Ultra-Cheap Full Frame: Is the Canon EOS RP the Camera for You?

The Canon EOS RP is an ultra-cheap mirrorless full frame camera, and as such, it's an intriguing option for those looking to try the full frame or mirrorless world without breaking the bank. Of course, to get to that price point, compromises were made. This comprehensive video review takes a look at the camera to help you decide if it's right for you.

Coming to you from Maarten Heilbron, this excellent video review takes a look at the Canon EOS RP. The EOS RP is currently the cheapest full frame camera out there (it even comes with a free EF-to-RF adapter right now so you can use your old lenses), and as such, it's an intriguing option for certain users. Given the prices of the current lens lineup for the R mount, it doesn't seem to be aimed at those getting into photography or looking for a fresh start so much as those photographers who are already invested in the Canon system and want to dip their toes into the mirrorless waters a bit. In that respect, it's the perfect camera, providing that sort of bridge functionality at a price that won't completely decimate your wallet should you decide it isn't for you. Still, some may be frustrated by its limitations, and it's important to consider those before you pick one up. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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14 Comments

It's still part of a 35mm system, so with the proper lenses it won't be that cheap anymore.
For the money of this body you can buy better MFT and APS-C body's that are part of a cheaper and more mature ecosystem.

"Lowest priced full frame camera on the market" and "cheapest full frame camera" at $1,299 (as per the link in the article)? Not by a long shot - the Sony a7 is $798 and the Nikon d610 is $899. There is a whole price bracket of full frame cameras below the Canon RP!

Perhaps "lowest priced current generation full-frame camera on the market" might have been more apt? The A7 and Nikon 610 are quite long in the tooth.

Yeah that would be more accurate. The a7 and d610 are still very handy cameras, though. You'd want the extra features of the RP to be amazing to warrant paying an additional 60% of your hard earned for it.

Definitely not for me, but I appreciate Canon making the jump to full frame more accessible for people even though I still believe that a great APS-C camera is better than a medicre full frame camera.

It’s funny how this gets said a lot and people still think APS-C is behind the curve when people have done reviews of the EOSR vs APS-C cameras and it’s flopped miserably.
Less features, weaker performance, and a higher price once you get the adapter or the insanely priced lenses that are offered now (I know the lenses are good but they’re still expensive as hell)

Yeah, the lenses are the real head scratching thing here. I don't see how Canon seems to think that a person in the market for a $1000 body will also be the same demographic that purchases $2000+ lenses.

That’s why all this “cheap” talk involving the RF Mount is laughable.

I've seen offers of the RP with a free adapter. Putting some of the less expensive L lenses would keep the price down. I have yet to read a review that says the adapter is not good. Fact is, I've read that the adapter is seamless. One doesn't have to buy the RF lenses.

Assuming that I have no prior investment in any system, why on earth would I buy an EOS R and then buy EF lenses? On top of that, why would pay premium for EF "L" lenses which aren't even native to the camera body that I purchased? The MC-11 adapter works pretty seamlessly, too, but it would be similarly odd to expect somebody with no prior investment in Canon EF lenses to buy a Sony camera and then go out and buy Canon EF lenses to stick on it.

Of course you can do it, but one has to wonder why you wouldn't just buy a Canon DSLR if you're going to do that.

The cost of the RF lenses was part of your reply. I stated an alternative to the RF lenses at lesser cost. And 'pretty seamlessly' isn't the same as 'seamlessly'...not even close.

Well, everything involving an adapter is "pretty seamless" since it's an adapter. Only a native lens made by the manufacturer itself would be a truly "seamless" experience. As for the MC-11, it's been shown that a Canon EF lens on a Sony body using the MC-11 actually performs better than the same lens on a Canon DSLR for which it was designed so I'd say that "pretty seamless" in this case is close enough.

Introducing lenses from another system (in this case, EF) does not address the cost of RF lenses any more than introducing EF lenses is addressing the cost of Sony E-mount lenses (something which Sony has gone a long way toward fixing with their more affordable options).

Interesting but I just don't see who this body is for. There might be something in it for those who approach photography in an old school way and get everything they need in this body.

With that said, for most, I think if your budget is what's forcing you towards this body, then you won't have money for lenses. You might as well go APSC.