I've been fielding a few questions since buying the Canon R5

Why did I decide to buy the Canon R5?

I've mentioned before, I have a rubric for whether to buy new gear

✅ Can I afford this?

I maintain 20% of my photography income for the purpose of running my business, which includes buying new gear. This initially came from a place of privilege (yes, my parents bought me my first digital camera) and from years of buying second-hand one model below the newest model. I was able to buy it without credit (obviously using a credit card, but immediately paying it off)

✅ Will this gear pay for itself?

After my first two assignment with the gear, I had more than covered the costs (including cards and remote triggers I needed to buy). Now, of course assignments can't just be able paying off gear, I have other financial obligations and need to make a living with my photography, but it's reassuring that the cost of the camera is not so significant compared to the work I get hired by using it.

✅ Will this gear allow me to make pictures I currently cannot?

The creative teams I have been working with were asking for me to take photos both full-body and tighter in. During a session where I need to cover 30+ players, not only is there not time to take multiples of everything both full-body and zoomed in, so it made sense to just get higher resolution camera where I could take full body and any of those images could easily be cropped in with plenty of detail. It also means I don't risk missing a great moment that would be better as full-body, while I was zoomed in.

✅ Will this make my life easier?

*The only part that isn't making my life easier is having another system, another set of batteries which isn't my goal, but it seems worth it in this moment.

Are you giving up on Olympus/OMDS gear? / Are you selling your Olympus gear?

The Olympus/OMDS gear hasn't changed. It's still great, reliable, and the best gear for me and most of the action work I'm doing in this moment (how I love the weather sealing and Micro Four Thirds crop factor). I am selling some Olympus gear including my 300mm f/4, but that's mostly because I have other Olympus/OMDS gear that has made it obsolete in my kit (in the case of the 300mm, the 150-400mm f/4.5)

Why not Sony?

The Sony system is great. Most of it has to do with my own familiarity with the canon system. I was canon prior to being Sony and I just love the way it feels in my hands (is that weird? No! If I'm going to be holding something for 5+ hours/day, I want it to feel good in my hands) I also have stronger connections to the people at canon. As with so many things, it's about the people! While the gear is important (and at this point, they are all very capable) it's also important to feel like if I run into any issues, I have someone I can call, beyond just a general support email.