CANON EOS R5
5 THINGS WE DON’T KNOW
01 How many megapixels?
Curiously, possibly surprisingly, Canon is being incredibly coy about the resolution of the sensor in the Canon EOS R5. While a hi-res version of the EOS R is longrumored to be in the works (with recent reports suggesting a Canon EOS with a 150Mp sensor), that is expected to be a different model. The R5 will have a more modest resolution – and the full-readout 8K video gives us a big clue as to what this will be.
As alluded by Cameralabs, 16:9 8K video on a standard 3:2 sensor would require 7680x5120 pixels – which works out as about 39Mp.
However, if the video is DCI (as the EOS-1D X Mark III offers) then it would require 8192 pixels – and that means a 45Mp sensor.
02 What format memory cards?
Remember above, when we mentioned the thicker grip? Well, there are two big theories why this might be. One is that the R5 will feature a beefy new battery (and 8K video will certainly suck the life out of batteries in no time), and the other is that the extra space will accommodate a new memory card format – namely, Cfexpress. The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III already features dual Cfexpress card slots, so could the R5 follow suit? It’s possible that it might possess a single Cfexpress and a single SD card slot… or, equally, it could stick with dual SDS.
03 Weather sealing?
Something else that Canon has been evasive about is weather sealing,
Canon didn’t say whether or not the 8K video would support the wonderful new Animal AF
and to what degree (if any) the R5 has it, which does strike us as odd. Since the company is positioning it as “a professional full-frame mirrorless flagship camera,” it would stand to reason that it is at least as weather sealed as the EOS R. However, no mention has yet been made to that effect.
04 Does it have Deep Learning AF?
Canon told us that the Dual Pixel AF in the R5 has similar capabilities as the system in the 1-series, but it also possesses the ability to perform Animal AF as well. What it couldn’t confirm, however, was whether any of that autofocus tech is built on the same Deep Learning AF that features in the EOS-1D X Mark III – which does not (at time of writing) feature Animal AF. Since it was hinted that the 1D X Mark III could potentially be upgraded to support Animal AF via firmware, it’s possible that they both feature similar, impressive, deep learning systems.
05 Does Animal AF work in 8K?
While Canon made the announcement that the R5 would feature full-readout 8K video and advanced Animal AF, it didn’t say whether or not the 8K video would support the wonderful new Animal AF. It’s entirely possible that those two features are entirely separate (with Animal AF only being available for stills, or perhaps for 1080p or 4K video) – and when we asked Canon point blank, it couldn’t yet spill the beans, disappointingly. Fingers crossed for news on that to come out soon. Watch this space!