The R5 just killed the DSLR

See why the R5 just killed the DSLR. Canon hit a home run. With the big Canon EOS R5 and R6 Announcement we talk with you about what is exciting about these two new mirrorless cameras. Is this the best they can do? What took them so long and was it worth the wait?

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Today we are going to take a look at the new specs on the Canon R5 and R6 plus a few lenses.

I was sitting in a hotel room early in the morning getting ready to go out and shoot. I was trying to listen to the Canon announcement and I said whoa, there are some amazing things here. And Julene comes in and says, “These are all of the things you have been talking about for months. This is not an announcement. This is old news.” It is like someone saying they are going to get engaged for 6 months. And then when they finally do they wonder why everyone isn’t so excited.

I will say the one thing I was hanging on for the announcement was the price point. And confirmation on a couple of things. So here are the headliners for the R5:

1. Price – $3899
2. 45 megapixel full frame sensor – confirmation that it is a large megapixel camera.
3. Edge to edge focus capability – 100% focus coverage
4. Dual-pixel autofocus 2 – ability to trace eyes, animal eyes, animals in flight.
5. Shoots up to 12 frames per second – that beats out all of the competition right now.
6. And 20 frames per second on silent mode when using the electronic shutter.
7. Video is a huge thing shooting 8k raw – 8k compressed with 10 bit or 8 bit.
8. Shoots up to 120 frames per second in 4k. (Not in 8k or 1080 yet but maybe in the future.)
9. Output is only 4k
10. Dual card slots – SD UHS II card slot and a CFexpress card slot. If you are shooting raw you will need a larger card.
11. 5-axis stabilization. With certain lenses you will get up to 8 stops of image stabilization. Which is more than any other camera on the market. More than the Panasonics which have legendary stabilization. 8 stops is incredible. You will need it with some of those lenses like the 800mm f/11.

The 8k is exciting. It is very flashy and cool. I don’t think that this camera is the answer for everyone for a couple of reasons.

1. If you want to shoot raw you have to shoot 8k and that format is massive. It’s 2600 bits per second. That is more than the C500 Mark II does shooting 6k. That is so much data. You will have to store it. Editing it will be slower and it may bog down some people’s I think the only reason to shoot 8k now it like when we shoot camera comparisons and other videos. It gives us the ability to crop in using a single camera.
2. This is the one thing that cripples the camera just a little bit. It’s not going to be a big deal for most people, but for me in kind of is. It’s that the only log format in the camera is C-log 1. C-log 1 was designed almost 10 years ago at this point for 8 bit cameras. So with the dynamic range the curve is much more gentle. Which is good for shooting 8 bit and maybe even 10 bit sometimes. It has a more gentle curve so you are getting only 11 or 12 stops of dynamic range. But, if you are shooting 10 bit, 8k 4.2.2 I kind of wish that it had C-log 3. C-log 3 is the perfect curve for Canon’s footage. It has great dynamic range. It preserves a lot of the color detail. It’s awesome. So this all means that you are not going to have as much dynamic range. The highlights may blow out quickly. And you are kind of stuck with that unless you are going to shoot raw.

The raw thing, to me, is a little bit of a gimmick. But 10 bit 4.2.2 and 8k or 4k, I’m all in.

Now let’s talk about the R6. Here are some of the R6 specs.

1. Price – $2499
2. 20 megapixel sensor
3. Same great auto-focus capabilities as the R5 -100% focus coverage
4. 12 frames per second
5. Video 4k 60fps, 10-bit/8-bit

The Canon R6 camera is a competitor to the Sony a7 III. It is a prosumer and professional camera in a smaller stripped down body. This has a lot of capabilities for most people. This is a great entry point camera. I do wish it was 24 megapixels. It is a compelling camera. It still shoots 4k up to 60 frames per second.

With both of these cameras you don’t have to crop. You can crop if you want to into APS-C. But you don’t have to crop in any of the modes. That is so incredible. I think the R-6 is compelling for a lot of people who don’t need all of that megapixel or don’t need 8k. I will say the 4k video in the R6 is a little lower quality than the 4k in the R5. It is only the IPB compression so it’s a lower data rate. You are only getting like 170 megabits per second. This can be totally adequate for a wedding videographer. Especially if you are not shooting log format. Some people don’t want to have huge images and all of the data to have to store. And at the $2499 price point it is more affordable to get a second camera so you can have a first and second camera when you are shooting. There is definitely a market for it.

 

I think the lenses Canon announced are really telling to me. I think they are needing to provide lenses that are a little less expensive. And that have a little more mass appeal. And Sigma and Tamron have been eating away at the market with lenses. Because they are creating great, sharp glass. I think Canon is realizing they need to put glass out there that isn’t $2500 +.

When the R system was first launched with the EOS R and they had their 50mm that was like $2000 and their 24-70 that was like $2400, it seemed like every lens they launched was over $2000. How do you buy into a system like that. Especially since the EOS R frankly wasn’t the most compelling camera. The R5 is an awesome camera but you are still looking down the barrel of thousands of dollars in lenses. I am really happy that they are offering some less expensive lenses.

These are the lenses Canon has launched:

1. 85mm f/2 macro – $599 – that is an awesome lens
2. 600mm f/11 telephoto lens – $699
3. 800mm f/11 telephoto lens – $899
4. 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 – $2699 – a pretty compelling lens

That 100-500mm lens is a pretty compelling lens, especially at that aperture range. It gives you a great range to be able to work with that is not too slow.

The f/11 thing with the 600mm and the 800mm, I’m not sure what to think of that. Do you realize how much light you lose at f/11? If I was shooting wildlife at dusk it could not handle it. I would have to be done way earlier. I understand trying to get into a less expensive and lighter package. But sacrificing the light, even a f/8 or f/5.6 works well, but with the f/11 you are going to be dragging your shutter. If you are tracking something that is moving you will get a lot of blur. It will be way more challenging unless you are pushing the ISO. When we test these we will see how they do. Maybe with the R5 they will do fine.

I do think that this will be the new technology. You will see a whole range of lenses in the longer telephoto lenses, above 600mm with the aperture stopped down in order to accommodate smaller sizes of lenses. Weight is a big deal. And so is price.

So overall I am super excited. I am definitely ordering the R5. I may buy 2 of them to have and A and B camera. I will sell my R. It is time to move on.

So who is going to buy the R5? Anyone who started with the Canon Mark II is probably going to buy this camera. If you are in the Canon world I think you will want to buy this camera.

I really think the DSLRs are going away. I think people are wanting mirrorless. I think that this new R5 is Canon finally arriving to the mirrorless party.

Sony will launch the a7S III. And Nikon will eventually catch up. The Z7 is a good camera but I think their next one will be even better. Especially with Tamron and Sigma producing all of these mirrorless lenses, mirrorless will be the way to go. I think there is no better evidence than the 1DX Mark III. Because when I looked at that camera and held it in my hands and shot it I said, “Why is this not like an a9? Why is this not a sports camera?”. And the Canon rep was a little put off by my comments. But then shortly after that they announced the R5. That is why I think investing in RF glass is a good way to go. Because this is where Canon will spend their money because this is what people want. They want smaller, compact and easy to carry around. I think that really is the market.

So there you have it. With the R5 I believe the DSLR is dead. It is on its way out. There are a lot of benefits to mirrorless cameras.

Leave us a comment on our YouTube video and let us know what you think.

Keep those cameras rollin’ and keep on clickin’!