If the specs and the reality match the hype and initial reviews then....It's Canon for the win.

Photograph NOT taken with a Canon R6.

I watched with great interest as Canon rolled out their first two "real" "authentic" "desirable" mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras this week. And I have to say, right off the bat, that I am very impressed. Canon basically followed the time tested Apple strategy of letting all the other players in the market experiment and roll out iterations of haphazardly engineered cameras to see what kinds of tech resonated with customers and what stuff was irrelevant. Now they are marching into the market fully equipped to lay waste to Nikon and to scare the crap out of the Sony camera division.

Yesterday Canon announced the details of two new mirrorless cameras; the R6 and the R5. These are the new face of Canon's mirror-free offerings for advanced amateurs and professionals, and the list of features, and the plethora of technical advances, will make these two cameras lightning rods for people who are looking to upgrade from Canon (and Nikon, etc.) DSLRs and into the mirrorless space.

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't see this level of product introduction coming. But I am impressed. Were I to come to the camera market bereft of inventory but amply funded I think I'd be pre-ordering every RF lens (the good ones) in sight as well as pre-ordering one of each camera body.

Lots of people seem interested in the R5 which is the more advanced and exotically featured of the two cameras. It boasts a newly designed and Canon produced 45 megapixel sensor, an amazing laundry list of industry leading video capabilities (including 8K raw video), has best in class in body image stabilization and focuses with the intensity of an alien tractor beam from a Star Trek episode. Get this:
Animal eye focus that can focus on a bird's eye......while in flight. The R5 is the camera that might appeal most to video production companies that want the highest level of video capability they can get their hands on without cresting the $5,000 price barrier. And it will be the Canon camera of choice for studio photographers and landscape enthusiasts but I conjecture that it's the R6 that will lead the way for Canon and become as popular as the Canon 5Dx series was for Canon in the traditional DSLR segment. And here's why:

It's got nearly everything 95% of photographers want and need and it's nearly half the price of its catalog mate.

So, let's concentrate on the R6 for a bit as that's the camera I'd be in the market for if I was looking to upgrade or change systems in the next few months.

The R6 uses the same 20 megapixel, full frame sensor as their super/flagship/Sports/heavyweight 1DXmk3 camera. It's a well regarded sensor that's got great high ISO performance, fast readout and good dynamic range. The camera is one of three full frame cameras right now that can provide 60p full frame 4K video, and can do so at 10 bits. Canon has also stepped up and offered the HEIF format as an option in addition to Jpeg. The HEIF files can be compressed to be smaller than 8 bit Jpegs but are capable of 10 bit color capture. This should deliver much richer and more refined color capability for former Jpeg shooters and is on track to be the new non-RAW file standard going forward.

One of the things that will get a lot of press in the next few months as film makers and photographers work with the R6 will be the in body image stabilization provided by the new Canon cameras. When coupled with certain Canon lenses that are also stabilized the system is supposed to provide up to 8.5 stops of stabilization. If it works as intended then, to my mind, Canon will have rendered most of the market for gimbals and stabilizers redundant and obsolete. Why spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for heavy add-on gadgets if the camera and lens already in your bag can offer identical or better performance?

8.5 stops of stabilization will be game changing for film makers. For photographers it's probably the difference between having to carry a tripod around for certain kinds of shots and just leaving the three legged anchors at home.

While they took their sweet time getting to this point Canon seems to have stacked the deck just right. They have color reproduction that most people find pleasing and which Canon fans find irreplaceable.
They have effectively gone toe-to-toe with Panasonic for video supremacy (Sorry Sony, great specs but crappy actual files) while trumping the D-F-D AF with dual pixel AF that locks in like velcro. They've just replaced the older EOS lens mount with a much bigger and more all embracing lens mount and have effectively built the camera everyone's been waiting for --- even down to the swiveling rear screen for the legion of V-loggers who've been howling for that feature with each new camera introduction.

I've looked over the camera specs and read many of the better "hands on, first impression reviews" (Gordon at Cameralabs seems to do the best job on this release) and the only glitch I can find, the only thing I'd change, is the HDMI connector. It's a micro-HDMI. Should be at least a mini. But since the camera writes really great 4K video files to internal SD cards (yes, there are two UHS-2 slots) perhaps the rationalization was that few people would need to splash out for external digital recorders so why bother?

The logical entry into this system is not the R5 but is the R6. I'd bundle the camera body with the higher quality RF 24-105mm f4.0 lens and in one stroke have both a highly functional photography machine and very capable 4K video camera. All for an outlay of around $3500. Spend another couple hundred $$$ on a stash of new Canon batteries and you'd be ready to handle so many different kinds of work. There's an allure here that's going to be especially powerful to people who are currently using Canon's older APS-C and traditional DSLR users.

Canon has pulled out a big spotlight to show the path forward for both Nikon and Sony. Nikon needs to get their dual card slot stuff in gear, jazz up their AF, size their bodies correctly and ramp up their video offerings by installing faster processing. Sony....well....they've got a lot of work ahead of them just in haptics and handling. Then they can work on getting 10 bit 4:2:2, 4K video files in their cameras. Even if they could just offer it in one.... And then work on the weather sealing. Oh, and the ruggedness and reliability of their offerings. And while we're at it maybe they could field just one camera that doesn't overheat when used in 4K in Texas between April and October.

So, in an honest appraisal, if I compare Canon and Panasonic's S1 series side by side would I still opt for the Panasonics? While the S1s might be more rugged, and their expensive lenses a bit better, if I were standing in front of the counter at the camera store having just lost all of my gear in a tragic, flaming meteor strike, I'd probably come down on the side of the Canons. With their overwhelming market share of serious cameras I would know that they'll more quickly roll out more lenses that cover more needs more often. I'd know that the cameras and accessories would be more widely available. There would be no difference in overall cost of ownership. And, who doesn't want 8.5 stops of image stabilization? Handheld camera for short movies, here we come.

Am I rushing to pre-order? Not this year. I've at least got the S1s figured out for the time being. All the lenses I have for the system are great. The results are fantastic. But I have to admit, Canon just impressed the hell out of me for the first time in a while. I'm paying attention and I'm betting photographers AND film makers all over the world are watching closely.

The one thing I remember from owning a Canon 5Dmk2, a 7D and a couple of different 1D variants is just how perfect they felt in my hands. That's the part that some of their competitors miss. And it's almost as important as the imaging capabilities.

But in a year with NO business spending money on a gigantic system overhaul makes about as much sense as lighting $100 bills on fire to get your BBQ charcoal lit. As to the R5? I'll start to think about that around the first time a client even mentions 8K video.....  And I think that will be a while...

Just thought we'd talk new cameras this morning. Now I'm out making sure all the trees get deep watered today; we're supposed to have a week long heat wave. Water+Trees = Good.

My final advice: Keep your eyes on the R6. Read the reviews. When that big multi-media assignment hits your calendar pounce like a house cat on a dropped piece of tuna. And get to work.

Added after consultation with a video savant: Seems there are a number of reports already of the R5 overheating while filming in 4K and beyond. Seems that Panasonic still holds the pole position for video without overheating. Too bad. I had high hopes for the Canons...  KT

Staying motivated during long periods of relative isolation. Trying to make a routine walk different.

An observation deck under the Congress Ave. Bridge. Austin, Texas.

I seem to be settling into a rhythm these days. It's Tuesday so I know I have a swim scheduled with my masters team at 6 a.m. I've stopped taking a camera to the pool with me. It seems intrusive. And I've photographed our pool in so many different ways that it's starting to feel redundant. If something spectacular happens, well....I still have my iPhone. 

Today I shared a lane with Margaret. We were diligent and pretty much stayed on task. The weather is heating up here so we decided to leave the cooling aerators on during practice. That meant swimming through a shower of big, splashy drops at one end of the pool. And as the sun came up the rosy, warm morning light played through the arcing water making a light show for the swimmers. 

Yesterday I spent too much time sitting around the office, doing things like making web galleries for several doctors, and paying that overdue business insurance bill. I didn't want to get stuck in my desk chair today so after breakfast I decided to do one of my walks with a camera. I mean, really... we've got all this time to go out and play and most of us are spending it sitting in front of our computers pretending to be working but really just cruising through our favorite websites, reading too much news, and window shopping for cameras when we're mostly not using the ones we already have. I wanted to throw off my pretension that I was making any sort of meaningful progress while sitting in front of a monitor soaking up the blue light. 

I set myself to a task today of coming back with photographs I hadn't seen or taken before. I wanted to look at my small part of the world a little differently. I took the world's best camera and lens combination with me. It's the Sigma fp with the 45mm f2.8 Sigma lens. I don't want to get all up in some escalating Mac versus PC style argument so just take my word for it. The Sigma fp is strangely better than all the Sonys, Canons and Nikons combined. (Not being serious; don't bother posting rebuttals...). 

It occurs to me that most photographers want to be out photographing but it seems harder and harder to get motivated for some of us. I stepped back and looked at my own reticence and decided that it's the same as the pool having been closed for a couple of months. You lose your edge if you don't do your craft consistently enough. If there's no financial incentive, and you've been restricted from taking the kinds of photos you want to, the push to get out the door with a camera in your hands gets harder and harder every day. Or it seems that way.

When I return to the pool after prolonged time off I feel kludgy and slow, tired and sore. It's easy to decide to take the next day off. And it gets easier to back away more as the days go by. But I've learned to depend on a bit of discipline to get back into shape and stay there. I make a schedule and promise myself to keep it. If I feel like crap when I get up in the early morning I tell myself I'll just drive over to the pool, grab an empty lane and just screw around. Once I get there and put in a few hundred yards I get renewed energy and my stroke starts to feel better. I toss aside my original lazy intention and join the workout in earnest. 

Each successful day builds a base for future success. The harder I swim the better I get. 

Today was a good day to be out walking early. We're having our first heat wave here and the later we get into the days the hotter and more humid it becomes. In mid-morning the walk started at 83° f and by the time I made it back to the starting bridge it was 88°.  The camera felt small and light on a strap over my shoulder. 

I've spent a lot of recent walks photographing buildings and parts of buildings; and when there is great sky to photograph I catch a lot of that. Today started out with soft clouds and pushed me to concentrate on more subject matter at ground level. More shots that didn't depend on a beautiful, rich sky for their essential attraction. I also have become more interested in using the 45mm wide open or near wide open when I can. It gives such nice background rendering (see above). 

One of the secrets of enjoyable walks is wearing good shoes. I have three pairs of walking shoes that I really like. Two of them are Keens and the third ( just above) is a pair of Merrills. They have Vibram soles and while the Keens are a bit stiffer and more shock absorbent the Merrills are close behind 

and quite a bit lighter. Now reminding myself in the moment to 

get some leather treatment on these pups...

This is the perennial starting point view for many walks into downtown. 

There are a series of North/South bridges that connect south Austin to downtown.

Nearly all of them have pedestrian walkways while one is strictly a pedestrian bridge.

That's the Pfluger Bridge and it's the one I'm standing on to take this photo.

It's close to my starting point which is also my ending point. 

I've walked over the top of this art work for years and never took time to stop and really look at it. There are a series of metal and colored glass constructions embedded in the sidewalk on 2nd St. 

They've seen some wear and tear but I find them attractive and naively charming.

I'd been looking for one of these yucca plants to photograph but most I've found are bruised or have dead spots on them. Wouldn't you know I'd find one in almost perfect shape over by the Four Seasons Hotel? Figures. 

I walked through here about 10 days ago and this shaded seating area wasn't here. 

It was built and donated by The Trail Foundation which is a private group

dedicated to improving and maintaining the wonderful hike and bike trails running 

around our downtown lake --- which is also part of the Colorado River.

It's a beautiful little spot on the North shore of the lake, just east of the Congress Ave. Bridge.

They must have just finished the project because there's not a spot of graffiti on any part of it. 

 The lighting was so nice on this spot today. I hope the compression in Blogger doesn't 

render it ugly and smashed up.

The way the Sigma fp and the 45mm lens render foliage is so natural. 

I feel like I'm standing there, sweating and admiring the trees and their leaves...

This is the opposite view from the Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge in the photo is the Lamar Bridge. 

It used to be one of the main bridges that runners used to go North/South when running various loops around the lake. But the sidewalks on the bridge were designed at a time when traffic was much slower and much sparser. They are extremely narrow. Too narrow. The city began production on the Pfluger (Pedestrian) Bridge after several runners were struck by cars and killed. 
It's still a handsome structure, but in a very 1950's way.

When I left my car this morning and started the walk I was already tired from getting up early and swimming hard for a couple miles. The first fifteen minutes of this adventure felt slow and groggy. There was an annoying allergy drip down my throat. My energy was at a low ebb. I thought, what the hell, I'll just make a short loop and head back home. 

The further I got into the walk the better I started to feel. By the time I got to the farthest side of the route I was feeling great. I was in sync with the camera and lens combination and seeing things in a fresher way that I have in a while. By the end I was happy. Really happy. 

Walks are unpredictable. Sometimes the cadence of walking takes over and I'm reticent to stop and take photographs. A week or so ago I took a camera, walked for an hour and a half and took two photos. When I reviewed them I erased them and decided that sometimes a walk is just a walk. Today I felt like this was a balanced walk with a camera. There were things that piqued my interest and there were stretches where it just felt great to glide by and stay with the rhythm of my breathing. And then there are the walks where everything seems interesting and photogenic and I come home with hundreds of photographs and the realization that I barely covered a mile or so. 

Another funny aspect of walks is that when I walk in the neighborhood with Belinda, or out in Dripping Springs with Emmett, I never bother to bring along a camera. With Belinda there are too many interesting things to talk about and our mission is exercise. With Emmett there are too many hills, the pace is quite brisk and the camera would just slow me down. 

I would say that I appreciate the solo walks but they are never really "solo" if I have a camera with me. 

I walked with a camera today. It felt good. It felt like a happy process. The secret is to walk again tomorrow. And the next day. Then it becomes a good habit. Besides, I've got the time right now.

Medical notes: I bought a blood oxygen tester a few weeks ago. I thought I'd check my VO2 every once in a while to make sure I was healthy. Low oxygen levels can be a sign that you might have developed a respiratory disease (Like COVID-19) while other symptoms might not have emerged yet. 

I've had fun testing myself. My blood oxygen generally run between 96-98. I had no idea that there would be as much variation. I thought homeostasis would iron out the ups and downs. 

But the interesting thing is that this device is giving a constant readout of my pulse rate. If I take the device to the pool and clip it onto my finger after I get out from a hard workout my pulse rate can be as high as 135 or 140 (it drops pretty quickly right after the last set). By the time I'm sitting in my car getting ready to go home it's dropped into the 70's and, sitting at the dining room table, by the time I've finished eating my combination of yogurt, muesli and blueberries, my heart rate settles down to the mid to upper 50s.

If I sit in a chair for an hour reading and relaxing I can watch the BPM dip all the way down to the low 50's. 

I didn't realize just how much a person's heart rate would vary depending on their activity. It's been fun. 

If I try to make my heart rate slower the effort of trying to control it speeds it up. Same with the O2 readings. I guess the mantra for today is: relax. 

And create or recreate a habit of photographing.