The Canon EOS RP is a good performer, but the 26.2-megapixel sensor barely keeps up with the sensor found in Sony’s five-year-old A7S II.
The guys and gals of DXOMark have awoken from their long slumber, and it seems the first camera that fell in their hands after their nap was the Canon EOS RP. We thought the sensor was pretty good when we tested the EOS RP last year: it performed how we thought a Full Frame sensor in this price range would. While it’s overall score puts it just about on par with Sony’s now five-year-old 12.2-megapixel sensor from the A7S II, you might be shocked by some of the lab numbers. Join us after the break for all the details.
The Canon EOS RP is, of course, a Mirrorless version of the EOS 6D Mk II DSLR. During our time with that camera, we were underwhelmed with the sensor’s dynamic range performance. Still, we were pleasantly surprised at how well it performed at higher ISO’s, and how good it’s overall color reproduction was. The results from DXOMark’s lab tests for the Mirrorless EOS RP, which uses the same sensor as the 6D2, didn’t really surprise us.Â
Overall, the Canon EOS RP scored an 85, while Canon’s EOS R scored an 89, and Nikon’s Z6 scored a 95. The overall score is the same score Sony’s low megapixel, high ISO beast the A7S II received. What’s shocking, though, is that the Sony sensor beat the EOS RP sensor in the dynamic range tests by almost two stops, and the Sony a7 III and the Nikon Z6 destroyed it by more than two stops. As you can imagine, the EOS RP is not the camera landscape photographers should reach for.
The EOS RP does impress when it comes to color reproduction and high ISO performance, and it almost matches the Sony A7S II in the high ISO department (2977 EOS RP vs. 2993 A7S II). Now that is mighty impressive. If you are a portrait photographer, you will also be pleased to know that Canon’s color science is on point too: the EOS RP scored a very respectable 24.3. The Sony A7S II scored 23.6, the Nikon Z6 scored 25.3, the EOS R hit 24.5, and the Sony A7 III scored 25.
So what does all this mean? If you’re a straight-up portrait shooter on a budget who must own a Full Frame camera, the Canon EOS RP is a solid choice. If you’re an event photographer who shoots in low light situations often, this camera will be a good choice, but landscape photographers should maybe look elsewhere.
Honestly though, get one in your hands and try it out, and don’t take too much stock from lab results. You will often find that real-world tests, like the ones we do, and the ones you can perform by yourself will show you precisely what you need to see. If you want to test a Full Frame camera, but don’t want to drop $999 just yet, you can always rent one for a few days from LensRentals. This way, you can try the camera out to see if you like how it feels and how it performs. What do you think about the findings from DXOMark? Let us know in the comment section below.
