Canon R5 First Impressions

This is a BEAST of a camera. Does it overheat? I would imagine, but it didn’t for me in my testing. Is it amazing? Yep.

Okay, I know before I get accused of being a Canon shill, initially I was hesitant with this camera. Honestly, I am hesitant with any new camera because it is new and because I’d like to think that I approach life with a level of healthy skepticism thanks to my degree in biology.

I digress. My main worry with this camera was the overheating. It seemed rampant with claims that if you looked at it in anything other than an arctic snow storm that it would burst into flames. So naturally when I got to test it out for a week I was a little nervous. But I made a promise to myself to shoot it like I normally would. To not baby it. And that’s what I did.

Here’s the bad. The battery life drains noticeably quicker than a 5d Mark IV & an EOS R. I would imagine this is a combination of the IBIS and the video capabilities. Granted I didn’t shoot 8k all day long but I did do a fair bit of 4k60. 8k files are huge but that should be expected. CFexpress is expensive.

The Good. The AF is incredible. The files look beautiful. Like absolutely gorgeous. 8k may be the buzz feature but 4k120 I think was the surprise that I fell in love with. IBIS is good. AND it has the C3 custom setting when pressing video in photo mode that isn’t in the R6.

If you are a hybrid shooter shooting short B roll clips and can afford the price tag, this is probably already in your bag. Take into account the RF lenses that have both technical prowess mixed with character and you have an ecosystem that is superb.

Would I switch from Sony? Tough call and is going to come down to preference. Especially since the release of the Sony A1.

Below are some images that I have created with this camera.