Canon EOS R5 Mark II Overview: Canon’s Most Succesful Do-It-All Digicam

When Canon launched its newest flagship digicam, the EOS R1, it was truthful to say that it was overshadowed by the standard R5 Mark II. Like a thief within the night time, the mantle for essentially the most thrilling Canon digicam of 2024 was stolen by the R5 Mark II, and for excellent motive. I received my arms on a full-production mannequin and determined {that a} highway journey was so as.

For this overview, we determined to carry a particular visitor out on the highway with us to the attractive Sheep River Valley in southern Alberta: Mike Drew. Mike is a legend within the native Calgary group, having been an achieved information photographer and columnist for many years. He has a weekly column known as “On the Highway” the place he excursions across the again roads of Alberta with a Canon digicam in tow. He has used nearly each Canon physique beginning with the AE-1 and presently is utilizing the unique R5. Who higher to be our information as we discover our lovely province?

In our first impressions video and article in regards to the R5 mkII we coated numerous the specs and options of the digicam so this time round I needed to check out a number of the options we weren’t capable of verify with the pre-production items. Issues like picture high quality, dynamic vary, and video efficiency have to be examined on a manufacturing unit and since we shot a lot sports activities the primary time round we determined to give attention to panorama and wildlife as an alternative.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: How It Handles

I beloved the dealing with of the unique R5 and located it to be a terrific mixture of compactness and functionality. Every thing I beloved there’s again within the $4,300 R5 Mark II, plus some. The load is simply 26.3 ounces (742 grams) and matched with the massive and comfy grip, is a perfect dimension to hold round. It’s not too gentle however not too heavy both.

All of the buttons and dials are in very acquainted locations and I discover the design to be probably the most intuitive I’ve ever used. There’s a motive that most individuals who’ve performed with the R5 have immediately loved it. The grip itself is barely modified from the unique but it surely feels no much less snug. We get the identical 5.76-million dot EVF as earlier than (albeit surrounded by new optics and now with Eye Management AF) and the battery kind is now an LP-E6P kind battery which unlocks some superior video modes.

One factor that’s fairly totally different from the unique R5 is the brand new menu system which, though acquainted seeking to anybody who has used Canon, has a much more simplified autofocus interface. I like this modification because the earlier setup required plenty of tinkering and adjustment to get ideally suited outcomes. Now Canon merely offers a slider for a way sticky or responsive the AF monitoring is, together with coupling animal and chook detection collectively right into a catch-all Animal detection mode. Eye detection largely falls beneath the Individuals detection mode now and there’s no longer a grammatically incorrect enabled/disabled choice beneath the short menu. It takes some getting used to in comparison with the earlier mannequin however total I discovered the expertise simpler now.

One new change that I discover irredeemable on the R5 Mark II is the brand new scorching shoe cowl. Within the curiosity of protecting the digicam sealed towards the setting, Canon has all the time used outsized scorching shoe covers on its higher-end cameras. The newest contains a locking pin to carry it in place however the design is flawed and infrequently the duvet is nigh unimaginable to take away. Even with ridiculous stress, the recent shoe cowl won’t come off and I might instantly use a fundamental plastic insert cowl once more if I may ever get the brand new cowl off within the first place.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: How It Shoots

The very first thing I needed to check once more was the Eye-Management AF which tracks the motion of your eye and units the AF level appropriately. After I was taking pictures basketball and soccer in Phoenix, Arizona with the early R5 Mark II, I discovered the monitoring labored very properly and locked onto a participant of my selecting with out having to make use of the AF joystick. I re-calibrated the unit that we had acquired and located the Eye-Management to work very properly for wildlife photographs in the same regard. Nevertheless, Mike tried to calibrate and it could not calibrate correctly which appears to be fairly frequent with some customers. For instance, Jordan can’t get the Eye-Management to work both and some different individuals who have tried it reported that it has additionally failed for them.

I can even say that as helpful because the system is for shortly buying targets, I discovered it somewhat frenetic and jumpy after I simply needed to shoot nonetheless scenes and, in consequence, I turned it off after I wasn’t photographing animals. Outdoors of Eye Management, the AF efficiency total is great, with excellent focus for portraits and good animal detection on the eyes. Monitoring labored properly and I fortunately stayed in Servo AF and a extra singular focus level when taking pictures most nonetheless scenes. I believe most customers will discover the efficiency higher than even the pretty fashionable Canon R3 but it surely’s unlucky {that a} vital quantity of individuals gained’t be capable of use Eye Management because it’s a novel autofocus characteristic that solely Canon presents.

Now that we now have a last manufacturing mannequin, we are able to additionally take a look at picture high quality. The R5 Mark II contains a new stacked sensor and this often means a discount in dynamic vary. The digicam maintains the identical bit depth whether or not you might be utilizing the mechanical or digital shutter however there’s nonetheless a lack of dynamic vary when utilizing the mechanical shutter in comparison with the final model. To maintain issues in perspective, the drop in dynamic vary is fairly minor however the unique R5 does preserve somewhat bit extra dynamic vary when utilizing the mechanical shutter than the Mark II.

Nevertheless, when utilizing the digital shutter, it’s a distinct story. The R5 mkII may have much less dynamic vary than even the mechanical shutter delivers however it’s considerably higher than the unique R5 in digital shutter mode. To be truthful, the R5 in digital shutter mode represents a low bar, however the R5 mkII will retain extra shadow element when taking pictures digital shutter mode and I really feel like most photographers will probably be happy with the photographs they get on the R5 mkII it doesn’t matter what shutter they select to make use of.

The R5 Mark II (and the R5 earlier than it) additionally applies baked-in noise discount on a regular basis, so there’s some minor lack of element it doesn’t matter what.

There may be good motive to depend on the digital shutter mode as properly as a result of it permits blackout-free taking pictures as much as 30 frames per second with autofocus engaged and reads out at a good 1/160 of a second to scale back rolling shutter points. The digital shutter efficiency and improved auto-focusing are a number of the major causes to contemplate the R5 Mark II over the unique and sports activities and motion shooters will discover a distinction. I examined the pre-burst mode the primary time I had the Mark II in hand and it labored flawlessly. I believe wildlife shooters will come to depend on this wonderful characteristic often.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: A Succesful Video Hybrid

Canon has stepped up its online game within the R5 Mark II which has a formidable capability to shoot as much as 8K at 60 frames per second in RAW mode. Nevertheless, the specs with regards to these options are basically the identical as the unique, so I can perceive some photographers questioning what the advantage of upgrading may be. The primary massive change is using the aforementioned new stacked sensor, which removes numerous rolling shutter points whereas recording video.

Much more necessary, although, is the addition of the C-Log2 profile which is vastly superior to C-Log3 and grades in a a lot simpler and extra visually interesting manner. You get extra dynamic vary and rather more pure coloration with out the garish saturation that C-Log3 typically produces.

4K at 60p may be very common in immediately’s artistic world and the R5 Mark II can shoot it. Unusually, although, it’s not capable of over-sample this footage to retain wonderful element sharpness and low noise. The Nikon Z8 does provide this file mode with oversampling, giving it a bonus over the Mark II.

If you will get that horrible scorching shoe cowl off, you should have entry to a powered interface that enables for using Canon’s on-camera microphones and XLR adapter. Autofocus has additionally been improved and simplified in order that topic detection may be set as a precedence or as an unique requirement. This implies that you could tailor the video to search for an animal for instance however nonetheless give attention to different parts if no animal is current or completely solely give attention to the animal and lock the main target if nothing is current. This is a wonderful software when counting on the detection modes for video with out having to fret in regards to the digicam leaping round on the lookout for targets.

Talking of instruments, the R5 Mark II now has a tally lamp and waveforms by which to reveal your shot. These are instruments we now have been asking to see for some time and it’s fantastic that they’re included. Sadly, the waveform cannot be resized or moved within the body but, however even having one is an effective begin.

The unique R5 was infamous for overheating, a lot in order that it nearly derailed Canon’s makes an attempt to market the R5 as a video shooter. Enhancements had been made but it surely left a really unfavorable popularity which continues to be intact immediately.

The R5 Mark II has made some vital adjustments to enhance overheating they usually appear to have labored. Recording 8K 60p is essentially the most demanding the digicam presents and it might now file round 23 minutes at room temperature earlier than it has to cease. The Nikon Z8 can do higher at round 40 minutes however at the least the R5 Mark II has made some headway right here. 4K at 120p went for a really related period of time and it’s necessary to notice that these file modes will largely be used for very brief slow-motion clips, so lengthy file instances are unlikely.

If you wish to file for lengthy intervals, the R5 Mark II can go for over 50 minutes at 8K 24P which is ample for many customers. 4K 24P which is what we shoot essentially the most went for a really respectable 74 minutes earlier than the battery give up so this is a wonderful outcome and worlds higher than earlier than. There may be additionally a brand new grip that has a fan included if you really want extra time to file in these demanding modes.

The Canon R5 Mark II is A Do-It-All Digicam

After my time with the Canon R5 Mark II, it’s clear that Canon has made a flexible digicam that retains the stress on the Nikon Z8 and can be Canon’s greatest hybrid video and stills seize gadget. I nonetheless really feel like the shape issue and dealing with of the Z8 are wonderful and I desire the format to the R5 Mark II. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as a denying that the Z8 nonetheless offers the same stills taking pictures expertise and a few video enhancements, all at a cheaper price.

What the Canon R5 Mark II represents is Canon’s most succesful all-round digicam so far and it’s simple to see why it has overshadowed even the EOS R1. I believe many Canon shooters will decide to go together with the R5 Mark II as a most popular software for taking pictures sports activities, motion, and wildlife, although the R1 and R3 are extra specialised instruments on this regard. The very fact is, Canon has given the R5 Mark II a succesful sensor with good digital shutter traits and a much more versatile megapixel depend, and it ought to do for Canon shooters what the Nikon Z8 did for Nikon. I’d merely add a battery grip if I needed a bigger type issue and higher battery life for extra severe functions. I’m comfortable to see that the R5 mkII retains every part I beloved in regards to the unique R5 but additionally provides extra versatility to a wider vary of customers.

Are There Options?

The older R5 continues to be a terrific selection and for these on a finances and primarily shoot panorama and portraits it’d even be extra fascinating because of the barely higher dynamic vary. Nevertheless, if you need a flexible digicam that has much-improved video capabilities and an particularly extra succesful autofocusing expertise the brand new R5 Mark II is the way in which to go. Canon has executed a good job with its new stacked sensor and the quicker burst charges and focusing capability will probably be excellent for sports activities and wildlife shooters who need a compact platform and excessive megapixels on the go.

Nikon can be the closest competitors as a result of the Nikon Z8 fights in the same enviornment to the R5 Mark II. Nevertheless, the $3,800 Nikon Z8 is best bang for the buck throughout so long as you just like the interface and dealing with

Ought to You Purchase It?

Sure. The R5 Mark II is straightforward to like and will probably be a flexible digicam for a lot of totally different and demanding sorts of images. There may be extra to images than the specs on paper and the R5 Mark II is a pleasure to make use of within the discipline.