newfoundmass

In some ways the R7 would be great for weddings (AF, lowlight performance, battery life, light weight, good photography specs, lens availability, XLR audio options, etc), but it would be hard to recommend it as an A camera for weddings with the highlight rolloff issues, not to mention dynamic range seems to be just average as well; DR is definitely not comparable to the S5. Weddings are held outdoors in direct sunlight all the time and there's a lot of situations where the scene has a really wide DR. 
With the volume of weddings that you shoot, and your hungry competition, you will definitely get better quality photography and video results with your current setup since you found a way to get Panasonic's AF to work for you. I think for lower budget weddings the R7 would do just fine, but not for a couple that is paying for a destination wedding in France.
Maybe my opinion of the R7 will improve as I use better lenses on it and shoot in more controlled scenarios, but I think its unlikely at this point.

Highlight roll off is a common problem at the moment.
Try this with it, I'll give you a free copy
https://www.eoshd.com/dynamic-range-enhancer-H264-H265/

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.
 

Yes HLG works in 5K 10bit. HLG needs 10bit. So it doesn't work in the 8bit 4K modes.
Bit rate is 200Mbit in H.265, so rather good. That compares to just 75Mbit on the OM-1 in 10bit.
200mbit is a good sweet spot for me as 400Mbit I find to be a bit on the large side in terms of file sizes.
I have configured the lever on the front of the camera to switch between Rec.709 and HLG.
Which is quite fun.
The way it works is whenever I need extra DR in 5K I just flick that lever. Boom. And when you don't feel you need it and can't be arsed to grade the HLG, flick it back again and your originally selected picture profile is re-enabled automatically.
Meanwhile on a button near the shutter release I have made it a one tap to go between full frame 4K 60fps and S35 5K 10bit. So all these unusual options triggered within a second during the action, rather than diving into menus for them.
The only thing that takes a bit of menu diving is the Super 16mm pixel-pixel crop mode.
As for rationale for selling S1... Which is a very good tool... Well with S1R I was wanting something a bit different. My S1 has been great but I mainly see it as a full frame 10bit 4K/24p camera or the 6K mode which gives you rather similar end result, and so it doesn't have the same variety of creative purposes. The S1R has the resolution to do that unusual 4:3 5K mode and Super 16mm crop 4K. I also like that it is 4K/60fps full frame and would take 60fps over 10bit creatively speaking. The other thing with the S1 is that now the EOS R5 is working more reliably and I have the Sony A7 IV, my full frame 10bit 4K needs are covered - with the Sony handling 60fps and the R5 120fps whereas S1 maxes out at 30fps.
Also on the stills side I prefer the sensor of the S1R to the S1, it has more mojo and a lot more resolution.
Undoubtedly the S1 in V-LOG has better dynamic range though but I am not a dynamic range fetish person. I like to see a strong contrast in my end result and shoot in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get fashion. This way I get to experiment in the moment. Does a bright area look better if you let it bloom outward, or should you box it in, preserve the detail there, and darken the other areas of the shot? I find it is always more fun to make that decision during the shoot rather than in an endless post production nightmare divorced from what you felt during the actual shoot, which also has other impact of distracting you from editing!
With S1R I feel like I have the best camera for manual focus glass, along with the Fp-L.
With Sony E-mount and Canon R5 I feel those have all the AF lenses covered.
They are not as much fun to use as the S1R though.
The Fp-L also has that uniqueness about it, which more formulaic and generic mainstream cameras lack. The Cinema DNG feature, the extensive 4K crop modes, the tiny form factor, articulated tilt-EVF and external SSD support.
There is no point me duplicating over and over again other high-end do it all cameras like the R5. I need creative features and different mojos!
Undoubtably though, if you just want full frame 10bit that new 6K mode on the S1 with V-LOG is a total bargain for what it sells for used.

IBIS to me is meant for handheld work. I don't use it in place of a tripod or monopod. IBIS gives me freedom that a monopod or shoulder rig doesn't even moving around. If I'm not in a rush, or need a static shot, I'll always go with a tripod or monopod. But if I'm literally running and gunning, like I do for weddings or my sports work, good IBIS is so vital to getting good looking footage. 

Better value, I think. I love my MacBook Pro, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure if it's worth the 3x or whatever extra I paid for it, especially when I am using it at home with an external monitor a lot anyway!

IBIS to me is meant for handheld work. I don't use it in place of a tripod or monopod. IBIS gives me freedom that a monopod or shoulder rig doesn't even moving around. If I'm not in a rush, or need a static shot, I'll always go with a tripod or monopod. But if I'm literally running and gunning, like I do for weddings or my sports work, good IBIS is so vital to getting good looking footage. 

Ditto. It’s the one thing on this list that I couldn’t really do without now and has been one of those ‘game changer’ things they talk about.
Tripod was slow, monopod faster but still not as quick and portable as my own two hands.
 

To me IBIS is a God send because my kind of work is fast paced and as such I need to match that pace. IBIS gives me a fighting chance to get stabilized shots filming unpredictable movement, like you'll get in pro-wrestling. 
The rest though I agree fully on.  

Hello everyone.
Forum is 50/50 sharing EOSHD with my content. So half the traffic goes to posts on the forum and half goes to my articles and content.
I would like to make some changes to EOSHD to make it more sustainable and grow again after a difficult period.
1. Definitely want to keep in touch and talk to my mates here on the forum. So not going to close the place down or suddenly let it go dark. How do people feel about a Reddit group or a Discord server, which are more smartphone friendly and a bit more about realtime chat and problem solving compared to a thread on a forum which may stretch over many pages and takes a lot of time to delve into? Maybe a better medium for lighter discussions and chat?
2. Financial side of EOSHD is not good at the moment. The forum might have to make way for the blog to put the attention 100% on my content. I can't see a viable way to make money from the forum. I don't think I want to put advertising everywhere either. If you can suggest a way to fund the forum and keep it going, I'd like to know your thoughts on that.
3. Small number of regular users are creating most of the content. We need to grow. Any ideas related to this very welcome. I can't really get my head around it. A very busy forum has crossed into that dangerous territory where a very small minority of regular users are making 99% of the posts. We need a more diverse range of topics and to not have the few interesting pieces flooded with 20 pages of armchair opinions 🙂
4. How the forum shares the domain with my own content needs to change especially on smartphones. If anyone can suggest new forum software that integrates seamlessly with a blog I am all ears as cannot seem to find any at all.
5. If forum is to come to an end after 11 years, it will because all replacements, shake-ups, redesigns and all ideas are exhausted and it becomes financially unviable for me to run it. I didn't agree at all with the way Cinema5D suddenly dumped their forum. All that info and all those posts in the bin. I didn't know what the rationale was behind it at all. Selling it to Mitch at Planet5D was a complete dick move. People (and their opinions) are not pawns to be traded around for money.
So I am all for constructive criticism on how we can make the forum grow again, be more interesting again and be financially viable.
How can we get some of the members back we lost?
Why are they not interested in posting here any more?
Is the general topic of cameras and video in decline?
And let's look to the positives of this place as well.
What works best? How can we play to our strengths and be relevant?
Over and out.
Andrew

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Have fun!

There's still a lot to be said for camcorders. I'd probably still use them if they retained their value. They are, without hesitation, my favorite form factor. 

There's still a lot to be said for camcorders. I'd probably still use them if they retained their value. They are, without hesitation, my favorite form factor. 

Peter says it overheated after 2 3/4 hours. BUT that's without recording internally (he was recording via HDMI) and with a dummy battery. He says that the camera itself felt hotter than any other camera he has felt. He was able to immediately turn the camera back on and continue recording, though. I'd be real cautious about doing that though, because it can't be good for a camera's internals to push it that hard. He thinks perhaps the overheating shut off is something programmed into the camera, but isn't sure. This was all indoors with AC. He gives the specific situation and modes he used in the video. 
I do wish he'd tested while recording internally and with a battery to see if that made a difference. 
2 3/4 hours is probably more than enough for most folks, but that the camera body itself gets so warm is a bit concerning. 

Every camera in my price range has a limitation that I wish wasn't there. It just so happens that the S5's limitations are the ones I can live with the most. Same with the GH5. 
I don't think getting rid of your Lumix cameras and going with a Canon set up makes you a Canon fanboy. I think it just means you're making the best choice based on your situation and needs. 
The funny thing for me is that out of everyone it might be Olympus that checks the most boxes for me right now. I'm just in no position to purchase 2 (or 3) OM-1 bodies even if they weren't backordered. Strange times, though! 

Peter says it overheated after 2 3/4 hours. BUT that's without recording internally (he was recording via HDMI) and with a dummy battery. He says that the camera itself felt hotter than any other camera he has felt. He was able to immediately turn the camera back on and continue recording, though. I'd be real cautious about doing that though, because it can't be good for a camera's internals to push it that hard. He thinks perhaps the overheating shut off is something programmed into the camera, but isn't sure. This was all indoors with AC. He gives the specific situation and modes he used in the video. 
I do wish he'd tested while recording internally and with a battery to see if that made a difference. 
2 3/4 hours is probably more than enough for most folks, but that the camera body itself gets so warm is a bit concerning. 

A lot of that depends on resolution and camera though too. Like the C100 always impressed me with its imagine given it was only what, 24mbps? On the GH5 I could probably find a scenario where I could break it, but I've never had any problems when filming 100mbps in 4K, which would be about 50mbps in h.265 like the OP is using. The only time these days that I really notice mushy or blocky video is when given footage from action cameras and some phones to edit. 

Use however much you need, but be aware that how much you need can vary radically depending on what you're filming.
50Mbps is tonnes if you're filming a talking-head with a blurry background, but point you camera at a tree while there's lots of wind, or during rain or snow, or at the ocean, or from a moving vehicle, and the 50Mbps you were loving before might make you cry.
Also, if you're filming in higher frame rates and then conforming to normal speed to make things appear in slow motion then your bitrate will get stretched accordingly.  50Mbps is 25Mbps when viewed at 50% speed on a timeline, etc.
You can't add bitrate in post!

Like with everything, there's diminishing returns. If you're not doing a ton of tweaking in post, you really don't need huge files, especially if it's only going on YouTube. For a lot of my work 50mbps (or 100mbps in h.264) is more than enough, given the final edit will end up on a streaming service that will stream it at maybe 1/4 of that. 
That's not an argument against higher bit rate options, as there absolutely are plenty of good reasons to have that as an option, but not everything needs to have 400mbps just as not everything needs to be filmed in RAW.

Will this be edited in post or will it be connected to a switcher? 
If it's being done in post then you've got a lot of options. Pretty much any camcorder that allows you to custom white balance will work. I filmed lots of multicam shoots with the Sony hdr-cx580. It's an older camera, but it was decent in low light and worked really well. 
If they're doing it live then two GH5 cameras with primes would work. Even if they do the editing in post the GH5 is a great option, but I specifically say this because it has the full size HDMI out. If they prefer camcorders then the Panasonic HC-MDH3 is the cheapest camcorder you'll find that has a full size HDMI, at least that I know of. 

Like with everything, there's diminishing returns. If you're not doing a ton of tweaking in post, you really don't need huge files, especially if it's only going on YouTube. For a lot of my work 50mbps (or 100mbps in h.264) is more than enough, given the final edit will end up on a streaming service that will stream it at maybe 1/4 of that. 
That's not an argument against higher bit rate options, as there absolutely are plenty of good reasons to have that as an option, but not everything needs to have 400mbps just as not everything needs to be filmed in RAW.

Like with everything, there's diminishing returns. If you're not doing a ton of tweaking in post, you really don't need huge files, especially if it's only going on YouTube. For a lot of my work 50mbps (or 100mbps in h.264) is more than enough, given the final edit will end up on a streaming service that will stream it at maybe 1/4 of that. 
That's not an argument against higher bit rate options, as there absolutely are plenty of good reasons to have that as an option, but not everything needs to have 400mbps just as not everything needs to be filmed in RAW.

Well 4 shots from today on the GH5. Boat House 14-140mm, last 3 300mm f2.8 L FD lens. The one of the Lodge had to be a nearly 1/4 mile away. The Geese one was maybe 200 feet away, people fishing probably 300 feet away. This looks to be a damn good copy. I can see I need a better tripod for this lens. Had a nice carbon fiber one but it weighed a freaking ton, should have kept it I guess. Camera, lens shot with my iPhone 6s plus. 
Pretty satisfied on my fist real outing with it. Well, it looks like the photos are switch for bottom to top but you get the idea. Have to figure the 300 is actually a 600 on the GH5.
 

I can run a test for you if you tell me the parameters you're interesred in. I can run record on a full battery and see how long it lasts.

Well, I made a total liar out of myself and went and bought another Panasonic GH5 with V Log in it. And to make it even more crazy I bought a Canon FD 300mm f2.8 lens, the big white one, with it, and the older 14-140mm Panny lens, the black and gray one.
With the newer firmware updates the GH5 has gotten a lot better than when I had mine before.  Pretty hard camera to beat used even today.  The 300mm ought to be good for birding and well why not. I am going to use it with my EF to M4/3 Speedbooster so will be interesting. So now I will have even more stuff.