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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