R7 vs R5

I think I might consider one of these during the holiday season. Having waded through the respective threads and getting lost in the weeds there, I would appreciate it if I can get feedback on a couple of things.

1. Much has been said and written about the great AF and eye focus modes of the R5. Is the R7 also as good? I'm mainly interested in bird photography.

2. How is the high ISO performance of the R7 vs. the R5? Amy reason to choose one vs. the other in this regard?

Thanks.

Scrumhalf wrote in post #19442573
I think I might consider one of these during the holiday season. Having waded through the respective threads and getting lost in the weeds there, I would appreciate it if I can get feedback on a couple of things.

1. Much has been said and written about the great AF and eye focus modes of the R5. Is the R7 also as good? I'm mainly interested in bird photography.

2. How is the high ISO performance of the R7 vs. the R5? Amy reason to choose one vs. the other in this regard?

Thanks.

I have both the R5 and the R7. I have been happy with the AF on birds on both bodies. I have not had problems with high ISO on either body.
I mostly use the R7 now for far off subjects, and use the R5 for closer subjects/landscape ect.
I am always reach challenged, so I reach for the R7 mostly.

I have both R5 and R7. IMO,
- The signal to noise on full frame shots is what you'd expect. A little better on the R5 and it performs better at higher ISOs. The R7 by virtue of the crop sensor, receives 40% of the light of the R5 across the entire frame so this is no surprise.
- The 1.6x crop gives a lot more reach, also as expected.
- The updated autofocus system on the R7 is MUCH more user friendly and adaptable. The ability to initiate tracking from several different initial box sizes is very helpful, esp for wildlife.

I use both cameras about equally. The R7 for wildlife only and the R5 for macro, landscape and wildlife.

Your decision may depend on what you shoot and what lenses you have.

It sounds like the AF system on the R7 more mimics the R3 than the R5.

Sam, did you ever wade in on either?

AF on the R7 is at least as good as the R5. It has the potential to be superior with more from the more recent R3 generation. to be honest, side by side I am not seeing the difference either way, as they are both amazing.

R5 is winning for noise, but the edge is slight, and even less so when you factor in the added reach of the R7. It's a boat load of pixels packed into that APS-C sensor!

I do slightly prefer the R5 in general, but given the price difference, for wildlife I'd just grab the R7. Since I split my photography between wildlife and indoor low light events, the R5 is a better balance. Plus the R7 wasn't out yet

Thanks, Jake! I'm planning to get an R7 sometime soon. I was planning to get it over the holidays but fate intervened in the form of a bad car accident where I was T-boned by a driver who ran a red light. My car was destroyed but, thanks to the safety features, I was able to walk away with nothing more than a couple of scratches and a stiff neck. But that meant getting a new car became a priority. I may jump in soon though -hopefully by then, the R7 will show up in the refurb store!

Scrumhalf wrote in post #19465587
Thanks, Jake! I'm planning to get an R7 sometime soon. I was planning to get it over the holidays but fate intervened in the form of a bad car accident where I was T-boned by a driver who ran a red light. My car was destroyed but, thanks to the safety features, I was able to walk away with nothing more than a couple of scratches and a stiff neck. But that meant getting a new car became a priority. I may jump in soon though -hopefully by then, the R7 will show up in the refurb store!

The is one for sale in the forum here

DR comparison chart: