Canon R5 Review – Do Photographers Really Need This?
If we were to sum up our Canon R5 review for you right here, it would be this: this is a great mirrorless camera that is perhaps a little too powerful for most photographers.
When comparing the Canon R5 vs. R6 (the closest camera comparison and likely one you are looking at in addition to the R5) – it becomes incredibly apparent that this camera, which boasts a $1,500 higher price point than the R6, will only be necessary for very niche photography applications. Virtually all hobbyists (with a handful of exceptions) and many professional photographers as well will do just fine with the R6 (or a comparable mirrorless camera). With that said, price to value ratio aside, the Canon R5 still is, without a doubt, a great camera.
Throughout this review, you will find we focus on the practical application of this camera. We could honestly care less about all of the specific tech jargon, when we want to really know how it performs in the field.
Read on to learn more!
About the Canon R5 camera
The Canon EOS R5 camera is one of the latest entries in Canon’s mirrorless camera line. While it has many of the same features found across other mirrorless cameras, it is specifically targeting photographers with a need for higher resolution images and videographers seeking to record footage at 8K resolution.
Outside of image quality, the other differences between the R5 and R6 are negligible as performance remains very similar – especially when considered in practical applications.
For examples, both cameras share an OLED Viewfinder – with the R5 having an enhanced resolution when viewing a scene through the viewfinder. On paper, that sounds great – but in reality, it almost doesn’t matter at all.
3+ Types of Photography Where the Power of the Canon R5 Would Be Beneficial
Cutting right to the chase for you in this Canon R5 camera review – we want to highlight specific fields of photography where we believe this camera would be worth the investment as opposed to a more cost effective camera purchase.
Canon R5 for Landscape Photography.
Photographers who capture landscapes typically are taking images at narrow apertures (like f/16) with the intention of capturing an entire environment in their frame – in focus. This results in a need for images that are crystal clear throughout the entirety of the image – from foreground to background. Of course, this is generalizing and plenty of landscape photographers have different techniques, but this is at least very common.
While some landscape photographers simply do this as a hobby (and the need for an R5 may not be necessary for those folks), those who sell their landscapes as high resolution digital prints and (most importantly) in larger format physical print media will be better served by the Canon R5 as opposed to other mirrorless (or DSLR) cameras with inferior image quality.
Canon R5 for Fine Art Photography.
Similar to landscape photographers, fine art photographers would also find a benefit to the R5 resulting from the enhanced image quality – making it great for prints that might hang in a studio space or art exhibit. With the increase of megapixels (more than double that of the Canon R6), there is also an increase in depth to the colors in the images – which I feel would be really valuable to someone who is creating photography for artistic purposes, rather than just photos to look back on later in a more quick fashion (like wedding photos).
Canon R5 for Real Estate Photography.
Real estate is a unique area of photography that has a lot of potential for photographers to start businesses and make money. Being able to showcase real estate listings with high quality images (especially those photographing more luxury offerings) would absolutely be valuable to real estate agents looking to separate their home offerings from others with worse images.
Other photographers with heavy emphasis on sale of large printed works.
When making a decision to buy a camera, we are really needing to assess how we will use it ourselves. In the case of the R5, like I’ve mentioned, it’s a solid camera but a bit overkill for most. Those photographers who are selling their work, and specifically in larger format (think: wall spanning canvases in a client’s home or on a billboard on the side of the highway), would benefit the most from this camera as the extra resolution will be beneficial so that the image remains clear even at large sizes.
4 Best Features of the Canon EOS R5 Camera
For those still considering the Canon R5 mirrorless camera by this point in my review, there are absolutely great aspects that make this camera easy to use. Some of our favorite features:
1). 45 megapixel images.
We’ve covered image quality a lot throughout this R5 review, but if buying a camera based on the megapixels is important to you – this is great to know. For comparison, the more affordable Canon R6 camera (you can read our review of that here) has 20 megapixels. The R5 offers some of the highest quality images on the market.
It is worth mentioning – the increased resolution of the R5’s photos does mean it will produce better quality images when cropped, though again in our experience this remains fairly minor as the R6 still has a reasonable crop factor (and we do quite a bit of cropping in our wedding photography work).
2). Built in image stabilization.
All modern mirrorless cameras should include image stabilization, something we have found to contribute greatly to crisper images and more images in focus when compared with our older Canon 5D Mark III and Mark IV DSLR cameras in general. The hit rate on the R5 is extremely high.
3). Lightweight and easy controls.
As with all mirrorless cameras, this is a light camera. And especially light given the quality of images it produces. Along with this, actually navigating the menus and operating the camera is also very intuitive and easily customizable.
4). Advanced autofocus system.
The EOS R5, referred to by Canon as Dual Pixel AF II, offers an incredible AF system that can offer eye, head and face tracking for both people and animals. In our experience, the eye tracking in particular is pretty mind blowing in it’s accuracy – especially for such a small point on the screen. This makes getting images in focus every time especially easy for wedding photographers and similar who have to have quick reflexes to focus throughout the day.
A word on the Canon R5 CFexpress card requirement
One of the few specific gripes I have with the R5 (that is admittedly pretty minor) is that it offers 2 card slots – 1 requiring a regular SD card, and 1 requiring a new card type (the CFexpress).
The reason I consider this a minor issue with the R5 is because many photographers will be looking to upgrade from beginner camera models, or cross-grading from pro quality DSLR cameras, and will be bringing with them their standard SD card options.
This means for photographers who are wanting to write to 2 cards at a time (a standard for all professional photographers), those who purchase an R5 will also have an additional investment to make in the new cards. These start around ~$150 for a 128GB option (see here for the SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB CFexpress Card).
Canon R5 Technical Specs
For the most important tech specs, you can find the list below of highlights for the R5 for quick reference.
- 45MP full-frame Dual Pixel CMOS sensor
- 8K video, with option for Raw or 10-bit 4:2:2 C-log or HDR PQ
- Up to 4K/120p, or oversampled 4K up to 30p
- 100% coverage Dual Pixel II AF system with human and animal detection trained by machine learning
- 12 fps / 20 fps bursts (mech. / elec. shutter)
- 5.76M-dot OLED EVF with 120 fps max refresh rate
- 3.2″ 2.1M-dot fully articulating touchscreen
- 10-bit HDR photos in HEIF format
- 1x CFexpress slot, 1x UHS-II SD slot
- Claimed weather-sealing to EOS 5D Mark IV levels
- 2.4/5Ghz Wi-FI with Bluetooth and FTP connectivity
- CIPA rated to around 320 shots (using EVF)
Conclusion
As we stated in our introduction to our Canon R5 review – the R5 is a great camera. Pure and simple. However, the need for it is not very high when considering most photographers (professional and hobbyist alike) will be served well by the Canon R6 – a camera with many of the same features, at a significantly lower price points.
The EOS R5 will ultimately be a camera chosen by photographers who need the extra resolution, likely for the purpose of creating large prints for themselves or their clients. Some photographers may also just prefer having the extra power and not needing it, than getting something with less resolution and needing it down the line (a position we completely understand).
You will ultimately be the best judge of what camera is right for you, but we hope this Canon R5 review article was able to help you focus on the most important considerations.
