Canon EOS R5 Mark II in the hands of the lucky? [CR1]

[sanj]

Longer video recording times without overheating would be very welcome. I am already contemplating selling my R5c because I want IBIS. R5 is a fantastic camera and I can understand many are not too excited about Mark 2. But I am sure little advancements in various departments would make Mark 2 a camera I would want.

 

[David - Sydney]

Blackout is not a deal breaker, frankly I didn’t even know it was a problem till someone mentioned it. I have no problem with BIF or fast moving animals. Really not sure if “no blackout” is gonna make any difference to people missing or getting a shot.

It’s getting to the point where people want the damn camera do everything for them. How fun is that?

And what’s wrong with the battery? I get 1000-1200 shots easily. And if it dies, ooo I change it with another one. Don’t wanna do that, buy a grip. Lol

I could easily do a indoor sports shoot on one battery in the past on my 5Div but I need 2 batteries now. Not a problem for me but it is a downside for the R5. In terms of CIPA, then Sony does have the lead on power efficiency

 

[David - Sydney]

I echo comments above about what a great camera this already is. So my wishlist is mostly some refinements and to also bring the camera up to where newer Canon bodies are. I do not shoot video (yet anyway) so my list is lacking any improvements in that area, although there will no doubt be some improvements there. So this is what I would like to see, not necessarily what I think we might get:

• Camera AF - Bring AF system up to current Canon level of functionality and flexibility (Modify how subject tracking is enabled to match newer bodies and add the new 'modes' with 'stickier' tracking)
• Pre Shot Buffering - Add pre-shot capture buffering (not sure if currently this is only jpg but if it is make it RAW capture capable)
• Electronic Shutter - better blackout and less rolling shutter, variable times for ES instead of just full speed, full 14 bit capture in ES, and yes, an option to add a shutter sound
• Sensor Shift Capture - make this able to handle some amount of subject movement (Sony has such an implementation now) and give us RAW output capability
• Stacked Sensor - only if it is required to achieve ES improvements above (otherwise nice to have but could keep cost down if not required...)
• Cost - less than $4,000 US
• Resolution, Dynamic Range, EVF, Noise Performance, Weight - none of these criteria need to be improved (although improvements could be welcome if not adding to cost), just do not go BACKWARDS on any of these...

If the cost tops $4,000 it could be hard to justify for me. if it tops $4,500 I am probably out of the market for it.

Since we are putting together a list of upgrades
The Rate button should be firmware as the R5C allows it.
Allowing IBIS to be turned off ie separate from OIS seems to be a common request for wide angle video users
Astro mode would be fun

On the hardware side:
There is definitely a gap in power efficiency between Sony and Canon. This could be improved by having a smaller line width on the processor.
It would be interesting if Canon adds 8k60 raw etc. Improved heat handling would be needed there but it would correspond to the Z8 in that case.
Change the HDMI port to 2.1 for higher bandwidth.
Add another USB-C port to allow direct recording to external storage which would enable separate power to the other USB-C or just use the same port.
Fix the dodgy hotshoe mounting and include the nice AV features
Adding the fancy AF-on controller and illuminated buttons would be nice.

Keeping the current R5 at a permanently discounted price would be an interesting strategy similar to R6/R6ii. It would cannibalise the R5ii sales depending on the price difference or Canon may spread the pricing eg USD3500 for R5 and USD4000 for R5ii

 

[Fischer]

Not in a rush, but I skipped the R5 - so looking forward to the R5II when it arrives. Expect to be early adopter. MPIX jump would be important to me. And pre-capture in RAW very, very interesting.

 

[amorse]

Blackout is not a deal breaker, frankly I didn’t even know it was a problem till someone mentioned it. I have no problem with BIF or fast moving animals. Really not sure if “no blackout” is gonna make any difference to people missing or getting a shot.

It’s getting to the point where people want the damn camera do everything for them. How fun is that?

And what’s wrong with the battery? I get 1000-1200 shots easily. And if it dies, ooo I change it with another one. Don’t wanna do that, buy a grip. Lol

Battery life makes a pretty big difference for me for backpacking. I’m already carrying 5 batteries, and if the camera performance drops off, that number changes. Next month I’m heading out for 9 days of back country camping where there will be no opportunities to charge and I’ll probably need at least one more battery to be confident. I don’t really want to push my battery count up further if I can avoid it.

 

[Mike9129]

Battery life could be a thing they could improve that I would be interested in. Its not even the number of shots you get, its how long it can be kept just powered on when youre out and about. Its not that long atm really.

Other than that, I think the R5 is fantastic.
Maybe some odds and ends could do with upgrades to bring them up to speed, but generally its a great camera.

 

[dbcooper]

I suspect that for a lot of 5DIV shooters -- like me -- the R5II will be the upgrade that brings us into the mirrorless world. Since I primarily shoot stills, the original R5 wasn't quite worth the spend. But with improved autofocus and sensor, plus even better video, the R5II will be a bigger jump in quality (not to mention that my 5DIV is now 3 years older)

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Deutsch Photography: NYC’s Top Corporate, Executive and Actor Headshot Photographer NYC

Well I’m a professional photographer and have both the 5D 4 and the R5. I hate the R5 for work even if it is much better in many areas. I find the viewfinder incredibly eye tiring and inadequate. Using the screen instead will drain battery even faster. I also find the size too small and fiddly for using it several hours a day 5 days a week.

I still use the 5D 4 for work, and use the R5 for travel and holidays and bird photography. The R system needs more pro lenses, not bodies at this stage, I hate using adapters. I’m also not a fan of new hot shoes…..

 

[dbcooper]

I could easily do a indoor sports shoot on one battery in the past on my 5Div but I need 2 batteries now. Not a problem for me but it is a downside for the R5. In terms of CIPA, then Sony does have the lead on power efficiency

In my line of work I need 3 or 4 batteries when using the R5 compared to the 1 I need when using the 5D4. It is a major drawback, and batteries are not exactly cheap either. Much more likely to end up without a charged battery which would be catastrophic for pro work. The electronic viewfinder strains my eyes way too much as well, I’m in my 50s and need to take care of my eyesight (as should younger people).

 

[Darrell Cadieux]

The ability to link spot metering with the AF point. This would be huge for me.

 

[john1970]

The ability to link spot metering with the AF point. This would be huge for me.

Unfortunately, it appears that such a feature is only reserved for the 1-series cameras, which is a bit of a bummer. I find that using the live RGB histogram helps a lot when I do manual exposure.

 

[john1970]

Unfortunately, it appears that such a feature is only reserved for the 1-series cameras, which is a bit of a bummer. I find that using the live RGB histogram in viewfinder helps a lot when I do manual exposure, which is most of the time.

 

[Deepboy]

Only downside [...] battery life

I can't see why so many people lament about battery life in Canon R cameras; with my R6 (it's not R5, but drain difference is not enormous) I usually swap batteries around 20%, and i costantly get 1500 shots or more, which means passing 2000 shots per battery if I want to entirely drain the battery.
And see in the picture below, I was using a couple of old LP-E6N (not the new E6NH) that have 9 years life (bought in 2014 along with the 6D) and a bad recharge performance, see the single red dot.
With fresh E6NH the shots would be even more!
Guys (generally; not you in particular! ), just learn to use ECO mode, and shut the camera off when not in use, and you'll see that you batteries will fly; I get more shots per battery now, compared to when I had the 6D (I think ONCE, a single time, I got 1800 shots draining a battery; average was 1200 to 1500 shots when draining the battery, while now I get the same number of shots with 20/30% battery residue, even with super duper old LP-E6 without even the "N").

P.S. I almost only use viewfinder (which supposedly consumes more), not lcd; of those 1600/1700 pics, less then 20 would have been taken from the rear display

 

[koenkooi]

I can't see why so many people lament about battery life in Canon R cameras; with my R6 (it's not R5, but drain difference is not enormous) I usually swap batteries around 20%, and i costantly get 1500 shots or more, which means passing 2000 shots per battery if I want to entirely drain the battery. [...]

It's not so much about the number of shots, it's about the screen on time, combined with the processing effort. For macro in the field, I can easily get a full morning out of a single battery for the R8 (tiny LP-E17). But watching the EVF for a squirrel to and doing a bit of video in between, I can easily go through more than 2 LP-E6NH batteries on my R5 in a morning.

With 40fps being available, the number of shots per battery is highly misleading nowadays

 

[AccipiterQ]

I’m using the R5 with my RF600/4. And I have a absolutely no reason to upgrade it, it does everything I ask of it as a photographer. For me the little improvements are pointless to upgrade.

I'm using mine with the EF600/4 iii, I completely agree. I got the R7 for bird photos, and then went back to the R5, it's just superior even without the extra reach. Family adventure photos, nature photos...everything. I still can't believe how good this camera is.

 

[AlanF]

I'm using mine with the EF600/4 iii, I completely agree. I got the R7 for bird photos, and then went back to the R5, it's just superior even without the extra reach. Family adventure photos, nature photos...everything. I still can't believe how good this camera is.

There are those of who have the R5 and know it's by far the best 5-series ever made and have had three years great use out of it, and those don't have it and are waiting for something that may be better and don't appreciate what they are missing.

 

[Deepboy]

It's not so much about the number of shots, it's about the screen on time, combined with the processing effort. For macro in the field, I can easily get a full morning out of a single battery for the R8 (tiny LP-E17). But watching the EVF for a squirrel to and doing a bit of video in between, I can easily go through more than 2 LP-E6NH batteries on my R5 in a morning.

With 40fps being available, the number of shots per battery is highly misleading nowadays

So it depends on which kind of photography you do it's the absolute "mirrorless drain batteries super fast" that I contest. Of course if you shot also video well, that's an entirely different thing.
I compare my experience between DSRL and ML while doing the same genre of photography, weddings and portraits sessions; for my own personal experience, I get more shots now with ML (and with old batteries) then before with DSLR

And I shoot in single shot, 1fpp (1 frame per push/press)

 

[bradbirder]

My biggest desire is autofocus improvements. As good as Canon's autofocus is, I still miss the advantages that DSLRs offered under some conditions. I am so tired of spotting a bird in a tree and then having the camera focus on branches and leaves that are 10 ft in front or behind the subject. (From reading past comments on this forum, I believe it is due to the differences between phase detect and contrast detect autofocus and that one solution might be quad pixel autofocus).

Amen. This is THE one aspect of the R5 that is a real problem for bird shooters.

 

[twoheadedboy]

Can you elaborate on why you're buying a professional camera and then not use the manual capture modes? Since using DSLR/DSLM I've never used anything other than M.

Because the camera is faster and smarter than me in most cases w/r/t what the settings for a given scene should be? A lot of what I shoot is run-and-gun, I'm inside, outside, inside again, lighting changes. I guess if you're shooting on a tripod indoors with consistent lighting then M makes sense, but if you're not, you're wasting a lot of time measuring or guessing and twiddling, when you could be just taking the shot. Honestly I would pose the question back at you; why have an R5 if you're going to shoot 100% of the time in M? Go get a digital medium format camera at that point; the R5 is a portable computer with a lens mount.

I generally shoot in Fv because I can quickly change from locking down 1 aspect to another, or 2 to 1 and back to 2 again. For example, if I'm not worried about stopping motion, I set lowest ISO and preferred aperture and let the camera decide shutter, because I already have it backstopped in settings not to go too slow. Or if I am worried about stopping motion, I set the shutter, aperture to the widest, and let it determine the ISO as the clouds roll in and out. And I like the R5 over other options because I like having 45 MP to crop, and I like having an optional grip rather than built-in. Another feature I hope the MK II has is better battery life, so that I don't have to use the grip as often. And I assume it's a given, but I hope it has the new hot shoe too. I do also use my R5 in conjunction with a Ninja V+ for video.

A+/Advanced A+ just gives me one more option, and one that gets me from "off" to "captured image" more quickly, meaning one more scenario where I use the camera instead of my phone to take photos, allowing me to "be in the moment" more, and focus almost exclusively on scene composition and lighting, not camera equipment. Honestly, if I could hook up my phone's software (Pixel 7 Pro) to my camera for image capture, that would be the ideal for me...I tried an Arsenal 2 Pro as the seeming middle ground for this, but it was too clunky and the features weren't as fully baked as I would have liked.

 

[AlanF]

My biggest desire is autofocus improvements. As good as Canon's autofocus is, I still miss the advantages that DSLRs offered under some conditions. I am so tired of spotting a bird in a tree and then having the camera focus on branches and leaves that are 10 ft in front or behind the subject. (From reading past comments on this forum, I believe it is due to the differences between phase detect and contrast detect autofocus and that one solution might be quad pixel autofocus).

What focus setting are you using? I have one back button set to focus using the centre spot with the small square and that seems to work in most cases for pinpointing a small bird in a tree as well as in DSLR days. From what I gather, Sony and Nikon who use contrast detect as well as phase detect have the same problems for AF when there are background problems as does Canon, even though they use cross points for their phase detection.

 

[David_E]

So how will the MII differ from the incredibly good MI?

There is no R5 Mark I. It’s just the R5.