There is no doubt that new Canon EOS R5 camera is an absolute machine and brilliant for content creators. However, there are a heap of other options that you could buy for the same price that would give you far more than just a body.
I have been recently asked by loads of photographers about which new camera they should be buying. So, I did a little research online and found the price of the Canon EOS R5, which got me thinking. How much would it cost to buy all of my camera equipment in use?
After a bit of googling, I found that for the price of a Canon EOS R5, I could buy a full set of lenses and a camera body suitable for high-end commercial work, billboards, point of sale, and some very light video work. In this video, I go over the equipment that you could buy for the same budget and what it would allow you to be able to achieve photographically, from the point of view of a professional commercial photographer.
I did a Canon-to-Canon camera comparison, but these obviously work across various brands like Sony and Nikon too. If we take into account that as a working photographer, you would need to buy a backup camera, then it would also leave you with the budget for a high-specification editing machine, second body (if you don't already have one), or some high-end lighting.
What would you buy instead? Or would you go for the Canon EOS R5?
Honestly, as a purely stills photographer using a 5DIV I'd really like to upgrade, but that has a lot to do with the RF lenses which pumps the price a lot higher. For me, I want to increase my resolution, decrease the number of lenses I'm using, decrease the weight of my full kit, and increase the breadth of focal lengths covered by the kit. The R5 plus several RF lenses fit that bill pretty well, but the price means it would have to happen over several years (for me anyway). I think it all comes down to what a photographer needs/wants in their workflow - one size definitely doesn't fit all.
Which is funny as they've been trying to make the R5 an OSFA kind of camera.
I think all of my gear which took me a few years to aquire cost less than the Canon R5 body. I've got a total of 9 cameras, over 20 lenses, a couple speed lights, monopod, 4 tripods, remote flash triggers, and the lighting/backdrops for a home studio.
I'm not a professional and have picked up a variety of gear on sale for different purposes. My D750 was by far my most expensive purchase, something like the R5 just isn't worth its price for someone like me.
Sort of an apples to oranges comparison as you can also go the other way and buy 1/3 of a MD digital camera for £4200
Being a carguy, this sounds like the old "I could get X and Y for what you paid for that Ferrari." Yep! You'd have X and Y and I'd have a Ferrari.
The R5 will be a big sales success. It's the mirrorless camera that the Canon faithful have been waiting for. And with the success of the R5/6, the death knell of the 5D/6D series is right around the corner.
Love your talks! I took the R5 plunge because it offers me what my 5DMkIII couldn't. Now, I could have gotten an EOS R. But, I promised myself years ago that if Canon ever came out with a killer mirrorless, I was going to get top of the line and ride that out for 5-10 years. I've always bought kit behind the curve. So, this is a first for me.
Zenit E is about $60 on eBay. You could have 65 those puppies for $3900. But what's the point? :)
A Zenit E was my first SLR, and I learnt a great deal shooting it.
The point is, you don't need the latest shiny thing to produce great world class work.
i got a chance to handle an r5 today. WOW! amazing camera. and a real grip. af was fast! this makes my a7riv look like a bad joke.
I get people saying “yeah but I’d still have an R5,” but actually there is a point to this article. The R5 is unaffordable for some people and at that point you have to ask yourself what the best trade off is. For example, I just bought a second hand R in mint condition and it was £1000 cheaper than buying a new R6. I had to weigh up the pros and cons of exactly what I was getting for that extra £1000. And really it boiled down to IBIS and higher FPS. Neither of those are essential to my portrait work so I went with the R and saved a lot of money. Similarly, the R5 costs a lot of money and has a ton of “pro” video features. I’m not interested in those so I would be paying extra for features I wouldn’t use.
When the x-t3 just came out I waited till B and H had some returns; then bought mine and saved 300 bucks.
Budget should be the #1 consideration when buying just about anything. I usually recommend that a person buy the best camera/gear that they can afford.
Buying the R5 and selling my Canon DSLR equipment now, while they still have value. Transitioning from the 5D and top line lenses to the R5 doesn't cost THAT much more when you consider the cash you get from selling gear. Just me, but I want to upgrade for the next 10 years of Canon releases.
I will get an R5 or MII version in a couple years when I save enough.
I want it for my FD,FL and R lenses and I need the ISIS.
So worth reviving more than 20 superb lenses including L lenss.
well said, as a commercial stills photographer there are better ways to throw around you money right now.