Renting R5 mark II - my thoughts and results vs. R7 and R6ii

[Jan1977]

@Levina de Ruijter @Jan1977 I am hearing that Canon is raising prices in the USA by a minimum of 10% and could be higher at the end of April. I am going to have to call my salesman tomorrow about it!
Hunts is having a special on the R5ii it is currently $3,999 but the special is you get a free battery grip a $350 value, also $200 from the rental credited to the price so it would be $3,799.
I always buy the battery grips, not for the battery power but it makes the camera more comfortable for me, the R1 and R3 are really nice that way. So with a free grip I save $350. One way to look at it I am getting the R5ii for $3,450 and buying the grip for $350 total $3,799 LOL.

They quoted me $1,100 to $1,200 for my R6ii, which I would probably take as once I have the R5ii I don't think I would use it much and it avoids the hassle of selling it privately, but Hunts as well as KEH pay 50% of what they would sell it for used.
The R7 they said $500 so I would keep that one for now anyway.

Although with the R6ii and prices going up and I am hearing the R6iii is being delayed my salesman suggested hanging onto it and selling it privately if there is a big price increase in new gear. That would be a decision I would have to make soon, AND I actually lean towards trying to sell privately as I can always sell to KEH a private sale could probabaly get $1300 or so.

With the trade in that would cover the extra battery, CFexpress B card (probably 512gb) and the sales tax, the big question is do I get the extended Warranty, with something complicated like a digital camera I have always gotten them but at the same time I have never had an issue. I think they are about $300 or so.

The Eagle today was with the R6ii at ISO 3,200 and it is soft even after careful processing in DxO so the R6ii is not that much different than the R5ii.

Hard to guess what will happen.

When tariffs do go up second hand prices may go up as well. To me it sounds like you are set to get the R5 ii and you like grips, so that would be a good deal. The one thing that I would not expect during this tariff war is for the prices to go down, certainly not for the R5 ii as there is no iii expected (whereas R6 iii would impact R6 ii prices new and hence second hand market).
As tariffs are percentages, in absolute numbers, the tarifss will hit harder on your wallet for the R5 ii. So if I were you I guess I would go for the R5 ii asap, also because of the potential discounting for this rental period.
When keeping the R7, I would sell the R6 ii. If you need the cash to finance the R5 ii on short term, I would do it and take the lower sales. If you can wait with the sell, I think it is worth it. If the R6 iii comes along the KEH-like buying prices will go down maybe, but with tariffs on the R6 iii second hand prices may not drop too far so when waiting a bit longer, a direct sale is likely to still give you at least what KEH would pay you now.

But all is hard to predict with the current US government. For me personally, if I'm set on buying something and it gets in financial reach I usually do it and just do not look back thinking I might have saved some money if I waited a few months.

 

[Jeff WX1USN]

@Jan1977 Luckily I am not in the position of having to find money for the R5ii, for years I have collected items related to the Boston Police Dept. and did shows highlighting my collection. Recently I decided to narrow the focus of my collecting to the Boston Police Pistol Team and have sold off most of my collection getting $10k that I put into my hobby account. I also sold off my largest telescope to a friend for $1k. I don't do a lot of traveling except around this area. My two main hobbies are photography and astronomy (mainly solar imaging but also galaxies and nebula's) So I am very lucky that although retired I have money to reinvest with my hobby.

I guess the main thing is get it now with the battery grip for $3799 or wait until Mothers Day where the salesman said there will be additional discount but didn't say how much, if I remember it is about $200 or so, and by then their battery grips may be gone they only have a limited number they got for free from Canon and I would then have to buy one.

I think at this point I will buy the R5ii! But right now off to the pond, it is 32F 0C but low wind!

 

[Jeff WX1USN]

@Jan1977 @Levina de Ruijter
Well I am taking the plunge! Today I went out to the pond for just under 90 minutes and fired off 3,000 shots! Did one duck who flew across the pond for about 6 seconds holding down the button at 15fps the entire time and didn't fill the buffer (Craw and Large jpg) lots of pre-shooting of red wing black birds but the thing that really sealed the deal was the large buffer and quick clearing of the buffer! Secondly that it does better against cluttered backgrounds than the R7 or R6ii.

Now why it is good to buy from the same local camera store and the same salesman. I talked to Gerry today and I am buying the camera on Wednesday when I return the rental and getting the free battery grip and 3 days of rental ($200) credited to the cost AND he is going to charge but hold the order until the Mothers Day sale and if the cost would be lower than what I paid he will refund the difference, if it is higher due to price increases or tariffs he will just file what I already paid.

You can't get fairer than that.

Pictures from today to follow

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

@Jan1977 @Levina de Ruijter
Well I am taking the plunge! Today I went out to the pond for just under 90 minutes and fired off 3,000 shots! Did one duck who flew across the pond for about 6 seconds holding down the button at 15fps the entire time and didn't fill the buffer (Craw and Large jpg) lots of pre-shooting of red wing black birds but the thing that really sealed the deal was the large buffer and quick clearing of the buffer! Secondly that it does better against cluttered backgrounds than the R7 or R6ii.

Now why it is good to buy from the same local camera store and the same salesman. I talked to Gerry today and I am buying the camera on Wednesday when I return the rental and getting the free battery grip and 3 days of rental ($200) credited to the cost AND he is going to charge but hold the order until the Mothers Day sale and if the cost would be lower than what I paid he will refund the difference, if it is higher due to price increases or tariffs he will just file what I already paid.

You can't get fairer than that.

Pictures from today to follow

That is a mighty sweet deal, Jeff. Congratulations! I'm happy for you.

I knew you wouldn't be able to say no to that camera. (that's me being smug... )

Looking forward to today's pics!

 

[Jeff WX1USN]

That is a mighty sweet deal, Jeff. Congratulations! I'm happy for you.

I knew you wouldn't be able to say no to that camera. (that's me being smug... )

Looking forward to today's pics!

Picked the camera up 48 hours ago and have taken 6,571 shots!

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Picked the camera up 48 hours ago and have taken 6,571 shots!

Well, you had to test, didn't you!

 

[Jeff WX1USN]

Well, you had to test, didn't you!

not done yet, just at the pond with the 200-800 and the R5ii, lots of atmospheric turbulence, but it is amazing how well the AF locks on even with cluttered backgrounds

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

not done yet, just at the pond with the 200-800 and the R5ii, lots of atmospheric turbulence, but it is amazing how well the AF locks on even with cluttered backgrounds

Sounds like you're having fun!

 

[Jeff WX1USN]

This morning I shot about 3,000 images many with pre-shooting. here are some of a Red Wing Blackbird, It was really cold 0C 32F check out the breath from the bird in the first shot! The others were taken as it took off. The 5Dii is great on capturing in flight images!

 

[Jeff WX1USN]

Doing a lot of shooting in the early morning light, so far I am really impressed with the ability to clean up high ISO's from the R5ii, I have been using Dx0 Pure Raw 5.