The Canon EOS R5 Mark II First Impressions: The Actual Star of This Present

The Canon EOS R1 has been hogging all the eye with announcement dates, sneak peeks, and hypothesis. It had been a very long time since we noticed a brand new flagship digital camera from Canon and now we had one in our palms. However with all of the fanfare happening a couple of new “1” sequence digital camera, one other Canon launch quietly slipped below the radar — till now.

The $4,299 Canon EOS R5 Mark II is right here, launched beside its greater brother, and but it could show to be the extra attention-grabbing digital camera to a bigger proportion of photographers.

I need to confess that I fell immediately in love with the unique R5 as a result of typically a producer simply appears to create a product that ticks quite a lot of containers and appears purpose-made in your wants. The R5 was compact and light-weight, but rugged. It had a high-resolution 45-megapixel sensor and wonderful autofocus efficiency for each portraits and wildlife. The ergonomics have been snug and button placement all felt intuitive and pure. The power to customise buttons and controls was strong sufficient to please superior photographers with out feeling cramped or overly sophisticated. It wasn’t simply me who cherished the R5, as most different photographers who tried it nearly universally agreed.

Canon flew the PetaPixel workforce out to Phoenix, AZ to check out the R1 and R5 Mark II and I’ve to confess that I used to be irritated with the only day of testing we got to check out each cameras. Added to that, each merchandise have been unfinished of their improvement cycles with early firmware and a few bugs and points current which made testing tough.

What exacerbated the problem of testing for me even additional was that I felt pulled in two totally different instructions by the 2 cameras. I desired to spend extra time with the R5 II however the accountability and necessity to attempt to familiarize yourself with the R1 took up extra of my time. Not solely is it the flagship digital camera that everybody has been ready for however it is usually the extra sophisticated system to grasp. I want I had extra time to play with the R5 II however there’s quite a lot of expertise shared between the 2 our bodies and I did get sufficient time to no less than start to kind some first impressions about what I consider is the extra thrilling digital camera.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: Setting Sights on the Nikon Z8

Nikon is basking within the runaway success of its Z8 platform, a digital camera that brings versatility in step with worth, and the R5 II is the champion that Canon hopes will prevail over it. The R5 used a 45-megapixel sensor which upped the decision sport for Canon years in the past and the brand new Mark II continues that with the identical 45-megapixel decision however provides bottom illumination and stacks the chip. One good change to the system because of this is a quicker readout velocity which is roughly 1/one hundred and twenty fifth of a second (per our testing).

This can improve autofocus efficiency, video file modes, and make the digital shutter extra helpful when coping with rolling shutter points. It’s necessary to notice, nonetheless, that the Nikon Z8 has an identical megapixel depend with twice the readout velocity and for much less cash. This isn’t to remove from the Canon’s efficiency however on paper, the R5 II is lagging behind within the sensor division and that may be a reality we are able to’t ignore.

Nonetheless, the R5 II has an identical light-weight and rugged physique design to its predecessor and a few substantial enhancements inside. The again panel LCD is a completely articulating 2.1-million dot touchscreen and the EVF is borrowed straight from the R3. The 5.76-million dot viewfinder is magnified and vibrant, and the controls are simple to make use of. Canon has all the time excelled at digital camera ergonomics and the R5 II is not any exception.

There’s a related association of card slots to the Nikon Z8, with one CFexpress Kind-B slot and one UHS-II SD card slot. With the digital camera’s mechanical shutter, a sustained burst charge of 12 frames per second (FPS) is achievable and with the digital shutter 30 FPS is feasible. Because of this, the buffer fills slightly rapidly even with a quick CFexpress card (it might have been good to see CFexpress 4.0 help, however alas: solely 2.0 right here and within the R1).

At 12 FPS, the digital camera can maintain roughly 10 seconds of capturing however at 30 FPS, the digital camera will decelerate after round three seconds of steady capturing. That is nonetheless acceptable for many motion conditions however the Canon R1 clearly exhibits a bonus right here. I additionally appreciated the Pre-Burst buffer capturing which captures the half-second proper earlier than the shutter is pressed to just about assure that the specified second is captured — one other function the R5 II brings together with the R1.

There’s a new battery sort for the R5 II referred to as the LP-E6P. This offers a slight improve in storage however principally in energy output which unlocks the 8K video modes. These won’t be potential with the older LP-E6N and NH batteries. The R5 II has an identical IBIS unit to the R1 which guarantees roughly 8-stops of stabilization for each photograph and video conditions.

Additionally borrowed from the R1 is the brand new skill to up-res JPEGs by 4 instances giving a possible most of 179-megapixels. Identical to on the R1 although, the outcomes don’t present any additional element, simply bigger file sizes, and don’t present the advantages that we might see in a multi-shot pixel-shifted picture. I do like the brand new noise discount function, although, which works on RAW information in digital camera (however outputs a JPEG) and provides not solely noticeably higher element but in addition lowered seen noise as properly. I — like most customers — will nonetheless possible favor to do my enhancing on the pc, although, so these two new options will in all probability be of very restricted use.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: An Autofocus System Like No Different

The R5 II could not have the readout speeds or the total cross-type AF factors of the R1 sensor however it basically has the identical autofocusing system in any other case. Notably, the R5 II options the identical Eye Management AF because the R3 and R1 which I discover to be a particularly intuitive solution to initialize monitoring autofocus. Even with crowded scenes, I may merely take a look at a participant on the courtroom and have the digital camera observe them immediately. The identical AF algorithms are getting used and the R5 II has the identical simplified autofocus menu because the R1. I like this transformation however it takes some getting used to.

There may be extra emphasis on permitting the digital camera to resolve how focusing ought to be dealt with and the consumer now solely tweaks monitoring sensitivity and responsiveness. There are additionally three particular sports activities that may be chosen right now: soccer, volleyball, and basketball. Regardless, I discovered the autofocus to be correct, observe shifting topics successfully, and nail the give attention to the eyes and faces of the gamers. Even on a pre-production unit, I may inform that the R5 II would deal with any severe motion and sports activities eventualities properly and whereas the R1 is the superior digital camera for demanding scenes, the R5 II will maintain its personal.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: A Higher Hybrid Platform than the R1

Jordan shot most of our YouTube episodes on the Canon occasion utilizing the R5 II and loved the expertise. It’s a very succesful video digital camera with 8K recording potential as much as 30p utilizing both inner RAW recording or compressed H265 10-bit 4:2:2. In 4K, the digital camera can file solely as much as 30p in an oversampled format. 4K 60p and 4K 120p, sadly, are subsampled and picture high quality takes successful because of this. Fortunately, there is no such thing as a crop required on any of the 4K modes and with the addition of C-Log2, all of the information have respectable dynamic vary and will be graded successfully.

Canon has additionally added some considerate instruments like a tally lamp to cue the presenter that the digital camera is recording. There may be additionally waveform help to meter your exposures and maximize dynamic vary which is curiously lacking from the R1. A full-size HDMI port is welcome on this comparatively small physique and naturally, a mic jack and headphone jack can be current. Mix all of this with a superb IBIS unit and respectable rolling shutter efficiency and the R5 II turns into a useful and succesful cinema digital camera.

Canon additionally launched three new accent grips for the R5 II beginning with a basic vertical battery grip for extra management and longer lasting battery life. There may be additionally a grip that gives Ethernet connectivity for sports activities and journalism photographers who need the quick switch charges and hard-wired distant management entry. Lastly, Canon is introducing a grip that doesn’t present vertical grip management however does have a cooling fan to extend file instances. All three help two batteries. We don’t but know what the overheating is like on the R5 II however it was a severe subject for the unique R5, so a fan grip is a few good reassurance that there’s official help to help with the issue ought to it come up.

All these grips are costly, nonetheless, beginning at $560 and getting as excessive as $750.

The R5 Mark II is Extra Thrilling Than the Flagship

I’m going to go forward and say that of the 2 cameras that Canon is debuting, I’m extra excited concerning the R5 II. That is no slight in opposition to the R1, as Canon’s newest flagship proves itself to be a succesful instrument — however it’s a extremely specialised one.

The R5 II has quite a lot of the identical highly effective options current within the R1 and but has a extra versatile sensor, barely higher video capabilities, and is geared toward a broader viewers. I may fortunately see myself capturing sports activities, motion, and wildlife with the R5 II together with any panorama, studio work, or journey pictures, too.

However the R5 II doesn’t must compete in opposition to the R1. Its primary opponent goes to be the Nikon Z8 and that’s going to be a tricky combat. Whereas I’ll reserve last judgment between the 2 cameras till the Canon R5 II is last, the Z8 has a quicker sensor with related total efficiency for lots much less cash. I’m skeptical about whether or not the R5 II will discover an viewers outdoors of current Canon customers. Nevertheless, every thing I cherished concerning the Canon R5 is now even higher within the Mark II model and I actually did love that first digital camera, so with bated breath I sit up for actually testing the R5 II quickly.