Digital Photographer - UK (2020-06)

Canon EOS R5

Price:£4,199/$3,899

TheCanonEOSR5isthemostanticipatedcamerainadecade.Doesthe8K,

45MPbeastliveuptothehype?JamesArtaiusshareshisfirstimpressions

TheCanonEOSR5isfinallyhere

aftermonthsofwaitingandmasterful

teasesbythecannymanufacturer.

TheCanonEOSR5isapowerhouse

performerineverypossiblerespect:its8K

videooutclassesmanyofthebestcinema

cameras;itsshootingspeedputsitonpar

withthebestcamerasforsport;its45MP

sensoroutmusclesallbutafewofthebest

mirrorlesscameras;andits8-stopin-body

imagestabilisationisthenewIBISchampion.

Inshort,theR5hasalltheingredientstobe

thebestCanoncamerawe’veeverseen–and

we’vehadthechancetogohands-onwithit.

Keyfeatures

SucharetheloftyspecsoftheCanonEOS

R5thatvirtuallyeveryfeatureisakeyfeature.

Obviouslytheheadlineattractionhereis

theremarkablevideocapability.TheR5can

capturefull-width(uncropped)RAW8Kvideo

usingtheentirereadoutofthe35mmsensor

• anditdoessointernallyatupto29.97fps
  in4:2:212-bitCanonLog,orHDRPQ(both
  H.265)inbothUHDandDCI.
  Its4Kcaptureiseverybitasferocious,
  recordingatupto119.88fps(inthesame4:2:2
  CanonLogorHDRPQ,inUHDorDCI)with
  externalHDMIrecordingupto59.94fps.
  However,theR5ismuchmorethanjusta
  videobehemoth.Sincethe8KDCIvideohas
  aresolutionof8,192x4,320,thecamerahas
  aFrameGrabfunctionthatenablesyouto
  takehigh-resolution35.4MPstills(aseither
  JPEGsorHEIFfiles)fromyourfootage–which
  is5.1MPgreaterresolutionthantheCanon
  EOSR.
  Canonclaims
  thattheR5is“the
  highestresolution
  EOScameraever”,

THIS ARTICLE

IS A HANDS-ON

LOOK AT THE CANON

EOS R5 AT ITS LAUNCH,

RATHERTHANAFULL

REVIEW(THAT’SWHYYOU

WON’TSEEOURUSUAL

STAR RATINGS).

While we still need to put the camera

through a full battery of lab tests

and long-term usage, we’re

overwhelmingly impressed by

what we’ve seen

so far...

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 quad-

layer, 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 AI-

powered 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

TheR5hasalltheingredientstobe

the best Canon camera we’ve seen

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