canon r6 II or canon r8?

[hakuntata]

hi everybody,

I'm really into dog photography and it ties in with my work as a dog trainer and would like to do it semi professionally eventually hence looking for a better camera, I'm currently on an Olympus OM-D EM1 MKII and feel its really struggling with what i want to do with it. i am looking at the r6 II or potentially the r8?

I feel the r8 will better suit my needs but was keen to see what other people use for dogs in action and dog portraits as well as of course using it for every day photography on holidays etc

[shadowsports]

Greetings, t

The R6 Mark II is quite a step up from the R8 in both features and performance, hence the large price difference.

What are the compelling reasons for you stating that the R8 might be better suited for your needs?  

[SignifDigits]

Thanks for dropping in and asking for opinions.  I hope you get several to choose from.  Canon certainly has some great products to offer and I love mirrorless shooting.  How, specifically, is the Olympus camera struggling/falling short?  I see you're thinking of moving to full-frame rather than APS-C.  What is motivating you in that direction?

I think perhaps we should consider what lens or lenses you'll be wanting for your work first?  Can you be happy and comfortable using prime rather than zoom lenses?  That can certainly lower your lens expense.  Do you have a lens or lenses in mind or already own one that you plan to use?   I personally tend to think that good lens choices are more important than camera choices in general.  I am guessing many of the more experienced people here have more money tied up in lenses than cameras.  

I have owned both the R8 and the R6 Mark ii.  I just sold my R8 as I don't use it anymore.  I have plans to replace it with, most likely, the R7 Mark ii when released to use it for wildlife photography.  The in-body IBIS and better autofocus were my primary motivations for choosing the Mark ii.   

If you choose the R8 you will lose in-body stabilization that you were used to with your Olympus.  The R8 is a good and capable camera and I have many great photos from it, so there's nothing wrong with it, certainly.  I personally like the heft and feel of the R6 Mark ii in my hands (I like that it's bigger and weigh more, but that' just me) but I have many photos that I enjoyed taking with the R8.   Many may prefer the smaller and lighter body of the R8, and that coule be a better fit for you, just not for me.

For your application something like an RF 70-200 f2.8 in the external telescoping version or a good used EF 70-200 F2.8 with an adapter could help you get some fantastic portraits as well as those longer range dog action shots.  Forgoing IBIS would mean that any older full-frame mirrorless Canon camera could be paired with those lenses with success.  You wouldn't be cropping as heavily as, say, bird shooters, so the pixel count isn't really critical.

Again, it would really help to understand what issues you're having with your camera, what your thoughts are regarding your priorities for lens or lenses and camera.  I would certainly recommend an R8 and better lenses over choosing a R6 Mark ii and putting lens quality on the back burner.  In fact, I'd even consider a good used RP if that's what it took to spend the money on the lens or lenses to enhance your chances for capturing the images you want.

I found that in the end I wound up compromising by not getting the R5 Mark ii (though I drool over the eye-directed focusing) and eventually getting more expensive lenses.    I have no regrets on lens investments, and I have no need to move from the Mark ii to the Mark iii.  Cameras tend to advance a bit more rapidly than lenses, so spending money on lenses and waiting as long as possible on getting a better camera is really the better investment strategy in my mind.