DPReview: Review of the Canon EOS R5

[Deleted member 384473]

Dear canon: please remove the video modes from the camera in a future firmware update. Problem solved. And no more whining.
It'll still be one of your very best stills camera you ever made.
Have the video people using "youtubers" as their spiritual guidance buy a CXXX camera instead: that's clearly the specs they want. Take care, they're easily "influenced", often not even having had a camera you made in their hands, they get vocal about being misled by you, while it's their "influencers" that actually misled them in the first place.
Tip: please make sure those "influencers" never get their paws on one of your products again.

For the still users among us: please add back the GPS receiver, it's what I want in any camera body. I could not care less for video in any resolution, refresh rate or duration. I'll also never buy a video camera to do stills with (I know they suck at it even before they are reviewed by some fanboys).

Dear s66,
Will you also tell Canon to clean up their marketing tragedy by not touting camera specs that make the camera unusable after a few minutes? The "EOS R5 will again push the boundaries of what filmmakers can do compared to current DSLR and Mirrorless cameras..."

*Pulls out fan blower to cool down camera for additional 5 minutes of record time*

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 384473]

He lies right in the title. " The Canon EOS R5 is NOT AN 8K CAMERA! " If it's not a click-bait and a lie, then what is? We know it is an 8K camera!



Are you personally shooting weddings and considering A7SIII instead of R5? I don't know about 'that guy'. I know about myself and my own requirements. I don't have the 8K video on my requirement list. It's nice to have, but even if I shoot it, I can't imagine shooting 8K for longer than a few minutes.

So personally I don't care at all, and I don't know why I should care about wedding photographers requirements. If they're happy with the R5 - fine. If they drop Canon and switch to A7RIII and shoot weddings at 12Mp - it's their problem.
If I ever shoot a wedding, I'll consider all requirements and choose the gear accordingly.

What came first? The chicken or the egg?

 

[Quarkcharmed]

What came first? The chicken or the egg?

What's the meaning of life? Is there a purpose?

 

[Jethro]

Dear s66,
Will you also tell Canon to clean up their marketing tragedy by not touting camera specs that make the camera unusable after a few minutes? The "EOS R5 will again push the boundaries of what filmmakers can do compared to current DSLR and Mirrorless cameras..."

*Pulls out fan blower to cool down camera for additional 5 minutes of record time*

Thanks!

Well he won't need to, because the camera remains eminently usable for stills and most video modes after it reaches the (clearly published) timing limits on some video modes.

Look, from a marketing sense - should Canon have been clearer about those limitations (especially the recovery times)? Sure. But is it the flaming (pun intended) disaster people are claiming? Surely not.

 

[Quarkcharmed]

Also... Who was asking for 8K? I believe the majority of video shooters just wanted reliable 4K FF 10 Bit... lol

Pure video shooters shouldn't be buying the R5 IMHO. Or they can set it up with external recording which is not heat-limited. Hybrid shooters - their requirements will be wildly different. Even with the heat limitations, the R5 is better that anything else on the market at the moment, in my opinion.

But again I'm neither a video nor a hybrid shooter and I can only speak for myself. I'm not buying the R5 for 8K or 4K60. I'm buying it for its stills.

 

[WhatDoesMStandsFor]

Armando Ferreira did a real 8k production with a real team and real actors. He could not shoot everything in 8k and ended up titling a follow up video "The Canon EOS R5 is NOT AN 8K CAMERA!" because of the thermal issues. He is a professional, not a mere "self-claimed influencer."

There is a thermal issue.

Why did you hide the part where Armando also said that the EOS R5 is a killer 4K camera, which is something that a lot of hybrid shooters have been asking for Canon for years now?

 

[Otara]

Well he won't need to, because the camera remains eminently usable for stills and most video modes after it reaches the (clearly published) timing limits on some video modes.

Look, from a marketing sense - should Canon have been clearer about those limitations (especially the recovery times)? Sure. But is it the flaming (pun intended) disaster people are claiming? Surely not.

I love doing clips and stills with it, and the main problem for me so far is storage rather than heat, with even a 128gb CFExpress card being a non-trivial price and I had to get it from overseas after waiting for it to become available as it was sold out.

I do feel bad for those who hoped this was going to be something that it isn't. Hopefully it will come about at some stage, either from the competition, a new model or some kind of cooling option. In my view the bigger issue is the recovery time, not the shooting limit.

 

[snappy604]

if I see camera I think stills is it's primary focus and video secondary.. you want primary video get a video camera. Having watched the reviews from this and other sources it seems to fit my bill quite well except for the price (though that is more me wishing for a better price). I'll work on saving for one of these when they get into stock... and an RF 24-70 2.8IS.. $igh... $10k CAD

 

[Besisika]

So why did they market it as an 8K full frame camera?

It has been a month since the camera was announced (almost) and you guys still whine about it.
I usually don't get into this kind of argument because I don't find it productive what so ever.

Looking at different media over the internet, I noticed that some people are screaming so that they can be heard. They simply wants attention because they are incapable of getting followers. They simply want more views. They create tension so that more people would comment. "R5 is unfit for purpose": who are you that you decide for the planet what is the purpose of R5?

Some people, are like a girl with daddy issue. Puts the blame on childhood because is incapable of producing something meaningful. Puts video out there but only 100 people are watching it. Let's bash Canon R5 so that we can get more followers.

Some people lack self esteem, bully others in order to feel important. Canon is this, Canon is that, and 12MP is perfect for me.

Some people just want to let their frustration from being locked down on anything that comes their path. Grabs one weakness of the camera and blows it out of proportion in order to free up some of his frustration.

What is really the purpose of the complaints? If you want Canon to do something about it, simply send them a message.

The way I see it is very simple; finally Canon bit the crap out of someone, that they have to send their wolves all over the media to defend their stinky daddy. Someone told me once; the higher you go, the louder the critics.

If you don't like a product, buy something else, regardless of their marketing. You knew about it before it was in your hand, they were opened about it, yet you still cannot afford to go somewhere else. Please explain to me, why? Are you one of the aforementioned people?
If nothing is better than this, then why it is a bad camera? By definition, it is the best. Not perfect, but the best. If that is the case then say it.
If it is the only photographic that does 8K, then it is the only one that can do what you need. Not the way you want it, but the only one. It never existed before, and now you have one. Why then the cry out? would you feel better not having it at all?
People were capable of creating something fantastic before, you have now a better gear, and you act like all the past great tools were gone and you left with the crappiest camera. The only explanation to me is simply because you are one of these wolves. That is a crappy job.

Why am I defending it? because it is the only 45MP photo camera with EVF/OVF and shoots 4K full frame and crop.

I do agree, that Canon might listen to people's complain on the net. No proof of that though. Is that what motivates you?

 

[jam05]

Anyone find a way to backup or save settings to disk? Can't find one on the camera, manual, DPP, or the EOS utility. There are just too many variables not to have this function come over from the DSLRs

 

[Deleted member 384473]

It has been a month since the camera was announced (almost) and you guys still whine about it.
I usually don't get into this kind of argument because I don't find it productive what so ever.

Looking at different media over the internet, I noticed that some people are screaming so that they can be heard. They simply wants attention because they are incapable of getting followers. They simply want more views. They create tension so that more people would comment. "R5 is unfit for purpose": who are you that you decide for the planet what is the purpose of R5?

Some people, are like a girl with daddy issue. Puts the blame on childhood because is incapable of producing something meaningful. Puts video out there but only 100 people are watching it. Let's bash Canon R5 so that we can get more followers.

Some people lack self esteem, bully others in order to feel important. Canon is this, Canon is that, and 12MP is perfect for me.

Some people just want to let their frustration from being locked down on anything that comes their path. Grabs one weakness of the camera and blows it out of proportion in order to free up some of his frustration.

What is really the purpose of the complaints? If you want Canon to do something about it, simply send them a message.

The way I see it is very simple; finally Canon bit the crap out of someone, that they have to send their wolves all over the media to defend their stinky daddy. Someone told me once; the higher you go, the louder the critics.

If you don't like a product, buy something else, regardless of their marketing. You knew about it before it was in your hand, they were opened about it, yet you still cannot afford to go somewhere else. Please explain to me, why? Are you one of the aforementioned people?
If nothing is better than this, then why it is a bad camera? By definition, it is the best. Not perfect, but the best. If that is the case then say it.
If it is the only photographic that does 8K, then it is the only one that can do what you need. Not the way you want it, but the only one. It never existed before, and now you have one. Why then the cry out? would you feel better not having it at all?
People were capable of creating something fantastic before, you have now a better gear, and you act like all the past great tools were gone and you left with the crappiest camera. The only explanation to me is simply because you are one of these wolves. That is a crappy job.

Why am I defending it? because it is the only 45MP photo camera with EVF/OVF and shoots 4K full frame and crop.

I do agree, that Canon might listen to people's complain on the net. No proof of that though. Is that what motivates you?

Wait, so why did they market it as an 8K no crop 4k120 camera?

 

[unfocused]

Anyone find a way to backup or save settings to disk? Can't find one on the camera, manual, DPP, or the EOS utility. There are just too many variables not to have this function come over from the DSLRs

As far as I know, only the 1D series has the option to save settings to the card. Or is that not what you are referring to?

 

[WhatDoesMStandsFor]

Also... Who was asking for 8K? I believe the majority of video shooters just wanted reliable 4K FF 10 Bit... lol

Pretty much, and Canon delivered on the R5 with this. Even in non HQ (which is not 4K "LQ", it's not low quality in anyway) the 4K looks really gorgeous for a hybrid camera.

I know a guy that was testing the EOS R5 and asked his thoughts on it. He said that the camera only overheated on him if he intended to. For his use, he managed to shoot some tests with 8K RAW only on the CFexpress and stills on the SD cards and did not get any overheat. When I've asked him more about this issue, he said that only happened when recording directly - the camera showed 15 minutes of recommended time, he managed to record almost 20 before the camera shutdown due to heat. He also said that the 4K directly from the camera is what he wanted for so long, but he won't be coming back to Canon for now because the H265 files are a mess in post-production.

So, in essence:

- It's a great hybrid camera for those who wants Canon colors for both video in 4K and stills with a high megapixel count
- It goes a bit beyond by offering 4K120, 4K HQ and also 8K in both compressed and RAW formats, even with limitations
- It's a pain in the ass for dealing with the H265 files

 

[jam05]

I would appreciate it if other EOS R/R5/R6 owners submit an email request to Canon support for a save settings to disk option. Its a pain in the you know what when sharing cameras or after service. Unless I overlooked something.

 

[WhatDoesMStandsFor]

Armando Ferreira is not a click-baiter and has never lied in a review that I've seen. He was quite generous to the EOS R when everyone was ripping on it for its 4k crop, and he was one of the people to point out the flexibility of the 480 Mbps output.

Actually, he bashed the EOS R prior to using it (as a lot of youtubers actually did). He loved the camera so much after using that he switched. The EOS R is not, by any means, a bad camera. It was disappointing to some people, but a lot of people bashed the camera at the time of its launch without even using it.

Now the same thing is happening with the EOS R5. A lot of bash right now at its launch, but in 12 months a lot of people will be uploading their Youtube videos with "I've switched to the EOS R5"

 

[unfocused]

You make a lot of decent points, but I feels like you are are missing some.

It has been a month since the camera was announced (almost) and you guys still whine about it.
I usually don't get into this kind of argument because I don't find it productive what so ever.

Agreed, it's time to quit arguing about this. The issues have been documented and no one is going to change anyone else's mind.

Looking at different media over the internet, I noticed that some people are screaming so that they can be heard. They simply wants attention because they are incapable of getting followers....

Absolutely true.

Some people, are like a girl with daddy issue...

Kind of sexist and a bit misogynistic.

Some people lack self esteem, bully others in order to feel important....

...Some people just want to let their frustration from being locked down on anything that comes their path....

...What is really the purpose of the complaints? ...

All true.

The way I see it is very simple; finally Canon bit the crap out of someone, that they have to send their wolves all over the media to defend their stinky daddy.

I don't buy conspiracy theories. Whether they come from a president or on a camera forum, they tend to be kind of bat-crap crazy. The issues and the complaints are not some grand Sony conspiracy.

If you don't like a product, buy something else, regardless of their marketing. You knew about it before it was in your hand, they were opened about it, yet you still cannot afford to go somewhere else. Please explain to me, why? Are you one of the aforementioned people?

Generally, I agree, but not everyone knew about the issues before they ordered. In my view, though, that is the risk you take when you pluck down $4,000 on a camera sight unseen. I don't have much sympathy for early adopters.

If nothing is better than this, then why it is a bad camera?...If it is the only photographic that does 8K, then it is the only one that can do what you need...Why then the cry out? would you feel better not having it at all?...The only explanation to me is simply because you are one of these wolves...

To be fair, a camera should be able to do what it has been advertised to do, without all these caveats. I'm not a video person, but I can certainly understand the problem with the length of time to cool down. Even if you had two bodies and were switching off between them, the long time to cool down would be a problem.

...I do agree, that Canon might listen to people's complain on the net. No proof of that though. Is that what motivates you?

It's probably a pretty ineffective way to complain. Canon probably monitors the overall commentary using some type of content analysis software, but I seriously doubt they are reading any individual complaints, unless the complaints are coming from big time customers or influencers.

My Take: Arguing back and forth and dreaming up screwy solutions is not going to change anything. Either Canon will fix it, will partially fix it or won't fix it at all. If someone wants the camera but also wants it fixed, they just need to sit tight and see what Canon does and if they consider that a proper fix. Chances are it will be months before they are readily available anyway, so people might as well just sit back and wait.

 

[Deleted member 384473]

They didn't: it can record 8K. Which is a feat in itself.
It's not unusable after a few minutes, it overheats (as specified by Canon) after 20+ minutes (and even those 20 min limits have specified). Even after that it works just great as a 4K camera.



It DOES! Name the make and model of another DLSR or mirrorless camera that does more than 20 mins of 8K video without overheating. Just one! When you find one compare its price to the R5...

But as I said: I'd prefer they stopped wasting time and money on video features that those who want systematically are ungrateful over. Just stop it and make them buy a CX00 instead. Maybe the pricing there will make them get their feet pack on the ground. And get them to stop listening to the youtubers as if they spread the gospel.

No one asked for 8K though.

Video shooters wanted solid and reliable 4k 10 bit ( no line skipping or pixel binning such as the 4K you speak of) up to 120FPS in a hybrid body. I believe many thought this would be that. Jamming an 8k sensor into a small camera body is not a feat! There is a reason no other camera has tried this... It just won't work in this small footprint unless a better design is implemented for cooling down the internals.

This is a great stills camera and should've been marketed as such instead of leading with 8K no crop.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

The trouble with the R5 you’re paying a large premium for those video features that aren’t reliable. I don’t mind the recording times as much as the glacial recovery from overheating annd even worse an hour of just stills shooting can render HQ video modes unusable as camera has already reached thermal limits. The body design is very poor in that it has woeful thermal conductivity properties and traps heat for up to 2 hours. They really do need to make a physical change rather than just rely on fw hacks. It’s a bit rich for people to now claim it’s not a video camera, when it was Canon that was pushing 8K as the headline act. Also the 4K line skipped video is poor quality and the H.265 codec I’ve heard is a nightmare to try and work with in editing. I’m sure fw will address some issues but the poor thermals are intrinsic to their body design and choice of materials. I really want to get the R5 but will dealy that purchase for at least 6 months and hope by Q1 next year soemthingnhas been done.

 

[Deleted member 384473]

You make a lot of decent points, but I feels like you are are missing some.



Agreed, it's time to quit arguing about this. The issues have been documented and no one is going to change anyone else's mind.



Absolutely true.



Kind of sexist and a bit misogynistic.



All true.



I don't buy conspiracy theories. Whether they come from a president or on a camera forum, they tend to be kind of bat-crap crazy. The issues and the complaints are not some grand Sony conspiracy.



Generally, I agree, but not everyone knew about the issues before they ordered. In my view, though, that is the risk you take when you pluck down $4,000 on a camera sight unseen. I don't have much sympathy for early adopters.



To be fair, a camera should be able to do what it has been advertised to do, without all these caveats. I'm not a video person, but I can certainly understand the problem with the length of time to cool down. Even if you had two bodies and were switching off between them, the long time to cool down would be a problem.



It's probably a pretty ineffective way to complain. Canon probably monitors the overall commentary using some type of content analysis software, but I seriously doubt they are reading any individual complaints, unless the complaints are coming from big time customers or influencers.

My Take: Arguing back and forth and dreaming up screwy solutions is not going to change anything. Either Canon will fix it, will partially fix it or won't fix it at all. If someone wants the camera but also wants it fixed, they just need to sit tight and see what Canon does and if they consider that a proper fix. Chances are it will be months before they are readily available anyway, so people might as well just sit back and wait.

Thanks for answering this long message. I stopped trying at the misogynistic comment. I agree with your take. If you have a preorder then you seemingly have a good amount of time to cancel if needed once more info comes about... I am curious on how it behaves in my hands and we all can return in 30 days. I hope all that get this camera love it.

And with this I bid a farewell to this thread.

 

[Besisika]

To be fair, a camera should be able to do what it has been advertised to do, without all these caveats. I'm not a video person, but I can certainly understand the problem with the length of time to cool down. Even if you had two bodies and were switching off between them, the long time to cool down would be a problem.

Can anybody explain to me what was advertised? I need a proof not a wishful thinking. A video link or a line on the user's guide will be nice.

I will receive my R5 Tuesday, as per Canada Post, and I am already aware of its weaknesses, based on Canon rep interview on YouTube, as well as the user's guide. I knew about the weaknesses prior to paying for it. So what exactly was advertised? Was it advertised not to overheat? Was it advertised not to take a time to cool down?
I understand the issue. I shoot 4-hour concerts a dozen time a year, and I am worried about mine as well, but I took the decision to buy it given the weaknesses.
I had the choice not to buy it so why do I have the right to complain?
I really hope Canon will fix it, because I would like not to worry about overheating when shooting 4K HQ, but I am aware of it and to me that is fairness.
Wanting for a camera to do something I think will do, doesn't make it advertised. And I do hope people get that. We simply assumed it will be a perfect 8K mirrorless camera.
Here in Canada, a false representation is when someone says something opposite of what the product does. Canon had the weaknesses known to the public. That is not false representation.

What I am saying with my post is simple, it is what it is. Fair is when you criticize something and suggesting a solution. I find all these complaints not fair. If all the complaints has a specific positive purpose then I am all for it, but if it is just for the purpose of whining then I would say "grow up".
I am asking all of you whiners out there, to state the purpose of your complaints and do something about it.