1DX Mark II or upgrade to mirrorless - sports, portrait, indoor/outdoor/low light, wildlife, video

[rawirtz]

I currently shoot with my 1DX Mark II or 7D Mark II and I love them both - my 1DX is my go to for almost everything though. I am considering upgrading to mirrorless, but I'm not sure which one will be the best for my needs.  I shoot high school and college outdoor / indoor / low light sports, sports videos, wildlife, and some portrait.  I love what the 1DX has for video setting options and the excellent ISO.  I use my 1DX with a cross-body strap and monopod, I am starting to get back and shoulder issues.

If I upgrade I would rather not purchase a base model and have to upgrade again in a couple of years but I also don't want to purchase more camera than I need. If I have to I will purchase all new lenses but would prefer a camera that I can use my current lenses on and purchase an adapter.

UPDATE: I don't like the fact that the 1DX doesn't have an articulating display (I do a lot of low shooting during sports) and I am not a fan of the weight. I also wish it had wireless connection capability without having to purchase a separate adapter. I currently have the following lenses: EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS III, EF 28-300 f/3.5-5.6L IS USM, EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II USM, EF 50 f/1.8 STM, EF 17-35 f/2.8 L USM. I don't want to say that $ isn't an issue, but I'm willing to pay $$$ for an excellent product.

[Tronhard]

Thanks for that update!
The Refurb R5 I suggested would be about $2k cheaper, leaving you plenty of funds left for the higher-capacity batteries, the Express CF cards that the R5 uses, and a CF Express card reader.
For me, the ability to switch between FF and APS-C personalities in one camera is a great feature - again, depending on your output.

[Tronhard · Accepted solution]

No worries - I had not seen your update but appreciate your effort.
OK, given that you have a range of EF lenses rather than EF-S glass, and with the following summery as I see it:
A FF sensor is best for portraits, low light work, wide-angle work
An APS-C sensor offers a FoV boost for wildlife and some sports.
You are shooting images with a range from digital, through year books to quite large prints.

That would normally suggest two cameras a FF and an APS-C unit, but I am going to not head in that direction.  To be honest I am not convinced that the current line-up of APS-C sensor cameras is right at the present and have avoided getting one, even though I shoot with very long lenses myself.   So, I am going to suggest that you consider the Canon EOS R5, which is currently the top general purpose camera from Canon.  It has a 45MP FF sensor, but offers the ability to shoot in APS-H (1.3 x) and APS-C (1.6x) crop modes and you can switch between those modes quite quickly.  If you were to shoot in APS-C crop mode, it would render images of about 17MP, which is pretty close to what you were getting from the 7DII, but requires only one camera.  

I have shot in both all those modes and had no issues with quality, and I would expect much the same for you, given your L lenses (I had the 28-300L and was rather sad I sold it).  It should utilize your current EF glass via the Canon EF-RF adapters.

The R5 has a lighter body, uses the same batteries as your 7DII, can use a battery grip, although for weight reasons I suspect you may pass on that, is weather sealed and has a great focusing system with eye and face detection.   It also has excellent video capability - but that is not my area of expertise, so I shall leave that to others.

As I understand it, this body is on sale right now, so it should not break the bank.  The model is listed on Canon's refurb site at a great price: Shop Canon Refurbished EOS R5 Body | Canon U.S.A., Inc.  These cameras may not even have been used, but if so, will be as good as new (some argue better) and come with a warranty.

[Tronhard]

If this looks of interest, I would recommend downloading the R5 manual and perusing it - here is a link: c003.pdf (start.canon)  

Also consider watching the following video: 

The R5 and R6 share the same focusing system, but have different sensor sizes - the R6 has a 20MP FF sensor and a different control layout, but in many other respects they are the same.  I have the R5, R6 and R6II models (the latter is a 24MP camera), and often use the R5 in all three sensor modes, for wildlife and other applications.

[Tronhard]

BTW, I might have suggested the R6 or R6MkII, but with only 20 and 24MP sensors respectively, you would be looking at a second APS-C body if you want to shoot wildlife, or sports at a distance and still produce large prints.  If that was not necessary, then the R6MkII would be a good alternative.

[Tronhard]

Having watched some more sections of the video by Mavin, the R5 has gone through multiple firmware updates from the date of this video, which have resolved video issues he mentions, and also enhanced the capabilities of the camera.  To get a summery of these you can check out the firmware updates list and changes summary: Here