Carlo_M
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 1997
- Messages
- 13,392
In continuation from my reply in the iPhone 15PM thread...
I know what you're asking: "If you find the iPhone 15PM camera to be so great, why did you just drop ducats to upgrade your old DSLR to a mirrorless camera?"
So a couple of weeks ago I eyed an old PC I hadn't used in over a decade sitting in the corner. I knew it had files I'd never transferred, including pics I had taken with my ex of over 12 years. I knew there was almost a whole life there and so I decided to plug it in, boot it up (Windows Vista Enterprise, in case you're wondering) and transfer what I thought to be important memories. Turns out we had upwards to 400GB of photos and videos, including most everything I shot with my Canon 7D that I purchased around 2010. That was an APS-C crop sensor camera, and since I was in a different financial situation then, it was the most I could reasonably afford at the time, and I splurged on a decent EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. Basically that lens is just below an L lens in quality but above the standard mass market Canon lenses. For a couple of friends' weddings, I rented an EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM for the events.
My findings were eye-opening.
Even with a now 14 year old DSLR crop sensor camera and EF-S glass (and the rented 70-200 was probably closer to 2 decades old), the shots I captured in RAW back in 2010-2013 absolutely exceeds even the best the shots I can take on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, even when I shoot in RAW on the phone.
At some point there's no getting around the superiority of a larger sensor, which even the "1.6X smaller than full frame" crop sensor has over what's inside the iPhone (and all other smartphone cameras). I confirmed what I'd long theorized. The best smartphone cameras cannibalized the market for the traditional point-and-shoot cameras, outperforming many of them. But for quality DSLR bodies and dedicated glass, it will just never be a match. I wondered: if a decade and a half old camera tech and two decades old glass could do that, what could the current gen of DSLR/mirrorless cameras do?
I hit my up some of my old trusty camera review sites (DP Review, several high profile YouTubers) and, knowing that none of my old glass would work on modern Canons, I was actually free to choose what I wanted in any ecosystem. After an exhaustive amount of research, and knowing what I wanted out of my next camera (namely: the best relatively affordable combo of shooting photos and videos, of roughly equal priority but if I had to favor one it would be photography by a small margin) the camera I decided on is was the Canon R6 Mark II with the 24-70 f/2.8 IS USM.
The finalists were between that and the Sony A7 IV. When using some comparator tools in DP Review and other sites, I just liked how the Canon handled higher ISO noise in RAW just a smidge better (noticeable in ISO 6400 and higher), and also the readout speed greatly reduced the rolling shutter effect in 4K60 videos. It also didn't crop 4K videos on the sensor, it used the full frame and if you record to an external ATOMOS recorder, you can actually record in 6K
.
Yes there are downsides and tradeoffs. Most notably: Canon has locked out 3rd party lenses from the RF ecosystem, they insist on using mini HDMI vs. full size HDMI, and they don't have as high a dynamic range as the Sony when recording HDR. But for $2500 (body only) I'm getting a full frame beast of a machine which, probably when you adjust for inflation, is close to the $1700 I paid for the 7D in 2010. But now I have opened myself up to the full benefit of Canon's L lenses without having to factor in the 1.6X crop/zoom that I had to in the APS-C body. While it sucks that they've locked out the RF ecosystem to 3rd party...if I'm being honest the lenses I most often coveted were Canon's L lenses. So for me this isn't too much of a negative, outside of that competition won't drive down their price. And their new lenses are priced pretty similarly to what the old EF L-series lenses went for.
I am taking this foray back into DSLR/mirrorless photography a little slowly since the digital photography world has changed so much in the last 14 years. Also I want to "buy once, cry once". At least for lenses (I know the bodies will likely see substantial improvements much sooner). So I decided on the RF 24-70 f/2.8 IS USM to start as my everyday lens. Yes it doesn't get as wide as the 15-35. And I'll eventually want a telephoto. But for what I'll use it most for now, portraits (my friends are expecting their first child in November) and normal walkaround life shots, as well as vacation shots, the 24-70 will do most of the time, and the zoom ranges I'm missing with this lens...well I'll have to use my God-given zoom: my feet
Once finances recharge, my second lens is likely going to be the RF 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM. I hear rumblings that there may already be a version II in the works for that lens so I'll happily wait for that. Or I can always buy the latest version of the EF 70-200 f/2.8 III IS USM and use the EF to RF adapter. Cost actually comes out a little lower and that glass is highly respected (I used the OG v.1 of it in those old wedding photos). Initial shipping estimate is by hopefully week's end (along with 2 UHS-II 128GB Sandisk Extreme cards and a USB-C card reader) so if all goes according to plan, I'll be spending the weekend shooting! Once I get the workflow down, I'll start to contribute in the threads here.
I know what you're asking: "If you find the iPhone 15PM camera to be so great, why did you just drop ducats to upgrade your old DSLR to a mirrorless camera?"
So a couple of weeks ago I eyed an old PC I hadn't used in over a decade sitting in the corner. I knew it had files I'd never transferred, including pics I had taken with my ex of over 12 years. I knew there was almost a whole life there and so I decided to plug it in, boot it up (Windows Vista Enterprise, in case you're wondering) and transfer what I thought to be important memories. Turns out we had upwards to 400GB of photos and videos, including most everything I shot with my Canon 7D that I purchased around 2010. That was an APS-C crop sensor camera, and since I was in a different financial situation then, it was the most I could reasonably afford at the time, and I splurged on a decent EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. Basically that lens is just below an L lens in quality but above the standard mass market Canon lenses. For a couple of friends' weddings, I rented an EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM for the events.
My findings were eye-opening.
Even with a now 14 year old DSLR crop sensor camera and EF-S glass (and the rented 70-200 was probably closer to 2 decades old), the shots I captured in RAW back in 2010-2013 absolutely exceeds even the best the shots I can take on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, even when I shoot in RAW on the phone.
At some point there's no getting around the superiority of a larger sensor, which even the "1.6X smaller than full frame" crop sensor has over what's inside the iPhone (and all other smartphone cameras). I confirmed what I'd long theorized. The best smartphone cameras cannibalized the market for the traditional point-and-shoot cameras, outperforming many of them. But for quality DSLR bodies and dedicated glass, it will just never be a match. I wondered: if a decade and a half old camera tech and two decades old glass could do that, what could the current gen of DSLR/mirrorless cameras do?
I hit my up some of my old trusty camera review sites (DP Review, several high profile YouTubers) and, knowing that none of my old glass would work on modern Canons, I was actually free to choose what I wanted in any ecosystem. After an exhaustive amount of research, and knowing what I wanted out of my next camera (namely: the best relatively affordable combo of shooting photos and videos, of roughly equal priority but if I had to favor one it would be photography by a small margin) the camera I decided on is was the Canon R6 Mark II with the 24-70 f/2.8 IS USM.
The finalists were between that and the Sony A7 IV. When using some comparator tools in DP Review and other sites, I just liked how the Canon handled higher ISO noise in RAW just a smidge better (noticeable in ISO 6400 and higher), and also the readout speed greatly reduced the rolling shutter effect in 4K60 videos. It also didn't crop 4K videos on the sensor, it used the full frame and if you record to an external ATOMOS recorder, you can actually record in 6K
.Yes there are downsides and tradeoffs. Most notably: Canon has locked out 3rd party lenses from the RF ecosystem, they insist on using mini HDMI vs. full size HDMI, and they don't have as high a dynamic range as the Sony when recording HDR. But for $2500 (body only) I'm getting a full frame beast of a machine which, probably when you adjust for inflation, is close to the $1700 I paid for the 7D in 2010. But now I have opened myself up to the full benefit of Canon's L lenses without having to factor in the 1.6X crop/zoom that I had to in the APS-C body. While it sucks that they've locked out the RF ecosystem to 3rd party...if I'm being honest the lenses I most often coveted were Canon's L lenses. So for me this isn't too much of a negative, outside of that competition won't drive down their price. And their new lenses are priced pretty similarly to what the old EF L-series lenses went for.
I am taking this foray back into DSLR/mirrorless photography a little slowly since the digital photography world has changed so much in the last 14 years. Also I want to "buy once, cry once". At least for lenses (I know the bodies will likely see substantial improvements much sooner). So I decided on the RF 24-70 f/2.8 IS USM to start as my everyday lens. Yes it doesn't get as wide as the 15-35. And I'll eventually want a telephoto. But for what I'll use it most for now, portraits (my friends are expecting their first child in November) and normal walkaround life shots, as well as vacation shots, the 24-70 will do most of the time, and the zoom ranges I'm missing with this lens...well I'll have to use my God-given zoom: my feet
Once finances recharge, my second lens is likely going to be the RF 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM. I hear rumblings that there may already be a version II in the works for that lens so I'll happily wait for that. Or I can always buy the latest version of the EF 70-200 f/2.8 III IS USM and use the EF to RF adapter. Cost actually comes out a little lower and that glass is highly respected (I used the OG v.1 of it in those old wedding photos). Initial shipping estimate is by hopefully week's end (along with 2 UHS-II 128GB Sandisk Extreme cards and a USB-C card reader) so if all goes according to plan, I'll be spending the weekend shooting! Once I get the workflow down, I'll start to contribute in the threads here.
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