@impatronus wrote:
...I wish there was a way to rent the bodies, even overnight, so I could give them a true test run with different lighting, lenses and locations. oh well. I will go to a few different stores and get as much out of the day as I can.
Both cameras are available to rent from Lensrentals dot com and other sources, for whatever period of time you'd like.
I agree with a previous post that a camera for work should be one with proven reliabiltiy (such as 5D Mark IV or 6D Mark II).
However, there are some definite advantages to a mirrorless model like the EOS R.
1. The electronic viewfinder gives you immediate preview of how your images will look... essentially confirming your settings.
2. The EOS R has much lower light capable autofocus than any DSLR and it's "focus points" (over 5600 of them!) cover almost the the entire image area (100% of the vertical, 88% of the horizontal).
3. Some stunning new lenses have been introduced with the R and more are anticipated. But it also can be used with existing EF lenses via an adapter. Canon cleverly designed and offers three of those (I bet other manufacturers will follow their lead): a relatively inexpensive plain adapter, another with a "control ring" to which you can assign various functions and a third that accommodates drop in filters (currently Circ Pol and Variable ND are available). This last allows filters to be used on lenses where it's otherwise difficult... such as the TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt Shift or the EF 11-24mm f/4L ultrawide.
4. Initially the EOS R was offered at close to $1000 less than the 5DIV. But right now with holiday discounts and bundling the 5DIV with battery grip and the EOS R with it's battery grip are almost the same price.
There are some things to thnk about, though. Like all mirrorless, the R's electronic viewfinder is like using Live View on a DSLR full time, so it won't get nearly as many shots per battery charge as a DSLR with an optical viewfinder. The good news is that it uses the same LP-E6N batteries as 5DII and later, as well as many other Canon DSLRs. And there's the BG-E22 battery grip available for the R, which doubles battery capacity. The EOS R is also slower than the DSLRs to start up.... though there's no lag when shooting with it.
Read the reviews of each. Rent them.
BTW, the 5DII you have now was a ground-breaking camera for video in its day. A lot of them were used by Hollywood making films and television shows. In fact, AFAIK, a number are still being used. As such, I bet there's a substantial repair network if you'd like to keep using yours.
The main improvement with the later models, in my opinion, was their much more sophisticated autofocus systems. The 5D II saw little improvement over the original 5D in that respect... both have rather simple AF. 5DIII and later essentially got the 61-point system from the top-of-the-line 1D-series models, and it's been further improved ever since. This makes the later cameras more capable with moving subjects. But if those aren't something you shoot, the AF improvments might not make all that much difference, except that the newer ones are better in low light and "f/8 capable" allowing more lens/teleconverter combos to be use. (The EOS R's AF is even better in both respects.)
Bryan Carnathan at The-Digital-Picture dot com has an interesting and fairly comprehensive comparison of the EOS R and 5DIV. A Google search to "compare EOS R 5DIV" will brind back a number of other comparisons you might find helpful.
Compare... read the reviews... rent each camera to see for yourself..... and don't be too quick to give up on the old 5DII!
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Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2) some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & ZENFOLIO
