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Canon EOS RP Mirrosless Camera Review

Ever since my trip to New Zealand and Australia back in 2009, I’ve been on a mission to take better pictures. The landscapes and events on that trip were epic but the photos I brought home with simple snapshots that just did not do it justice. If you’ve ever been to Milford Sound in New Zealand, you know what I’m talking about.

I started with the Canon T1i and quickly realized that just having a good camera does not make good photos. I started learning more about photography and composition. I got some photos with more megapixels.

I upgraded to the Canon T4i and got more megapixels and a couple better lenses. I found out lenses are a huge factor in sharper images. They aren’t everything but they certainly help. Good glass (lenses) is critical to getting good images. But they do nothing to help your composition. I started to study composition and found out I could take some decent images I liked. The video options on the T4i weren’t great.

Then Canon came out with their mirrorless line. The R and the RP. I couldn’t afford and didn’t need the R at the time but the RP rang in at under $2k for a full frame mirrorless camera. The second I had that $2k, I ordered one up and hiked to the one of the tallest waterfalls in North America and photographed a NASCAR race in Las Vegas.

I was impressed.

The Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera Review

I won’t get into all the details here, but you can see the full specs on Canon’s site if you want. I’ll list the ones that have been important to me.

  • 26.2 megapixels

  • Canon RF lens mount

  • Video

    • 1080p at 24fps

    • 4k at 24fps

  • Dual Pixel Auto Focus

  • 5 fps stills

  • Rotating, flip-out 3-inch LCD screen

  • Wifi and bluetooth connection with Canon app

  • 1 SD card slot

The specs are, for the most part, plenty for me. The 5 fps still shooting mode is a bit slow. It would be nice for sports and kids to have a faster framerate than that. The benefit of that slower rate, thought, is that with a fast enough SD card, you’ll never fill the buffer.

As with many of the Canon cameras, the rotating, flip-out LCD screen is amazing and I use it all the time. Whether it’s taking video of myself and framing the shot, or just in a low or tight situation shooting a still, that LCD is very handy.

Using EF and EF-S lenses

You can use EF and EF-S lenses with an adapter on the RP but there are some restrictions, mostly with EF-S. EF lenses are great to use with the RP with the adapter and don’t cause any restrictions. My EF 24-105 f/4 L lens is on there 90% of the time and looks great. The RF 24-70 f2.8 L looks ridiculously good and one day I’ll have one.

Using EF-S lenses with the RP is possible with the adapter. They do cause a 1.6x crop, just like they would on a crop sensor. The RP also won’t shoot 1080p video with EF-S lenses. It will shoot 4k with EF-S lenses, however, so that leads me to believe it’s just a software option that Canon removed.

Firmware Upgrades

There have been a few firmware upgrades since the release of the RP. Currently it’s on version 1.4. Besides fixing bugs, auto-focus got a boost and added the ability to shoot 1080p 24fps, which was lacking in the original software for some reason. Another odd choice for Canon to remove in the software.

4k Restrictions

The RP does shoot 24 fps 4k but with some with a crop. You also lose the dual pixel autofocus. It drops down to Contrast AF which isn’t great for moving subjects. You’ll also need a faster memory card to record 4k . Those old SD cards just won’t be enough.

App features

I use the Canon iOS app often to see the images on the camera. I’ll usually take a quick look through all my shots while I’m on a trip or just returned to see if there’s any that I’d like to post right away. Often there’s 1 or 2 that I thought were epic right in camera and I can’t wait to post. You can select individual photos to download or just pull them all down.

The app also does remote shooting with the app. It’s a wifi connection so won’t go a long ways away from the camera but does have a decent range. I haven’t pushed the range yet but 10 feet away for selfies has been fine. You can easily change ISO, aperture and shutter speed with the app.

Final Conclusion on the Canon EOS RP mirrorless camera

I was worried at first buying the RP after all the reviews came out saying it was too stripped down, it didn’t have the important features and just wasn’t worth the money. But when it comes down to it Canon’s done an amazing job of keeping the price down for a solid full-frame camera. It doesn’t come close to the R or upcoming R5 but with a price less than $2000 CAD for a solid full frame, it’s a good choice for anyone looking to get into full-frame.