Review: Canon EOS 5DS R by Amateur Photographer

[Canon Rumors]

Andy Westlake at Amateur Photographer has completed his review of the Canon EOS 5DS R camera body. They came away quite impressed by the image quality and especially the detail available when using good lenses.</p>
<p>A lot of people are wondering about the dynamic range from the production camera, and Amateur Photographer measured it at 12.4 stops at ISO 100, with performance decreasing beyond ISO 400.</p>
<blockquote><p>There’s little doubt that the Canon EOS 5DS R is one of the most impressive cameras we’ve ever seen. With its 50.6MP sensor, robust build, and reliable metering and autofocus, it’s sure to become a favourite with working photographers for whom ultimate resolution really matters. Indeed, with 20% higher linear resolution than 36MP cameras, it lays down the gauntlet to Sony and Nikon to play catch-up again, although it would be naive to expect this to take long.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/reviews/dslrs/canon-eos-5ds-r-review" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> | Canon EOS 5DS R Body: <a href="http://adorama.evyy.net/c/60085/51926/1036?u=http://www.adorama.com/results/canonnewfeb" target="_blank">Adorama</a> | <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1119027-REG/canon_0582c002_eos_5ds_r_dslr.html/BI/2466/KBID/3296" target="_blank">B&H Photo</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3ERPT8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00T3ERPT8&linkCode=as2&tag=canorumo-20&linkId=X7P2IPISEXTZFLQ7" target="_blank">Amazon</a></strong></p>

 

[Chaitanya]

interesting.

 

[youngjediboy]

It may be great for stills, but Canon really fell behind everyone else in the video department (which was what the 5D Mark II revolutionized). It feels like Canon really should've simply called this a 4D or 3D so it can differentiate from the 5D line since everyone equates that with video for the past 2 iterations.

As someone who shoots both still and video on the 5D Mark III I've been continually disappointed on the video end from Canon's DSLR offerings of late. I already got a GH4 with speed booster adapter so I can shoot 4K and 96fps with my Canon glass. I'm eyeing Sony's recently announced a7R II which is 42MP (not all that much less than this 5DS), shoots 4K internally, IN BODY stabilization and up to ISO 102,400 and can do HFR/slowmo!
For stills I'll most likely stay with the 5D Mark III, though it's definitely showing plenty of wear at this point. I liked having a body that could do it all and the 5D mark II and III were great when they came out. I just wish Canon would hurry up and catch up on the video end as Panasonic and Sony has raced far ahead already.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

"It is capable of shooting at 5 frames per second – not world-beating, but a match for the Nikon D810 and Sony Alpha 7R"

That isn't really true compared to the Nikon as the Nikon didn't cripple cropped mode and allows for a lot more fps in RAW APS-C mode and the buffer becomes amazingly large too in that case.

 

[PureClassA]

Then wait a few more months til they announce the 5D4 with internal 4k (since you want a single all-in-one). If that doesn't happen, then I'd be taking a walk too

It may be great for stills, but Canon really fell behind everyone else in the video department (which was what the 5D Mark II revolutionized). It feels like Canon really should've simply called this a 4D or 3D so it can differentiate from the 5D line since everyone equates that with video for the past 2 iterations.

As someone who shoots both still and video on the 5D Mark III I've been continually disappointed on the video end from Canon's DSLR offerings of late. I already got a GH4 with speed booster adapter so I can shoot 4K and 96fps with my Canon glass. I'm eyeing Sony's recently announced a7R II which is 42MP (not all that much less than this 5DS), shoots 4K internally, IN BODY stabilization and up to ISO 102,400 and can do HFR/slowmo!
For stills I'll most likely stay with the 5D Mark III, though it's definitely showing plenty of wear at this point. I liked having a body that could do it all and the 5D mark II and III were great when they came out. I just wish Canon would hurry up and catch up on the video end as Panasonic and Sony has raced far ahead already.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

OTOH, as a possible plus for the 5Ds, I'm a bit doubtful about this statement too: "The standard sensitivity range covers ISO 100-6400, with extended ISO 50 and ISO 12,800 settings also available. This is a bit limited compared to either the EOS 5D Mark III or EOS 6D, both of which would therefore be a better choice for low-light work."

Sure they rated it lower, but does that means it actually has worse SNR per sensor area?? or is it just only per 1:1 which is not fair and Canon just went conservative with the rating? Also with tons of MP you can apply more advanced NR which does a better job than a simple normalization down to 23MP would imply.

I don't know for sure of course, but I'd actually be surprised if it's worse than the 5D3 at high ISO. I'd almost suspect it might even be a touch better. I guess we await DxO.


Also, this isn't correct
"With 50MP raw files weighing in at 65-70MB.... Thankfully, Canon has provided several means to do this. Raw shooters can choose 28MP MRAW and 12MP SRAW modes, which still allow full flexibility in post-processing, but with smaller file sizes."

MRAW and SRAW don't allow full PP flex, they are more pre-cooked than a real RAW file. They are not real RAW files simply smaller, but utterly different and considerably pre-cooked.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

"Almost certainly the 5DS R; I’d rather take the extra sharpness, and deal with image artefacts when necessary."

Personally, I disagree. Look at how the R is getting more false color and it has a harsher, more digital look instead of a somewhat more natural organic look and much of the extra detail isn't real detail anyway (a little might be due to AA extra losses, but a bunch of it has to, by physics, be fake aliasing, which can appear to look like detail even though it's really a form of noise, technically).

One thing I think Nikon and Sony do very wrong is fall into the marketing "no-AA filter is AWESOME!!!!" nonsense.

 

[PureClassA]

Well the nice thing is you can always use Moire tools when needed or ad a bit of softening in post. Some of the sample 5DSR files (DpReview I think) I played with had very manageable moire when present. I realize it's an extra step, but not every image would require it, and from what I've seen, I get the feeling that most won't. Time will tell!

"Almost certainly the 5DS R; I’d rather take the extra sharpness, and deal with image artefacts when necessary."

Personally, I disagree. Look at how the R is getting more false color and it has a harsher, more digital look instead of a somewhat more natural organic look and much of the extra detail isn't real detail anyway (a little might be due to AA extra losses, but a bunch of it has to, by physics, be fake aliasing, which can appear to look like detail even though it's really a form of noise, technically).

One thing I think Nikon and Sony do very wrong is fall into the marketing "no-AA filter is AWESOME!!!!" nonsense.

 

[rfdesigner]

Do we know if the 12.4 stops of DR is at native resolution or downsampled to some smaller image size as per "that website".. anyhow 6D is 12.0 stops by this lot, so they're saying it's almost than half a stop better than the 6D which has a very good sensor.

 

[Eldar]

In my view, this was positive. I am really looking forward to get my hands on it now.

If it is using the same (fixed) focusing screen as the 5DIII, which I expect, I´ll operate in my focsusingscreens.com custom S screen and see how it works. With a bit of luck (does not happen very often) I´ll be able to focus my Zeiss lenses through the OVF, as I do on the 1DX.

 

[PureClassA]

Let's not forget that Keith at Northlight had inner circle sources saying early on that while the claim of "similar DR to 5D3" was being touted, they DID distinctly notice they were getting an extra stop or so of clean pull from the shawdows than on previous 5 bodies.... soooo this seems to line up in one regard.

 

[keithcooper]

Well, my 5Ds turned up today... but of course I had to go out, so only a very quick check on the tripod, with a TS-E 90 looking down the street this evening.

The real comparison for me is with the 1Ds3 I've used for the last few years. Video and high ISO are an irrelevance for my work, so it's really about those 50MP ;-)

Note that these are in-camera JPEGs, so comments about detail/DR etc are missing the point ;-)

Given the work I've done with 'just' 21MP, this bodes well. A simple up/down stitch with a TS-E 17 gives me 80+MP files.

I'll be keeping some notes over the next few weeks on the Northlight site - conveniently, I'm off on holiday for a while on Thursday! I'll see what I can come up with as 'real world' tests, rather than ones for just forum debate ;-)

 

[D.]

Lensrentals.com has published their initial resolution tests of the 5DS & 5DS R for those interested.

 

[Eldar]

Lensrentals.com has published their initial resolution tests of the 5DS & 5DS R for those interested.

Interesting! Bigger difference between the 5DS and the 5DSR than I would have thought.

 

[PureClassA]

Ha! Throw out Keith's name and he magically appears! Thanks for the posts and your fantastic website, Keith!

 

[keithcooper]

Ha! Throw out Keith's name and he magically appears! Thanks for the posts and your fantastic website, Keith!

Yes, I got the 'another post' message when posting ;-)

I'll try and get some more info comparing with my old 1Ds3, since I know a lot of people held on to them after finding the 1DX a less than enticing replacement.

The 5Ds RAW files won't open in my old photoshop (CS6), so the new camera could well nudge my exploration of workflows, since I've a copy of C1 and my old standby DxO (LR doesn't get a look-in I'm afraid, and DPP is still likely to be a curiosity).

Glad the site's of interest! I'm currently re-writing a huge chunk of it, but the rumours pages will stay as-is, since I don't want to go the route of turning every snippet into a fully fledged 'post'. I'd forgotten just how many pages there were...

 

[Tinky]

canon can't win. folks complain that video is detracting from stills development, so they develop a totally kick ass market leading stills camera...

folks complain it doesn't have 4k.

go buy a gh4 or a7s already.

I shoot primarily video, some of it on canon dslrs, and m's.

I have not had one client ask me for 4k yet. When a client I want does ask, I'll buy 4k that day.

I remember well spending over the odds on poorly implemented hd formats when forums were saying 'you must have hd'

One of my dh cameras burned out before I ever had occassion to shoot in hd...

Canon should have more solutions, at a wider range of prices already... why not let the stills guys enjoy a camera thats obviously meant just for them...

4k from a 50mp sensor.... that will take some blurry aa filter and some complicated line skipping....

There comes a point when its a good idea to use the right tool for the job, if you ate shooting 4k out of necessity, that tool probably isn't wrapped up in a dslr shell.

 

[skoobey]

It's a great camera for sure. And Canon will make a huge hype about it, so 99,99% of buyers will be people who don't need it, as always. Ah, the sad sad story of people putting the money into the equipment rather than making an effort.

 

[whitedjp]

I got my 5ds today and I am honestly very impressed. The resolution is fantastic and i have thrown a bunch of shots (higher iso shots too) on the mb and again i am impressed at how far you can push them. They look a lot better than I thought they would! I am using the lexar 2000x card and the buffer is still a bit of a pain, but it is manageable. Overall I think people are going to pleasantly surprised at the files that come off this thing.

Well just my 2 cents and i'm off to go shoot some long exposures at a local fair Maybe I'll post later.

J

 

[Deleted member 7828]

I got to play with one briefly at a local store with a 5DS (had the Sigma 50mm Art lens on it) and find myself blown away by the resolution and the detail in the images. Took them hand-held, too. I can only imagine what the R version is capable of...

That said, I'd like to put a Canon zoom lens on it (like a 24-70, 24-105, 70-200, etc.) and see how it does then. I was rather lukewarm toward this camera upon seeing the online samples, but now that I've actually used one and seen the results, I'm a little more intrigued...