 |
EOS R5 with RF 24-105mm f4L lens |
The EOS R5 is Canon’s third full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera to be released and is by far the best in every way.
In fact I rate it as the best camera I have ever owned in a 65 year history of using cameras of many different brands and types.
Soon after acquiring the R5 recently I sold every other camera I owned and have no regrets about doing so.
The R5 is an uncommon creation in the camera world: a device which gets almost everything right and hardly anything wrong.
This is also uncommon in the Canon camera world.
I have a long and often frustrating history with Canon cameras starting with the EOS 630 in 1990.
The main problem which I experienced with their film SLRs and then digital SLRs was inconsistent and often inaccurate autofocus.
I got so annoyed by this I abandoned Canon interchangeable lens cameras around 2010 in favour of other brands, mostly Panasonic Lumix.
I suspect Canon’s product development executives were even more frustrated by their AF problems than me, as the company’s success depends on accurate AF performance, among other things.
Then in 2013 Canon revealed their answer to the problem in the form of dual pixel AF (DPAF) first seen in live view mode on the EOS 70D. I suspect the development of this technology might have involved a great deal of difficult micro-engineering.
After some years of development Canon has gotten DPAF to the point where most reviewers rate it the best and most reliable AF in the business for still photos with single shot or servo AF and also for video.
The manifestation of DPAF in the R5 is certainly the best AF I have ever encountered in any camera.
Canon has gone from having one of the worst AF systems to the best.
At the time of writing, no other camera maker has DPAF technology but I would not be at all surprised if Sony, Nikon and others would very much like to have it.
In the past we could have a camera with high speed operation or one with a high pixel count but not both. We could have a camera with a high pixel count or high dynamic range but not both. We could have a camera good for stills or good for video but not both. We could have a camera which is compact or one with inbuilt stabiliser and weather proofing but at a much greater size.
The R5 delivers all these capabilities in a single highly capable compact device with the bonus of a huge buffer enabling the camera to manage any kind of photographic challenge with ease.
In short the R5 offers a level of specifications, capabilities, features, image quality and performance as good as or better than anything else out there.
But wait, there’s more. The ergonomics and user experience are excellent. I have reviewed and reported on the ergonomics here but in brief the R5 gets the highest ergonomic score of any camera which I have tested by a substantial margin.
And still there is more………..
A camera system can succeed only if a range of lenses is available for it. These need to cover the spectrum from cheap and cheerful but still very capable up to the very best which the current state of technology has to offer.
Canon already offers 19 RF lenses with another 17 !! rumored to arrive in 2021 or soon thereafter. Some of these are exotic, high price hero optics, others like the RF 50mm f1.8 are cheap but still offer very good optical and mechanical performance.
Some are extremely innovative like the 600mm and 800mm f11 tele lenses the like of which has not been seen before.
In addition there are adapters which allow EF lenses to be used on RF mount mirrorless cameras.
This brings the total number of current model lenses which can be used on RF mount cameras to about 80.
What I like about the R5
If I wrote it all down this would be a very long list, covering almost everything to do with specifications, features, capabilities, image quality, performance, ergonomics, system and future prospects.
In particular I like using the camera, specifically with regard to holding, viewing and operating each of which I find very agreeable.
I like the clear, natural appearance of the preview image in the viewfinder. This aids composition in landscapes and following the subject with action.
I like the confidence which the AF system brings to any photographic task.
I like the consistently good image quality.
There are also some little things which don’t always score a mention in technical reviews.
I like the fact that the shutter closes when a lens is removed. The benefit of this is a much lower rate of dust on the sensor than I have experienced with some other cameras.
I like the fully-articulated-from-the-side monitor screen which is the most versatile type currently available.
I like the soft, quiet shutter sound.
I like that the AF area box is bright white which is easier to see than the red version found in Nikon cameras.
I like that no grip extender is required.
What do I not like about the R5 ?
This is a really short list.
There is in fact hardly anything which I actively dislike and nothing that annoys me while I am using the camera, but:
Battery life could be better.
They changed the design of the eyecup and the edge of the new one is a bit thin and a bit firmer than I prefer.
The tripod mount is quite close to the front of the baseplate which might potentially be an issue with some of the heavy lenses which do not have a tripod mount attached to the lens.
Panasonic has auto focus stacking and auto panorama in camera which Canon does not.
I think it is way past time for all the camera makers to make their menus more user friendly.
I would like to see more buttons allow more user assigned functions. For instance there are some silly things like: I can allocate ISO to a button but then Auto ISO is not accessible via that button, so a workaround is required.
Some people say they think the price is a bit high. I disagree. I take the view that for what you get the price is very reasonable. I have a little new year’s bet with myself, that I will spend less money on camera gear in the year after buying the R5 than I did in the previous year. Why ? Because instead of chasing that elusive perfect camera I already have it in my hand and need to look no further.
The only other thing I can complain about is that there is nothing really to complain about.
There are very few cameras about which I can say that.
Some reviewers have complained that the R5 overheats after shooting 8K video for half an hour or so. The real story here is that a compact consumer camera can shoot 8K and record this in camera without the need for any accessories.
Comment and Summary
Canon was the camera technology innovator in the latter part of the 20th Century. Models like the T90 and the first few generations of autofocus SLRs established Canon’s reputation and market dominance in the film era.
In 2000, Canon produced the EOS D30 which was arguably the most important DSLR of the early digital era. It featured Canon’s own CMOS sensor with …..wait for it….THREE megapixels. It cost USD3000 at the time which gives us USD1000 per Mega pixel.
Just by way of comparison the R5 at USD4000 delivers 45 Mpx at USD88 per Mpx, indicating a dramatic reduction in the price per pixel over the 20 year period.
The EOS 5D of 2005 and 5D.2 of 2008 raised expectations of what was possible in a compact consumer camera, particularly a hybrid stills/video type.
But after these high points came years of cautious, half baked products which sold well but earned much criticism from many reviewers including myself. One vlogger popularised the term “Canon cripple hammer” to describe many models which fell short of reviewer’s expectations in key areas of capability and performance.
With less in the way of legacy DSLRs to protect, Sony was able to beat Canon and Nikon into the full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) market.
Canon’s first two MILC offerings, the R and RP, were much anticipated but proved a big disappointment to most reviewers because of their re-cycled sensors from the DSLR era and lack-luster performance.
With Sony catching up fast in sales, Canon desperately needed a new hero model to retain top place in the market.
And, in the nick of time, they delivered the R5 which is what enthusiast consumers wanted and what Canon needed.
The fact they did this in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic with a dramatic decline in camera sales overall, makes this achievement even more notable.
The R5 will likely be a major driver of Canon sales in the hoped-for post-pandemic upturn in the camera market.
We shall see.