Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera: A Hands-on Review

Power Switch

I encountered my first nitpick the moment I went for the power switch.

My Canon EOS M50’s power switch moves counterclockwise from off to on. After several years of owning and using that camera, it became second nature for me to flick my right thumb up to turn the camera on like you would with a light switch on a wall. But it’s the other way around on the R8: the power switch moves clockwise from off to on. I now have to get used to pulling my thumb down toward my palm to turn the camera on.

The mental cue I used to retrain my right thumb was to think to myself, “Yes, I want a photograph of that,” with my thumb moving toward myself as if it were pulling an image into the camera.

There’s an additional lock position that prevents accidental setting changes. I’ve never used it.

Lens Options

For a long time, I was put off by Canon’s refusal to open up its RF lens system to third-party manufacturers. It seemed clear that the company was intent upon forcing photographers to stay inside its own walled garden of lens options most of which are too big and far too expensive for me.

But I knew I had other options for modern lenses. Along with my refurbished R8 camera body, I ended up buying a 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM zoom lens and a 50mm f/1.8 STM prime lens from Canon’s website for refurbished lenses. I gained the flexibility of a reasonably compact zoom lens and a “nifty fifty” prime lens without having to spend an arm and a leg.

I am keeping my eye on what Voigtlander does in the months ahead. I know that the company offers its NOKTON 50mm f/1 lens for Canon RF mount. But it’s a bit too chunky for my tastes, and its price puts it well out of my reach. My fingers are crossed that Voigtlander releases its APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 aspherical lens, which is only available for Nikon Z-mount cameras at the time of writing, for Canon RF-mount cameras. I would love to have a reasonably-priced manual-focus 50mm lens that communicates fully with the camera body.

I also understand that, at least tentatively, Canon recently opened up its RF lens mount system to third-party lens producers, and I hope this results in a much-needed expansion of lens options.

Autofocus Behavior

The thing that I found myself getting the most irritated with was the feature that many tout as one of Canon’s strengths: autofocus. But this may be due more to the idiosyncrasies of my own style of shooting than the camera itself.

As I’ve been cultivating my photography skills, I’ve been focusing more on old-school techniques that probably apply more to my film cameras and lenses. Again, a big part of what drove me to go full frame was the ability to use my old manual-focus Nikkors on a mirrorless camera body with a sensor whose size matched that of a 35mm film frame. What I was essentially seeking was a basic digital camera that, with the help of a lens mount adapter, could essentially act as a digital version of my Nikon F film camera body.

Although one factor in my purchase decision was to open up possibilities for acquiring modern autofocus lenses within a lens mount system that had a long-term future, that factor wasn’t at the top of my list of requirements. A higher priority was to utilize the manual-focus lenses I already had on hand. As a result, I never seriously evaluated autofocus features when I did my research.

I was rudely awakened to how much I had become a photographic luddite when I used my R8 with a modern RF-mount lens for the first time. The camera and lens seemed to be doing all sorts of unexpected things with autofocus. When I switched the camera to manual focus mode, the viewfinder’s manual focusing aid unexpectedly jumped around and landed on people, something that my far simpler M50 never did.

I later discovered that that behavior was due to the subject-to-detect autofocus setting, namely the fact that it defaults to identifying people. There is no such setting on the M50, so I didn’t even know to look for it initially. Only until I actually got out there and started using the camera did I realize its effect. Later, I looked more closely at the user guide and learned more about it.

Another feature I had never encountered made me scratch my head: what on earth was this “AF ON” button sitting on the back of the camera? Its default behavior seemed to duplicate what pressing the shutter button halfway down achieves. What was up with this apparently superfluous button?

After my first photo shoot, I looked closer into the matter and came across this article which explained the history behind back-button autofocus and how it works. I came across several other articles by photographers who describe how they customize their cameras to suit their style of shooting (see this article, for example). It seemed this was definitely an area where personal preferences come into play.

To be sure, my habits are not completely anachronistic. Autofocus plays a critical role when I’m working in a fast-paced setting or when I’m taking casual snapshots. I appreciate the precise ability that modern digital cameras have to achieve sharp focus in the blink of an eye.

But in other situations, autofocus gets in my way. Deciding what is in and out of focus is such a core creative element for me that ceding control over it to a machine feels fundamentally wrong. My old lenses give me a physical and very tactile sense of command over where to place focus. Autofocus features wrench that control out of my hands in a jarring way.

I have gotten so used to working a lens’s manual focus ring that switching to pressing buttons on the back of a camera body feels completely foreign to me. The R8 lacks an autofocus joystick, a cost-saving omission on Canon’s part that some reviewers have complained about. When I considered my requirements prior to purchasing, that missing feature didn’t seem to be a showstopper. I now understand the matter a bit better.

At the end of the day, though, I have no regrets: I shoot how I shoot, and I think my new Canon EOS R8 does just fine for how I intend to use it.

After getting a better feeling for the camera, I have essentially crippled some of my R8’s autofocus features by doing the following:

• I customized the “AF start” button (i.e., the one labeled “AF ON”) to allow me to toggle between auto and manual focus modes. When I have a modern autofocus lens mounted on the camera, I can avoid going through the menu system and use that button to switch between the two quickly. The back of my Canon EOS M50 has a labeled button that does exactly that, and I was sorry to see it missing from the R8.
• I also customized the “AF point selection” button to toggle among the various subject-to-detect settings. Usually I have this set to “None” so that my manual focusing aid (a really nifty feature—more on that below) doesn’t jump around unexpectedly when people are in the frame. Still, it’s nice to have that subject-to-detect feature at my disposal. Sometimes I want to tell the camera that I want it to focus on a particular type of subject in my composition. It’s useful to be able to toggle through my options quickly.

As I get more experience, I may ultimately realize my naïveté concerning modern autofocus features. I confess that I went through a similar experience when I came to appreciate the value of raw shooting. But at the moment, I’m just a little reluctant to depend upon autofocus in a way that is more sophisticated than what I was used to with my simpler Canon EOS M50.

Price

If a camera is so expensive that one is afraid to take it out of the house, use it, or even touch it, what good is it? The best camera for me is the one I use the most, and the one I use the most is the one I don’t feel overly protective about.

Many things involve a balancing act between quality and cost. For my purposes, I sought a camera with a good full-frame sensor and not a lot of other features. Buying a refurbished example that carried a manufacturer’s warranty at an even further reduced price helped me strike that balance.

Viewfinder Eye Relief

When I look at camera body models, the first piece of information I typically seek out straightaway is viewfinder eye relief. Since I shoot with eyeglasses on, having a comfortable eye point is often a top concern for any camera I use. I get frustrated when that spec is either buried or not made available at all by manufacturers or retailers.

According to Canon’s specifications, the EOS R8’s viewfinder has a generous eye relief of 22mm, which enables me to see the entire frame even with my glasses on.

Shutter Sound

One point of concern I had about the R8 was its mechanical shutter sound. Was it obnoxiously loud or reasonably quiet? My Canon EOS M50’s shutter actuates with a loud clack-clack mixed in with a slight screeching sound that has never appealed to me. I was keen to get away from that.

When I first got an example of an R8 in hand, however, I was glad to hear that its shutter has a satisfying and well-balanced sound. It’s not exactly subtle, but it’s still pleasing to me.

I prefer shooting with my shutter set to EFCS (electronic first-curtain shutter). I like the tactile and audible movement of a physical shutter curtain letting me know I’ve taken a picture, and I’ve come to rely on the sound of the shutter to get a general sense of shutter speed especially if I’m automating exposure time.

But I also appreciate having the option to switch to a completely silent electronic shutter. My Canon EOS M50 has such an option, but it’s only available as a special scene mode, and it works only with modern lenses that can communicate with the camera body. With adapted lenses, that option is disabled. On the other hand, I can engage my R8’s electronic shutter even with my old manual-focus lenses attached.

Manual Focusing Aids

In particular, the Canon EOS R8 has three manual focusing features that I’ve come to rely upon.

Viewfinder image magnification is something I use so often when I have manual-focus lenses mounted to my camera that I’ve assigned that feature to the multifunction button next to the shutter button. It zooms into area at 5x or 10x magnification, allowing me to see it more clearly and to nail focus exactly.

Focus peaking emphasizes subjects in focus by outlining their edges in color. When I shoot in monochrome mode, edge highlighting is especially conspicuous in the viewfinder.

Magnification and focus peaking are two focusing aids that even basic mirrorless digital cameras have. One feature unique to more advanced Canon mirrorless cameras like the Canon EOS R8 is a really slick focus guide that uses tick marks that spread apart or come together to display the extent to which a subject is in or out of focus. Unfortunately, it’s available only with modern lenses that communicate fully with the camera body.

I confess that I have no experience with DSLRs. As I became more serious about my photographic practice, my upgrade path went from point-and-shoot digital cameras straight to mirrorless interchangable lens cameras. Considering that I often prefer focusing manually, I’ve come to appreciate the various focusing aids offered by mirrorless cameras in general and my Canon EOS R8 in particular.

Function Over Style

For a brief period, I considered jumping to Nikon. Considering my love affair with the Nikon F, you’d think that the Nikon Zf, a retro-inspired full-frame mirrorless camera that had been rumored for months and that I eagerly anticipated, would be a natural fit for me. The same can be said about the Nikon Z fc, whose earlier appearance on the market supremely tested my sense of discipline. But I eventually came to realize that, when I want that vintage film camera experience, I’m better off reaching for the real thing.

To be sure, there’s no denying that digital cameras dressed as vintage film SLRs look sexy. I respect Nikon’s willingness to push the envelope by designing and producing models that depart substantially from the same-old blandness one finds in most digital cameras. Fujifilm also deserves props for their successful combination of classic and modern features. On the other hand, Canon’s typical camera body design aesthetic has about as much inspiration as a 1998 Toyota Camry. But in the final analysis, I realized that what I sought was a workhorse, not a fashion statement.

In spite of my antiquated habits, there are certain modern features that I look for when I shoot digitally, and I think those features work best in their native modern form. For instance, that shutter speed dial sitting on the Zf’s top plate looks neat, but I knew I would probably never use it in the same way as the shutter speed dial on my Nikon F. I came to realize that controlling shutter speed in one-third increments was so much more important when shooting digitally than it is when using a more forgiving medium like film. A shutter speed dial with full-stop increments seemed like a mismatch on a digital camera.

My feelings were confirmed the moment I actually held a Nikon Zf in hand. On a recent trip to Seattle, which I shot on film with my Nikon F, I stopped into Glazer’s Camera. While my Nikon F sat next to me on the counter, I played with the Nikon Zf’s dials, brought the camera up to my eye, and fired off a few test shots. It was right then and there that I knew I had made the right decision by going with a Canon EOS R8.

Staying in My Comfort Zone

Staid and boring as it may be, the Canon digital camera system had become familiar to me. And in all frankness, I was reluctant to abandon it for another manufacturer’s offerings.

I’ve always liked Canon’s menu and display systems. The former is easy to navigate, and the later has an excellent layout of information.

Using the Canon EOS R8 is similar to what I got used to with my M50. Transitioning from the older camera to the newer one didn’t involve making a huge leap to a new and unfamiliar system. The first thing I did after unpacking and firing up my Canon EOS R8 for the first time was to go through the menus. With my M50 alongside, it was easy to change various settings on my new camera to what I was used to on the old one.

There were other factors to consider, too. Making the change to a completely different manufacturer meant that I’d have to change my postproduction workflow. Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP), a free software package which I find to be full of useful features, has become a key element in my photography practice.

For a variety of reasons, I am more than a little reluctant to switch to Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. Since I don’t do a lot of postprocessing anyway, those software options are overkill for my needs. Nikon offers NX Studio, its own equivalent to DPP, but I wasn’t impressed after I tried it out using a few sample images I downloaded from DP Review.

In the case of Canon’s DPP, however, I like using software written by the manufacturer. After all, since they know the intellectual property behind their cameras best, the folks at Canon are in the best position to develop a solution that tightly dovetails with that IP. Perhaps this is a case of me liking what I already know, but I’m comfortable using DPP, and I get satisfying results out of it when my images need some postproduction tweaks.

Image Quality

It turns out my earlier doubts about the compelling value of full-frame sensors were off the mark. My experience quickly changed my thinking: compared to cropped sensors of equal resolution, full-frame sensors have more surface area per pixel. Each pixel is therefore able to gather more light, and low-light performance increases as a result.

In this respect, the Canon EOS R8 delivers the goods. Benefiting from the very same sensor as the higher-end Canon EOS M6 Mark II, the R8 has incredible image quality even at high ISO settings. It’s far more capable in low-light situations than what my M50 is able to manage. And in good light, the R8 performs spectacularly.

Most of the time, I compose and shoot in monochrome. One image quality characteristic that kept me in Canon’s ecosystem is the silvery grey tonality I get right out the box.

Since I always have my camera set to capture raw files, I can convert any image to color if I find that a composition is better rendered that way. Canon’s warm and rich color tones are well known across their product offerings, and the R8’s renderings are in keeping with this.

As I mentioned above, my collection of film SLR lenses with focal lengths around 50mm act like short telephotos when I have them mounted on a mirrorless camera body with a cropped sensor. But now that I have the benefit of a digital sensor whose dimensions match those of a 35mm film frame, my old lenses that I am so fond of using now function as they were designed to act.

As a more extreme test of low-light performance one evening in February, I adapted my Canon EOS R8 to my 1962 Questar, which is photographically set to f/16. With no way to speed up that f-number, the Questar is not an ideal telescope to use for deep-space astrophotography. But even with that restriction, the R8 produced an out-of-camera JPEG that rendered the Great Orion Nebula brightly and smoothly even at a high ISO setting. Had I been using a camera with a cropped sensor, I would have needed to doctor the image heavily in order to get something close to what I got straight out of the camera with my R8.

At bottom, I have absolutely no complaints about the Canon EOS R8’s image quality. And for any camera, image quality is the most important thing of all.