Canon EOS R from a Travel Photographer’s Perspective
A Full Review by yours truly!
EOS World Community Ambassador - Canon Singapore
My interest in photography and my journey began way back before I finish my degree in the Philippines. It is a very difficult situation for me at that time as I don’t have any equipment to use and no background as well in photography. 2010 is the year where I graduated, passed the board examination for Nurses in the Philippines and especially the year when I visited Singapore for the first time where in one of my friend ask me to try his DSLR and told me after that I have an eye for it.
And so I explore more after that vacation. I joined one photography group in my home town and from there I learned a lot about the basic techniques of using DSLR. While practicing my profession, I started loving photography every single day. I was inspired to do travel photography by some of my friends and started my journey by travelling to different cities of the Philippines to witness their religious festivals.
Ever since I started photography I was amazed with Canon DSLR. 2014 is the year when I finally owned my very first Canon DSLR, Canon EOS 70 D. I became more eager to learn at that time. I joined and won different photo contests and some of my photos were published in the news spread.
I started working here in Singapore in December 2015 and my journey in photography blooms as I moved forward. Canon Photomarathon is well known to me as I previously joined this photo contest while I’m in the Philippines. A year after while working, I’ve decided to try CPM here in Singapore and surprisingly bag the top prize, an all expense paid trip to Japan Photo Clinic and the very new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. It was a surreal moment when I first use my Canon Full-frame camera. The time was so fast that I’ve upgraded myself immediately from advanced equipment to professional ones. But this doesn’t hinders myself from learning more but rather put me into a challenge of pursuing my photography journey into the next level.
I was so excited to try it out and I literally go out with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV every single day when I am free until the Canon Photomarathon Asia Championship in Japan finally comes. The CPMC 2017 thought me a lot of things especially from my mentors and co-participants. Photography can’t be learned alone to develop skills, but one must need another photographer to inspire them and learn from their experiences. That’s what CPMC is all about. It really boosts my enthusiasm to upgrade furthermore my knowledge in photography.
With my Canon gears, I always excited about travelling more and bringing back the memories of a place through photography. Being a Travel Photographer makes me feel more enthusiastic to inspire other people. I am always nostalgic whenever people commend my works and will start to ask how things were made possible. Photography requires a lot of skills and passion to compel one’s mind to become creative and unique to others.
After all those years from nothing to becoming one of the participants of Canon Photomarathon Asia Championship 2017, I’m very glad I’ve made it from where I am now, one of the newest Canon EOS World Community Ambassador. I know this comes with a great responsibility and I am very grateful to inspire more people around me.
It is such an honor to be one of the photographers here in Singapore to do a review of their latest Canon product, the Canon EOS R with Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM. Here I will tell you about what I like most and what are the things that I didn’t from a travel photographer’s perspective.
Canon EOS R from a Travel Photographer’s Perspective
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/22 | 1sec | ISO800 | Labrador Park
Being a Travel Photographer requires a lot of patience and effort to carry your equipment along with you throughout your journey. First thing that I like with this superb camera is it’s weight and body. Most of my travels, I will only bring one camera body and one lens because I want to travel less in terms of weight. Carrying heavy items while travelling will most likely exhaust you immediately and it can give you a lot of hindrances while taking a photo. I still have the DSLR feel and it’s very light in weight. Indeed, it never gives me any difficulty while using it one handed.
Since I’m currently using the Canon 5D Mark IV, I can’t help myself but to compare the buttons and dials of it. To me personally I find it difficult to use it at first but when I use it entirely for 2 weeks, I get used to it with ease eventually. Two control dials are at the top and I find it difficult while I’m using the viewfinder compared to my current body where the other dial sits beside the screen.
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/5.6 | 1/100 | ISO100 | Chinatown
Most of the photographers including myself will like very much its tilting screen. It will let us “go low” as possible to capture right moments at the right position and perfect angle. With its touch screen, I can use it also as a shutter button. With the AF touch, I can directly focus to my subject at the right time perfect for street scenes where you can capture unique moments. One thing I don’t like while using the tilted screen is when I’m holding it with my left hand and using my right hand to use the touch screen, the sensor below the electronic viewfinder will likely detect my hand and will turn off the LCD screen for electronic view finder hence I will lose the chance of getting the right moment.
Electronic viewfinder is superb and helps me a lot in composing a photo through the viewfinder itself. It is now the same function as live view where you see what you can get in an easy way. As I travel, I can’t say for sure that I will have the same lighting at the same time like for example shooting from indoors and outdoors. For me it saves time and effort to get the shot at a perfect light and exposure.
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/5.6 | 1/250 | ISO100 | Little India
Subject from streets can be difficult at times because first, they know your pointing the camera to them and second, the shutter sound. I personally like the silent shooting as I can shoot subjects without interrupting their activities. This makes a good composition of natural scenes of people around and respecting the silence of a place especially churches and temples that allows photography inside.
For me I like it when I can change AF modes immediately by simple gestures. With its Multi-function bar, I can customize it as my AF mode control. This bar works perfectly for me while I’m using the electronic view finder. Using this function together with the touch function from the LCD while on the electronic viewfinder, I can do things fast without any hesitation.
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/9 | 1/400 | ISO100 | Marina Bay
As compared with my current body’s joystick, I find the EOS R a bit difficult without this to control and move my AF points from one side to another. But thanks for the added touch LCD function, I can do it while on the electronic view finder by simply touching the LCD itself as a joystick. One thing I don’t like is that it is not as fast as the joystick.
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/9 | 1/400 | ISO100 | Novena
Travel photography requires a lot of things to consider. Batteries and memory cards are the most important things while you’re on the go for a travel. While EOS R have an estimated battery life of 350 shots, it doesn’t bother me as it is packed with LP-E6N which is mostly used for other Canon DSLR’s like my Canon 5D Mark IV and I can have spare batteries while travelling. While some photographers will ask why the EOS R only have single card slot, for me personally I don’t think I need more than one card slot. I always make sure I have my portable hard drive with me to transfer my files after a long day. For me it isn’t a problem as I always standby 2 to 3 SD cards with me whenever I’m travelling.
With the Canon EOS R’s WIFI function capability, it is a perfect on the go camera for me. Whenever I travel, I can transfer photos to my phone directly with my phone application Camera Connect and post-process it with photo editing applications. It also allows me to use remote live view function which gives me zero free vibrations while shooting landscapes and long exposure shots. It also allows me to be creative as possible. Sometimes, a photo isn’t working without a human element in it and an easy way to solve it is to put myself into it by which I find this function very effective.
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/10 | 120sec | ISO100 | Marina Barrage
Thanks to its autofocus range that can do as low as -6 EV, low light photography isn’t a problem with this new camera. I find it very useful where I can still select the focus point of my subject without any difficulties in low light settings.
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/6.3 | 1/200 | ISO100 | Bedok
For me flexibility plays an important role in the usability of a camera and the EOS R has it. The camera is very flexible for me in terms of it’s capability when using EF lenses and using cropping/aspect ratio. With the use of mount adapter EF - EOS R, I can use all my EF lenses without any hesitations of getting a problem like vignetting. The adapter connects EF lenses to the EOS R perfectly. The only downside for me is the lack of the third ring that is newly attached to RF lenses which I used mainly for ISO control. So let’s say you didn’t bring your zoom lens and Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM is not enough to reach your subject, you can directly select and change your aspect ratio from Full to 1:6x (crop) that let’s you multiply the range up to 1.6.
I like it when a camera have its multi-exposure function. Whenever I travel, I always use this function to show some creativeness and make unique interesting photos. It allows me to stack multiple photos up to 9 frames and make it as one.
Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/22 | 60sec | ISO100 | Marina Bay
RF lenses like the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM are superb in terms of its image quality. It delivers all over sharp images and and vibrant color reproductions that totals to a new revolution of Canon lenses. Another thing that I like with this lens is the availability of a third ring in it that can be customized according to one’s preference. To me I used it as my ISO control that surpasses my expectations. It is a very unique feature that saves my time whenever I’m taking photo with different light conditions. Moving from indoor to outdoor and vice-versa makes it easier for me to control my composition by using this third ring as my ISO control.
markanthonylim|photography2018
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Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
