CANON EOS R7 AND R10
THE VERDICT If these cameras were released a few years ago, we’d have been bowled over by the spec and the low, low price. But time marches on and the EOS R7 and R10 just don’t set the world alight any more in terms of features. When you get to know what the real specs are, they actually fall behind some of the competition. However, for committed Canon users they are affordable, light and – if you understand their limitations – can produce excellent footage. Colours are great, detail is good and rolling shutter isn’t too bad. There’s decent IS in the R7, too. The R7 is the star of the duo and a solid performer – especially if you don’t want slow motion.
“The sensor is not the best at controlling noise, but it’s easily cleaned up in post”
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The sensor is not the best at controlling noise, but it’s easily cleaned up in post; this is true for both stills and video. There’s no Log gamma either. There isn’t any in-body image stabilisation from the sensor, so to keep things steady, the R10 uses data from lenses featuring Optical IS to pair with its Movie Digital IS. For the first time in EOS cameras, the IS system is used to balance the horizon when the Auto Level feature is enabled, and also compensates for vertical shake when shooting in the new panoramic or panning modes. It works pretty well, too. The EOS R10 does a decent job at being a small, carry-around camera that isn’t built for professional filmmaking – but it doesn’t really pretend to be. There is no headphone jack, for example, so it’s not good for monitoring audio. But it does have the latest multi-function accessory shoe, so you can use the Tascam XLR adapter which does have a headphone jack. But it’s unlikely that the purchaser of a camera like this will splurge £515/$499 on such a pro bit of kit. The EOS R10 also fits far smaller batteries than the LP-E6-style cells of the R7, meaning it runs out of juice relatively quickly. That’s the price you pay for a camera so small and light. For the money, it’s a decent performer – and 4K/30p footage is actually very good. But if you want it for much more than that, it’s a little bit lacking.
EOS R10: The svelte option For a camera that costs a mere £900/$979 and has plenty of spec to match its pricier brother, the EOS R10 seems to have an awful lot going for it. Despite fewer pixels from its APS-C sensor, it offers the same headline video spec. But once again, you have to interrogate the features to see what’s going on: the devil’s in the details. Like the R7, the 4K Fine video mode offers 30p recording that’s oversampled from the full sensor – in this case 6K. The footage is very good, although not quite as amazing as the R7. That’s because the EOS R10 is limited to 4:2:0 8-bit, apart from in HDR PQ mode where that goes up to 4:2:2 10-bit. And the chances of people using an R10 for recording HDR PQ right now is pretty slim as it’s fairly niche. In 4K/60p mode, it’s not oversampled and there is a 1.6x crop – on top of the 1.6x APS-C crop compared to full-frame. There is a definite drop in quality.
canon.co.uk
FLIPPITY DOO-DAH Both cameras’ screens flip out – which is good for video
HOW IT RATES (EOS R7)
Features: 8 No Raw, All-I or 4K/120p. But there is 10-bit 4:2:2, Dual Pixel AF and IBIS Performance: 8 4K Fine footage is good, but limited in frame rates Handling: 8 It’s small and compact, but the new layout isn’t for everyone Value for money: 9 For a pro camera, it’s a bit of a bargain if you can overlook some issues OVERALL RATING: 8/10 Decent performer, but at a very good price point Pros: Video AF, detailed 4K/30p, affordable Cons: Few codecs and frame rates
HOW IT RATES (EOS R10)
Features: 7 Good AF, but no IBIS, Log or 4:2:2 10-bit in normal use Performance: 7 4K/30p footage is detailed, but low light is an issue Handling: 7 It’s even smaller than the R10, but no headphone jack Value for money: 8 Despite the super-low price, it’s lacking for pro use OVERALL RATING: 7/10 A consumer camera that could work for video at a push Pros: Compact, good AF, affordable Cons: Limited in video spec
STARTER The R10 video menu is aimed at newbies
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