How satisfied am I with Canon EOS R8?

I contemplated changing my camera for a long time because my old Canon 77D was starting to hold me back, and I felt I wouldn't progress without new gear. I spent 8 years using an APS-C sensor with Canon lenses: the 50mm f/1.8, 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, and 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM .

I owe it for opening up the world of photography to me. It survived many falls and even a dunk in water. It traveled with me to Finland, Norway, Sweden, Cyprus, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Latvia, and many other countries.

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With Canon 77D, I captured my first waterfalls, northern lights, portraits, wildlife action shots, and major sporting events. Its size made it easy to carry around, and its durability made me fall in love with Canon. However, I felt limited by its performance in low light conditions, image quality, and focus. This significantly affected my confidence in taking on larger projects, such as various events, weddings, and shoots in challenging lighting conditions, because I couldn't trust the camera.

Due to financial constraints, I had to wait a very long time before I could even consider purchasing something new. I researched what to switch to, ensuring it would suit my needs and be reasonably priced. I knew that even though Canon lagged behind in mirrorless technology, I wanted to stay with Canon and make the move to mirrorless and full-frame. On the other hand, I also considered Sony cameras because they clearly dominate the mirrorless market. And their possibility in the lens is limitless.

Last year in March I had the opportunity to try the Canon EOS R6 MARK II and I fell a bit in love with the camera and it was a clear number one purchase for me. However, Canon subsequently introduced a scaled-down version of the Canon EOS R6 MARK II namely the CANON EOS R8 which has everything the same except for in-body stabilization and two SD cards. And then we have Sony, here I was eyeing the Sony Alpha A7 III and the SONY Alpha A7 IV body. These were my four favorites that I ended up choosing between.

To try out Sony, I attended one of the Sony Days events held in various cities across the Czech Republic. This allowed me to test the Sony A7 III for an hour and a half. However, the camera didn't impress me enough to switch brands, despite the greater availability of lenses for Sony. Internally, I was already convinced to give Canon another chance. The Sony A7 IV was ultimately ruled out due to its high price, which was simply beyond my reach. By now, you can probably guess which camera I decided on. The Canon EOS R6 Mark II starts at the same price as the Sony A7 IV and the difference between the Canon R8 was 25,000 CZK (1,000 euros).

So I opted for a compromise in the form of the Canon EOS R8 so that I could buy some more normal lenses and make a smooth transition into the mirrorless world. Those lenses for the RF system are scarce, however, Tamron announced new lenses for this mount and I knew I would have a long time before I could buy anything else, so gave time to Canon to create the ideal lenses.

For the body purchase I finally decided to go with the still very low-cost style. I mainly needed a wide-angle lens and something for portraits. The opportunity arose to purchase aTamron sp 15-30mm f/2.8 di vc usd pro at a very reasonable price, and to go with it I purchased a classic Canon RF 50mm 1/8. I will try to expand these two lenses with the 70-200 as soon as possible, but for now, I have to wait until I make some money :)

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So how happy am I with the new full frame mirrorless camera so far?
I have to say, the difference in capabilities with this new camera is incredible. With the Canon 77D, I couldn't go above 400 ISO without noticing noise, but now I can comfortably shoot between 1600-2000 ISO. Any higher, I need to use noise reduction in Lightroom. However, this is enough for me to regain my confidence and truly enjoy photography again. So far, the lack of in-body stabilization hasn't been an issue.

I’ve started experimenting with video, which is exciting since the Canon R8 offers high-quality video, and I'm looking forward to exploring Canon Log. I love the size and weight of the Canon R8; it's really compact. However, the Tamron lens is quite hefty, although its image quality is phenomenal. I’ll need to replace my wide-angle lens to save on weight, especially since I frequently hike and need to minimize the load. I misjudged this aspect a bit. Nevertheless, it's a brilliant lens for astrophotography with great sharpness.

One downside is that my current tripod can’t handle the balance with this setup, so I’ll soon need to invest in a new tripod that can support a large lens on a small body. Another drawback of the Canon R8 is its battery life; I expected it to be similar to the Canon 77D, but it’s about a third worse. The Canon R8 has built-in eye tracking and automatic focusing for animals, people, and cars, but I’ve found it can be a bit inaccurate and still has some catching up to do with Sony in this regard.

In conclusion, the camera has met my expectations, and I’m excited about future creations. I also recognize its limitations, but I believe every camera has them. Unfortunately, photography is an extremely expensive hobby!