Canon eos 5d Mk IV
The consummate all-rounder, this camera can take pretty much any shooting scenario in its stride
By the latest standards, the 5D Mark IV’S 30.4MP image sensor looks pretty average in terms of megapixel count. Indeed, it’s not much higher in resolution than the 6D Mark II, and falls a long way short
of the 5DS and 5DS R. That suits the majority of enthusiast and professional photographers just fine. It’s arguably a perfect compromise that enables excellent detail along with clean high-iso images and a nippy max drive rate.
The Mark IV boasts a Dual Pixel AF image sensor that enables fast and accurate phase-shift autofocus in live view and movie capture modes, coupled with a new DIGIC 6+ image processor. It also has Dual Pixel Raw functions, enabling bokeh shift and ghosting reduction at the editing stage.
For viewfinder-based shooting, the main 61-point autofocus module is upgraded so that all points are available at f/8. Metering is inherited from the 5DS/R, with 252 zones and intelligent scene analysis, coupled to a secondary, dedicated DIGIC 6 processor. Other improvements include 4k ultra-high definition movie capture and built-in GPS and Wi-fi, complete with NFC compatibility. One niggle that’s shared with the new EOS R is that 4k UHD movie capture is only available with a crop factor that limits wide-angle potential.
Build and handling
As a pro-grade camera, the Mark IV has really solid build quality and extensive weather-seals. It also benefits from Canon’s more pro-oriented control layout, which is significantly different to that of
the 6D Mark II. Like in the 1D X Mark II, the rear LCD is a touchscreen, which makes for faster, more intuitive adjustments in both shooting and playback modes. Unlike the touchscreens of the 6D Mk II and EOS R, however, there’s no vari-angle facility.
Headline features and specifications are inherited from the top-spec 1D X Mark II, which was announced six months earlier. But everything’s shoehorned into a more convenient package, with a weight reduction of nearly half a kilogram. The flip side is that the 5D Mark IV lacks a built-in vertical grip as well as no duplicated shooting controls.
Performance
Autofocus is fast and highly accurate, beating that of even the EOS R in typical indoor low-lit conditions. It’s also very adept at tracking moving objects. The metering system is practically fool-proof, and the 7fps maximum continuous drive rate comes with a cavernous buffer that enables limitless shooting in JPEG mode.
Image noise remains very well controlled at high ISO settings, thanks in part to the image sensor’s on-board digital-to-analogue conversion, which is yet another upgrade over the 5D Mark III. Overall performance is hard to fault in any area.