For years, I've told anyone that would listen (and some who just wouldn't!) that I much prefer "pro" or battery-gripped camera bodies - I've got literal sausage fingers, and need as much real estate for my indelicate digits as I'm able to muster.

And yet...

The Canon R7 really is a diddy little thing - smaller than my 70D (and I put a battery grip on that!) - and yet, mounted to the 100-400mm Mk II and 1.4x (using a copy RF-EF mount adapter), it sits in my hand surprisingly well: Canon really does understand camera ergonomics, and it's even surprisingly usable in portrait mode, something which I really figured I'd be giving up on.

On that: the unusually-placed multi-controller:

is actually a smart move. Like many, I wondered whether it would be too weird a placement, after years of the equivalent control being much lower on the body: but I adapted to it in minutes, and its position is what makes portrait shooting viable without a grip.

Of course, I bought it for the Eye AF. I'm already used to its benefits from the R5, but I actually think that the R7 is better in some regards.

In the Stonechat images that follow, there was enough of a breeze that the birds were waving around all over the frame on their thin perches: but without exception (and 300-odd in-focus images later! I really should turn the frame rate down...) the AF just locked onto the bird's eye, and where it went in the frame (again - all over), an AF point followed it without any trouble whatsoever.

I was as successful with the Kestrel - the camera made it almost too easy.

What about Image quality?

Well I expected no problems on that score, having always been very happy with the files that come off my M6 Mk II (even well into four figure ISOs) and the R7 is no disappointment at all: in fact, I've found myself having to re-evaluate my sharpening strategy, because the files are coming off the camera with loads of detail, and my previous sharpening presets have needed to be turned down a bit.

Colours are obviously fine - it's a Canon - although Auto WB does render a bit warmer than I prefer, so I have to take that into account when processing.

 The only real downside so far is that my favourite RAW converter - Photo Ninja - doesn't support the files (nor those of the R5, as it happens): but while R5 conversions seem to be fine out of Capture One 20 and LightRoom, I'm not as satisfied with their output where the R7 is concerned - converted DNGs put through Photo Ninja seem to have the edge.

But I'll keep at it, as I don't think we'll be seeing any more updates to Photo Ninja, so I'll either have to persevere with LightRoom, or throw a stupid amount of money at upgrading to Capture One 23.

First World Problems, eh..? 

OK, a few pics. I've kept them to a minimum, because there was a lot of sameness in what I got, but I'm pretty happy with these; and as I get more used to the camera and to converting/processing the files, that will only increase.

Male Stonechat, Blyth

 

Male Stonechat, Blyth

 

Starling, Blyth

 

Female Stonechat, Blyth

 

Kestrel, Blyth

 

Male Stonechat, Blyth

 

Now, although I am managing just fine with the size of the R7 - it complements the 100-400mm very nicely - I admit that I'm hoping Canon will bring out something R7-specific along the lines the EG-E1 grip, which they made for the Canon RP - no battery, but it would just finish the handling off, and give my pinky somewhere to go: