DiscussionR6 V with no viewfinder and no mechanical shutter. Has Canon lost the plot?

I read the announcement twice to be sure I had not misunderstood. An 'R6' with no viewfinder of any kind, no mechanical shutter, and a cooling fan. 32.5 megapixels and $2,499, with a power zoom RF 20-50mm f/4L to go with it.

I am told it is a 'video-first' camera. In which case, why call it an R6, a name people associate with a stills camera? I appreciate I am not the target customer, but I fail to see how holding a camera at arm's length and squinting at a screen in the sunshine is progress.

Kind regards

It's not a stills camera with video, it's a cinema camera in a stills body, and the name is the only daft thing about it. No EVF is normal for anything that lives in a cage with a monitor on top. The fan means it'll keep recording. For anyone shooting interviews or wedding films this is what we've been asking for.

The stills crowd keep judging it as an R6 that's had bits taken off. Look at it as a C70 that's had bits taken off and it suddenly looks cheap. Most of my paid work is a body in a cage, a monitor, a mic receiver and a V-mount, and the EVF on my S5 II gets used maybe once a month when the sun's behind me. Nobody on a set is holding the camera to their eye for an hour. The ones who say otherwise mostly shoot stills and borrow video words.

ben_carrick said:

the name is the only daft thing about it

On that, at least, we agree.

harrogate_h said:

why call it an R6

It's an FX3 competitor with a Canon badge. Calling it R6 was marketing, not madness.

harrogate_h said:

I am told it is a 'video-first' camera.

great so they had time to make this but not an R7 II, cheers Canon

harrogate_h said:

why call it an R6, a name people associate with a stills camera?

Because it's the same 32.5MP as the R6 III and it'll sit next to it on a job, man. For a wedding team that matters. My video guy runs this, I run R6 IIIs, and we're sharing lenses and probably batteries. I'd buy one for him tomorrow if it means we stop hauling a separate cinema rig.

People forget what a wedding day actually looks like. We're in and out of cars, churches, barns, someone's mum's garden, for twelve hours. Every extra case is a thing that can get left behind. If my video guy can carry a body the same shape as mine, with the same lenses, he moves faster and we stop arguing about who has which cards. I don't care what it's called. The client doesn't either. Canon could've named it the Banana and I'd still be pricing it up for next season. Where I'd agree with you is that it's not a stills camera. I would never hand my second shooter one of these for the ceremony.

ben_carrick said:

No EVF is normal for anything that lives in a cage with a monitor on top.

sure but not everything lives in a cage. no evf at a gig is a no for me. i shoot from the pit with the camera at my face so the screen doesn't light up the front row. not my camera

harrogate_h said:

I appreciate I am not the target customer

That's the key sentence. Dropping the mechanical shutter on a video body is fine. Dropping it on anything you might use with flash is a different story, so stills shooters should look elsewhere. That's not Canon losing the plot, that's Canon being clear about who it's for. The only confused part is the name.

Then perhaps I am confused rather than Canon. It would not be the first time. My grandson says the same about my telephone.

Can I ask a silly question, could you use it for photos of kids if you just use the screen? I use the screen on my R8 half the time anyway lol, mostly because my 4 year old won't look at me if the camera's covering my face

jenna_whitlock said:

could you use it for photos of kids if you just use the screen?

Of course. It's a 32MP camera. People shoot stills on phones with no viewfinder every day. You'd lose the mechanical shutter, which only matters if you use flash, and you hate flash.

Which is rather my point.

harrogate_h said:

Which is rather my point.

Clients don't care what camera you use, and they definitely don't care whether it has a viewfinder. They care whether the interview footage and audio show up on time. For video-heavy studios this is a good buy, and honestly the 20-50 power zoom is the bigger news for them.

For moose in winter forest I want viewfinder. So not this camera. No problem, it is not for me.

Wait, is this better for YouTube than my R50? I've been thinking about starting a channel about our family trips! We're doing Yellowstone in the summer and I want to film everything

kevinlearns said:

I've been thinking about starting a channel

Start the channel with the R50. Buy the camera when the channel needs it.

Ok ok you've told me this before lol

I'll say this for Canon... at least they're not afraid to try something. Nikon put a RED badge on the ZR and the sky didn't fall. Different tools for different jobs.

Now if one of you could convince Canon that birders exist, that'd be swell.

• Walt

WaltK_AZ said:

if one of you could convince Canon that birders exist

walt ive been trying for 2 years mate

rawtherapist said:

Dropping it on anything you might use with flash is a different story

Fashion with continuous light and no mechanical shutter is fine. With flash, the electronic shutter limits you, so for me it's a video camera, full stop. I'd want one as a BTS camera on set, not the main body.