Canon EOS R8 Camera Review

The Canon R8 is very portable for a full-frame camera and very similar in size to the Canon EOS RP. It's super lightweight, with a thin body that's easy to carry around and won't cause much, if any, fatigue during long shooting days. If you'd like an even more portable full-frame camera, check out the Sony ZV-E1.

Build quality is decent but feels a bit underwhelming given the camera's price. It's made mostly of lightweight plastic and feels very similar in build quality to the Canon EOS RP. The body isn't weather-sealed, but overall, the camera feels pretty solid, despite its plasticky exterior.

While the R8 is modeled after the Canon EOS RP, it also has some design updates that follow in the footsteps of newer models like the Canon EOS R6 Mark II. For example, there's now a dedicated movie mode switch, and the 'Lock' function has been integrated into the On/Off switch. You can see how the R6 II, the R8, and the RP (from left to right) compare from the front, the top, and the back.

The R8 also includes Canon's new multi-function shoe, which includes a 21-pin electronic interface that's supposed to offer more functionality with certain accessories.

There's no fully mechanical shutter on the R8. You can only choose between a fully electronic shutter or an electronic first-curtain shutter. The first-curtain shutter is good for reducing vibrations at slower shutter speeds, but it's worth noting that it can also introduce bokeh artifacts when shooting at wide-open apertures.

• Canon EOS R8 camera body
• Sensor cap
• Hot shoe cover
• Shoulder strap
• 1x Canon LP-E17 battery
• Battery charger
• User manual and documentation

The ergonomics are excellent. It has a large textured grip that's well-suited to most hand sizes, providing ample room for your fingers to rest comfortably when using a moderate sized lens. If you need to, you can always buy the Canon EG-E1 extension grip, originally released for the RP, which attaches to the bottom of the camera and extends the grip a little for those with larger hands.

For the most part, the buttons are well-placed and accessible, making it easy to adjust settings as needed. However, the lack of a thumbstick on the back can make it tricky to adjust your autofocus point on the fly.

The EVF has a pretty standard 2.36 million-dot resolution, so you won't get the sharpest image but it's still decent. Unfortunately, the eyecup around the viewfinder is made of plastic and isn't especially comfortable.

The R8 has a fully articulated screen. It has a higher resolution than the screen on the Canon EOS RP, providing a slightly sharper image. It also gets very bright, which is great for combatting glare on sunny days. It has full touch functionality as well, so you can use it to navigate the menus, select focus points, or as a touch shutter.

The menu system is very intuitive and easy to navigate using either the touchscreen or the physical controls. The settings are clearly organized and user-friendly. There are also a lot of customization options to tailor the shooting experience to your preference and make it easier to access commonly used settings. There's also an extensive 'Help' function that provides explanations and additional information about certain settings and menu items when you press the 'Info' button.

The Canon R8 uses the same LP-E17 battery as the Canon EOS RP, which yields a relatively short battery life. It is CIPA-rated for 290 shots on a full charge when using the screen, which is slightly higher than the RP but still falls far short of cameras with larger batteries like the Canon EOS R6 Mark II. When using the viewfinder, it's only rated for 150 shots, which is quite poor. That said, the camera does have power-saving settings. With power-saving enabled, the camera is rated for 370 shots using the screen and 220 shots using the viewfinder.

Video battery life is a more disappointing story. The camera lasts for just over an hour of continuous video recording in 4k at 30 fps. That's a fair bit shorter than the RP's video battery life. However, this camera does record uncropped oversampled 4k video, unlike the RP, so it makes sense that it drains the battery much quicker.

The Canon R8 has a remarkably fast max burst rate when using its electronic shutter, similar to the Canon EOS R6 Mark II. At max speed, you'll get approximately 40 fps burst shooting. However, in first-curtain shutter mode, the camera maxes out at 6 fps. Shooting in RAW, the camera's buffer fills up after just under 90 shots, which isn't bad but will fill up very quickly when shooting at the max burst rate. Once full, you also have to wait roughly 14 seconds for the buffer to clear before you can start shooting again, which is a fairly long delay, especially in situations where timing is critical. When shooting in JPEG, the buffer clears fast enough that you can effectively shoot indefinitely.

The Canon R8 uses the same autofocus system as the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, which does an excellent job of tracking moving subjects. It has various subject detection modes for animals and vehicles, on top of regular human face/eye detection. The tracking feature sticks to human subjects very well, even with trickier backgrounds or with faster movement. It's also a very intuitive autofocus system to use, with plenty of settings to fine-tune its performance to your needs. All in all, you should have a very high hit rate when letting the autofocus do its thing.

Using a single focus point, without tracking, the autofocus is quick and accurate. You should have no trouble focusing on your chosen subject, whether it's a static object or someone moving in a more predictable way.

Though the R8 doesn't have in-body image stabilization, you can get very stable shots at very slow shutter speeds using an optically stabilized lens. That said, stabilization performance can vary depending on different factors, including the lens, focal length, and even how steady your hands are.

Dynamic range is excellent. Just like the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, it can capture a very wide array of shadow and highlight detail. Even in more dim conditions, with more noise present, there's still a great amount of dynamic range.

Like the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, the R8 is excellent at resolving fine detail, giving you a bit of leeway to crop your photos. However, this is mostly apparent when pixel-peeping.

The camera is great at managing noise levels in low light. While noise is inevitable in low-light situations, the sensor keeps noise levels to a minimum when you have to bump the camera to high ISO settings.

Like the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, you get oversampled 4k video recording. However, unlike that model, the R8 doesn't support external RAW video output.

The camera can capture 4k video at up to 60 fps without a crop, which is fantastic considering its price.

4k internal recording capability is excellent. The camera can record in 10-bit with the C-Log 3 profile, expanding your dynamic range in video and giving you more room to make color grading adjustments in post. There's also a handy 'View Assist' function for Log recording that applies a LUT when playing back videos in-camera to give you an idea of what the final product will look like.

There's no recording time limit, which is great for long-form recording. The camera also didn't overheat during our battery life test, though it did come very close to doing so. In warmer conditions, you're likely to experience some overheating when recording in 4k. It's also worth noting that this camera uses a smaller battery than the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, and its battery life is a lot shorter, meaning your effective recording time is more limited.

The autofocus is incredibly effective in video mode. In 4k, it can track and keep moving subjects in focus with little issue. You also have plenty of settings to fine-tune its performance. That includes, for example, the same setting found on the Canon EOS R6 Mark II that lets you set it to only focus on detected subjects, which helps to minimize shifting focus when a subject leaves the frame.

There's also an 'AF for close-up demos' focus mode that's available when using the camera for livestreaming or as a webcam via USB-C. Similar to the 'Product Showcase' feature found on Sony vlogging cameras like the Sony ZV-E10, it quickly switches focus to an object held up close in the frame. You can see that in action here.

Video quality is amazing overall. It looks fantastic in more controlled lighting conditions. The image is sharp and detailed. Videos also look great in low light, despite some noise. Shadow detail is preserved well and noise is minimal.

Thankfully, rolling shutter is a lot better than the Canon EOS RP, with noticeably less skewing and distortion. That said, it still isn't great, especially with faster camera pans and movement.

There's a high frame rate mode in FHD that lets you record slow-motion 1080p footage at up to 180 fps without sound. It's handy for incorporating super slow-mo shots into your videos. Otherwise, regular recording in 1080p is available at up to 60 fps.

FHD internal recording capability is also amazing. Just as in 4k, you get internal 10-bit recording in C-Log 3. There's also no recording time limit, which is great for longer form content.

The autofocus is just as effective in 1080p as it is in 4k. It has different subject detection modes, including both face and eye detection. Its tracking feature does a fantastic job keeping moving subjects in focus, and it's very intuitive to use, with different settings to fine-tune AF performance.

1080p video quality is excellent, especially in brighter lighting conditions. It's still great in low light, too, though there's more noise and some loss of detail. Overall, though, it's impressively detailed and relatively sharp.

There's much less rolling shutter effect in 1080p, which is great, though you'll still notice some wobbling and skewing with faster camera movements.

The Canon EOS R8 only has a single SD card slot, which is bad news for those who prefer to have a running backup while they shoot, but it's also expected at this price point. It's located in the battery compartment on the bottom of the camera, making it a little harder to switch out cards when using a tripod. However, depending on the size of your tripod head, mount, or gimbal, you may still be able to access the compartment.

Connectivity options are great. There's a headphone jack, mic input, and Micro HDMI port to connect an external display, along with a USB-C port for charging and file transfer.