It feels just as small in hand, though it's much easier to grab and use than similar-sized APS-C cameras, like Sony's A6500. If you really have small hands, Canon actually offers the EG-E1 Extension Grip that increases the height of the camera. With the smallish RF 35mm F/1.8 lens, I had to test it with, I was surprised to find that the EOS RP could actually make a good street-photography and walking-around camera. There are some things holding it back there, however -- more on that shortly.

Also, that size comes at a cost. It's not weather sealed like the EOS R, though given that it's aimed at casual shooters rather than pros, that's not a huge deal. However, it also lacks in-body stabilization, which effectively reduces its low-light shooting capability unless you have a stabilized lens. On top of that, there's only a single UHS II card slot and a tiny battery that delivers just 250 shots to a charge. So, you'll want to buy extra batteries for the EOS RP (at $49 a pop), which once again reduces the value proposition.

As I've found with most other Canon cameras, the EOS RP feels and handles great. It features front and rear dials to adjust the shutter and aperture settings, along with a front lens dial (assuming you're using an RF lens) to change the ISO or whatever else you want. Other dials and settings are well placed, and everything is programmable, so you can customize it to a T. The only button I really missed was a focus-point joystick (available on Nikon's Z6 and the Panasonic S1) -- I had to use the multifunction pad instead.

The rear touch display flips around, which would make the EOS RP a great vlogging camera -- if it wasn't for some very annoying flaws. You can use it to control focus and menu functions, making it more useful than the touch display on other mirrorless models (ahem, Sony A7 III). That menu system is pretty intuitive, though not quite as fast to use as, say, Panasonic's S1/S1R. As for the OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF), it's a 2.36 million dot 60 Hz model. which is inferior to the 3.6 million dot version on the EOS R. It is the same as Sony's A7 III, however.

As for the ports, Canon has you covered. The EOS RP packs both headphone and microphone jacks, making it much more useful for shooting video interviews. While you're limited to a fiddly, easy-to-dislodge mini-HDMI port, it's equipped with a USB Type C port that delivers fast data transfers and can be used to charge the camera.

One other small note that proves how quickly new things can become indispensable: The EOS R has a very cool cover that engages when you turn the camera off, protecting the sensor from dust when the lens is removed. So naturally, I was disappointed to find that it wasn't there on the EOS RP, even though I'd never seen the feature before on another camera.

Performance

Overall, I wasn't disappointed with the EOS RP's performance as it more or less delivered what I expected for the price. However, Canon has made some bizarre decisions here. The EOS RP packs an all-new Digic 8 processor, likely a detuned version of the one on the EOS R, but has an 26.2-megapixel that's nearly the same as the one on its 6D Mark II DSLR. You can shoot at up to 5 fps in single-shot autofocus mode, and 4 fps in continuous mode, about the same as Sony's similarly priced, albeit much older, A7 II. Suffice to say, this won't make a great sports camera.

However, it does pack Canon's excellent Dual Pixel phase-detect and contrast-detect autofocus system, which excels for most other kinds of shooting. It nailed single-shot shooting focus nearly 100 percent of the time, and in single-point continuous mode, I was rewarded with a large percentage of sharp shots.