With mirrorless cameras being all the rage in this day and age, (well to a big chunk of the market at least), Nikon, Sony alongside the big boys have released their own versions of the mirrorless camera. In February, Canon released its latest (slightly more refined) version of its full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS RP. Unlike its older sibling, this model lost some of its bulk, being much lighter and more compact making it easier for casual conventional users to have the luxury of not having to lug a huge DSLR around their neck without looking pretentious. The camera’s width itself without its RF mount (I’ll come to that in a bit) and any lens attached to it is already a sight to behold, but wait, it’s also the least expensive full-frame mirrorless camera in the market, for now at least.
With Canon offering two options where its RM 5999 for just the body and about RM 10,999 with its 105mm f.4L IS USM lens as part of its kit, this current model is approximately about RM 4000 cheaper than more full-frame mirrorless cameras out there in the market today. With its JPEG quality being a solid 8, its flexibility in a picture’s composition is a breath of fresh air. I think the keyword here is precision. A lot of the features in this model screams boundlessness. With the RF mount playing a pivotal role in Canon’s hand at full-frame mirrorless cameras, you can now enjoy lens interchanging with decent image quality without burning a hole in your pocket.
HOWEVER, given its specifications, it wouldn’t blow anyone away. Well at least not the ones who have a hard on for grade A specs, I mean by all means I am not dismissing anything but I am also not complaining either about the RP’s given specs for its price. With a 26.2MP dual pixel CMOS sensor alongside its AF speed of 0.05 (give and take) and its Vari-angle touchscreen of 3.0 inches, you won’t be needing to contort your body in order to shoot that money or golden hour shot.
A few perks worth mentioning is that this camera has Eye Detection AF making it much easier to focus track a portrait subject while its moving providing an even more accurate and sharp end product, crazy right? This bad boy also features Focus Bracketing for all you macro-heads who love toying around with depth of field. Most of the time, well almost all the time, its not possible to have a few subjects in focus while shooting in macro, this new feature however allows you to! by selecting a focal point that’s closest to the user, along with its focusing range interval and amount of desired pictures to be taken, the RP will then snap a collection or series based on the settings that have been keyed in.
Besides that, I particularly took a liking to the viewfinder this time round. With the RP showcasing a 0.39 inch high resolution 2.36 million OLED EVF ( Electronic View Finder ), it makes shooting through the viewfinder a breeze because of the comfortability it provides allowing us users to adjust and shoot all while looking through the viewfinder. Dare I say it, the future is NOW. The Creative Assist feature also gives users the option to edit their pictures on the spot using the LCD touchscreen. Although I must say, these functions are somewhat basic, in terms of adjusting saturation, brightness and contrast. You don’t really get to do much besides add effects, which isn’t a bad thing either if you’re constantly on the go. But nothing Photoshop or Lightroom can’t fix for those looking to really showcase their editing skills through their pictures.
I think my favourite part about the RP is its video and movie shooting functions, with the capacity to shoot in 4k at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, the RP is a great choice for content creators from podcasts to short films and whatever that sells on YouTube these days, because why not? With the RP supporting both NTSC and PAL settings, users are able to export and transcode the footages into full HD and saved entirely as a new movie file. You can also finally catch that one still from a scene that you love so much as a 4k high quality still image with the RP’s 4k frame grab, where images (frames) are saved at a resolution as high as 8.3 MP! Really?? The RP is the gift that just keeps giving. With this function, users no longer need to print screen or screenshot their favourite frame and only to have its quality watered down. My only qualm with the RP’s video and movie function is that it only allows you to shoot at a maximum of 30 minutes which at times can be extremely frustrating if you’re halfway through an interview shoot or even a film, come on Canon, you can’t serve a cheeseburger without cheese can you? (no really this is my ONLY qualm)
In general, the RP did not disappoint at all as I spent a week toying around with it, although I wouldn’t consider myself a camera buff, Canon really outdid themselves this time with the RP’s user friendly-ness. It’s quick and precise functions allows anyone from entry level users to mega camera buffs to really just enjoy what they all have a passion for. Essentially capturing moments. Every shot doesn’t have to be a power shot, it just has to always be delighting you.
