herein2020

I updated the FW to 1.6 as soon as it came out, it froze 2 days later on a photo shoot...shutter button stopped working until I restarted it; back screen and everything else kept working, just shutter button wouldn't do anything when I pressed it....not exactly confidence inspiring. Yes the EVF delay for photos is in all mirrorless cameras but it seemed excessive to me so I opened a ticket with Canon and paid $150 to ship it to them and they returned it saying nothing was wrong. The R7 has the same delay, if a person blinks while taking their picture, in the EVF their eyes are still open, when reviewing the image their eyes are closed, runway shows are the worst for me, the front foot is on the ground in the EVF, in the captured image they have already picked it back up, little things like that are decreasing my keeper count.....definitely making me miss my OVF especially since I typically have a flash setup so I can't just spray and pray; and yes I have tried the higher FPS mode for the EVF. I had a ballerina jumping and doing twirls for a photo shoot....that was the worst, I was ready to throw the camera out of the window, there was literally no way to do anything except just hope for a few keeper shots; I had multiple flashes setup so again...no spray and pray option due to flash recycle times. The R7 is quirky too....sometimes the hotshoe doesn't trigger the flash, I know it is not the flash because it is the same flash I have had for years. Also, pressing the record button while it is recording doesn't always stop the recording, requiring multiple presses. After stopping the recording there's a delay of approximately 3-5s where you can't record again as if the buffer is clearing out or something like that; the S5 did not do that. I really think Canon's cameras have become so complicated that they have all the sophistication of modern computers along with all of their intermittent issues. So yes, when I am on a photoshoot I just don't trust the R5 it is that simple; I don't want the photo side of it to lock up or have an issue because I was off shooting some b-roll video since I value reliability above all else. I got used to a dedicated photo camera with the 5DIV's rock solid reliability (its video was unusable), so after those issues early on I will treat the R5 the same way. Ironically, I trust the R7 more as a hybrid than the R5. But back to the R6II 🤣 I noticed another feature they brought to the R6II that the S5 had in 2020.....the big red recording box. This is a great feature to verify that it is recording (and another feature that could be brought to the other cameras via a FW update). I couldn't tell from the CVP video if the box stays on or just shows when it starts recording. I absolutely hate proxy media because of how much time it takes and because of my particular workflow (I only import the exact clips that I need for the project, so I would need to create proxy media each time mid project). Instead, what I do is scrub through and find the piece of the clip I want, then cut it up and add it to the timeline then use optimized media since it is much faster because it is creating a proxy of just that part of the clip. It still stutters during the initial review process; mainly on 60FPS media. I am still waiting to see if the NVIDIA 4000 series video cards can accelerate 10 bit 4:2:2 media, for some reason that information is impossible to find and I search about once a week or so. I suppose I could email NVIDIA and ask them. It is very disappointing that in 2022 PC users still have no video card options for 4:2:2. What you will discover with the EF 70-200 adapted is the same thing that I discovered; AF is the least of your problems. The real problem is the weight of the lens making your camera feel like it is going to tear itself apart. With the EF 70-200 lens on the R5 plus the adapter the whole body was flexing, the adapter and the lens mount was making weird noises, and it really felt like the whole thing was going to fall apart.....vs the 5DIV where the two fit together like a glove. The flexing and sounds were so bad I ended up getting the RF 70-200 since it is my most used portrait lens; actually, it is my most used photography lens of all time due to runway shows. So yes.....YT reviewers really gloss over a lot and you don't learn details like those until you actually try to use it. I think it is both the length and weight that make the combo so bad, I assume there are RF lenses just as heavy but not as long.

Yes, Canon has nothing that can compare to that lens. I have a friend who shoots with Sony and she raves about that one lens. I definitely agree that a system needs to be as simple as possible and fit your workflow the best so that one lens could definitely decide your future. I think Sony also still provides 4:2:0 10bit footage so that is a huge timesaver when it comes to editing the source footage if you do not have an M1 Mac. Editing the 60FPS files out of the R5, R6, and R7 is painful on a PC. My system is marginal with the 30FPS files, but I need proxies for 60FPS. Not everything comes down to specs, I am very picky with ergonomics when it is my photography camera vs video where it will be held completely differently with a cage and handles. Ergonomics was the reason I picked up a demo Sony camera in the store and put it down and have never considered Sony again. Also, when a photography camera is my A camera it has to just "feel" right...another thing that no specs can tell you. Last but not least, I bought the R6 when I was looking for a hybrid camera; at the time I wasn't looking for a replacement photography camera. Due to the overheating it would not be able to replace my video setup and due to the resolution and way it felt to me when shooting photos with it, it would not be able to replace my 5DIV for reliability, build quality and just the way it felt in the hand. Even the R5 after the overheating fiasco (still not 100% convinced yet with the latest FW, just because they lifted the timer doesn't mean the reliability won't decrease as it gets hotter), the build quality, the EVF delay, and the freezing just barely puts it in the marginal category for me as a worthy replacement to my 5DIV.

I actually think lenses is Canon's biggest strength. There is literally every Canon EF lens you can imagine, used EF glass is a great value (as long as you can be sure its not scratched or damaged), even buying new EF glass is still a fraction of the price of the RF glass. Yes you need the adapter but even that is a strength if you go with the variable ND filter adapter route. As far as weight goes I really couldn't say since I have only ever shot with Canon glass. If cost is no issue, then you would probably be better off with two R6II's versus an R7 and R6. Trying to match up the crop sensor to the R6's FF sensor ould end up with more complexity than necessary, not to mention you typically want to shoot 50/60FPS on a gimbal and the R7 is line skipped in those modes. I am still trying to decide if I will get a speedbooster for the R7 to match it up easier and gain that stop of light. Also, the same menu system and settings options in every camera at a shoot is another workflow optimizer. I think if you look at it from a videographer's standpoint then yes, it is a waste of a lot of features. But I shoot literally everything photography as well; real estate, portraits, fashion, commercial, events, etc. There's just something about the 5 series for photography that no other camera from Canon quite captures. Also, that 45MP really shows its strength when you need to crop; with the R5 I can literally shoot landscape for people then crop to portrait for social media and not lose any resolution so I can offer multiple formats for my client (website, social media, print) all from the same set of images without losing quality. Another scenario is when you are a bit too far away from the subject to fill the frame at events, I can losslessly crop in to the right composition. Am I trying to justify my purchase a bit here; yes probably, but in my defense I did try to do the right thing and purchased the R6 first. However, it felt like a step down from my 5DIV for photography and a step down from my S5 for video so I returned it within a week. The R5 on the other hand feels like a step up in every way over my 5DIV except for that EVF lag. For me the R5's video features are just icing on the cake for those rare times when a photo shoot suddenly needs a few video clips. My R5 doesn't have a cage, has a battery grip, shoulder strap etc.; completely rigged for photography only, even the tripod plate is set up differently and that's the way I like it. The one time I ventured into the video part of the R5 during an event that %)(** overheating warning came on within 10min (v1.5 of the FW, not the new v1.6) and reminded me that I bought it for photography only. Haven't shot a video clip with it since. I used it all the time with the S5, so to me it was a massive hole in Canon's mirrorless until the new hybrid shoe came out. With the S5 I would only use it when it was on a tripod where all of the wiring could be secured and tucked away; yes it is clunky and not ideal, but if you have a camera that can shoot for 2hrs straight without overheating then at least have some kind of XLR in option. On the other hand I am surprised that cheaper options haven't came out yet for that hotshoe. The Tascam is huge, costly, and needs batteries. The S5 pulled power from the hotshoe and was smaller although still costly. If you do need XLR audio on a regular basis, then the C70 is definitely the better option. For event work, I have found just a normal shotgun camera mounted mic works pretty well when combined with noise reduction in Davinci Resolve. People don't expect perfect audio at events and it was too much of a PITA to fiddle with wireless lav mics for quick interviews at busy events.

That's an easy one; for hybrid video work I would choose the R6II or even the R7 over the R5; especially since only the R6II and R7 have the hybrid hot shoe for XLR and audio accessories (not counting the R3). For 100% stills work I would choose the R5 simply because of its 45MP image sizes and that's how I use my setup. At this point I don't see any features in the R5 that most users need that the R6II can't deliver. Below is how I use my setup: R5 - Photography Only (video if it's a 90% photo shoot with 10% video) R7 - Second photo camera for the R5, B Cam for video for the C70 A camera for run and gun event work and for 50/50 video/photo shoots (i.e. BTS footage, quick YT reels, etc.) C70 - Obviously video only I used 8K out of the R5 only once and only for a few seconds to see if my editing workstation could edit the files. I like to think what camera would I take on a trip if I could only take one camera for 50/50 photo/video work and that would be the R6II (if it doesn't overheat), or the R7. The R6II is "only" 24MP for photos but unless you are doing print work that's more than enough for social media photos.

The display is a big one, the joystick is pretty much unusable, and all of the buttons are cheaper than my Canon Rebel's buttons. I get it, Canon really had to do some serious cost cutting to offer that sensor at that price point and the C70 really is a beast at its price point, but the screen, buttons, and joystick are worse than any other camera I've ever owned. TBH, it was one of the reasons I got the R7 as a bcam. I will mostly use the R7 as my gimbal camera since the C70 is overkill for the event work that I shoot which is a large portion of my work and because that screen is sticking out waiting to be broken off when it is on a gimbal. If it so much as gets bumped once it will be annoyingly floppy/shaky after that. Locked down on a tripod or carefully handheld the C70 is a pure joy to shoot with. For more controlled environments where there's not a bunch of people bumping into you or not looking where they are going, the C70 really shines on a gimbal.

....duplicate post

According to my bank account Canon is winning (C70, R5, R7, lenses), so yes I am very critical of Canon because there's so many very simple things they could do in FW to make big wins in the customer satisfaction department, but at the end of the day for me nothing still checks as many boxes as Canon so regardless of their shortcomings they won regardless. Their massive lens ecosystem is what holds many users, myself included, completely hostage to their whims and here lately they are producing cameras that are just good enough to make it very difficult to leave once you are in. They fixed the showstoppers for me (no dual slot video recording, no overheating during video recording even here in FL heat, XLR audio input options), and they pair that with competitive dynamic range sensors, industry leading AF, Canon colors, and acceptable IBIS. Honestly, the only real criticisms I have left is no electronic level in the C70, terrible build quality of the C70, video tools disappear while recording in the R5 and R7, no WFM or shutter angle in the R5 or R7, freezing in the R5 requiring a restart (super annoying BTW), EVF latency in the R5 and R7 (no idea how people are working around this one), and no 4:5 aspect ratio guides in the R5, R7, or C70. Canon could knock the R6II out of the park with internal Cinema Raw Lite at 30FPS internally since we know they can do it to SD cards (i.e. C70); they probably still will if Sony looks like they are doing too well, but even without it I definitely consider the R6II a pretty serious hybrid camera; far more than the first one as long as overheating really is fixed.

This is without a doubt my #1 annoyance these days across the Canon line. The R5, R6, R6II, and R7 all remove the histogram and electronic level when recording, I think literally no other camera maker does that at least none I have shot with. They also finally added aspect ratio guides and one of them is that magical social media 4:5 guide....the R5, R7, and C70 don't even have this. The S5 had this in 2020. I do find it strange they added false color but not the WFM, I use the WFM way more than I use false color in the C70. To me false color is best when you have control over the lighting, the WFM is better when you have no control and just need the scene to fit within the DR of the sensor so I would much prefer the WFM over false color. It is still promising though that they are starting to add more video tools to their hybrids. We might even get shutter angle in the R6IV. Also, is it just me or does it feel like a lot of these features could have been added via FW to the R5, R6, and R7? (False Color, Aspect Ratio Guides, overheating removed). I also think its odd they forced external raw via that terrible micro HDMI slot instead of bringing the C70's Canon Cinema Raw Light @ 30FPS to the R6....maybe overheating concerns, or maybe that's the cripple hammer. None of this is meant to take away from the R6II, I keep asking myself if I would have gotten the R6II instead of the R7 for a bcam/gimbal cam for the C70 and I don't know yet. The R6II is a pretty decent upgrade across the board, but I do truly enjoy the R7. Of course the R7's crop sensor and line skipped 4K60FPS is a pain to deal with and is the two things I think really puts the R6II ahead of the R7. One thing I noticed in the R6II's review video from DPReview is that terrible IBIS wobble, the R7 does not have that at all (probably because it is a smaller sensor), and I would still trust the R7 in the overheating department vs the R6II at least until there's a lot more data available.

When you connect the camera to the VMount battery does the LCD screen show the charging icon? Also, are you sure that you are using a USB-C charging cable and not just a data cable? You mentioned USB-C PD out of a V-Mount battery, the S5 does not need PD, have you tried a USB-A to USB-C cable instead? Also, if you plug your S5 into a wall USB-C adapter, does it start charging? If not then its possible something is wrong with your USB-C port on your S5.

Truly impressive is an understatement. Clips like these make it so frustrating to spend $2K+ on a camera that still needs a gimbal in 2022, the ninja walk, calibration, and a bit of luck for smooth footage.

I noticed when I was going to buy the Viltrox speedbooster for the R7 that B&H and Amazon did not have it at all. They didn't even say out of stock, it says discontinued which I found very odd and I think was the first indication of what is going on behind the scenes. The Metabones speedbooster on the other hand is over 2x more and is still readily available so I suspect Metabones is paying Canon a licensing fee whereas Viltrox is not. I am on the fence as to whether I agree with their business practices in this regards; on the one hand it had to have taken a massive investment on Canon's part to develop, market, and distribute all of these new camera bodies, sensors, and lenses; all during a time when the camera market is in a serious contraction with no end in sight. If they don't make a profit they won't survive. On the other hand, they are really alienating their customer base who is like me with a large EF glass collection and who simply does not need a single RF lens that they have to offer. I was planning on picking up the Viltrox adapter, but for all I know a future FW update from Canon may disable it at some point so now I am on the fence regarding if I should go for the Metabones adapter or just make do with the straight through EF to RF adapter. I do still have the Sigma 18-35mm EF-S lens which would be a great match with the R7.

I was on FW version 1.5 at the time. FW v1.6 came out after that and lets you change the temp warning to a higher limit; I haven't tested FW 1.6 yet. But with FW v1.5 I had shot about 800 pictures then switched to a few video clips here and there, not in direct sunlight just handholding and shooting in regular 4K60FPS and the warning came on. It was the middle of the show so I didn't have time to see if the timer came on as well or anything like that; I just immediately stopped shooting all video clips. BTW the EVF lag in the R5 is very annoying. For runway shows there are 3 specific shots you are supposed to get for every walk; the lag was so bad that my keeper rate dropped almost 40%. Since I was also using flash I couldn't even spray and pray due to the flash recycle times. I sent it in to Canon CPS and they sent it back saying nothing is wrong with it. Its great to be able to shoot b roll clips here and there with a single camera, but I am strongly thinking about hanging on to my 5DIV for a few more years.

I plan to rig the R7 with a speedbooster which turns it into a FF FOV camera, but the downside is FF lenses don't have the reach that crop lenses typically do. The kit lens is a 18-150mm lens, my most useful lens is the FF Canon EF 24-105mm F4.0 However, if I use the crop mode on the R7 and a speedbooster I can extend that to around 24-160mm at F2.8. The extra reach will be useful when shooting runway shows and the models are posing at the start of the runway, or the guest speaker never walks down the runway, or weddings where you want a closeup of the ring exchange, etc. etc. pretty much anytime your current lens just doesn't get you close enough. On my editing workstation the files are marginally editable without proxies. I use Davinci Resolve, and my GPU is an RTX2080 Ti with a Core i9 14 core CPU. I used compressed IPB in the R7 and CLOG3 which is H.265 422 10 bit footage. NVIDIA can't accelerate that footage so the CPU had to do all of the work. For the footage that was 30FPS I could edit it without proxies as long as I was ok with occasional dropped frames and a little stuttering. For the 60FPS footage I needed proxies or optimized media. The R5's footage is the same way, proxies or optimized media is the only way I can playback the footage in real time. The C70 by comparison uses XFAV-C and both 30FPS and 60FPS footage plays smoothly. RAW 4K out of the C70 and RAW 8K out of the R5 of course plays perfectly fine. I live in FL USA. In the summer here it averages 95F + with up to 100% humidity so everything I buy I keep overheating in mind. The R5 overheated even with the latest FW at the time in less than 30min at an outdoor runway show when shooting mostly photos with a few 4K video clips mixed in. The 4K wasn't even the HQ mode so I don't care what anyone on YT says....the R5 WILL overheat still to this day in any 4K mode during real world use in hotter climates. Once the warning came on I stopped shooting all video clips because for all I know it might have stopped taking pictures next which would have been far worse. At the same fashion show the C70 ran for hours with no problems. I am hoping the R7's ambient temp handling performance is at least as good as the S5; the S5 never overheated once.

Nice video, that's what I envisioned using the crop mode for. The R7 is loosely marketed as a 7D replacement so giving it a mode where it has extra reach only makes sense in my opinion. I don't want to veer too far off topic, but if you dig into the "alliance" beyond the marketing hype you will see that Leica is prohibitively expensive, and Sigma yields inconsistent results when mounted to a Panasonic (hit or miss AF, lens IS, etc.). So basically if you want the best experience with a Panasonic L mount camera you are only guaranteed to get it with Panasonic lenses which are expensive, cannot be adapted for any other mount (that I know of), and are limited. To me, an alliance where you can only reliably use one vendor and that one vendor isn't producing many lenses and those lenses can't be used with any other camera is a dead alliance in my book.

I really think the R7 is your best bet at the moment unless you shoot sports. The rolling shutter is too high if you shoot sports but IMO it really is the best option when picking between Canon and Panasonic at this price point. It comes down to what is important to you; if AF isn't important to you and image quality is then the S5 is a no brainer except for the dead L mount alliance and limited expensive L mount lens selections unless you use an adapter for everything; with an adapter your only option is MF for video. The GH6 might be the better pick over the S5 due to the MFT lens options; massive lens selection but still terrible AF system. If you do shoot sports then I definitely wouldn't recommend the S5 or the GH6 because of the AF performance. For sports at this price point you would probably have to look at Sony, Nikon, or Fuji. If you value AF, a massive lens selection, reliable 4K, and reliable photography features then the R7 wins hands down; but the reality is that the S5 and probably the GH6 will definitely beat it in DR, lowlight performance, customizability, and video tools. Another downside to the S5 that I forgot about until @MrSMW mentioned it is the crop when shooting 4K60FPS. With the R7 and a speedbooster there is no crop in any mode unless you select the crop mode. The S5's time limit never bothered me since I had a cinema camera for long form content and I don't mind 8bit if the camera is locked down on a tripod with good lighting, so I still had options with the S5 for long form content. Although I do have the C70 as my A cam, I would feel quite comfortable shooting with just the R7 for social media projects and personal projects it is that good. I would probably even be fine shooting a whole wedding with it, since weddings here don't pay much for video. I also saw that some F1.8 RF-S lenses are planned at some point, so the R7's ecosystem is just getting started. In the meantime with an RF to EF adapter you immediately get access to a ton of cheap EF and EF-S glass and with a speedbooster you gain a stop of light and access to EF glass all while keeping the native AF performance. I think the crop is the most confusing spec of the R7; it does not have a crop at 4K60FPS or 4K50FPS. It has an optional crop mode and when it is set to that mode it only lets you shoot at 60FPS or 50FPS (NTSC or PAL), but you do not have to use that mode. I think the crop mode would be useful when shooting with FF lenses and a speedbooster; it would let you get back some of that reach you lost by using FF lenses without having to carry more lenses, so the 24-105 combined with a speedbooster on the R7 would be around 170mm at the long end when the crop mode is selected. I am guessing the cropped mode is not line skipped so the quality might even be a little better than shooting in 4K line skipped mode at 60/50FPS since you can't use 4K Fine mode when shooting at those frame rates. I have no idea why Canon did not include 30FPS or 24FPS when in that mode, but it is definitely a source of a lot of confusion. To make it more confusing, the sensor is a crop sensor, so YT really went wild over the added crop factor if that mode is selected.

Definitely all fair points, if image quality is #1 then yes, the R5 clearly wins in every category. But if you are shooting mainly for YT and social media, I think the R7 is more rounded (no time limit, no overheating, XLR audio, no expensive CFExpress required, supports RF, RF-S, EF, and EF-S lenses, decent 32MP photo resolution, auto leveling horizon, smaller body, better battery life, etc.). I always like to think about which camera would I prefer on a trip for travel video/photography and I would personally pick the R7 over the R5. With the R5 I see it mainly for me as a replacement for the 5DIV so mostly photos only. I have shot a few video clips with it as a b cam to the C70 and they looked great, but the overheat warning came on after just 30min of shooting a mixture of photos and videos with ambient temps around 98F. That little warning totally ruined the experience for me; admittedly this was right before the new FW came out that lets you raise the temp limit so I will need to see if that's an improvement.

@Brian Williams I did a quick google search using their price search tool and the lowest price I saw when I did it for the S5 was around $1400USD, but it could have been used or an international version, I didn't look that closely at the results. What made you take back the R7? I really don't think the R7 is that bad at all, it has many great features especially as a true hybrid photo/video camera. The top two selling points for me is the AF and the lens mount. Everything else is middle of the road for me. If I had to choose all over again after shooting with and owning both the R7 and the S5 I would still pick the R7 again. No matter how many features the S5 has, if your footage is not in focus nothing else matters. Also, with the S5 if you want any continuous AF even DFD you are stuck buying into a dead "alliance" which is the L mount alliance. Towards the end of owning the S5 I was literally making compromises every shot due to the focus limitations. I had to ensure people weren't approaching the camera, I had to frame differently, on a gimbal was the worst; I had to use wider lenses, increase the DOF, ensure the subject stayed the same distance from the camera, etc. Despite all of its shortcomings, the R7 is a real joy to shoot with. In fact, I like shooting video with the R7 even more than with the R5. No record limit, no overheating at all (so far), XLR adapter option, even the availability of a speedbooster that lets me gain a stop of light with all of my EF lenses....the R7 is exactly what I was looking for when I got it. Lets not forget photography, IMO its a better hybrid photo/video camera than even the R5 for a fraction of the price. Without a doubt, the rolling shutter is bad. If you shoot sports and action then that's a real let down. Fortunately for me, I don't shoot that type of content so I wasn't too worried about it. I think the price is fair as well, and if its not, they even released the R10 and they show you exactly what they will strip out to get the price even lower.

I think the RF 16mm would make a great gimbal lens for both the C70 and the R7, but I already have the Canon EF 25mm F2.8 and the Canon speedbooster I have bolted to the C70, so even one RF lens in that mixture would throw everything off for me. Also, the EF 25mm with a speedbooster would turn into a F2.0 vs the RF at F2.8, not much of a difference but still a small benefit. Buying new lenses is very painful for me, I already have every EF lens I need for every job I have shot for the past 10yrs, so not having to start over with new lenses is the main thing I like about sticking with Canon's mirrorless. I'm no fan of adapters; but gaining a stop of light and turning crop sensors back into full frame with the minimal investment of a speedbooster kind of makes it not so bad to me. If they do release an R7C I think it would just be the same sensor, a better cooling system, full sensor 7K and internal compressed RAW to the SD cards similar to the C70. More than likely the compressed raw option would be 4K30FPS only to further differentiate it from the more expensive models and more than likely the camera can't write data at the V90 rate anyway so 60FPS wouldn't be possible without other internal component changes. Putting the DGO sensor in the R7 would take too much of a redesign and eat into the sales of the C70 not to mention it would push the price past the R6. I think for its price point it performs pretty well, I still need to test its gimbal performance, that will be a big disappointment if the IBIS wobble makes it unusable for gimbal work.

That is surprising that you saw that much jello even on a gimbal. My gimbal lens currently for the C70 is the EF 24mm F2.8 prime, I was planning on using that with a speedbooster on the R7 as a gimbal camera or maybe the EF-S 10-22mm, I will feel like the whole R7 was a waste of money if I can't even use it as a gimbal camera. What gimbal were you using and are you sure it was properly balanced? I use the DJI RS2 with the C70 and it has way more power than needed to stabilize the R7. Maybe your gimbal was near its weight limits or maybe it was the lens. Also, due to Canon's IBIS wobble, maybe turning off IBIS when using a gimbal is the answer. Due to your post I will need to test this immediately, I don't want to get back from shooting a paying project to find that the R7 gimbal footage is useless. What DGO sensor do you think they would use in a proper C200 upgrade? They already have the sensor in the C300, I feel like they are still designing the cripple hammer for the C200 if it happens at all which would probably be the sensor. IMO it will be tough to squeeze a C200 between the C70 and C300 unless they go with a FF sensor but somehow cripple hammer it in some way to not compete with the C300.

@Andrew Reid I have been a member of many forums over the years and really hope this one doesn't end, IMO it is the last place on the Internet where someone can still go to have deep technical discussions about all things video production related. So, I do hope you make the decision to keep the forum running, and my contribution to what I think will help it do so is below: Remove the Edit Post time limit - This is my only technical complaint with this forum, no other forum I have ever been a member of has this. I know awhile back you had a problem with spammers editing some posts after posting, but I am not sure this was the right answer. Maybe you could do like some forums, after a member has reached a certain level of posts then the limit is removed or at least raised to 24hrs. Many times I will find a typo in my post or want to write some more after reading it and there is no way to edit it. So either I just skip it (usually) or write it in a follow up post (looks like I am overposting to me). Cater to Photography as Well - I know this forum is micro-focused on video production, but these days many of us myself included is a hybrid shooter. I rarely post anything photography related here simply because it caters so heavily towards video. The reality is though, most of the cameras we talk about on here also have great photography features. I think you would attract new members if you also started covering more depth in the photography area. Maybe not you personally but making the forum more attractive for photographers somehow. I think Fred Miranda is the last really deep photography site out there. Also, it is so much more work to produce a good video that you know will immediately get picked to pieces by other forum members 🤣 vs taking a good photography image and talking about the technicals behind it. Members love showing their work, having a gallery where we could post photography as well would definitely increase the forum's appeal in my opinion. That gallery could also let members vote on their photo pick of the week or something like that. Sub Forums - I know you just got rid of them and this will probably be an unpopular recommendation here, but when I look at every successful forum that I have contributed to (Fred Miranda, AutelPilots, CanonRumors, DodgeDurango.net), they all have one thing in common; they force you to pick a sub forum. I know many subforums is where things go to die, but that's because most forums have too many sub forums. A few big parent forums would organize things better than many sub forums. For Example, parent forums could be (Photography Talk, Video Talk, Drone Talk, Gear Reviews, Classifieds, Editing / How To, Show and Tell). Those are just examples. AutelPilots is very well laid out and has a lot of interaction in the subforums mainly because new posts in the sub forums are surfaced in the latest threads section helping everyone find new posts regardless of subforum. Advertising - I know you need revenue, and I know everyone dislikes ads, but I would rather the site have ads then get removed. I am not sure how ads work, maybe you could be selective with who can advertise on your site, but I know the site has to generate revenue as well. Most of the forums if not all of the ones that I listed have ads and the members still come. Classifieds - I don't know if your classifieds section currently charges to post something for sale, but I know Fred Miranda's site does. Its a very nominal fee ($5 I think) but its still better than nothing. Obviously that comes with its own headaches (scammers never sleep), but I would trust buying or selling to a well known member here than eBay any day. If you already charge for classifieds then you can ignore this suggestion. Educational - This forum has vast breadth and depth of knowledge when it comes to video and probably photography as well. But very few educational posts are made, probably because YouTube already has literally everything you could ever want to know. But I think an educational section here would be very helpful. The problem with YouTube is most of the time the viewers ask follow up questions that don't get answered in the comments. I am a member of AutelPilots and my instructional posts get more interaction than any other posts that I make there. People always want to learn something new, and I feel like at the moment this isn't the site people go to to do that. Gear Review - I think every member here watches gear review videos. We all know most of the YT reviewers are heavily biased and most of them don't actually use the equipment to make a living; but, there are a few very good ones that I do watch. MonkeyPixels, Gerald Undone, and a few others I do value their opinions. Since it would not be cost effective and redundant for you to try to match the "professional" gear reviewers on YT, maybe you could curate instead....find the one single best review that you consider the most thorough and accurate and post that one video here, where members can discuss it in greater depth; also where you can provide your own deep insight into what you thought of the review and the gear being reviewed. Social Media - We all hate it but we all use it in some way, I use it just as an alternate gallery posting location to show my past video and photography work and also because my clients typically go there to reshare their content from my social media to theirs. I know you hate it as well, but I think you could use it to your advantage without it becoming and bottomless endless waste of time. On my website I use software so that everytime I post a blog post on my website it automatically posts on all of the social media platforms as well. Maybe something like that would reach more people and attract new members. Other Forums - I am pretty sure you have already done this, but I think a review of other top forums might also give you more ideas on what it takes to get members these days. The most successful forums that I see are usually the ones where members turn to when they need help or want to learn something from someone else that will most likely have an answer (i.e. DodgeDurango.net is the biggest forum for Dodge Durango owners and where nearly everyone goes when they want an answer to their specific problem). AutelPilots is very specific for Autel Drones and they get tons of new members every time a drone is released by people trying to learn everything they can about Autel drones. Learning and education IMO are the biggest and best performing categories on YT and rank the highest on Google searches but I don't feel like this site currently caters to that category. Show and Tell - I mentioned a photography gallery previously, but maybe a video one as well. I always hesitate to post my content here because it could be considered spamming or self promotion, but if you had a section where members could post their work and answer any questions other members had about how it was created, the gear that was used, the technicals behind it, how it was edited, etc...that would be great. Obviously you would need to keep spammers out, so maybe the gallery sections could be read only until a member reached a certain posting level (similar to Fred Miranda). Pinned Posts - I don't think they are a bad thing, I do think they shouldn't be more than 3 or 5. This is where subforums would help as well. Great information can get buried in this forum, pinning 3 or 5 posts of what you consider the top post or most relevant information at the time in the sub forums could be conversation starters, could be instructions for newcomers, could just be very useful information that might answer a question for new users visiting the subforum. Metatags - Not sure if members here would use them, but metatags really help with searching posts. It can be hard to find information on any forum, but if you allowed for a metatag field (just like metataging photos), it could make searches easier if members used them. Instead of having to type them, they could be easily clickable right before you post. Here is where I could rant about the current state of things where no one wants to read more than 180 characters, everyone is just using their cell phones so things are in a state of decline, people don't want to read, or type anymore and just want a YT video that spoon feeds them, etc. etc, but its all been said before. Those are definitely all uphill challenges and they won't get any easier but here's to hoping this site can overcome them. As other sites fold up or go under, maybe that in the end would be a good thing for this site as those members look elsewhere for an outlet. I think at the end of the day this site has currently narrowed down its focus to a very small niche of users (video content producers endlessly pursuing the absolute best image quality possible by all means necessary) which is a turn off to new members who might just want to know what that exposure triangle thingy is, or the short answer to how to get started in Davinci Resolve. Maybe your intent is to keep members like that off of this forum, but I think if you want to grow the forum you have to somehow find a way to balance what the general population is looking for with what the absolute purists are looking for as well.

I don't know anything about the 90D but that would make perfect sense. It would explain some shortcomings in the highlight rolloff and DR areas. It also would make sense that they reuse a sensor for their first mirrorless crop sensor camera; they did the same thing with their first FF mirrorless camera; they used the 5DIV sensor for the R. I wouldn't be so sure about the DGO sensor from the C70. On paper it seems pretty revolutionary but in practice it is just ok. Canon has really hyped the DGO sensor but IMO the sensor isn't even the C70's best feature; the integrated ND filters, XLR inputs, internal RAW to SD cards, and no overheating are all better selling points than the sensor. That is not to say the DGO sensor is bad by any means; it has great DR and highlight rolloff, but when compared to the recent Sony sensors it becomes a crowded field. I do think it has more DR than almost any other Canon sensor, but still lags a bit behind Sony's best sensors. If I were able to pick any current sensor for the R7, I would pick the S5's sensor over the C70's. Thanks Andrew, I will definitely test it with my footage tomorrow. I know my highlights are clipped and unrecoverable but it would be interesting to see if it would be possible to fix the rolloff with a LUT.

BTW...another tell that my scene had more DR (brighter sun / deeper shadows) is looking at the exposure of the skin tones from both comparisons in the shadows....the exposure of your skin tones and mine in the shadows are nearly identical, we both used the same post processing color grading method...yet my highlights are blown out. If the lows were exposed the same, then the highs were also exposed the same.....yet my highs were clearly brighter. So yes, its easy to say it was improperly exposed or the highlights should not have been clipped, or to compare it to a different scene and say they should look identical, but in reality it is a lot more nuanced than that. In my opinion everything you found interesting in your scene was still within the limits of the DR of the camera, whereas I wanted some fidelity in the deeper shadows and due to the brighter sun that I was dealing with ended up clipping the highlights but in the end we ended up with the same shadow exposure.

I agree, there's definitely scientific ways of doing this, personally I just get out and shoot and work with what I have at the time. Over time I get to where I know exactly what I can get away with in post. Without looking at any charts or results I know the S5 to my eyes combined with VLOG is still the best performing camera I've used to date; slightly ahead of the C70 and definitely ahead of the R5, R6, and R7 in terms of highlight rolloff and DR. One user here actually posted that I am exactly right...the S5 comes in at 0.5 stops ahead in DR of even the C70 based on some tests performed by a site that tests such things. There is no doubt in my mind that in the scenes where I had to clip the highlights to preserve the midtones or shadows the S5 would have excelled. The R7 has many strengths for scenes within its DR, very nice colors, and is a very solid performer for both photography and video, but DR and highlight rolloff simply isn't its strong points. At its price point I wouldn't expect it to be able to keep up with the R5 or R6, but it is a little disappointing that in 2022 Canon's cameras still aren't ahead of the S5, S1, or S1H all of which use 2yr old Sony sensors.

I agree with you, it is definitely a middle of the road camera, but I disagree that it is overpriced. As consumers we always want something to be a little cheaper, but the best way in my opinion to determine if something is overpriced is to look at its competition. To me out of the cameras I have worked with, I would say the S5 is its closest competitor and the S5 outperforms it in low light, has a FF sensor, and higher quality body at $100USD less. However, the R7 of course has amazing AF and a massive native/Canon adapted lens lineup. So in my mind you are basically paying $100 more for Canon's DPAF over Panasonics DFD while losing DR and lowlight performance. If AF is more important to you than the other two (to me it is), then $100USD more seems like a fair price to me. Well we will have to agree to disagree. I do agree with you that I chose to expose more for the shaded area in the referenced screen shot because I did not want the shaded area to be completely black because that's where the people were, and in other parts of the video I also chose to favor the mids and shadows over the highlights. I disagree again that the DR in the two compared scenes is the same. The direct sunlight hitting a white building combined with the deep shade is IMO a scene the camera simply cannot handle and is a higher DR scene than the one in your screenshot. Maybe I could have exposed for the highlights while crushing the blacks and somehow lifted the shadows later and gotten good results.....but I doubt it. I favored showing the people in the shadows vs the sunlight hitting the building in that particular shot. I know for a fact that with the C70 the entire scene wouldn't have been a problem. I also agree with you that maybe I underestimated the editing longitude in post for the camera, I will need to shoot and test with it more to see how much shadows can be pushed and pulled in post without losing color detail. Personally, I hate having to lift mids or shadows in post; no matter what a manufacturer claims their camera's DR is, it's been my experience you start losing color fidelity very quickly when you start lifting shadows. The clips were color graded in DR using managed color just like yours. The WFM for that clip shows I possibly had more latitude in the shadows than I gave the camera credit for. But it also shows the only way to have exposed for the highlights would have been to completely crush the shadows, meaning all of the people in the shade would have been impossible to see and probably unrecoverable in post. That's where that scene exceeded the DR of the camera and that's where highlight rolloff performance is important. Here is the clip after the managed color space transform, as shown in the WFM.....crushing the shadows would have been the only option here due to the limited DR of the sensor. And yes, to you the people in the shadows wasn't interesting. but to me they were more interesting than the people farther away and I deliberately chose that clip to show the DR limitations of the camera. IMO the S5 and C70 would have done much better here, not sure yet if the R5 would have as well. I would be curious to see, for the screenshot you sent, your before and after WFM. I genuinely want to produce the best quality this camera has, but so far I am unconvinced that we are comparing apples to apples here with each screenshot that you have sent so far. Since I mostly work with people, I will blow the highlights every time to ensure I properly expose the subject in the scene. Your footage definitely looks very natural and organic, but I am not convinced with the examples you compared that the DR in the scene was the same. The first comparison with the front lit subject was definitely not equivalent to my backlit scene, and this screen shot also doesn't convince me the DR was the same. It is easy to say it's the same....there's buildings, sunlight, and shade in both, but if the buildings are closer, the sunlight is brighter and the shade is darker, then it is definitely not the same. When the DR was within the limits of the camera it performed admirably well, but that's not the real world and many of my shots were in the worst possible lighting....midday sun and deep shade.

I think you do not understand the very definition of highlight rolloff. You are showing scenes and examples where you were able to expose for the highlights without underexposing the scene or underexposing something that was important to you in the scene; in that scenario any modern camera will excel. Nowhere in your video or screen shots did you have an example of a person less than 3 feet from the camera backlit by a midday sun. The very definition of highlight rolloff is when you have to prioritize something other than the highlights and how the camera handles the transition from the clipped highlights back to exposure values that are within the dynamic range of the camera. Also, the examples you showed were definitely not worst-case scenario; in your examples you were pretty far from the subject and the direct sunlight was off camera to camera left; very easy actually to properly expose for regardless of skin tone and color of clothing mainly because the entire scene is well within the DR of the camera. You keep referring to "how the camera handles highlights" vs. how the camera transitions from clipped highlights to proper exposure. My opening shots were a much worse scenario, very close to the subject with the subject strongly backlit by midday sun. That is a scenario that exceeds the DR of the camera so in that scenario you have to pick what you will sacrifice...midtones or highlights. Since the subject was a person, I chose to sacrifice (clip) the highlights to properly expose the midtones which is where her skin tones will be. If I had exposed for the highlights (i.e. the crown or background) she wouldn't have been much more than a silhouette (trust me, in camera I tested that first and it looked terrible). I also checked false color when bringing the footage into DR and false color showed her skin tones were properly exposed. And yes, I do this all of the time when the DR of a scene exceeds the camera's DR...I pick crushing the blacks to retain the highlights or blowing the highlights to retain color and detail in the mids or lows, etc. Yes, as she twisted and turned the highlights clipped including the ones on her face, but this is the reality of the types of projects that I shoot, events and projects where I have no control over the lighting and typically must let the highlights clip to get proper skin tone exposure. Properly exposing for those hot spots as she changed in relation to the sun would have greatly under exposed the scene and the shadow side of her body. When you are that close to the subject that is moving from backlit to side lit to front lit in direct sunlight there is no way to avoid highlight clipping unless you have a camera with way more DR than the R7; that's why shooting in midday in direct sunlight is the worst possible time to shoot, but due to our schedules it was what we had to work with. If I wasn't trying to deliberately show how bad this camera handles highlight rolloff I just wouldn't have used most of the parts where she had hot spots on her face. If this was a commercial or paid shoot in the same situation, I just would have shot everything from the backlit direction or scouted a better location with shade, used a diffuser, used fill lighting, etc, etc....anything to reduce the DR of the scene to fit within the camera's DR.