony shooter, you have a large library ready to go and shouldn’t need to worry much about adapters. If you are invested in a Canon lens system, you have a somewhat open choice between adapting your lenses to the Canon R or moving to the Sony Alpha, though adapted performance should be slightly better sticking to the Canon R system.
Other Lens/Mount considerations
The Sony E-mount system, which later morphed into the current Sony Alpha system, was originally designed for consumer level aps-c cameras. As a result, the mount was optimized for aps-c shooting. Accordingly, the Sony mount diameter is only 46mm. When Sony decided to go with full frame mirrorless, they found they could just barely fit a full frame sensor inside. It wasn’t optimal but apparently Sony found it was preferable to starting a whole new mount. The small throat has impacted lens design, requiring significant vignette and distortion correction, often resulting in lenses with somewhat weak corners.
Sony already offers many extraordinary lenses for their Alpha system but the potential for Canon RF and Nikon Z lenses may be even higher. I suspect Nikon Z and Canon RF lenses will be able to offer better performance in the corners and require less distortion correction.
The upside for Sony is that Sony aps-c and full frame cameras can share the same lenses. You can take the Sony 100-400mm and put it on a Sony A6500, for a fantastic birding camera with 150mm to 600mm of range. For Canon, their M cameras won’t be able to utilize the best RF lenses. Nikon doesn’t yet offer any aps-c mirrorless cameras. If they use the Z-mount for aps-c, then the cameras won’t be as compact as offerings by Sony, a selling point for aps-c. If they go with a new mount, the new camera probably won’t be able to utilize Z lenses.
Pro for Nikon and Canon: Potential for future medium format camera sharing the same mount, potential for better performing native lenses.
Pro for Sony/Con for Nikon and Canon: Camera bodies can be more compact. Sony can share lenses between aps-c and full frame.
Other System Considerations
Beyond lenses and adapters, Sony offers a full mirrorless ecosystem. Their cameras already have grips from first and third parties. More importantly, Sony’s system goes beyond two full frame cameras. You can buy a cheaper older model as a backup. There is a full selection of aps-c cameras. There is the Sony A7sii for those looking for a more videocentric/low light mirrorless camera. The Sony A9 is one of the best action cameras you can buy, whether mirrorless or dSLR.
Thus, if you want to pair a compact aps-c camera with a full performing full frame camera, you can do that with Sony.
Pro for Sony: More choices of various body types, sensor sizes, older value models.
Comparing the Actual Cameras
Enough about the system differences. The Canon R price falls between the Sony A7iii and Sony A7riii, between the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7. For the most part, the two Sony cameras are very similar and the two Nikon Z cameras are very similar. Therefore, I’ll mostly compare the Canon R to the “Sony” and to the “Nikon Z.” Where appropriate, I’ll differentiate between the A7riii, A7iii, Z6 and Z7.
Similarities Between All The Cameras
All three cameras could pass as first cousins. The Canon R and Nikon Z are slightly taller and bigger than the Sony. The Canon R actually has the deepest grip while the Nikon Z is most similar to the Nikon dSLRs. Key similarities:
- Very similar body designs
- Highly customizable buttons and controls
- Silent shooting (limited on Canon R)
- Face detect AF
- AF coverage over 90%+ of the frame
- 650g to 675g each, so weight nearly identical
- Electronic First Curtain Shooting
- Tilt screens
- 4K video (Canon R is limited to crop 4 k shooting)
Canon R vs Nikon Z6/Z7 vs Sony A7iii/A7riii
There are no absolute game changing differences between the cameras. For most shooters, many of the differences are subtle. There are some differences that favor certain models for particular uses.
- Sensor differences: Canon appears to be using a version of the same sensor found in the Canon 5d Mark IV, a 30mp sensor. The Sony A7iii and Nikon Z6 are both using BSI 24mp sensors. The image quality of the new Nikon sensor is an unknown but based on recent history, one would expect it to perform similarly to the Sony A7iii. One would expect the Canon RF to perform similarly to the Canon 5D Mark IV. Thus, we know the Canon sensor has more resolution but we would expect the Sony and Nikon to offer a bit more dynamic range. Below, see the DXO Mark comparison between the Sony A7iii and Canon 5D Mark iv:
The Sony A7riii and and Nikon Z7 both offer significantly more resolution than the Canon R, at 42mp and 46mp respectively. As noted by DXOMark, you can expect more dynamic range out of the Sony and Nikon at base ISO. At high ISO, you can expect more dynamic range from the Sony A7riii than from the Nikon or Canon:
- Stabilization: The Sony and Nikon cameras both utilize in body stabilization, providing stabilization to every native and every adapted lens. The Canon R lacks IBIS. Two of their first four lenses are lacking in any form of stabilization.
- Autofocus coverage differences: All three cameras have autofocus coverage of about 90% of the frame but there are some critical differences. The Sony Alpha and Nikon Z cameras all utilize hybrid autofocus systems where in multiple phase detect points spread over the sensor, and they work in collaboration with contrast detect autofocus. Phase detect AF is traditionally known for speed while contrast detect is known for accuracy. Canon utilizes an entirely different system — Dual Pixel AF, wherein the imaging pixels are also able to provide phase detect autofocus information. Canon has been using this system for several years in their dSLR live view and in their EOS-M cameras. The Nikon Z6, Z7 and Sony A7iii all have phase detect AF points over 90% of the frame. The Sony A7riii offers focus over 90% of the frame, but phase detect is limited to about 68% of the frame. The Canon R claims 5,655 focus points but one must note that those focus points operate very differently than the Sony and Nikon focus points. The only conclusion I would draw for now is that all of the cameras offer fast autofocus over almost the entire frame.
- Autofocus implementation differences: At first glance, the autofocus implementation appears most sophisticated on the Sony cameras but they all offer somewhat similar systems. All three systems allow for either one shot (AF-S) or continuous (Servo, AF-C) autofocus. They all allow for a choice of using the entire frame or just a single point. All three also offer modes that allow choice of a zone or a group of points. A key difference in implementation appears to be in subject tracking. The Sony models allow subject tracking at the press of the shutter or AF-on button. On the Nikon Z, an extra button press is required to initiate subject tracking. The Canon R does not appear to offer any subject tracking except for face detect. Of course, all three cameras will try to identify and track a subject in the wide-AF modes but the Canon R won’t allow for specification of the subject.
- Autofocus performance differences: It is premature to comment extensively on autofocus performance but it should be noted that Canon is claiming the Canon R has the fastest autofocus of any camera. Reports on the Nikon Z autofocus performance are mixed but are generally positive. The Canon dual pixel AF system is known to perform very smoothly and accurately. Each of the three cameras list different low light autofocus capabilities but they are actually very close. The Sony A7iii claims to autofocus down to -3 EV with an F2 lens. From experience, I can attest that the Single Shot/AF-S is very fast and accurate with the Sony in low light but AF-C modes will hunt. Nikon claims low light AF down to -4 EV in low light mode, also with an F2 lens, but only -1 EV in regular focus modes. Canon claims low light autofocus down to -6 EV but with the important caveat they are using an F1.2 lens: In other words, the low light performance may be slightly better than Sony or Nikon but I wouldn’t expect a difference as dramatic as suggested by the “-6 EV” headline.
- Face detect / Eye AF: All three cameras have face detect AF. Canon cameras typically have the best face detect implementation, making it easy to switch between faces in the frame. Both Sony and Canon allow face detection to override other autofocus selections in any mode while the Nikon Z only allows face detection in wide AF modes. The big advantage of the Sony system is Eye-AF. (Explained here.) This is a valuable feature for people and portrait shooting as it can be more precise than face detect. The Nikon Z does not offer eye-AF but it is being offered in the Canon R. While the Sony can track eyes on a continuous basis, even while shooting at 10 frames per second, the Canon R eye-af is limited to One Shot (AF-S) and single shot shooting. There are reports that the Canon R eye-AF capabilities will be expanded in the future with firmware updates.
- Body Differences: The bodies all utilize a pretty similar design. The Canon R weighs in with the battery at 660g, right in between the Nikon Z6 at 675g and the Sony A7iii at 650g. In terms of height, the Nikon Z is the tallest at 100.5mm, the Canon R is 98.3mm and the Sony A7iii/A7riii is 95.6mm. The Sony can sometimes feel a bit short, making it hard to keep the pinkie on the grip. This issue should be resolved on the Nikon Z models, with the Canon R falling in the middle. In terms of the grip, the Canon R offers a 67.7mm grip compared to 67.5mm on the Nikon Z and 62.7 mm on the Sony A7iii/A7riii. The Canon and Nikon bodies are also about one centimeter wider than the Sony. In terms of real life effects, the Canon R and Nikon Z will be slightly bulkier than the Sony models but many people may find both the Canon R and Nikon Z to be slightly more comfortable to handhold. The differences extend beyond the dimensions of the camera. The Nikon Z and Canon R both offer a top deck display which is lacking on the Sony. The Nikon Z and Sony models include a joystick for moving the AF point, which is lacking on the Canon R. The Canon R offers a customizable multi function bar. The Nikon Z stayed fairly true to Nikon dSLRs in terms of button placement while the Canon R switched things pretty dramatically. Whether or not they made good design choices will need to await further information and reviews.
- Weather sealing: The Nikon Z and Canon R models claim to be well weather sealed. The Sony A7iii and Sony A7riii are well weather sealed except for some well-reported problems with the sealing around the battery compartment and bottom of the camera (Don’t put the A7iii down in a puddle).
- LCD/EVF differences: The Nikon Z6 and Z7 have the largest EVF at 0.80 magnification, slightly larger than the Sony A7riii and Sony A7iii at 0.78. The Canon R is the smallest at 0.76 magnification. The Nikon Z7, Nikon Z6, Sony A7riii and Canon R all have similar high resolution in the EVF of 3.6-3.69 million dots but the Sony A7iii is lower resolution at 2.4 million. For the LCD displays, the Canon R offers a 3.1″ LCD and Nikon Z6/Z7 offer a 3.2″ LCD. All 3 camera LCDs have 2.1 million dots of resolution. The Sony A7riii has a 3″ LCD with 1.4 million dot resolution while the A7iii provides a 3″ LCD with only 921,000 dot resolution. In practice, the Sony A7iii differences will be noticeable but the Sony A7riii/Nikon Z6/Z7/Canon R will all offer a similar viewing experience. The Nikon Z and Canon R both offer extensive touch screen functionality while the Sony touch screen is mostly limited to moving the focus points. The Nikon Z and Sony cameras offer tilt screens while the Canon R offers a fully articulated screen.
- Silent Shooting: All five cameras offer silent shooting but on the Canon R, silent shooting is limited to single shot mode. According to Canon, it will be offered in burst shooting via a firmware update in the future.
- Burst Shooting differences: For each camera, burst shooting comes with various footnotes making side by side comparison difficult. The top rates for the Nikon Z6 and Z7 are 12fps and 9fps respectively but those rates require locking exposure at the first frame and they do not allow for a continuous live view. They do allow for continuous autofocus. The Sony A7iii and Sony A7riii top rate is 10 fps and they allow for continuous autofocus but they also do not allow a continuous live view. With continuous live view, continuous metering and continuous live view, the top rate is 5.5 fps for the Nikon Z6/Z7 and 8fps on the Sony A7iii/Sony A7riii. The Canon R appears to have much more limited burst shooting. While it has a top rate of 8 fps, there is no Servo/continuous autofocus. Instead, focus is locked at the first frame which defeats the entire purpose of using burst shooting for action shots. With continuous autofocus, the Canon R can shoot 5 fps. For tracking prior autofocus, the Canon R is limited to just 3 fps.
- Card Slots: Nikon uses an XQD card which should be faster than SD cards on the Sony, but the Sony benefits from having dual card slots, a regular SD slot and a faster UHS-II compatible SD slot. The Canon R offers just a single slot, but it is UHS-II.
- Battery life: The Nikon Z cameras are rated for for 330 shots. The Sony A7riii battery is rated for 530 shots when using the EVF and 650 with the LCD. The Sony A7ii is rated for 610 shots when using the EVF and 710 with the LCD. The Canon R falls much closer to the Nikon, with a rating of 350 shots with the EVF and 370 with the LCD. A power save mode boosts the ratings by about 80 shots on the Canon R. CIPA ratings are not reflective of real world use. I’ve personally gotten close to 2,000 images on a single charge with the Sony A7riii and there are reports of the Nikon Z cameras greatly out-performing the CIPA rating. They will all likely surpass the CIPA ratings but the Sony cameras can be expected to provide longer battery life.
- Video: I’m not a big video user and therefore would encourage you to read elsewhere if video is very important to you. Briefly, all three cameras offer 4K but the Canon R 4k is filmed at a 1.7 crop, while the Nikon Z and Sony Alpha cameras use the entire sensor. Vloggers will still appreciate the fully articulated LCD.
- Other Feature Advantages of Canon R: Dual pixel raw, dust delete function, Small and medium raw formats. The Canon R also has a feature whereby the shutter closes while changing the lens, protecting the sensor from dust. (Though this could potentially endanger the sensitive shutter mechanism).
- Other Feature Advantages to Sony: “Slow and quick” video mode. Pixel shift feature.
- Other Feature Advantages of Nikon Z 7: 8K time lapses, built-in intervalometer, lossless raw compression.
- Price: The Nikon Z6 and Sony A7iii are both priced currently at $2000. The Canon R launches at $2300. The Sony A7riii now sells for $3000 and the Nikon Z7 is launching at $3400.
Summary of Sony A7riii vs Canon R
The Sony A7riii brings a superior sensor offering significantly more resolution and more dynamic range. The Sony A7riii provides dual card slots and longer battery life. A joystick makes it much easier to move focus points. Sony has a much larger native lens library. Burst shooting is ultimately much faster on the Sony A7rii. While Canon now offers eye-AF and silent shutter, they are both limited to single shot modes while the Sony A7riii can utilize those features with continuous autofocus at 10 frames per second.
Both cameras can adapt Canon lenses though the performance of Canon lenses may be a bit better on the Canon R body.
Canon advantages can primarily be found in the body: Better touch screen, fully articulated LCD, deeper grip and potentially better ergonomics. The Canon R may have better low light autofocus, though this will require more testing. The Canon R should offer better autofocus particularly at the edges of the frame, where the Sony A7riii is limited to contrast detect AF. Weather sealing is potentially better with the Canon R than on the Sony A7riii.
The Sony A7riii is priced $700 more than the Canon R and offers some significantly advantages for performance and for professional shooting. While the Canon R has some advantages, my personal opinion is that the Sony A7riii is indeed a $700 better camera.
If I was a Canon shooter interested in the benefits of a mirrorless camera with the best image quality, I would consider buying the Sony A7riii and adapting lenses. On the other hand, if I was supplementing the Canon 5Div with a second smaller backup body, I would go with the Canon R.
Summary of Sony A7iii vs Canon R
The Canon R offers a real real advantage in resolution though the Sony A7iii will offer more dynamic range. As in the comparison with the Sony A7riii, the Sony A7iii brings better performance, better burst shooting, dual card slots, joystick, longer battery life, and more advanced eye-AF and silent shooting.
Both cameras can adapt Canon lenses though the performance of Canon lenses may be a bit better on the Canon R body.
Canon continues to offer the advantages listed above: Better touch screen, fully articulated LCD, deeper grip and potentially better ergonomics. Additionally, the Canon R offers a sharper LCD and EVF than can be found in the A7iii.
From a performance perspective, the Sony A7iii is the winner and becomes a real bargain, priced $300 below the Canon R. But from an every-day shooting perspective, the Canon R offers some real advantages that, when combined with more resolution, can make it well worth the $300 premium over the Sony A7iii.
If I was invested in Canon glass and looking for an entry level full frame body, I would gladly take the Canon R over the Canon 6Dii or the Sony A7iii. But if I had to shoot action or professionally, I would pass on the Canon R for now.
Summary of Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7 vs Canon R
To some degree, this comparison is irrelevant. If you are already invested in Canon, you probably shouldn’t consider switching to Nikon. If you are invested in Nikon, you probably shouldn’t switch to Canon.
The big advantage of the Nikon Z7 is the excellent 46mp sensor from the Nikon D850. But I’m not sure if this advantage is worth the $1100 premium over the Canon R.
Both the Nikon Z7 and Z6 offer faster burst performance than the Canon R, but they are limited by shallow buffers. Additionally, with a continuous live view, the burst performance may be similar.
They are both cursed with poorly rated battery life and single card slots, though the Nikon uses the faster XQD memory card.
The bodies are pretty similar though the Nikon Z cameras use a slightly bigger EVF while the Canon R has the advantage of a fully articulable screen.
It appears the silent shooting is more versatile on the Nikon Z, but I would wait for more reviews to be certain. Meanwhile, Canon has at least started to offer eye-AF.
Finally, Nikon has incorporated IBIS — Providing stabilization on all lenses, including adapted lenses and prime lenses.
While there are some real differences between the cameras, they both provide some excellent reasons for Canon/Nikon dSLR users to try out mirrorless.
The Canon R is pretty close in price to the Nikon Z6. For the $300 price difference, the Canon R provides more resolution, a deeper buffer, articulated LCD, and the well established dual pixel AF system. The Nikon Z6 offers faster maximum burst shooting, AF joystick, more dynamic range and IBIS. I dare say the Nikon Z6 is the slightly better value than the Canon R, but they are fairly close to each other.
Advice and Recommendations
Welcome to the mirrorless revolution. But good news: Your dSLRs aren’t going to suddenly stop working. We are definitely transitioning to mirrorless but that doesn’t mean everyone needs to rush to switch now. These first entries from Canon and Nikon are not perfect replacements for dSLRs but they already offer compelling advantages over dSLRs. Such as focus over 90% of the frame, eye-AF, silent shooting, EVFs. Moving forward, many of the best lenses will be designed exclusively for mirrorless cameras. For some shooters it’s a good time to switch to mirrorless. For some other shooters, it may be a great time to supplement your bag with a mirrorless body to compliment your dSLR.
If you are a “wedding photographer” — someone who shoots a lot of events, and especially if you do so professionally, then I wouldn’t be switching to the Nikon Z or Canon R cameras yet. The Sony Alpha cameras are far more capable given the dual card slots, superior battery life, eye-AF and silent shooting. For a wedding photographer, the Nikon Z or Canon R cameras may be a suitable backup or a second body for video use.
If you shoot action, I would also recommend the Sony Alpha cameras over the competition. As noted above, the Sony A7iii, A7riii, as well as the Sony A9 offer much faster true burst shooting. Additionally, Sony has native telephoto lenses that are lacking in the other systems, for now.
The Canon R is probably the best camera for vloggers, primarily due to the articulated LCD.
Everyone else should be nearly equally happy with any of the camera brands. For regular portraits, landscapes, casual shooting, travel photography, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of the cameras.
If I was a Canon shooter, I would be much more excited picking up a Canon R than a Canon 6Dii.
If you are a Canon shooter who needs to shoot professional events or action, go with the Canon 5Div or switch to a Sony model. If you want the Canon 5D iv image quality in a smaller lighter body, with an EVF and other advanced features, then consider getting the Canon R for $800 less.
If you’re a Nikon shooter who needs to shoot at a professional level or action, you probably should go with the Nikon D850. If you want the Nikon D850 image quality in a smaller and lighter body with better video specs, go with the Nikon Z7. If you are a more casual Nikon shooter, you may want to consider the Nikon Z6.
Conclusion
This is an exciting time for those who love the gear aspect of photography. Removing the mirror box from cameras opens up lots of potential innovation. Within the next 2-3 years we will see competition bringing ever improving mirrorless cameras.
If you found any of the information in this article helpful and plan on ordering any of the cameras discussed, I would ask that you use the below links. You won’t pay any more, but you will help to support the costs of this site.
Order the Sony A7riii with two UHS-II cards and the Sony 24-105 f/4
Order the Sony A7iii with Sony 24-105mm F/4 G lenses here
Pre-Order the Nikon Z6 with 35mm F/1.8 lens and FTZ adapter bundle here
Pre-Order the Nikon Z7 with 35mm F/1.8 and FTZ adapter here
Canon EOS R pre-orders will open here on September 12, 2018.
