New Canon APS-C mirrorless cameras

It´s two years already since Canon introduced two new mirrorless cameras, R5 and R6. They were a major and important additions which are not yet surpassed in some terms. The second half of 2021 brought the EOS R3, camera targeted for professionals. It may seem that Canon forgot about amateur and beginning photographers. Lately more and more rumors about APS-C camera started to surface, as any successor of 90D and 7Dmk2 was clearly missing.

I was privileged to have two smaller mirrorless cameras in my disposal since March 2022. They came with small and narrow lens. It was EOS R7 and R10 with lens RF-S 18-45 F4.5-6.3 IS STM and RF-S 18-150 F3.5-6.3 IS STM. They felt very familiar when picking them up for the first time, they were just smaller than what I am used to from Canon mirror/less cameras.

Full technical specification is now available to I´ll only mention the most important and interesting.

Canon EOS R7	Canon EOS R10
32.5 mpx APS-C (6960 x 4640 px)	24.2 mpx APS-C (6000 x 4000 px)
15 sn/s mechanical shutter 30 sn/s electronic shutter	15 sn/s mechanical shutter 23 sn/s electronic shutter
Dual Pixel CMOS AF II focusing	Dual Pixel CMOS AF II focusing
Video: 4k 60p 4k 30p resampled from 7k Canon Log 3	Video: 4k 60p (cut) 4k 30p resampled from 6k
IBIS (sensor stabilization) až 8 EV	Stabilization during video
2 SD slots	1 SD slot
Dust and water sealed	Internal flash
LP-E6 battery
559g	429g

Both new mirrorless cameras have the proved Canon design, only some of the controls have moved. None of them have top view display as already mentioned APS-C mirror cameras, 90D and 7mk2. R10 has controls similar to lower end mirror cameras, plus there is a joystick at the back and another round control at the top, besides others. It´s a different story with R7. Who would expect button layout similar to XXD line will be dissapointed. Canon tried to bring something new to button layout, so the customers will have to get used to it. At the place where we would expect control ring, as on 90D, 7Dmk2 or 5Dmk4 for example, there´s four-way button and play and delete button underneath. The control ring is still here but above top right corner of the display, with joystick in the middle. There´s no second round dial at the top, but the ISO and video buttons. I always had R6 with me when testing R7 and R10 and going back and forth between R6 and R7 was not so pleasant and seemless. I am quite disappointed that Canon did not keep what was already perfect.

There´s a new button on both R7 and R10. Looking from the front it´s located at bottom left from the lens mount. It´s a AF/MF switch. I could not find it on both new lens, only afterwards I found it here. A bit unusual but ok.

Menu system is what we are all used to in Canon cameras. Easy to navigate and use. Both new cameras contain functions like Focus Bracketing and there are some new functions too. One of them will be appreciated by wildlife photographers, I assume. Camera will start buffering photos when you half-press shutter button and once you actually press it you´ll have some of photos preceding the shutter release saved. Really handy for capturing difficult and fast action shots even if you have very fast reflexes.

R7 battery is well-known LP-E6, so there´s no problem using your batteries you already own. However R10 has a smaller battery, since the camera is smaller as well.

Both cameras are coming with two new RF-S lens. There´s a brief list of technical data below.

	Canon RF-S 18-45 F4.5-6.3 IS STM	Canon RF-S 18-150 F3.5-6.3 IS STM
Focal length (FF equivalent)	29-72mm	29-240mm
Optical stabilization	4EV (with R7 up to 6.5EV)	4.5EV (with R7 up to 7EV)
	Smooth automatic STM focusing
	Distortion correction and aberration minimization
No of elements/groups	7/7	7/7
Minimal focusing distance	18mm	18-35mm
Maximal magnification	0.16x (at 45mm)	0.44x (at 50mm)
Filter diameter	49mm	55mm
Weight	130g	310g

These lenses are really light and the optics diameter is smaller than the mount itself. They may seem to be quite cheap looking. I was actually quite impressed how nice photos they produced. I tried to shoot some close-ups with the longer one, 18-150mm, and the results were really good. Both of them have the control ring, as we are used to have on R system lens.

Both cameras are fully compatible with RF lens and also any EF/EF-S lens using an adapter. Same as with R5/R6 I had no issues using any RF and EF/S lenses.

How did both cameras performed? Well, one gets quickly used to a quality machinery (R5/R6), so once having new cameras in hand it is expected they will follow that standard too. I spent most of the time with R7 and besides getting used to slightly different buttons layout I really liked the experience. Even though it is a bit smaller than its full frame siblings I did not have to think about the grip in anyway. It might be a little challenging for photographers with bigger hands though. R10 is even smaller but that is very similar as with entry level DSLR cameras.

I already knew what to expect from the Canon R system and this was no exception. Everything worked fine, smooth, precise and quick focusing in all light conditions with any lens. I also did not have any issue in terms of battery life. The quality of photos is really good, definitely step up from APS-C DSLRs, very happy I did not have to fear raising ISO.

I believe that R7 will be very popular among wildlife photographers, thanks to a small sensor with 1.6x crop factor the focal length will get even more interesting. Like for example with brilliant Canon 100-500mm lens. Or even new RF 600 and 800mm lens.

I am really happy that Canon did not forget about cameras with a smaller sensor (APS-C) and these two cameras were introduced. As always there are pros and cons but I believe both R7 and R10 will find its use among many photographers. Besides a slight struggle with controls I have nothing to reprehend.