Weighing just 461 grams on the scale without optics, the Canon EOS R8 targets an audience that is looking for the image rendering of 24×36 mm sensors in a compact format. A lighter version of the R6 Mark II, it offers the same image quality and autofocus, but at a slightly more affordable price.
Canon today launches the little brother of its powerful EOS R6 Mark II: the EOS R8. Nothing pejorative in the title of “little brother”, because it is precisely one of its strengths put forward by the Japanese manufacturer. The naked case equipped with its battery and its memory card weighs only 461 grams! Equipped with the small RF 50mm F1.8 STM (160g), it weighs only 621g: not bad for a 24×36mm full-frame sensor equipped with a 50mm f/1.8!
Read also: Canon EOS R6 II: a few more pixels, twice the burst! (Nov 2022)
The filiation with the EOS R6 Mark II is electronic, the brand new EOS R8 receiving both the 24.2 Mpix sensor and the Digic X image processor. Neither backlit nor stacked, this sensor remains a little gem of focusing speed (Dual Pixel II) and sensitivity in low light (up to 102,400 ISO). Clearly: if you are looking for the same image quality as a €2899 box (without optics of course!), you can enjoy it in a cheaper €1100 box since the EOS R8 will be displayed at €1799 bare box (read at the end of the article). A more moderate price which implies, quite logically, technical limitations. As much in terms of marketing segmentation (why launch a cheaper and as good case?!) as for reasons of equipment costs.
No mechanical stabilization of the sensor
The fundamental missing piece is the mechanical stabilization of the sensor. An absence that can be explained on several levels. From a technical point of view, Canon’s desire for compactness and weight reduction means that concessions have to be made. This stabilization consists, as its name suggests, of a mechanical device of components that occupy space. And add, from the point of view of the final price, expense lines (control electromagnets, sensor support cage, etc.). Moreover, the absence of this stabilization removes the “threat” that such an inexpensive case – compared to its big brother! – could represent.
Read also: EOS R7 and EOS R10: Canon gives a boost to its APS-C hybrids (May 2022)
However, the EOS R8 can rely on the optical stabilization of optics integrating this kind of device. That is to say most zooms, but also most fixed focal lengths. At the forefront of optical stabilization, Canon indeed massively integrates this technology: only six of its optics out of the 33 available are devoid of it. Which doesn’t mean we don’t lose out: even if electronics help optical stabilization, in low light, mechanical stabilization is a real plus (otherwise Canon wouldn’t integrate it into the top of range). Especially on video.
Recessed viewfinder, autofocus and burst performance
Reading the data sheet allows you to quickly detect a component on which Canon has saved: the viewfinder. With a definition of only 2.36 Mpix, the OLED panel is clearly in pre-2020 standards. But should suffice for an audience that is not too demanding – and which potentially uses the screen a lot. A screen mounted on a ball joint and touch, since the device is very good at video (read further).
Another technical point catches the eye, positively this time: the burst speed. With up to 40 frames per second and the autofocus of the R6 Mark II, the R8 has strengths for telephoto sports photography – the optics where optical stabilization matters much more than that of the sensor. Sensitive in low light down to -6.5 EV, able to track different body parts of humans (eye, head, etc.) as well as animals (birds, cats, dogs and even horses) or vehicles (addition of trains and planes compared to the first generations limited to cars and motorcycles), the EOS R8 has some under the pedal. Especially since it has a pre-capture mode that records 0.5 s before pressing the shutter (at 30 fps or 15 RAW images) to avoid missing the right moment. Burst depth is decent, nothing more: 120 JPEG (3s) and 56 RAW or 100 CRAW. To have an “infinite” burst, you have to switch to 6 fps mode, which is not much, but can help. Not enough to make a sports case, but it can allow small budgets to get their hands dirty. Before dreaming of an EOS R3!
Full frame 4K video
Here’s one area we’re glad Canon didn’t make a cut in: video. Cropping point that sabotages wide-angle focal lengths, no pixel binning which degrades image quality. No, without being a cinema camera, the EOS R8 is nonetheless a device which, like the EOS R6 Mark II, uses its entire sensor for video capture. This allows him to sample on 6K to render his videos 4K60P, thus guaranteeing higher image precision than simple 4K sampling (the more detail the device recovers in capture, the more precise the final files are).
In addition to this 4K60P mode, the box allows slow motion in Full HD (1080p180) and has, as in the photo, a 3 or 5 second pre-recording system. As well as a host of filmmaker options such as false color zebras or no recording time limit. All with a microphone socket and a headphone socket and a hot shoe with digital connection for modern Canon microphones. The picture is obviously not perfect, the main question being the endurance of the battery, a model much smaller than the traditional LPE6 series that equip the EOS R6 Mark II. 6K output point on external recorder, such options being limited to more expensive boxes.
Full connectivity
If the HDMI socket is not standard size (Mini HDMI), everything else is there. The USB-C connection to recharge in case of loss of battery charger. The headphone and microphone sockets as we have seen, and even the wired remote control, which is always useful, especially in astrophotographic uses or when using a video control handle. On the wireless side, the device manages Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. As for the wired side, in addition to its “Made for iPhone” certification which makes it possible to empty the photos much faster than in Bluetooth, the device also manages the UVC / UAC video capture protocol. Which allows it to be recognized as a webcam by a PC without having to install any driver. Which might appeal to streamers and other YouTubers. But which will also allow you to make the device profitable by taking advantage of the best webcam for your videoconferences!
New ultra-compact optics
With its very compact dimensions for a full-frame body, the EOS R8 has pushed Canon to develop optics that suit this small size. And the Japanese giant’s optical engineers gave birth to the RF24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM. An extended name that can be decoded as follows: RF optics whose optical range goes from 24 mm to 50 mm. With a diaphragm that opens between f/4.5-6.3 with optical stabilization and a silent stepping motor suitable for video.
The zoom factor is moderate (a simple x2) and the apertures modest – we will come back for intense blurred backgrounds. But in line with modern Canon optics, the resolving power must be well above the 24 Mpix of the sensor – understand that the optics should be very precise and offer very detailed images. On the stabilization side, Canon promises 4.5 speeds with an unstabilized body like the R8. And up to 7 speeds with devices with sensor stabilization (known as IBIS for ” in body image stabilizer “).
The Canon EOS R8 will be available at the end of next April in two versions initially:
- EOS R8 bare body at 1799 €
- EOS R8 + RF24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM at €1999
The RF24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens alone will launch at €399, which makes it attractive in the kit.
