CANON EOS R5
The Canon EOS R5 is the most anticipated camera in a decade. Does the 8K, 45MP beast live up to the hype? JAMES ARTAIUS shares his first impressions
Does this 8K, 45MP beast live up to the hype? Our first impressions are revealed
The Canon EOS R5 is finally here after months of waiting and masterful teases by the canny manufacturer. The Canon EOS R5 is a powerhouse performer in every possible respect: its 8K video outclasses many of the best cinema cameras; its shooting speed puts it on par with the best cameras for sport; its 45MP sensor outmuscles all but a few of the best mirrorless cameras; and its 8-stop in-body image stabilisation is the new IBIS champion.
In short, the R5 has all the ingredients to be the best Canon camera we’ve ever seen – and we’ve had the chance to go hands-on with it.
KEY FEATURES
Such are the lofty specs of the Canon EOS R5 that virtually every feature is a key feature.
Obviously the headline attraction here is the remarkable video capability. The R5 can capture full-width (uncropped) RAW 8K video using the entire readout of the 35mm sensor – and it does so internally at up to 29.97fps in 4:2:2 12-bit Canon Log, or HDR PQ (both H.265) in both UHD and DCI.
Its 4K capture is every bit as ferocious, recording at up to 119.88fps (in the same 4:2:2 Canon Log or HDR PQ, in UHD or DCI) with external HDMI recording up to 59.94fps.
However, the R5 is much more than just a video behemoth. Since the 8K DCI video has a resolution of 8,192 x 4,320, the camera has a Frame Grab function that enables you to take high-resolution 35.4MP stills (as either JPEGs or HEIF files) from your footage – which is 5.1MP greater resolution than the Canon EOS R.
Canon claims that the R5 is “the highest resolution EOS camera ever”, supposedly resolving even greater detail than the 50.6MP Canon EOS 5DS/R. This is thanks to the new low-pass filter design, which was introduced in the flagship Canon EOS-1D X Mark III.
Traditional low-pass filters (employed to get rid of moiré) employ dual-layer, four-point subsampling and introduce a layer of softness to images. Canon’s new tech features quadlayer, 16-point subsampling and combines it with a Gaussian distribution technique to deliver sharpness rivalling the 5DS/R.
The flagship 1D X has served as a donor for much of the tech in the EOS R5. The AIpowered Deep Learning AF system has been transplanted, enabling the new camera to perform spookily accurate eye, face and head tracking. However, the R5 has a trick that the Mark III doesn’t; it is also capable of Animal AF.
Underpinning the autofocus is the brand new Dual Pixel CMOS AF II – the latest generation of Canon’s much-lauded AF system. And best of all, all these autofocus
The R5 has all the ingredients to be the best Canon camera we’ve seen
technologies are available in stills as well as all video resolutions and frame rates – with a staggering 5,940 AF points for photography and 4,500 for filming.
The continuous shooting speed is also on par with the 1D X Mark III, as the R5 matches the flagship’s top speed of 20fps via the electronic shutter (and 12fps using the mechanical shutter).
Backed up by dual card slots, including lightning-fast CFexpress support, the Canon EOS R5 can stand toe to toe with sports cameras, video cameras and medium-format cameras alike.
Most excitingly for long-suffering Canon users, the EOS R5 features the company’s agonisingly overdue implementation of 5-axis in-body stabilisation. The wait, however, has been worth it, as Canon is now officially the king of IBIS – the R5 (and the Canon
EOS R6) boasts up to 8 stops of CIPA-rated stabilisation, depending on the lens.
BUILD AND HANDLING
In the hand, the EOS R5 feels like a slightly beefier EOS R. It’s almost imperceptibly thicker (just 3.6mm), but it has notably more heft, weighing about 70g more. This extra
mass makes it feel a better match for some of the notoriously larger RF lenses.
From the top, the R5 is very similar to the EOS R and bears the same top OLED screen and Mode button within the rear control dial. It’s the rear where the differences start to come into play, and the first thing you’ll notice is that the love-it-or-loathe it M-Fn touchbar has been abolished; in its place is a familiar joystick, with the AF-ON button assuming its more traditional position.
A control wheel has also replaced the individual D-pad buttons seen on the EOS R and Canon EOS RP, all of which makes the R5 feel much more like using a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV – fitting, as this is a 5-series camera intended to sit alongside its DSLR counterpart. Thankfully the camera retains the fully articulating touchscreen seen on the EOS R and RP, which is important for recording video (as well as taking stills from either elevated or low angles).
You can expect robust weather-sealing – though invariably, given that the mirrorless model is daintier (and also features an articulating screen), it doesn’t feel as sturdy as the 5D. It will withstand some knocks, but unlike the DSLR, you wouldn’t want to drop it.
The R5 also features a brand new 2,130mAh battery, the LP-E6NH, which features 14 per cent greater capacity than the LP-E6N that it replaces – and it’s backwards-compatible with any camera that accepts the LP-E6 family of batteries, so you can use it with your other cameras as well.
PERFORMANCE
In operation, the Canon EOS R5 really does feel much the same as using an EOS R – the controls, menus and ‘feel’ of shooting are all virtually identical, so if you’re comfortable using the existing R system then this will be very familiar.
There’s a significant and immediately noticeable improvement in autofocus performance. The AF on the R5 feels much more nimble, adaptable and reliable. The Deep Learning AF engine from the 1D X Mark III
makes a huge difference, with the eye, face and head detection proving just as reliable as it is on the flagship camera.
The tracking seems much better, too, with AF points feeling much ‘stickier’ and more faithful when the view is interrupted by obstacles or passers-by. We found the autofocus system in the 1D X III to be the best we’ve ever used – and if anything, the AF in the EOS R5 is an extra cut above.
Finally, having uncropped 4K video is a revelation for a Canon camera, but the ability to record all the way up to 120fps while retaining full autofocus functions is a revelation for almost any system. However, it’s obviously the 8K video that most people have been eyeing with suspicion and wondering what the catch is. So… what is the catch? So far, there doesn’t appear to be one. Canon told us that in an informal test the R5 could record over 19 minutes of continuous 8K footage before overheating forces it to shut down.
Clearly we’ll reserve judgement until we’ve run our own stress tests, but that’s incredible performance for a camera in this category – and means that this is an 8K system with
legitimate practical use.