Jimbo

I shared this in another thread recently. I made a reel of newly-graded old hacked GH1 footage of mine from 2011-13. Graded with FilmConvert Nitrate simply using the default sRGB color since they don't have a GH1 camera pack, and exported in 4K from a 1080p timeline straight from Premiere Pro CC.
I didn't even know nearly as much about lighting then, so most of it is natural light and 100w tungsten practicals/clamp lights (with frost diffusion). 

I picked up the Canon R7 a week ago and shot with it for a week in a variety of conditions before starting this thread. I had a trip to Las Vegas coming up and a retailer showed one in stock near me, so I literally got it on the way to the airport. I had one hour to put it in a camera bag with the kit lens and I took the Sigma EF 50mm F1.4 and straight through RF to EF adapter because I knew I wanted to test it in lowlight conditions and the kit lens at F3.5 wasn't going to be fast enough. On paper the R7 checks every box I was looking for as s b-cam to the C70 and as a second body for the R5 so I went for it.
So, below are my thoughts on the Canon R7 after shooting with it for a week. My intended use is as a B video camera for the C70, possibly a gimbal camera, and some light solo/travel photography/video work and maybe as a second camera for the R5 for weddings (not a fan of weddings at all but who knows what the future holds). This review will ramble a bit, I now own the R5, R7, and C70 and have owned the Canon R6 (for 1 week), Panasonic S5, and GH5 so at times I will probably compare some likes and dislikes with those cameras. I will probably compare it mostly to the Panasonic S5 since to me they are the most direct competitors that I have used.
THE GOOD
Ergonomics - This camera's ergonomics are perfect to me. This is without a doubt one of the most comfortable cameras to hold that I've ever owned. I like big heavy cameras (I already added the battery grip to my R5) and thought I wouldn't like the ergonomics of the R7, but the grip is perfect. I actually did not like the ergonomics of the S5 at all, very uncomfortable to hold with its shallow grip and even the R6 wasn't that great in my opinion. Canon made the grip on the R7 much deeper and somehow that did the trick for me. I did not even have time to rig up a camera strap before my trip so I had no camera strap when shooting photos or video and it still was really comfortable. Joystick Thumbwheel - Another home run for Canon. I was a bit neutral on the thumbwheel; I don't like change as much as anyone else, and was unsure about the thumbwheel around the joystick, but after using it I wish all of my cameras had it there. It is very logical and the height of the joystick protrudes just enough that you don't accidentally scroll then wheel. Speaking of the joystick, it is so much better than the one on the C70, it is actually precise and useable unlike the terrible one on the C70. Dedicated Video Switch - It is great that they brought back the dedicated video switch, its still annoying to me on the R5 to have to customize a button for this and use that button instead of a toggle switch. Viewfinder / Backscreen - These are pretty acceptable, I read online some people were complaining about the viewfinder specs; personally, I am still not a fan of EVF's in general and still miss my OVF in my 5DIV but to me the R7's EVF is no worse or better than say the S5 or R6. The backscreen is definitely better than the S5, the back screen on the S5 especially when focusing was a constant source of annoyance for me. Batteries / Battery Life - Nothing short of incredible. I shot a mixture of clips and photos each day for about a week and the battery only dropped 20%. Way better than the R5 in this regards and maybe slightly better than the S5. This is the first camera I would be comfortable shooting photography with without a battery grip. As far as batteries go, I am literally overflowing with them...they are the same batteries as the DSLR 5D series as well as the R5 and R6, so its nice to be able to swap batteries between the R5 and R7, interchangeability is very important to me. And yes, I know the older DSLRs took a slightly different battery, but it still works in the R7 (minus in body charging). Video Quality - The video quality is pretty much what I expected, nothing earth shattering, but also totally acceptable results. 4K60FPS, 4K30FPS, 4K Fine, and regular line skipped 4K are all there. I like compressed IPB so that's the only thing I used during the trip. Loaded up with dual 1TB SD cards and I could probably shoot on a month long trip without running out of space. Dual Slot Recording - Canon finally gets it, they released this feature on day 1. A huge Canon pet peeve of mine has been they typically don't offer dual slot video recording. With the R7 it is there and works as expected. Speaking of recording its great that it uses SD cards, I can share them between the C70, R5, and now the R7 so there's that interchangeability thing again. Photography Quality - Nothing out of this world, but perfectly fine for social media or even print work. I didn't get to really test the photography features, since I did not take a wireless trigger or any sort of lighting, I did not really push the quality boundaries of the sensor since I was stuck with ambient light. Ambient light does make you work a little extra in post, and the images did not fall apart when pushing the shadows and dropping the highlights. For the images I shot in cRAW. Kit Lens - I haven't used a kit lens in years, and forgot how useful that range is. The kit lens is a RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 with no lens IS. Yes I hate variable aperture, but that turned out to be super useful range when travelling. No lens swapping needed to get wider or longer, for what it was it performed pretty well. IBIS - It was nice shooting with a camera with IBIS again (after shooting with the C70). IBIS is rock solid when stationary and only doing simple camera movements. I also turned on horizon leveling (a first for Canon cameras) but couldn't tell how well it works since I am already a stickler for level horizons so I couldn't tell how much it was helping me keep it level. Walking with the IBIS is still impossible to me, if you want to walk with this camera and have good results you still need a gimbal. CLOG3 - I used CLOG 3 extensively, it performed as expected, nothing exceptional, but no surprises isn't a bad thing. Build Quality - I would say the build quality is about on par for Canon's recent releases (R5, R6) and of course above the quality of the C70 (sad isn't it?). All of the buttons, the back screen, and the feel of the camera is better than the C70. I would place the build quality right below the S5 and two steps below the GH5. Not bad....just predictable at this price point for Canon. Menu System - If you have ever shot with any Canon you will be right at home with the menu system. You do know though that you are using a modern Canon offering when you hit the first menu and it has 10 pages. I actually like the S5's menu system better in some ways, but once again, the R7 is just very predictable. Auto Focus - Just like every other Canon.....it just works. I didn't really stress it or try to break it, I just shot with it and it focused on what I needed it to and it maintained AF. I still am not really a fan of the person or eye AF when there is more than one person in the frame, I probably just need to learn how to work with it better, but for me, the most predictable AF settings are still to just use expand AF and put the cross hairs on what I want in focus. Eye AF works well though for talking heads or when the subject fills the frame. The AF is definitely much better than the C70 and seems about even with the R5 and R6. Low Light - I think it is not bad, definitely not as good as the S5 with its dual native ISO, but perfectly acceptable up to about 3200ISO. With a speedbooster and fast lens it is probably on par with the S5 in low light. Lens Mount - I mentioned it somewhere else, this is the ONLY Canon camera that supports EF, EF-S, RF, and RF-S at the moment; meaning it has a massive lens selection on day one. Knowing I can use every Canon and Sigma lens that I own on this camera is a great feeling. So, to wrap up THE GOOD, my overall assessment is that it is just a very predictable middle of the road camera which does photography and video equally well. Of course putting it like that makes me realize just how good this camera really is, I have said many times that I think Canon accidentally created the perfect hybrid with this camera and based on my experience so far, I still think that is the best way to describe it; a reliable solid 4K camera that is also very good at photography, that's all I have ever wanted out of a hybrid. BTW, I was in Las Vega with average daily temps of 95F-106F and never even thought about overheating. These were short clips mixed with photography and fiddling with menu settings; the exact same setup I had with the R5 when it gave me an overheat warning.
 
THE BAD
Highlight Rolloff - without a doubt the absolute worse problem with this camera. The highlight rolloff is horrendously bad. I don't even think about highlight rolloff with modern cameras, I typically leave that to the pixel peepers to complain about, but with the R7 it is without a doubt its biggest flaw. Its highlight roll off performance is about equal to my Canon T6 Rebel and far worse than even my drone with its 1" sensor. At first I thought it was just the kit lens causing it to be so bad, but I shot with the Sigma 50mm F1.4 and it did not get better. Highlight rolloff is important to me because I mostly shoot people in bad lighting where hot spots abound. Kit Lens - Yes it has a great range, but optically it just isn't very good. At the long end it gets cloudy, somewhere in the middle its not very sharp, and at the short end its somewhat acceptable.  I think the Canon EF 24-105 F4.0 L lens or the Sigma EF-S 18-35 F1.8 would be a much better lens for this camera but neither offer the type of range that the kit lens offers. The camera sensor definitely far outperforms the kit lens as is to be expected. IBIS Wobble - at the 18mm end of the kit lens the IBIS wobble is pretty bad, definitely worse than anything I got with the S5. If you try to walk at all, it introduces wobble that cannot be removed in post. Towards the 30mm+ end of the range it gets better. Also, the lens did not have IS so a lens with IS may perform better. Video Tools - Typical Canon, no WFM, no false color, and my #1 pet peeve....the electronic level and histogram disappear when you hit record. The S5 and GH5 both keep them on the screen while recording. The R5, R6, and now the R7 don't. The C70 doesn't even have an electronic level. Accessories - No battery grip and possibly there never will be one. I am on the fence if one is needed with a hybrid camera, I typically use one for photography and none for video and I also typically put a cage on my video cameras and none on my photography cameras, so this one is a bit of an oddity to me. But I do like the battery grip because I mostly work with people and shoot vertical, with a battery grip the shutter button and wheels are at my fingertips when shooting vertical. Power PD - This camera like the R5 needs a Power PD USB-C power supply. This is annoying for me because my current setup does not meet the requirements for power PD. Ironically, the C70 doesn't even have this requirement and works just fine with my V-Mount battery. The R5 and R7 have this requirement, whereas the C70 and S5 work just fine with my current setup. Settings Sharing - The R7 does not seem to share settings between the photography and video menus. With the S5 it let me pick which settings to share between them such as ISO and WB. This may be an option in the menu settings somewhere but I haven't found it yet. OTHER
I think this camera combined with the Viltrox speedbooster and EF lenses could be a great combination if you already have EF lenses. Or you could go with the straight through adapter and use your EF-S lenses. I have both 
Twice out of over 100 clips during my trip the camera for some reason ignored the CLOG3 profile and recorded in something else. I never even went back into that menu during the trip so I don't think it was user error. I also thought maybe I pressed record while in photography mode but it doesn't start recording when you do that; so I am not sure why it did that. I noticed the same thing with the R5, it will randomly record a clip without using CLOG3 occasionally.
CONCLUSION
I think I am done with purchasing any camera bodies for the next 5yrs or so. I once again have a fully interchangeable system, batteries, memory cards, and lenses are mostly interchangeable. 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Here are my reviews for:
The S5 - Panasonic S5 User Experience
The C70 - Canon C70 User Experience
BONUS
I shot a video with the R7 while I was in Vegas. My goal was to test photography, video, daylight, dusk, and lowlight. I do think I did this camera a disservice using the kit lens for a video test, but it was the most useable lens I had with me; the 50mm turned into an 85mm on this camera and was too zoomed in for most of what I wanted to film. I also did not bring a mic, so I was stuck using the integrated mic. For the video below I went out of my way to film different skin tones, lighting situations, etc. I also graded it to Rec.709 since I always hate seeing camera test videos where they have a heavy creative grade making it impossible to see what SOOC looks like. I don't believe in doing the pixel peeping test chart thing so I just get out and shoot the type of content that I shoot to see how a camera performs.
 

More impressive than the camera (which looks great) is that XF18-120mm. Parfocal, minimal breathing, weather-sealed, and a power zoom built into the lens! Fantastic. Lenses make or break a system and Fuji just laid down the gauntlet to other manufacturers. Sony and Canon have some impressive cine options, but no lenses that are equally at home in photo and video mode. This XF18-120mm is a new breed. Panasonic have some incredible lenses in both m43 and L mount, but I sure do wish the Lumix division would work with their video division and turn some of their beautiful stills glass into cine versions. 

Yes!
If the descriptions turn out true in September, I’m getting the lens this fall.
“…minimal focus breathing, stepless aperture control, and constant F4 aperture. Pull focus, make precise adjustments to iris, or change focal length without causing any noticeable distractions to the recorded footage.”
All depends on what is “noticeable” to you.  But no doubt will be a huge improvement over the present
exposure-stepping zooms. Twice the zoom range and 1/3rd the cost of the Fuji cinema zooms, with auto focus.
https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/products/lenses/xf18-120mmf4-lm-pz-wr/
Works with X-T3. X-T4, X-S10 with firmware coming in Sept.
“…the first lens to be designed in ‘collaboration between FUJINON Optics and FUJIFILM X Series engineers”
https://www.dpreview.com/news/3492623346/fujifilm-xf-18-120mm-f4-lm-pz-wr-lens-is-parfocal-weather-sealed-and-will-cost-just-899
 

I agree, the Fujinon XF 18-120mm F4 LM PZ WR Parfocal Hybrid Lens is more exciting!
First ever collaboration too between the two branches of Fujinon vs Fujifilm. 

I will never understand why more companies haven't done more power zooms. That lens sounds like a killer, even if it is a little bit on the slow side. Well worth it for a versatile lens that can do all of that.
I kind of agree, but also kinda just wish they'd build a fan straight into the camera. I get why they didn't, and I get that for MOST uses it will not be required, but it's just hard to get behind the idea of having to buy an external fan accessory to help with overheating.
They are getting SO CLOSE, but I agree. There are just enough quirks still that make it hard to jump into the Fuji system. The big thing for me is they need updated lenses that can handle changes in exposure better. This new lens is definitely incredible, but what they've got out there right now aren't too good in this regard. That's a dealbreaker for me. The IBIS also doesn't look very good at all in video and seems more geared towards stills. My sports work needs good stabilization, because the cameras are so lightweight and small (+1 for the old heavy camcorders of yesteryear not needing stabilization because of how big and heavy they were!)
I love those Fuji colors so much though! I look forward to trying it anyway!

More impressive than the camera (which looks great) is that XF18-120mm. Parfocal, minimal breathing, weather-sealed, and a power zoom built into the lens! Fantastic. Lenses make or break a system and Fuji just laid down the gauntlet to other manufacturers. Sony and Canon have some impressive cine options, but no lenses that are equally at home in photo and video mode. This XF18-120mm is a new breed. Panasonic have some incredible lenses in both m43 and L mount, but I sure do wish the Lumix division would work with their video division and turn some of their beautiful stills glass into cine versions. 

More impressive than the camera (which looks great) is that XF18-120mm. Parfocal, minimal breathing, weather-sealed, and a power zoom built into the lens! Fantastic. Lenses make or break a system and Fuji just laid down the gauntlet to other manufacturers. Sony and Canon have some impressive cine options, but no lenses that are equally at home in photo and video mode. This XF18-120mm is a new breed. Panasonic have some incredible lenses in both m43 and L mount, but I sure do wish the Lumix division would work with their video division and turn some of their beautiful stills glass into cine versions. 

More impressive than the camera (which looks great) is that XF18-120mm. Parfocal, minimal breathing, weather-sealed, and a power zoom built into the lens! Fantastic. Lenses make or break a system and Fuji just laid down the gauntlet to other manufacturers. Sony and Canon have some impressive cine options, but no lenses that are equally at home in photo and video mode. This XF18-120mm is a new breed. Panasonic have some incredible lenses in both m43 and L mount, but I sure do wish the Lumix division would work with their video division and turn some of their beautiful stills glass into cine versions. 

I have an S1, an S1H, and I still have a GH5 as a loaner for other filmmakers I work with, and because I have been working on the same project for a few years - so I haven't had a chance to shoot something in 4:3 yet! I had an S5 briefly but found it hard to hit critical focus.
One thing that I love about the S line is the Fotodiox ND Throttle adapter, which essentially gives me an EF mount with a built in variable ND behind the lens. I have the L mount 24-105 but I never really use it. My Contax kit has been a thrill to use with this, and for a zoom I just piked up and am testing a Tokina 28-70mm 2.8.

All this time I had no idea
https://www.youtube.com/c/huffparanormal/featured

99% certain it will be, “or…”
I just can’t see Panny Boy popping out a new S5 in what has been under 1.5 years since it’s launch.
If anything, the S1 line would come next and possibly they might merge the two as they have mentioned size themselves before.
Plus the GH6 just came out and it’s a competitor for the S5 for sure. Other than the OM-1, it’s the most compared pairing.
I think it’s just lower than desired sales, especially compared with Sony. I have zero evidence of that, just opinion.
That is a cracking deal however!

Hey guys, don't know if you've seen but great deal on the S5 at the moment in the UK. Wex have the camera + battery + grip + 12-60mm + 50mm for £1,599 after you apply the £200 discount code, meaning you're getting the camera for around £850. Incredible features and image quality for that price point. Nothing comes close as far as I'm aware.

I wonder what this push is about, whether a new model is inbound, or whether it's about getting as many people trying Panasonic as possible to increase market share over time when people see what you get with a Panasonic camera compared to the competition. I hope it works. I am half-tempted to go full full-frame (currently using S1 and GH5s) but damn I love my GH5s and need synchro scan in my back pocket for work, and still prefer its ergonomics to the S1.

Wonder if Felipe used a Sony?
Fucking reprehensible.

Low light is always one of those things people complain about even though it's one of the easiest things to work around. I've never had problems with the GH5 even in concert venues and filming pro-wrestling.

Sorry guys, I really don't get you. Where are all these problems on low light?
I'm not an influencer nor an ambassador so I can only watch other people's GH6 reviews but I shot with Lumix camera underwater in though conditions since GH1.
Among the countless GH6 reviews I've been watching, this has real world examples and compares GH6 directly with Sony A7SIII. So ATM it's the only review I found which shows different camera clips side by side.
BTW this guy tests and uses a bunch of gear but basically he is a Sony A7 guys. 
Well, by his own admission, GH6 images are way better under most conditions. While images sucks for both cameras at 6400 already, GH6 surrenders to A7SIII at ISO 12800.
Repeat with me: I - S - O  1 - 2 - 8 - 0 - 0
my question is: who shoot at ISO 12800?
Hereafter some bookmarks for GH6 Vs A7SIII:
9:05 onwards GH6 resolution is better. 15:20 onwards ISO test. GH6 wins hands down up to ISO 6400. 27:00 onwards DR test. Again GH6 is better. Other facts: 
AF sucks but it's usable under some conditions. IBIS is the best out there. probably the best cheap anamorphic camera of all time. Tons of terrific ergonomic features for video users (as all the other GH camera) So when I read so many rants about it, what I'm missing?
 
 

This was posted already, but this is the Vimeo version, which looks better to me on screens larger than a phone.
I really think this thing is a winner. I do wish it either had that home run feature like internal nd's, or near top of class autofocus, but all in all Panasonic has done an amazing job with this camera. 
 

Here's a lovely little piece with vintage cine lenses and some very nice colour:
 
 

S1 (so S5 and S1H) gives me incredible low light quality. Never had FPN but never underexpose by 5 stops in lowlight. 🙂 I underexposed a good deal and recovery from the Long Gop codec was spectacular to me.
Still, the GH6 looks extremely tempting to me. What I also love is to have the mode dial at the right hand where the shutter button / record button is located. Whereas for my S1 I have to reacht left for the mode dial. My little GX85 has it on the right side and it just feels right there for a hybrid. 4K 50p 10bit 422 Long Gop and All-I on the GH6 with juicy bitrates are very tempting indeed.
ISO 6400 give more detail than the GH5s as shown in Jordands comparison with the SH1. If I was in the position to buy a system camera for video I would go for the GH6. Actually I would wait a bit to see the footage coming out of it. If the digital edgy sharpness of the GH5 is gone it would be a no brainer for me if buying a new camera. I just don´t buy new cameras usually though.:)
Kye in a BTS shot is quiet a sight.:) @kye

I'm aware you shoot with a range of equipment as you've mentioned it in other threads, but you did literally just say "Give us S35/FF shooters a major incentive to revert to a smaller sensor" only 5 hours ago!
The way that I think about the GH5 is that it fits a niche.  That niche is where:
you shoot handheld in rough enough conditions to need top-shelf stabilisation, or you shoot manual lenses handheld, or you want it for really long focal lengths you want 10-bit internal with >100Mbps codecs you care about camera size and weight Put simply, it's anyone that shoots in difficult uncontrolled conditions.  Adventure film-makers, more wild events, serious travel, etc.  
1) The stabilisation criteria eliminates most FF cameras as they don't have the IBIS travel.  I've been reading carefully and almost all FF camera discussions include a few reputable people saying something like "the IBIS is good but isn't GH5-level".  That leaves a number of MFT cameras and a few S35/FF cameras.
2) The 10-bit internal criteria eliminates most of the other MFT cameras, and the >100Mbps codec criteria eliminates most S35/FF cameras up until the most recent batch of RAW-capable ones (eg R5) or the high-bitrate ones (eg A7S3).  Most of those are pretty expensive too.
3) The size and weight criteria eliminates almost all the rest, like the S1H, and eliminates all the ones that rely on external RAW and have poor internal codecs.
I'm sure there's a few other candidates that meet the above, but it's not a huge number.  
There's a strange mindset in the camera industry that says you either:
want a small camera and therefore you're an amateur who doesn't care about image quality want image quality and therefore you're happy to have a huge camera and rig it out This doesn't really cater to people who want a great image but want their setup to be super-portable and inconspicuous.  Being inconspicuous is often misunderstood to mean doing something wrong, but in reality it means not having a massive impact on the things you're shooting.  Having a large / complex camera (or a tripod) when shooting in public just means that instead of getting shots of real life you get shots of people all staring at you and then you get asked to leave by security.  There's a reason that people who shoot in public a lot (eg Philip Bloom) use really freaking long lenses - not much use if you'd prefer a wide.
The niche of small camera with great image quality is a very strange place, with things like the GH5, Sigma FP, BMPCC and precious few others, and almost all of those don't have stabilisation.  
I agree that those that don't fit this specific niche may be well catered for in other systems, or even the OM-1, but I still think there's a real niche where this is by far the best option, and depending on your situation, perhaps the only option.

Rumors are canon rumors is going to Spotify. (C1)

C70 in low light featuring rich tones and subtle gradations:
RAW in this camera would be amazing, but you don't really need it. The camera is already reaching C300/C500 RAW quality with XF-AVC:

Continuous 4k120 with Audio is a game changer for us. The R5 shoots gorgeous footage with a few well known issues. But even with the limitations, we still prefer them over all our other cameras in the office (much love for our BMPCC6kPro and Ursa G2, but they too have their fair share of issues). Jumped to pre-order an R5C today.
Here's a sample of how we use the footage in the first few seconds of one of my recent videos. No need for IBIS, the EVF is critical (and why we didn't buy a C70 before this) and this one pretty much hit all my wishes outside of built-in NDs. 
 

We use the r6 and r5 as b cams for video at work. If you’d shot with them for any amount of time you know the ibis is not up to the task for professional work. The amount of times we got back to see weird warps on our footage is simply too high to trust it.