NEWS & NEW PRODUCTS

There are plenty of signs we might be returning to some sort of normality, if the number of new imaging products announced recently is anything to go by. Of course, Canon’s much-anticipated EOS R5 mirrorless flagship is the big headline-maker – especially as it’s accompanied by a surprise sibling, the EOS R6, and some very interesting RF mount lenses. There are also new lenses from Panasonic, Fujifilm and Samyang, while Leica adds a new member to its M10 digital rangefinder family – the 40-megapixel M10-R. And there’s been a sudden burst of activity in the photo printer market, with new pro-level models from both Canon and Epson arriving at a time when many photographers are probably ready to upgrade.

You’d have to say that, since the launch of the EOS R in September 2018, Canon’s progress with its full-frame mirrorless camera system has been slow, especially compared to the activities of, for example, Sony or Fujifilm. Now, though, prepare for lift-off.

Canon has been releasing snippets about its EOS R5 flagship for around four months which was, apparently, a bit longer than anticipated due to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. But now the EOS R5 is here – much more highly specced than even

Canon’s hints had previously suggested – and it’s accompanied by an enthusiast-level sibling, the EOS R6. Canon Australia’s senior product manager, Brendan Maher, describes the next step in the EOS R system’s development as “a bit of a crescendo for us” and says it represents the culmination of 20 years of Canon’s experience in digital ILCs.

Both the R5 and R6 share essentially the same body – with some variations in control layout – and base feature set, but the pro-level camera has a higher resolution CMOS sensor (45 megapixels effective) and the headline-making video spec of 8K RAW recording at 30fps with 12-bit colour using the full width of the sensor. It also gets a higher resolution EVF (5.76 million dots versus the R6’s 3.69 million dots), a bigger rear display also with a higher resolution (3.2 inches with 2.1 million dots versus 3 inches and 1.62 million dots) and a CFexpress memory card slot to accompany its UHS-II SD slot (the R6 has two of the latter). Both cameras have a vari-angle screen (i.e. adjustable for both tilt and swing) with touchscreen controls. The R6 appears to have the same 20.1MP sensor as the EOS-1D X Mark III.

Both cameras share a new five-axis in-body image stabiliser which, in conjunction with the optical stabilisation in the RF lenses gives up to eight stops of correction for camera shake. Canon is calling its dual system “Co-ordinated Control IS” and the ‘worst’ spec is still six stops of correction, but interestingly the non-OIS RF lenses get the full eight stops. Both cameras are driven by Canon’s latest generation DiG!C X processor which delivers continuous shooting at 20fps using the sensor-based electronic shutter, and this is with full AF/AE adjustment. The mechanical shutter allows for a top shooting speed of 12fps.

Canon’s on-sensor phase-detect autofocus system gets an upgrade to become known as ‘Dual Pixel CMOS AF II’ which now has 100% frame coverage and a focusing speed of just 0.05 seconds… reportedly the world’s fastest for a full-frame camera. There’s a total of 5,940 userselectable points for the R5 and 6,072 for the R6. Low-light sensitivity extends down to EV -6.0 for the R5 and EV -6.5 for the R6 (because it has bigger pixels), new control algorithms enhance the reliability of face/eye detection and add the capability for animals (specifically dogs, cats or birds, but will work more broadly across the animal kingdom).

Both the R5 and R6 follow Canon’s EOS-1D X Mark III DSLR flagship with the provision for capturing 10-bit HEIF files that give wider dynamic range and colour gamut than 8-bit JPEGs. However, thanks to a much more efficient compression algorithm, they have the same file size but with twice as much image data.

The R5’s video capabilities are extensive, and besides 8K RAW (which, incidentally, has Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocusing support), include 8K in 10-bit 4:2:2 colour with Canon Log or HDR PQ, both recorded internally using H.265 compression (which is essentially what drives the HEIF capture). It’s also worth pointing out that 8K video footage delivers 35.4MP stills. 4K video is downsampled 8K with a choice of frame rates up to 120fps (for slow-mo effects), again uncropped with 10-bit 4:2:2 colour and H.265 compression plus the options of Canon Log or HDR PQ. The HDMI output also supports Canon Log or HDR PQ with 10-bit 4:2:2 colour.

The R6’s video spec is a little more prosaic, but still runs to 4K UHD (cropped, so downsampled from 5.1K) at 60fps and internal recording with 10-bit 4:2:2 colour and H.265 compression or 8-bit with H.264.

Both cameras are powered by a new, higher-capacity version of the venerable NP-E6 battery – called the NP-E6NH – with 2,130mAh capacity. This represents a 14% increase in battery life over the previous NP-E6N. There’s a new battery grip, the BG-R10, and a new wireless transmitter for the R5 that’s cleverly packaged into a vertical grip. Incidentally, the R5’s built-in Wi-Fi uses the 5GHz band for faster file transfers and, of course, both cameras also have Bluetooth.

The Canon EOS R5 is available locally now priced at $7,099 (body only) with the EOS R6 following in late August, priced at $4,749. Both are backed by Canon Australia’s five-year warranty.