Transfer over Sony, Canon is attempting to take the lead in bleeding-edge tech for mirrorless cameras. The corporate’s new $4,300, 45-megapixel EOS R5 II gives superior options like eye-tracking autofocus (AF) that may’t be discovered on any latest Sony mannequin. The brand new digicam can be pushing Sony’s A1 and different fashions in the important thing areas of velocity, video and autofocus. And it’s arguably extra fascinating than Canon’s personal upcoming flagship R1 because it has practically double the decision.
I’ve had the R5 II for a couple of weeks, evaluating not solely its practicality and velocity for each professionals and critical amateurs, but additionally the way it stacks up in opposition to Sony’s A1, the gold normal for high-resolution mirrorless cameras. And admittedly, I am impressed.
The EOS R5 II is Canon’s finest digicam in years due to enhancements in key areas like autofocus and video.
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I really like the dealing with of Canon’s mirrorless cameras and the EOS R5 II could also be its sweetest design but.
The physique and controls are similar to the R5, aside from a few adjustments. Canon moved the ability swap to the highest proper the place it’s simpler to entry, and added a devoted photograph/video swap on the left. The corporate gave photograph and video modes their very own settings, making it a lot simpler to leap from one to the opposite. Canon additionally made a uncommon change to its menu system, including a brand new olive inexperienced tab for management customization. This new tab additionally comprises the settings for eye management AF monitoring.
In any other case, the R5 II’s format is much like its predecessor. That’s a very good factor, because the management placement is probably the most pure of any digicam I’ve used, from the snug grip that gives a safe place to carry, to the properly tactile controls that fall completely at hand.
Shifting to the shows, the R5’s 2.1-million-dot totally articulating rear contact display screen was already sharp and straightforward to make use of, so Canon didn’t mess with that. The R5 II has the identical sharp 5.76-million dot OLED digital viewfinder as earlier than, however the firm boosted the brightness and redesigned the optics to accommodate the brand new eye management autofocus.
The R5 II helps CFexpress Sort B playing cards for capturing 8K RAW video, together with SD UHS II should you’re okay with cheaper and slower media. Different key options embrace headphone and microphone ports, a full-sized HDMI enter and a USB-C port for charging and transfers. Canon additionally launched three new battery grips, together with one with a cooling fan that extends video capturing occasions, as I’ll focus on quickly.
I’m a giant fan of the R5 II’s design, and my professional photographer pal agreed, saying that like most Canon merchandise, the R5 II’s ergonomics are so good the gadget is snug to carry for lengthy intervals of time. He additionally stated he barely most popular the R5 II’s dealing with to his Sony A9 III and A1 cameras, due to how straightforward it’s to make use of with one hand.
The EOS R5 II gives a mix of velocity and backbone that rivals and typically even surpasses the Nikon Z8 and Sony A1. That is largely because of the new stacked 45-megapixel sensor and up to date Digic X processor to crunch all these pixels.
The R5 II can shoot bursts at as much as 30 fps in digital shutter mode with a blackout-free view. That’s slower than the R1, however I’ll commerce a small hit in efficiency in alternate for the additional decision. I used to be capable of seize about 100 RAW frames earlier than the buffer crammed. Speeds drop to 12 fps with the mechanical shutter, however there’s not often any want to make use of it as a result of there’s no concern with rolling shutter distortion – due to the stacked sensor. The R5 II’s new pre-capture mode can file as much as 15 pictures if you half-press the shutter. That’s nice for photojournalists or wildlife photographers who could in any other case miss a shot by a fraction of a second.
Canon’s “Twin Pixel” autofocus has at all times been good, however on the R5 II it’s the very best I’ve ever seen. When capturing bursts with a topic biking towards the digicam, 80 % of my pictures had been in focus. And the EOS R5 II now tracks animals, birds and autos, on prime of faces, eyes and our bodies of individuals.
The digicam additionally has a few new autofocus tips, together with one known as motion precedence. That retains the AF targeted across the ball in three particular sports activities: volleyball, basketball and soccer. I didn’t discover any explicit AF enchancment, as my hit charge gave the impression to be about the identical with out it, however devoted sports activities photographers would possibly see the distinction.
One other new perform retains the monitoring level in your topic even when somebody crosses in entrance of them. That did appear to work properly more often than not, however it could sometimes get lost and lock onto another person.
When Canon launched the R5 II and R1 in July, it launched pre-registered particular person precedence AF that lets your digicam memorize as much as ten particular folks, like star athletes as an example. This characteristic functioned as marketed, switching AF to a registered particular person and monitoring them as an alternative of different folks within the scene.
Lastly, I examined Canon’s well-known eye management AF that detects the place the photographer is wanting and strikes the topic monitoring level there. That is an undeniably cool characteristic and has improved in comparison with the primary implementation on the EOS R3, however remains to be too unreliable for skilled use.
In actual fact, the professional photographer pal I discussed identified that although eye management feels futuristic, it’s nonetheless a bit too flakey for paid gigs the place focus reliability is paramount.
On the R5 II, in-body stabilization is the very best I’ve seen on any Canon digicam, maintaining the sensor rock-steady for handheld capturing, with as much as 8.5 stops of shake discount. It was so dependable that I by no means felt the necessity to carry a tripod when utilizing sluggish shutter speeds.
I’ve at all times discovered Sony cameras to be barely superior to Canon relating to autofocus and velocity. I can not say that, because the EOS R5 II may be very even with Sony’s newest fashions. My Sony-using photographer pal agreed, saying he couldn’t see any actual distinction between the R5 II his A1 or A9 III.
Picture high quality on the R5 II is basically the identical because the R5, and that’s a very good factor. The 45-megapixel sensor produces pictures nearly as good as or higher than the Sony A1 at a less expensive worth, and compares favorably to Nikon’s equally priced Z8.
When capturing in RAW mode at decrease ISOs, the R5 II gives good dynamic vary in excessive distinction brilliant and darkish scenes. Like different stacked sensor cameras, although, there’s a bit extra noise than with common CMOS sensors. High quality additionally drops barely in digital shutter mode, so it’s higher to make use of the mechanical shutter in difficult lighting circumstances.
Excessive ISO efficiency isn’t too dangerous for such a high-resolution digicam both, with noise staying below management as much as ISO 12,800. After that, the R5 II doesn’t fairly measure as much as fashions just like the Nikon Z7 II or Sony A7R V, as each of these supply cleaner photographs with much less grain.
In case you don’t need the effort of processing RAW, JPEG rendering is great straight out of the digicam, with properly balanced sharpening and noise discount. For low-light capturing, pores and skin tones are flattering in any respect ISO settings, and the very best amongst all cameras on this worth vary.
One new notable characteristic on the R5 II is the AI-powered upscaling utilized after the photograph is taken. The consequence isn’t fairly nearly as good as a devoted app like Topaz, however it’s not dangerous contemplating it’s in-camera processing.
The unique EOS R5 would have been a darn close to good video digicam if not for its pesky overheating points. Canon has improved this to a level with a brand new passive cooling design and $400 fan grip. With these updates, warmth is barely actually a difficulty on the highest resolutions (8K 60p and 4K 120p). Nevertheless, these limitations are much less extreme on the rival Nikon Z8.
Other than the heating concern, the EOS R5 II has spectacular specs. It might shoot as much as 8K 60p and 4K 120p video, however does so with far much less rolling shutter than the R5, once more due to the brand new stacked sensor. The digicam now has Canon Log 2 (CLog 2) functionality that permits for larger dynamic vary seize than the R5.
Video autofocus is excellent in any respect resolutions, with speedy acquisition of the topic and dependable monitoring. Face- and eye-detection work very properly, and I solely sometimes seen AF lag with fast-moving topics.
As for stabilization, I may shoot clean footage whereas handheld in optical mode with no crop, supplied I didn’t transfer the digicam an excessive amount of. Digital stabilization allowed for extra motion whereas solely cropping in a contact, and the improved setting let me shoot easily whereas strolling with a 1.5x crop. Panasonic’s S5 II remains to be the very best on this regard, however the R5 II is shut behind.
As for high quality, video on the EOS R5 II is extraordinarily sharp, notably with supersampled 4K HQ. Different 4K modes are subsampled, however practically as sharp. Rolling shutter is properly managed, so that you gained’t actually discover it until you do whip pans or jostle the digicam whereas capturing.
Canon’s glorious shade science delivers heat pores and skin tones and correct colours. RAW video permits a lot of room for changes in submit, whereas the CLog 2 brings dynamic vary as much as 14 stops to allow capturing in contrasty circumstances. With all this, the Canon R5 II is now my go-to digicam for capturing video — even over Sony and Panasonic fashions.
The $4,300 EOS R5 II is Canon’s finest digicam in years, due to enhancements in key areas like autofocus, video, capturing speeds and general really feel. Newly launched tech like eye management AF is much less helpful, however it’s nonetheless good to see Canon attempt to innovate, and the characteristic ought to enhance in subsequent fashions.
The R5 II is up in opposition to some nice competitors on this worth vary, particularly the $4,000 Nikon Z8 that holds its personal in opposition to this digicam in most conditions. Nevertheless, Canon’s autofocus is barely sooner and extra dependable, and I tremendously want the R5 II’s dealing with. The one different full-frame possibility with a stacked sensor and comparable decision is the Sony A1, which prices $2,200 extra.
The principle points with the R5 II are overheating, the wonkiness of motion precedence and unreliable eye management autofocus. Nevertheless, it now stacks up extraordinarily properly in opposition to Sony’s A1 when it comes to velocity and autofocus, whereas providing superior stabilization and dealing with. Which one you select could merely come all the way down to model desire or current lens assortment.
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