Way Too Soon: A Canon EOS R5 Mark III Wishlist

[tonblom]

I want it to be just as comfortable to hold and reach all buttons and dials as the 5D mark IV. I bought a full frame camera back in the day and one of the reasons was a bigger view finder. So I really love the r5 viewfinder with all the added information. 2 CF express slots, now I have enough of them would be a bonus.
I don't use video very much, but for cooling a Frore AirJet Cooler, thin doesn't break and more frugal with energy. https://www.froresystems.com/products/airjet-mini

 

[neuroanatomist]

ISO How often are you up past 6400 to begin with? This is really a feeble argument. Invest in faster glass maybe?

By far almost every night game I shoot is at ISO25,600 and that's to get 1/800 or 1/1,000s shutter from a f2.8 lens.

Exactly. I love it when experts advise ‘buy faster glass’. @mpmark, what faster lens would you suggest that I buy to replace my 100-300/2.8 for shooting field sports at night under high school field lighting? The 200/2 isn't long enough (that's why I now use the 100-300/2.8 instead of my 70-200/2.8), meaning the 135/1.8 that I don't have and the 85/1.2 that I do have also are not long enough. Wait...let me guess...you'd recommend switching to Nikon and picking up a copy of the Nikkor 300mm f/2 ED IF, I've heard those 40 year old lenses made in very small numbers are really easy to come by these days.

I shot an outdoor concert this week that ended over an hour after sunset, and was lit essentially by a few street lights. Fortunately, I could get away with lower shutter speeds than needed for sports, but I was still at ISO 20000 during the last set.

As to how often am I up past ISO 6400? Close to 50% of my shots, and my most commonly used ISOs are above 12800:

 

[ThePCGuy]

I would like to see Canon use the same big battery as the R1 and R3. Then we get full control on the big lens for AF. I want GPS built in the camera so I can stop using the stupid app from my phone. It works most of the time, but not all the time. It's so simple to add the chip that has Wi-FI, Bluetooth and GPS. Then they just have to figure the antenna mount on the underside of the body. 2 CF card slots, lighted buttons would be handy at night, Tilt screen, maybe one more button for custom control. They need to be ahead and not chasing the other brands. I feel like they are getting like Apple wait and see and then maybe we'll bring out those upgrades.

 

[neuroanatomist]

I would like to see Canon use the same big battery as the R1 and R3. Then we get full control on the big lens for AF. I want GPS built in the camera so I can stop using the stupid app from my phone. It works most of the time, but not all the time. It's so simple to add the chip that has Wi-FI, Bluetooth and GPS. Then they just have to figure the antenna mount on the underside of the body. 2 CF card slots, lighted buttons would be handy at night, Tilt screen, maybe one more button for custom control. They need to be ahead and not chasing the other brands. I feel like they are getting like Apple wait and see and then maybe we'll bring out those upgrades.

You’ve just described the R1. Why not buy one of those?

 

[FleetingMoments]

And if we get close to all of those things...makes skipping the MK2 all the easier

 

[clarus]

The biggest drawback of the R5 Mark II is the idiotic way of how buffering works. First and foremost, in 2024/25 memory prices should be cheap enough to just stuff that image data into internal RAM for a duration that feels like infinity. Secondly, give the body a CFexpress interface that just moves the data to the memory card without delay. I haven\'t computed data rates etc., but I guess the latest CFexpress standard (which the R5II doesn\'t embrace, shezzz) should handle that. The current buffer stall is just lame on a premium body.
Clean up that AF mess in the menus. While I do like Canon\'s menu structure more than that ion other manufacturers, it has become bloated. It takes a Ph.D. to understand AF functionality. I think AF complexity has reached a point where user friendliness should be prioritized. Maybe that old school menu structure doesn\'t cut it anymore. Think of how Apple would have solved it (now that you reached the same price points this comparison sounds fair to me.)
Software quality. Get your software tested before shipping it. And yes please fix my cooling grip that renders an err70.
And as we are speaking of 2025: No GPS? Are you serious?
Besides that, it\'s a fantastic body.

 

[apmadoc]

I also only shoot raw. That was a reference to another comment.
I found that using either manual shutter release locked down or the unlimited intervalometer both had the gap. I don't set my intervalometer to 30 seconds though... basically using it as a locked down shutter release.

Have you tried this software? https://markus-enzweiler.de/software/starstax/

 

[Del Paso]

I missed the point about the diopter, but on the R1 it must be pulled out before it can be adjusted.

View attachment 224319

I know,but forgot the R1, this is the solution Canon should apply to every camera.

 

[sumo]

Is it possible to link the selected metering mode to the focus area? Especially when shooting birds in flight, it would be nice to be able to have spot metering linked to the focus area which tracks the bird in flight.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Is it possible to link the selected metering mode to the focus area? Especially when shooting birds in flight, it would be nice to be able to have spot metering linked to the focus area which tracks the bird in flight.

Not on any Canon MILC to date. AF point-linked spot metering was a 1-series only feature for DSLRs, but the R1 doesn’t have it.

 

[AlanF]

It takes a Ph.D. to understand AF functionality.

There are quite a few Ph.Ds here. And there even more who are smarter so no problem.

 

[David - Sydney]

Exactly. I love it when experts advise ‘buy faster glass’. @mpmark, what faster lens would you suggest that I buy to replace my 100-300/2.8 for shooting field sports at night under high school field lighting? The 200/2 isn't long enough (that's why I now use the 100-300/2.8 instead of my 70-200/2.8), meaning the 135/1.8 that I don't have and the 85/1.2 that I do have also are not long enough. Wait...let me guess...you'd recommend switching to Nikon and picking up a copy of the Nikkor 300mm f/2 ED IF, I've heard those 40 year old lenses made in very small numbers are really easy to come by these days.

I shot an outdoor concert this week that ended over an hour after sunset, and was lit essentially by a few street lights. Fortunately, I could get away with lower shutter speeds than needed for sports, but I was still at ISO 20000 during the last set.

As to how often am I up past ISO 6400? Close to 50% of my shots, and my most commonly used ISOs are above 12800:
View attachment 224332

please stop using actual personal data to prove a point

 

[David - Sydney]

And if we get close to all of those things...makes skipping the MK2 all the easier

This is likely to be my upgrade scenario. I will only upgrade where it makes financial sense and/or I have to eg can't buy the R5 anymore (although second hand might get me through to mark iii).
I have always told myself that I need to have requirements that my current body can't support before an upgrade is desired!

 

[David - Sydney]

Have you tried this software? https://markus-enzweiler.de/software/starstax/

yep, had starstax for a long time now. it's "gap filling" mode seems to be okay but still doesn't quite remove them. Not sure why :-(

 

[David - Sydney]

The biggest drawback of the R5 Mark II is the idiotic way of how buffering works. First and foremost, in 2024/25 memory prices should be cheap enough to just stuff that image data into internal RAM for a duration that feels like infinity. Secondly, give the body a CFexpress interface that just moves the data to the memory card without delay. I haven\'t computed data rates etc., but I guess the latest CFexpress standard (which the R5II doesn\'t embrace, shezzz) should handle that. The current buffer stall is just lame on a premium body.

The sheer amount of data being shifted at {edited } 30fps/14bit/45mp is significant... ~18.9Gb/s or 2.4GB/s if my calculations are correct.
Leaning on the shutter button would fill a 256GB card in <2 minutes with no buffer issues.

Buffer memory costs money and there would be cost envelopes to hit during technology meetings.
The CFe-B v2 cards are close to ~1.5GB/s sustained write speed for the fast ones. V4 standard would be double the rate but has some thermal throttling to mitigate the generated heat as the biggest drawback plus would cost more.
Sony's A1 doesn't use Type A cards and with half the speed seems to be better able to manage the heat.

The R1 needs to effectively have an unlimited buffer as a pure sports/wildlife specialist vs the 5 series as a generalist body so 24mp make sense from that perspective.

One alternative is to use cRAW to reduce the data transfer volume or even jpg/HIEF as the pro shooters do

 

[P-visie]

The sheer amount of data being shifted at 40fps/14bit/45mp is significant... ~25.2Gb/s or >3GB/s if my calculations are correct.
Leaning on the shutter button would fill a 256GB card in <1.5minutes with no buffer issues.

Buffer memory costs money and there would be cost envelopes to hit during technology meetings.
The CFe-B v2 cards are close to ~1.5GB/s sustained write speed for the fast ones. V4 standard would be double the rate but has some thermal throttling to mitigate the generated heat as the biggest drawback plus would cost more.
Sony's A1 doesn't use Type A cards and with half the speed seems to be better able to manage the heat.

The R1 needs to effectively have an unlimited buffer as a pure sports/wildlife specialist vs the 5 series as a generalist body so 24mp make sense from that perspective.

One alternative is to use cRAW to reduce the data transfer volume or even jpg/HIEF as the pro shooters do

The R5 Mk II “only” does 30 fps, so ~ 18,9 Gb/s or ~ 2.4 GB/s, but that does not change the gist of your post.

 

[SvO2]

The R5 Mk II “only” does 30 fps, so ~ 18,9 Gb/s or ~ 2.4 GB/s, but that does not change the gist of your post.

Theoretically that does make an 'unlimited buffer' with CFE4 a little more feasible.

 

[clarus]

The sheer amount of data being shifted at 40fps/14bit/45mp is significant... ~25.2Gb/s or >3GB/s if my calculations are correct.
Leaning on the shutter button would fill a 256GB card in <1.5minutes with no buffer issues.

Buffer memory costs money and there would be cost envelopes to hit during technology meetings.
The CFe-B v2 cards are close to ~1.5GB/s sustained write speed for the fast ones. V4 standard would be double the rate but has some thermal throttling to mitigate the generated heat as the biggest drawback plus would cost more.
Sony's A1 doesn't use Type A cards and with half the speed seems to be better able to manage the heat.

The R1 needs to effectively have an unlimited buffer as a pure sports/wildlife specialist vs the 5 series as a generalist body so 24mp make sense from that perspective.

One alternative is to use cRAW to reduce the data transfer volume or even jpg/HIEF as the pro shooters do

Thanks for your thoughts. My calculation is (shooting in cRAW):
Picture size ca. 50 MB
Transfer ratę 2.0 (sustained): 1500 MB/s
That would allow for 30 fps, which is precisely what the R5II is capable of with electronic shutter. There must be some penalty for file system overhead etc. With the current 4.0 standard 30 fps should be absolutely doable, however. Maybe I have gotten some numbers wrong, so please correct me if so.

Even without CFexpress 4.0 I would expect a premium body to write to two cards in parallel.

Another point, though, was how the body handles buffer full situations. Instead of throttling it just pauses.

 

[Del Paso]

FTM override working or not depends on the lens, not all of them support it. It works on my 100-500L, but not on the RF100L macro

Agreed!
But please, no more criticism of this wonderful lens!
It's even better than the Leica R Apo Makro 100mm f/2,8. I love it!

 

[Del Paso]

You’ve just described the R1. Why not buy one of those?

The R1 would be my camera of choice, if it weren't for my carrying system (and weight). EVF, ergonomics, sensor, ruggedness...
Oops, I forgot, how could I ever use a camera with only 24MP? Should be prohibited by law! SCOTUS, do you hear me?