Canon EOS R5 Summary

This Hands On report is based on using the camera with the launch firmware for a brief period. Read the full-review of the Canon EOS R5 for an in-depth look, complete feature-set, ergonomics report and analysis of its performance using the newest firmware available.

The imaging sensor on the Canon EOS R5 is a Full-Frame sensor with 90 million photosites behind a 3-layer filter-stack. One is a standard low-pass filter that softens details very slightly to reduces chances of moire artifacts. Moire artifacts most problematic in video where they become very apparent in the presence of movement. Another is the class Bayer Color-Filter Array that filters out red, green and blue light with twice as many green as red or blue. The last filter exclusive to Canon is a micro-lens array that splits light according to phase. This is the Dual-Pixel AF II design that lets the camera measure focus at every pixel.

At its base sensitivity of ISO 100, this sensor shows extremely low image-noise and very good dynamic-range. It is not quite as wide as other modern full-frame sensors but can certainly handle most scenes. Here is a 100% crop from an image captured at ISO 100.

ISO 100

One can see that flat areas are very smooth. The finest details show just a slight amount of softness due to the anti-alias filter. Even in the deep shadow area on the left, noise is almost imperceptible. Taking the same scene at ISO 200 shows very little difference. Image noise remains extremely low and is similar in shadow areas.

ISO 200

Increasing sensitivity to ISO 400 adds a hint of noise in bright areas. Deep shadows though get mild noise that start damaging the finest details. This is obviously more noise than most modern full-frame sensors but one in the Canon EOR R5 requires an astounding amount of circuitry which would be comparable to a 90 MP sensor.

ISO 400

There is very little difference between ISO 400 and 800 as shown just below. Noise increases slightly throughout the tonal-range which is just easier to see in dark areas. Details seen at 100% magnification diminish yet the 45 MP resolution of this sensor means that this is equivalent to closely inspecting a 36x24" poster. On common print sizes, the difference would be unnoticeable.

ISO 800

As sensitivity increased, the progression of noise is slow and steady until ISO 3200. Take a look at the next levels. Dynamic-range naturally shrinks at higher ISO settings and blacks start turning grey which causes a loss shadow details.

ISO 1600

ISO 3200

When crossing the ISO 6400 threshold, there is a noticeable jump in noise which remains mostly achromatic. Shadows become very grainy. Bright areas definitely show noise at 100% which limits usability for large prints. Medium prints up to a quarter-poster still come out look good, although a little flat due to reduced dynamic-range. This is roughly 2-stops behind state-of-the-art full-frame sensors.

ISO 6400

As anyone would expect, ISO 12800 is worse. There is so much shadow noise that that blanks look grey and details get completely smeared. Lighter areas appear remarkably clear though, so with careful exposure and the addition of contrast by software, one can get reasonably usable images.

ISO 12800

Color noise starts intruding at ISO 25600. This level is very grainy and details suffer even in the brightest parts of images. These can be usable when scaled down for the smallest print-sizes or publishing online.

ISO 25600

The highest standard sensitivity of the Canon EOS R5 is ISO 51200. This is a typical limit of ultra-high-resolution cameras. Noise is definitely present throughout the image but is mostly luminance-noise. Even though there is a noticeable color-noise element, it is evenly distributed among colors which lets this mirrorless maintain color-balance despite such high levels of noise. Sufficiently scaled down though, it could be usable in case of emergency.

ISO 51200

Image quality from the Canon R5 is solid. There are clearly choices made that cause it to fall behind state-of-the-art Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Cameras that are optimized for photography. The inclusion of a low-pass filter, which used to universal but now rare among flagship cameras, definitely takes its toll on the finest details. Noise increases detrimentally to dynamic-range because of all the circuitry required for Dual-Pixel AF II which allows smooth continuous focus-transition during video capture.

The high-resolution of the R5 makes it suitable for very large prints when ISO can be maintained low. This is where the best-in-class 5-axis builtin image-stabilization system of the Canon EOR R5 allows it to level the playing field for static scenes. Its maximum 8-stop performance is over 2-stops ahead of all other current Full-Frame cameras which makes the additional noise at high-sensitivity only relevant for moving subjects when shutter-speed is important.

The performance of this IBIS system is simply outstanding. Here is an image captured held-held at 1/60s with a 105mm lens which is roughly one-stop slower than the standard rule-of-thumb for sharp images.

Here is another 100% crop of the same scene but taken at 1/30s. This is two stops slower than generally possible while hand-holding. Notice that there is no drop in sharpness.

At 1/15s, sharpness is maintained. Although most recent cameras claim around 5-stops of efficiency, this is typically the level of performance practically achieved by most image-stabilization systems. The Canon EOS R5 has no trouble matching such performance.

Photographing the same scene, still using a 105mm focal-length, but at 1/8s shows an amazing result! The builtin stabilization system manages to keep the image perfectly sharp. In fact, due to how the test is performed the image looks much sharper. The reason is that the R5 completely compensated for camera shake but the lens was stopped down to force a slower shutter-speed. The side-effect a result of better optical performance from the lens when stopped down.

At an incredibly slow 1/4s hand-held, the output looks virtually identical to the 1/15s result. This means that the camera almost managed to fully compensate for camera shake but left a tiny amount of blur. Repeating this several times always showed similar output, putting the practical efficiency of the system at 5-stops. The theoretical maximum is 8-stops but 5-stops is beyond all other digital cameras with an APS-C or larger sensor.

At 6-stops slower than typically possible by hand-holding, the R5 leaves minimal blur which can only been noticed when seen at 100% magnification. For most common print sizes, one can count of 6-stops of camera-shake compensation from this mirrorless. Here is the same scene taking at 1/2s.

With a 1s exposure, there is a small amount of blur. This is going to be noticeable in large prints but has minimal impact on small ones. Over several attempts, this level of compensation is quite achievable, although not 100% of the time. One second exposures are nearly impossible hand-held even using a wide-angle lens, so seeing this at 105mm is simply incredible.

Here is the beauty of this ground-breaking mirrorless digital camera. The Canon EOS R5 brings unprecedented capabilities by its newly developed sensor. While the added circuitry required to implement Dual-Pixel AF II on a 45 megapixels sensor lowers absolute image-quality, the new builtin image-stabilization system wipes out this disadvantage for most practical applications while pulling ahead for low-light photography.

The new sensor is very sensitive to light and capable of focusing in near darkness. Autofocus is quick and decisive. By collecting phase data from every pixel, the Canon EOR R5 focuses in one motion which makes it usable while recording video. Video performance looks very good but there was insufficient time to evaluate it due to overheating issues. Although the camera can record for at least 15 minutes at any resolution and frame-rate when starting cold, once it overheats it takes a long time to become usable. When the overheating warning does off, the camera can only record for 2 to 4 mins before immediately shutting down.

Quick overheating truly limits usability of 8K video and 4K video at 60 FPS or faster. With standard 4K at 30 FPS, the R5 is capable of recording without limits at standard room temperature or lower. Canon states performance for 23C which is typical for a climate-controlled environment yet obviously not applicable everywhere. This makes the headline 8K an impressive achievement and nice-to-have for a crucial moment but not usable for video production.