First camera, R7, R8 or used R6?

[weggaa]

I’ve been learning photography over the past year using my iPhone 14 Pro’s camera. I’ve gotten better results than I ever could have imagined and it’s turned into a burning desire to get an actual camera. I really want to do wildlife photography and landscape as I am always hiking in the woods. This creates a bit of clash for me though as my two favourite types of photography apparently benefit from two different bodies that I have budgeted for. R7 for wildlife and R8 for landscape. I am wondering what everyone’s thoughts are for using an R7 for landscape so I could get the best of both worlds. I do plan on making large prints (24x36 for example) of my photos as well and hanging them up in my own house.

I should also mention I have seen a used first gen R6 in my area for the price of a new R7/R8 and am wondering if that’s worth going for instead.

Thank you in advance.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

The R7 or R6 would likely be the best options for you.  For wildlife and large output prints, the R7 would likely be my choice.  What is your actual budget?

You will not just need a camera.  You are going to need 2-3 memory cards, at least 1 extra battery and one or more lenses too. 

[ctitanic]

I'll go with an used (Like New from MPB) R6. At first it may seem that the higher resolution of the R7 is an advantage but I owned it and the R7 is very noisy camera. You will have to pay special attention to Noise. I exchanged my R7 for an used R6. That tells you everything. The R8 sounds like a good option but there are too many limitations on it such as: 1 sd card slot and no joystick. I recently shared my thoughts about the best canon cameras for wildlife and sport photography at my blog in case that you want to check it, bare in mind that those are just my thoughts and personal opinion which may be wrong or differ from others opinions.

[p4pictures]

First let me stir the water a little...

EOS R6 - great durable camera, 20MP and good AF with animals (birds, canines, felines)

EOS R7 - high resolution, but noisy pictures at higher ISO settings, though makes lenses feel longer for wildlife. Also has AF with animal detection (birds, canines, felines)

EOS R8 - has the latest generation sensor, and updated AF that for animals covers birds, canines, felines and equine. It misses out on the joystick, dual cards, and in-body IS.

Currently this is a tough choice, given your intent to produce 24 x 36 inch prints then resolution might be helpful from the R7, but it's not so many more pixels than the 24MP R8. Both have more than the R6, but then again I have 60 x 90 inch print from an EOS R6 image I took in 2021. 

Perhaps one of the best courses of action is to rent an EOS R7, use it in low light and average light then see if you like the quality of the images. Remember that it would be almost 80MP if it covered the same area of image sensor as a full frame camera like the EOS R6 or EOS R8.

While others like the EOS R6 as a good quality alternative to the EOS R7, I think that the EOS R8 should not be discounted for it has the latest generation of AF and the extra subject detection within the animal category as well as extras in the vehicle category too. It does lack the IBIS of the other two, but for landscapes maybe not so much of a problem and for longer lens wildlife the shutter speed is often beyond the camera shake threshold. A lens like the RF 100-400mm has optical IS and is a nice balance on the EOS R8.