The big reveal of the Canon EOS R5 yesterday was a bit strange for photography fans - we got to see more of the world's most powerful mirrorless camera - but it's one we already knew a lot about from previous Canon teasers. So what new things have we learned? There were the most obvious ones, like its price and release date ($3,899 / £4,199 / AU$6,899 with a July 30 on-sale date, in case you're wondering). And the fact that it will soon be joined by a more affordable sibling called the Canon EOS R6. But there were also a lot of cool little tidbits that we picked up by browsing through the datasheets and chatting with Canon during their hands-on preview events. For example, some new Dual Pixel Raw modes that will be exclusive to the EOS R5, and the fact that it might actually outperform the Canon EOS 5DS R. 50MP. So we've put all these interesting details below the surface in one convenient place: here are nine new things we learned about the Canon EOS R5 from its big reveal yesterday and our brief hands-on time with the full-frame camera. For even more details, be sure to check out our Canon EOS R5 practice test.
1. Its new 45MP sensor could capture more details than any other Canon camera
One of the key specs that was missing from previous announcements of the Canon EOS R5 trailer was its resolution. Well, now the answer is: it will have a new 45MP sensor. This means it should be ideal for landscape photographers, who demand maximum detail and crop potential. It's not the end of the story either. Canon told us that even if the EOS R5's sensor was "only" 45MP, it could still outperform previous cameras by 50MP like the Canon EOS 5DS.
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(Image credit: Future) As Canon product salesman David Parry told us: "Even if it's 45MP, we're saying this could be the highest resolution camera we've ever produced. "We've got the 5DS and 5DSR, which are 50MP, but because the low-pass filter here has been completely redesigned, that means actual image detail could be the highest we've ever produced." With these resolution claims, plus an ISO range of 100-51,200 (expandable to ISO 102,400), this is a sensor to look forward to.
2. Has new CMOS AF II Dual Pixel autofocus powers
While the Canon EOS R5 makes the obligatory claim of having "the world's fastest autofocus" (a boast that means very little in reality), the most interesting aspect of its AF powers is that it has what Canon calls Dual Pixel CMOS. AF II. Canon's original Dual Pixel CMOS AF system, which first came to the Canon 70D in 2013, is still one of the best AF systems on the market, along with Sony's real-time tracking AF. But it looks like the Dual Pixel CMOS AF II is a new answer to the latter, because it offers next-generation tracking powers that should come in handy for sports and wildlife shooters.
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(Image credit: Future) Thanks to deep learning technology we first saw in the Canon 1D X Mark III, it enables the EOS R5 to recognize people, even if their faces are obscured. It's a similar story for animals, too: you get face and eye tracking for cats, dogs, and birds, as well as body tracking when they walk away from you. Canon originally developed Deep Learning AF for the now-postponed 2020 Olympic Games to allow sports photographers to follow athletes, even if they were wearing face-darkening kit such as helmets. It is not based on teachable artificial intelligence, as other cameras and phones sometimes claim, but instead is made up of a huge database of images. The resulting opportunity to gain visual tracking for flying birds, for example, is exciting.
3. Has Digic X Factor
The real breakthrough in the Canon EOS R5, and the technology that allows it to manage features like Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, is its Digic X processor. This first appeared in the Canon 1D X Mark III earlier this year, and although Digic X is a family of processors that differ depending on the camera they power, and Canon has told us that the chip in the 'EOS R5 was almost exactly the same as it was in the 1D X Mark III.
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(Image credit: Future) This is what has allowed Canon to sidestep the frustrating limitations of Digic 8 cameras, such as 4K or autofocus limitations, and provide some pretty extraordinary data handling in the EOS R5. Bypassing around Raw 8K/30p video while maintaining Dual Pixel autofocus is simply not possible on any other camera.
4. The IBIS system offers you up to eight stabilization stops.
From previous announcements, we knew that the EOS R5 would be Canon's first in-house image stabilization camera, and now we know more about how it works. The headline is that it can offer up to eight stops of image stabilization, depending on the lens you're using. It's hugely impressive in theory, surpassing even the 7.5 stops maximum of the Olympus E-M1 Mark III, and this camera has a much smaller Four Thirds sensor.
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(Image credit: Future) What's interesting with the EOS R5 system is its versatility: it works with RF, EF, and EF-S lenses, as well as lenses that don't have existing stabilization. These don't just get basic stabilization out of the body, as the RF 28-70mm f/2 gets the full eight stops, even though it doesn't have built-in stabilization. In fact, the level of stabilization depends more on the size of the image circle projected on the camera than on the two-way communication between the camera and the lens. The RF 28-70mm f/2 is designed to be clean to the edges, so it has a large enough area to give you all eight stops of stabilization. It also means you can touch some older lenses that have no way of communicating with the EOS R5, and they'll still stabilize. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any high-res handheld shooting modes like Olympus cameras do, but so far the stabilization system looks very impressive.
5. You can shoot 8K raw video for 20 minutes
Prior to the official launch announcement, one of the biggest concerns with the EOS R5 was the amount of time it would be capable of shooting 8K video. After all, even shooting 4K video can generate a lot of heat, causing other cameras to stop after 15 to 30 minutes. Impressively, the Canon EOS R5 is apparently capable of shooting 8K/30p Raw video, 12-bit, which is its highest setting, for up to 20 minutes, before the camera gets too hot and quits.
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(Image credit: Future) It's longer than we expected, as the EOS R5 doesn't have an internal fan. According to Canon, it's also about maximizing energy efficiency and choosing materials that don't generate a lot of heat. It also means there's no limit to how long you can shoot 4K video on the EOS R5, apart from battery life or the capacity of your memory card.
6. Has the highest resolution EVF of all Canon cameras
One design detail we were unaware of was the resolution of the Canon EOS R5's electronic viewfinder; well, now we know that it has a 5,76 million-dot EVF, which is the highest resolution to date. Any Canon camera. This beats the 3.69 million-dot EVF seen on the Canon EOS R6, and matches the viewfinder found on the Panasonic S1, which is the best we've had the pleasure of composing images with to date.
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(Image credit: Future) The EOS R5's EVF also has a 120 frames per second refresh rate, which means it's twice as fast as the Canon EOS R, although we can't say we've found that the Lag was an issue on this latest camera. This higher refresh rate can also have an impact on battery life, as you'll find out in #8 below.
7. Will not replace EOS 5D Mark IV or EOS R
Canon has been careful to point out that the EOS R5 isn't a replacement for existing cameras like the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV or Canon EOS R, but rather a mirrorless alternative that will sit alongside them. While it's comfortably more powerful than both of these cameras, it's potentially good news for those who can't afford or justify an EOS R5 (most of us are).
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(Image credit: Canon) Whether you want to buy a new or used EOS 5D Mark IV or EOS R, the launch of the EOS R5 is likely to bring prices down for both models. Your path in the RF system may soon be a bit more affordable, thanks to the arrival of the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6.
8. It has a new battery (but it is compatible with the old ones)
Canon made a new battery for the EOS R5 in the same size as the current LP6-N, but with a larger capacity. This was necessary to help power the high-resolution EVF features, so don't expect any significant improvements in battery life. In fact, the R5 only manages a slightly disappointing 320 photos per charge if using the EVF (at a 60fps refresh rate), or 490 photos if using the LCD. This is where DSLRs still have a huge advantage. However, the new LP-E6NH is compatible with other cameras, and batteries from cameras such as the 5D or 90D series will work with the R5.
9. It is really expensive
As Canon's new flagship mirrorless camera, the EOS R5 was always going to be expensive, and of course it will cost €3,899 / €4,199 / €6,899 when it goes on sale on July 30. Historically, it's not too bad, given that the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV started at £3,499 / £3,599 / AU$5,060 in 2016, that means the EOS R5 isn't that much more expensive than its spiritual DSLR predecessor when you factor in inflation.
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(Image credit: Future) Of course, there was no pandemic or global economic crisis in 2016, which means we'll be watching the prices of the Canon EOS R and Canon EOS RP carefully to see if their new siblings are really pushing the welcome dip in your prices. For now though, you can read our in-depth thoughts on the new flagship of the EOS R family in our hands-on: the Canon EOS R5 review.