CAMERA TEST
Canon’s latest full-frame camera puts plenty of highend technology in a simple, lightweight body. Andy Westlake finds out whether it’s a successful marriage
At the end of 2022, Canon introduced the EOS R6 Mark II, a superb all-rounder for enthusiast photographers, with a 24.2MP full-frame sensor and advanced subject-detection autofocus. Now, the firm has taken the same sensor, image processor and AF system and placed them inside a smaller and simpler entry-level body based on the current EOS RP. The resulting camera, the EOS R8, doesn’t replace the RP, but instead sits above it in the firm’s line-up.
Weighing in at just 461g, the EOS R8 is Canon’s lightest full-frame mirrorless body yet. Much like its predecessor, it’s also one of the most affordable full-frame cameras at launch, at £1,699 body-only. This places it in a similar price bracket to rather older models from other makers,such as the Nikon Z 5 and Panasonic Lumix S5.
However, the EOS R8 is rather different in concept to these veterans. It’s one of the few full-frame models to lack certain features that we’ve come to consider standard in enthusiastfocused cameras, including in-body image stabilisation and an AF-area joystick. Essentially, you’re getting an entry-level camera body with a full-frame sensor and a cutting-edge autofocus system inside. It’s a curious combination, but how does it stack up in practice?
Features
Let’s take a tour through what the EOS R8 has to offer. Its 24MP full-frame sensor provides a standard sensitivity range of ISO 100-102,400, which can be expanded by a stop in either1/250sec at f/8, ISO 100 direction. The shutter offers speeds from 30-1/4000sec using an electronic first curtain design, and the top speed can be extended as far as 1/16,000sec using the silent electronic shutter, but with a risk of distortion from rolling shutter effects.
Autofocus employ’s Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS technology, and impressively, the firm has included the same sophisticated subject-recognition system as in the EOS R6 Mark II. This can focus specifically on humans, animals, or vehicles, and you don’t necessarily have to specify the subject type in advance.
Burst shooting is available at 6 frames per second using the mechanical shutter. Switch to the electronic shutter, and the EOS R8 can attain an impressive 40fps for up to 100 CRAW images. There’s also a specialist raw burst mode, which runs at 30fps and can continuously buffer up to 15 image
