Mirrorless body/system: Canon RP or Nikon Z5?

Which body/system: Canon RP or Nikon Z5?

  • Nikon Z5

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • Canon RP

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • Canon R

    Votes: 1 12.5%
  • Nikon Z6

    Votes: 2 25.0%

  • Total voters
    8

ulrichsd

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Hi all, I'm looking to upgrade my 10 year old D7000 to a mirrorless camera. Mainly kids photos and kids sports, with some vacation, landscape and wildlife photography. And video is nice, but secondary. I love my 35mm and 50mm primes for low profile and fast aperture, which seems like Canon has a lot more prime lens options right now. Nikon's options are more expensive and bulkier...

1. Canon RP w/ 24-105mm f4-7.1 ($1300), 100-400mm 5.6-8 ($650),16mm ($300), 50mm ($200), 85mm macro ($600) = $3050
OR
2. Nikon Z5 w/ 24-200mm ($2100) and 14-30mm ($1300) = $3400

I'm really leaning toward the RP - is there anything that I'm missing in this comparison??? The main issue I've read with the Canon's is battery life, but bringing a spare battery isn't a big deal, and single card slot (I'm not a professional and in 10 years I've never had a failure so I'm thinking this isn't a major issue either).

Thanks,
Scott
 
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I've not long sold my D7000 and all my F mount lenses, apart from a couple of Sigma lenses (105 macro & 150-600) once the Nikkor Z 105 macro becomes available I'll be selling on the Sigma.

And purchased a Z5 with the 24-70 & 14-30 f4 lenses

One thing I really liked on the D7000 was the dual card slots, as I set them for Jpeg files on the one card and Raw on the other, it saved me a lot of time, I've been a Nikon user since buying a used F2 photomic back in the late 1980's, and never had a reason to change.
 
I've not long sold my D7000 and all my F mount lenses, apart from a couple of Sigma lenses (105 macro & 150-600) once the Nikkor Z 105 macro becomes available I'll be selling on the Sigma.

And purchased a Z5 with the 24-70 & 14-30 f4 lenses

One thing I really liked on the D7000 was the dual card slots, as I set them for Jpeg files on the one card and Raw on the other, it saved me a lot of time, I've been a Nikon user since buying a used F2 photomic back in the late 1980's, and never had a reason to change.

Did you even consider a change in formats? I started with a D90 about 12 years ago and switched to a D7000.... Using Canon just feels dirty, but I'm falling in love with their current prime lens lineup (and the prices as well).

I know its not popular, but I've only ever shot jpg - I already struggle with file storage as is, I don't want to think about storing 2 of every file :(
 
Did you even consider a change in formats? I started with a D90 about 12 years ago and switched to a D7000.... Using Canon just feels dirty, but I'm falling in love with their current prime lens lineup (and the prices as well).

I know its not popular, but I've only ever shot jpg - I already struggle with file storage as is, I don't want to think about storing 2 of every file :(
After so long using Nikon, I really didn't even consider another brand, my first Nikon digital was the D70, bought while I was working overseas, then a few years later upgraded to the D90,then the D7000, I had a nice P7100 as a travel camera, replaced by a V1, I sold both of those, and just bought a Z50 as a Holiday/travel camera.

I did help a family member set up their Canon DSLR a few years ago, I neither liked the way it fitted in my hand or the menu, If you can use one Nikon, you can use them all, the menus are so similar if not the same.
 
The problem with both Nikon and Canon, is how they are prioritizing the production/release of lenses in their mirrorless systems.
If the lens you want is already out, fine. If not, you have to WAIT, or use a legacy F/EF lens via an adapter to the Z or R camera.

If you switch to Canon, life will suck for a while, as Canon does things different than Nikon. Then you will gradually get used to how the Canon works, and life will be OK again.
What sucks: to mount/unmount the EF lens you turn the lens in the opposite direction as Nikon F (presumably same for R and Z lenses), zoom ring turns in the opposite direction as Nikon, the menu is different (so finding stuff will be a challenge), etc.

As for battery life, or lack of life, get used to it. Mirrorless cameras use the battery faster than dSLRs. From what I've figured out, mirrorless battery life is primarily dependent on power ON time, not the number of shots.
And it is not just the batteries, but the chargers and charging process. On my last vacation with an Olympus EM1-mk1, I brought three batteries, and two chargers. I should have brought FOUR batteries. I charged in two shifts; two batteries as soon as I got to the hotel, and the 3rd battery overnight.
 
If you switch to Canon, life will suck for a while, as Canon does things different than Nikon. Then you will gradually get used to how the Canon works, and life will be OK again.
What sucks: to mount/unmount the EF lens you turn the lens in the opposite direction as Nikon F (presumably same for R and Z lenses), zoom ring turns in the opposite direction as Nikon, the menu is different (so finding stuff will be a challenge), etc.

As for battery life, or lack of life, get used to it. Mirrorless cameras use the battery faster than dSLRs. From what I've figured out, mirrorless battery life is primarily dependent on power ON time, not the number of shots.
And it is not just the batteries, but the chargers and charging process. On my last vacation with an Olympus EM1-mk1, I brought three batteries, and two chargers. I should have brought FOUR batteries. I charged in two shifts; two batteries as soon as I got to the hotel, and the 3rd battery overnight.

Thanks for the info. For me, I'll usually get an entire week with one battery on my d7000. I find that the main "battery killer" is soccer where I'm tracking a moving target and holding focus for periods of time with the lens stabilization active.
 
Thanks for the info. For me, I'll usually get an entire week with one battery on my d7000. I find that the main "battery killer" is soccer where I'm tracking a moving target and holding focus for periods of time with the lens stabilization active.

hmmm, never noticed that.
Well soccer is in the winter season, so December, then I can try and monitor my battery usage.
 
I have heard great things about the RP. Saw a Youtube video by some well regarded photographer when I was researching it a few months ago. Damned if I can remember who it was. I'll link it if I do remember. I'm a Canon user so don't have an opinion on Nikon or other brands for that matter.
 
Quality of either is great, so brand is a wash.

If you don’t mind losing your existing glass and re-learning everything on the camera then Cannon would be a serious front runner.

Some people call me a loyal Nikon guy, but it’s only because I have a cabinet full of old Nikon gear I have acquired over the past 45 years. It makes switching brands near impossible for me now.

Find a good camera store and hold them both, shoot some stuff and see what ”speaks“ to you. Thats what I did back in the mid 70’s and why I have all that Nikon stuff. If I were doing that now not sure Nikon or SLR would come out on top.
 
Here: I know Rockwell ain't everyones cuppa but this is a pretty good review.

 
Quality of either is great, so brand is a wash.

If you don’t mind losing your existing glass and re-learning everything on the camera then Cannon would be a serious front runner.

Some people call me a loyal Nikon guy, but it’s only because I have a cabinet full of old Nikon gear I have acquired over the past 45 years. It makes switching brands near impossible for me now.

Find a good camera store and hold them both, shoot some stuff and see what ”speaks“ to you. Thats what I did back in the mid 70’s and why I have all that Nikon stuff. If I were doing that now not sure Nikon or SLR would come out on top.

My current lenses, I really don't think I would use on the Z body... At $250 for the converter, I'd just skip it and use that money to buy a telephoto Z lens.

I was getting ready to sell my Sigma 18-250 and Nikon 80-200 f/2.8, and just couldn't do it LOL - for what I'd get for them, it might just be better to keep them as I still plan on using my D7000 on occasion... As much as I hate that Sigma lens, I'd probably only get $80-100 for it and maybe $250 for the 80-200...

Here: I know Rockwell ain't everyones cuppa but this is a pretty good review.


I did see that one. To be honest, Ken's constant "switch to Canon" throughout his videos is pretty annoying :D but he does give a thorough review.

The Nikon Z5 gets great reviews as well, though, so I think it comes down more to price and lens options... The Z5 is a better camera imo, but I think the RP would be plenty of camera for me, so it comes down to I think I prefer the lens options on Canon at this point.

Thanks all,
Scott
 
Quality of either is great, so brand is a wash.

If you don’t mind losing your existing glass and re-learning everything on the camera then Cannon would be a serious front runner.

Some people call me a loyal Nikon guy, but it’s only because I have a cabinet full of old Nikon gear I have acquired over the past 45 years. It makes switching brands near impossible for me now.

Find a good camera store and hold them both, shoot some stuff and see what ”speaks“ to you. Thats what I did back in the mid 70’s and why I have all that Nikon stuff. If I were doing that now not sure Nikon or SLR would come out on top.

I've come all the way around and am going back to getting the Nikon Z5. I also looked into the Sony A7 iii and iv which are just more than I want to spend. Nikon has the Z5 refurbished + 24-200 kit for $1799 at the moment. I'm going to wait to see if it drops any more before black Friday and if not go ahead and get it at that price. I'm going to add the 40mm f/1.8 as well. And patiently wait for them to come out with a lower cost consumer telephotos in the 100-400mm range.

The main thing is the 4.5 continuous AF on the Nikon, while not good, is just way better than the 2 fps w/ AF (5fps w/o af) - 2fps is just a deal breaker imo. Going from 6fps on my D7000 to 4.5 is already going to be a challenge. In addition the Z5 has IBIS, better EVF, dual card slots and better battery life, all of which are a bonus. The flip screen on the Canon is nice, but not a must have, and its smaller/lighter, but the Z5 is already a bit lighter than my D7000 that I'm used to. Lastly, the ability to buy a crop sensor Z50 (or equivalent) with 11 fps in the future as a sports body, and use all the same Z mount lenses, is a really nice option. I'm going to assume that Canon will probably eventually make a APS-C sensor RF mount camera, but who knows.

Thanks to all for the suggestions! Scott
 
I went from a 10-year old Canon 5D (it couldn't even autofocus during video capture!) to the Canon RP to keep my one remaining Sigma 16mm fisheye. I had to buy an EOS-to-RP adapter, but the camera has been very good.

The things I learned about going from an old-school DSLR to the RP:
1) I shut off the touch screen. I had several videos and photos ruined by not realizing my finger or my nose had touched the screen immediately prior to taking a photo, and this shifted the focus point to someplace in the upper corner of the frame. The focus indicator is an orange box on the display, somewhat hard to see in full daylight. I had several video clips that were out of focus when I got the editing bay.

2) I wasn't used to the camera options being peculiar to a camera mode. My old 5D, if memory serves, had one set of autofocus settings for the entire camera. Set my Canon 5D to Servo AF, for example, and it didn't matter if you were taking video or still photos, you got Servo AF. This is NOT TRUE with the Canon RP. If you want Servo AF and set it in the P mode (for example), that will NOT set Servo AF in movie capture. Same for focus and exposure compensation settings, they "stick" with the mode you're in. That's either a help or a hinderance, depending on your point of view.

3) The (sometimes) package zoom of 24-105mm from Canon is very very sharp, a good lens and amazingly lightweight. You'll have to pay mucho more $$$ to get a constant aperture zoom (at 105mm, the lens is f/7.1) but for many of us, that's a good tradeoff.

Overall, I like the RP better than my old Canon 5D. It *appears* that the RP has solved the Canon 1% flash spot meter problem I've observed, but I haven't done enough extensive testing to say this is absolutely true. I also admit I have turned off E-TTL on my RP in favor of Average flash exposure because of this reason. I can explain my reasons, and what the 1% flash spot meter issue is if someone is interested.
 
I find that Nikon flash photos are better than Canon flash photos right out of the box, but this observation is based upon a decade-old Canon 5D ownership. When I was an event/wedding photographer, I did extensive testing on my 5D's flash algorithm, and found that the E-TTL setting (the default for all Canon cameras) was using just the focusing point - that 1% square it decided was the focus point - to determine flash exposure.

Normally you'd think that was a good idea, in that it would not overexpose if you took pictures with a dark background. On paper, it's a great idea. HOWEVER, in my wedding work, what frequently happened was that the camera would select the brightest most contrasty portion of the photo as the focus point (correct!); unfortunately, that portion was almost always a bride's light colored wedding dress, or a white shirt. For focus, it's dead on. For flash exposure, it's the WORST POSSIBLE thing to meter on, I routinely got 4 stops underexposure.

I discovered the camera had a flash exposure setting of E-TTL or Average, set the camera to average, TaDa! it was fixed. Nikons don't have this problem, so if you're an external flash guy like me, the Nikons perform better with no modifications.
 
I find that Nikon flash photos are better than Canon flash photos right out of the box, but this observation is based upon a decade-old Canon 5D ownership. When I was an event/wedding photographer, I did extensive testing on my 5D's flash algorithm, and found that the E-TTL setting (the default for all Canon cameras) was using just the focusing point - that 1% square it decided was the focus point - to determine flash exposure.

Normally you'd think that was a good idea, in that it would not overexpose if you took pictures with a dark background. On paper, it's a great idea. HOWEVER, in my wedding work, what frequently happened was that the camera would select the brightest most contrasty portion of the photo as the focus point (correct!); unfortunately, that portion was almost always a bride's light colored wedding dress, or a white shirt. For focus, it's dead on. For flash exposure, it's the WORST POSSIBLE thing to meter on, I routinely got 4 stops underexposure.

I discovered the camera had a flash exposure setting of E-TTL or Average, set the camera to average, TaDa! it was fixed. Nikons don't have this problem, so if you're an external flash guy like me, the Nikons perform better with no modifications.

Thanks for all the information!! I used flash a lot more when the kids were little, but now more of the kids photos of are activities. But I do have a Nikon SB-600, so that is one less thing I have to buy if I go with Nikon :)
 

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