douglaurent

Sure it was a random limitation, but every camera contains limitations that could have been solved better by the manufacturers. And in this case the camera really does overheat quickly in an unhealthy way, so it's not a completely senseless limit. The 5D2 also shut down when it became too hot, and nobody did talk about it. I think the limitation was not something to be happy about, but it also by far wasn't the scandal of the decade. Who else is giving great 8K with excellent autofocus and stabilization evern now, 2 years later, for such a low price? Anyway, the issue is over now and I'm very content having 2 R5 and 2 R5C with timeless capabilities and even 8K60. I was the most extreme complaining person about Canon in 2015 when the competition was the A7R2 which was way ahead, but right now there are hardly any wishes left.

The photo mode was great. All the video functions were great as well, except the time limit. It didn't bother me because a) there was the hack and b) I did use multiple cameras anyway. For 2-3 hours straight recording I would have used other cameras anyway. Canon did overfulfil by adding 8K and other stuff that didn't exist in that price range, so I wasn't disappointed. As far as I can remember Canon did announce the limitations right away. Still using the R5 too long can't be recommended because it's really getting too hot. If they had added a fan, of course it wouldn't have been the same price point and also not what many other users wanted. Of course I welcome that the workaround just in case longer times are not needed is not necessary anymore.

Did record 4x 30min 8K Raw with 1.6 and, no wonder not having a fan, the camera does extremely overheat already after the first 30 minutes. It just doesn't shut down like before. Using it this way over and over again can't be healthy for cards, batteries and the camera itself. So Canon is still correct with their protection advice and time limits. The Sony A1 does also overheat and also shuts down. Nobody did criticize it while being much more expensive. I never understood why a small 4000 Euro camera should be expected to deliver the highest image quality at unlimited recording times.

Typical journalist thinking, it’s always too quick/too late, too cheap/too expensive, too little/too much etc. with many contradictions. The truth is the gear options are at an all time high, and if all brands stop releasing products now, it would still be a photographer’s and filmmakers paradise forever. Only problem right now is that most of the best new mirrorless lenses are priced a bit high, but those are the lenses that are not used, revievew or recommended by EOSHD anyway.

Abruptely unlocking the battery grip door (with two batteries in it) while recording, and then inserting a new CFexpress card after the camera has shut down, unfortunately did not reset my timer. Why did it work in one of those videos? Was it because i didn't record one long clip until the limit? To avoid getting corrupted clips of important material, I intentionally did stop the regular shots shortly before the limit, and then turned off the camera power in a dedicated last recording meant to be corrupted. That did work so far, but didn't solve the timer reset problem.

Got the first of two R5 and I'm really happy. Will not complain that a camera stops after shooting 30.000 35 megapixel images in a row!!! Autofocus and several other things like the lens selection is so much better than Fuji and Panasonic products. Also did order two A7S3. Equipped with R5 and A7S3, one can do everything an S1H and GFX100 can achieve, plus lots more from tight eye AF to 120fps to super low light. Sometimes waiting for the products that have better features pays off. So sorry, until Fuji and Panasonic improve their camera lineups with new models, they are behind from now on.

Do I see this correctly? My 1DX2 does 4K 60fps with autofocus, and the 1DX3 does not? I gladly keep the old cam.

Spending a second to think about new Canon products is a complete waste of time until they probably release a full frame mirrorless camera in 500-1000 days, which then at least might have a 10% chance of being competitive against Sony products (I say that owning a 1DC, 1DX2, 5D4, the whole Canon lens lineup and much more). Part of the slow innovation even might be forums like CanonRumors, who are full of Canon fanboys defending their brand, so that Canon marketing might think everything is alright. If you just list pure facts how Canon is behind in features at CanonRumors too often, you get banned - the site has the same lamel spirit as Canon. The administrator even x-es out single words if you write something like "SonyAlphaRumors". Some in the Canon community are like Trump and Trump voters, trying to undermine the credibility of those who criticize with nothing else but the truth. In the end - no matter if it's Canon or Canon websites - it's all about the revenues. The only answer of users who want to see improvements is that no money and attention should go in these directions, until they change their policies.

This cam is great, but I chose the new GX80 for its size, and similar body stabilization etc capabilities. What I love about the E-M1II is the raw 80MP photos and the 48fps 20MP raw photos you can shoot within a second. That makes it the best MFT choice, until the GH5 comes out. And the Olympus body stabilization seems to be even better than the one in the Panasonics cams, probably because they have more years in experience with that.

At least that's one thing that Canon did better in the 5DsR, 1DX2 and 5D4: You can create your own menus and register anything you like to new own menu pages. Oddly enough, in the Sonys you can nearly assign any function to any external button, while in the Canon they only allow a random selection of functions on a random number of buttons. Let's hope that at least by the year 2020 we all laugh about these stupid middle age times when Toyko engineers still were trapped in their limited 20th century logic, and finally all manufactures do offer unlimited possibilities.

Owning all Sigma Art lenses, the 20/1.4 might be the weakest prime because it's not too sharp wide open in the corners. I made landscape pics and videos where i wished i used the Milvus 21/2.8 instead. By using ISO 12.800 without a problem on selected cameras nowadays, going to f2.8 is also less of a problem even filming at night. My first impressions of the Batis 18mm also have been better. Other than that, I am happy that the 20/1.4 exists. For certain effect shots it's without alternative.

I have the 1DX2 since 10 days now. Used to work with A7R/S2 and GH4, the size and weight and the lack of a tilting screen or peaking is a big minus. Even on the photo side Canon did cut features like internal timelapse or the HDR function of the 5D3, which is very uncool for this price. But by adding a magnet viewfinder like in old 5D2 days, the 1DX2 is still a handable and can be used as one man show, with 2 outstanding advantages: 4K 60fps of course and the excellent video autofocus. If you use it right, there is no need for manual focus or focus peaking, and shooting can be done much faster than before and can be even more fun with even sharper shots. Amazingly the video autofocus does work very good with all Canon lenses from the last years, and also selected ones like the Tamron 24-70/2.8 VC or 85/1.8 VC. Without any logical pattern, other Tamron or Sigma lenses don't do video focus at all. A Tamron 16-300 superzoom doesn't work although it has great stabilization paired with the 1DX2, a Sigma 18-300 does have video focus but weak stabilization. Crop lenses don't seem to vignette with the 1.3x 4K video crop of the camera. The photo focus features and 16fps are also very nice for certain shooting situations, although the amount of MP is low when being used to a 5DsR, 645Z or A7R2. To me it is not an outstanding dynamic range monster and the quality difference to pics like from an RX100 IV is not huge enough. What's missing is the whole amount of nice small E-mount lenses and stupidly no Canon crop lenses can be mounted, so a 1DX2 setup will require all the large and heavy Canon full frame lenses. At least they work great and are a pro photo option as well, so the cominations make it an excellen allround camera. Strange is that 4K 25fps video can be recorded on fast CF cards and doesnt require the superexpensive CFAST cards like Canon says. In 4K 60fps mode, the CF cards do stop recording after app. 8 seconds. All in all Canon needs to be quick to release mirrorless versions of their DSLR lineup. At photokina Sony will release the A9 that comes with all relevant DSLR features and of course the best of the A7 world - and if this A9 camera does have 4K 60fps, there is no need for a 1DX2 anymore (and certainly not a 5D4).

I strongly believe that 4K 60fps will be a video standard for decades, which makes this the first photo camera I might keep forever. Of course being mirrorless would make it better, but it might take years from now on until mirrorless cameras can shoot 170fps raw photos and 4k 60fps because of physical limitations. Canon and Nikon should simply release the same body formats with the same old mounts, but inside without the mirror and an EVF. Of course Canon wants to make as much money as money, which means people should buy as many expensive cameras as possible. This is why i predicted the 1DX2 will not have focus peaking or CLog. This way the C300II users might buy the 1DX2 for 4k 60fps, and the 1DX2 users still need a C300II for certain jobs. It's also likely now that Canon will keep the 5D4 1080p and release another 5DC with 4K, so you can get all you want - but of course not all in one body.

Can't agree enough to this article! D5 is a huge disappointment! With 4k 60fps they could have become #1 overnight and they blew it. Releasing 4K feature Demo videos at 720p also clearly shows they don't have no clue what's going on out there.

I don't agree with this blog entry. Canon for example has all the technology to build perfect and modern cameras. The only thing you can criticize is that they limit the specs of their products to make people buy 2-4 different instead of 1 cameras, and try to set the prices as high as possible. This is exactly what Apple is doing!!! It's all capitalism and strategies of big companies with decision makers that are not complete idiots. I don't think camera companies have problems to sell their product because of a lack innovation, more likely it's the competition of smartphones and the consumer's old exisiting DLSR's that are still enough for them for years to come! In hindsight, even Apple had only detail innovations in all their product series over the years. They don't give you an open file system in an iPad (which makes no sense at all) and won't do that until they lose significant market share. I will not upgrade my iPad2 until they do that. If you look back from the year 2020, then probably Canon and Nikon came out with a GH4 and A7R2 competitor probably 3 years later than Pansonic and Sony. But so what? Mercedes just did release a competitor to the BMW X6 more than 7 years later. In former decades it wasn't like Nikon came out with an answer to a Canon innovation 3 months later, it took years. People are just too impatient now. Other than that of course I am also happy if the perfect camera is out tomorrow for little money. But a wish doesnt always become reality.

When in M and S35 mode, and in PAL at 25fps - the A7S2 says it will not record. In NTSC and 24 or 30fps it will do. Which is obsolete anyway, as indeed the camera does change the crop back to full frame after pressing record. Which is another big joke from Sony, when the kings of greyed out menus, confusing limitations and warning messages do not prohibit this one process and lets you record an angle you didn't want if you don't pay close attention. Using the A7S2 alongside a A7R2 means there is a record number of limitations to be learned. The A7S2 in itself means: no 42MP, no crop mode, no speedboosters. Just good 4K full frame lowlight and 120fps 1080p, which is exactly what the A7R2 doesn't have. Which means the A7S2 is a perfect addition to it, more than a clear alternative. Let's find out how the A7S2 performs against the 1DC regarding lowlight until ISO 25600. Probably a two camera combination of 1DC and 5DsR is still not such a bad combination.

Got my A7S2 today and unlike stated before, the camera CAN record 4K internally in crop mode (which would have been a disaster, as this would have meant that the use of a speedbooster would only be possible with an external recorder). The crazy thing is just that the A7S2 can ONLY record 24 and 30fps in 4K internally, but NOT 25fps. 120fps in 1080p mode also only in NTSC, not PAL. Seems like Sony doesn't like Europe.

The A7S2 is max worth half of the A7R2. Compared the A7S2 has lots of disadvantages, for example it's not a usable pro photo camera. And there are no advantages, as for example anything above ISO 25.600 is not usable anyway. Needing super extreme lowlight is as rare as using a Nikon D810a because of it's Astro features. This makes the A7S2 a super specialist camera, with just one focal range. The A7R2 does not only have 2 crop modes, with the internal clear zoom in S35 mode it will have an extended range using 15 to 8MP of the sensor. You literally get a 400/2.8 for free with that camera if you own a 200/2.8, which makes the 42MP sensor fantastic not only for stills. The combination of an A7R2 and RX100 IV is far better than anything else Sony has to offer.

I went with 2x A7R2 and the RX100 IV. RX100 II is great for all who don't own a system with interchangable lenses. The RX100 IV does have an internal optical 2x zoom that keeps the 4K quality and brings the camera to app. 140mm - but only in film mode, not in other modes like M that maybe most like Andrew are using. I did order 4 wide angle and 4 tele converters last week, it seems the ones from Soligor work best and in 4K 16:9 video mode you can even get away without vignetting - but that does need more comparison and testing when all are delivered. 52 MAG Filter was a bit too large and heavy for me, so i used the smaller sticker screw ring by Kiwi.

Thanks Andrew for the info - it's really crazy, the camera has so many great and logical aspects, but Sony still finds a way to make things complicated. This limitation means i can either have a proper magnification mode for video and can only shoot 36MP photos, or i have a limited magnification and can shoot the full 42MP photos. Or i have the best photo resolution and the best magnification, but can't frame right before recording a video! To make things more difficult, Sony wants us to buy several functions like the timelapse mode from their playmemories store which right now offers ca. 30 apps that could be installed on the camera. I would understand that for special applications, but not basics like a timelapse in a 3500 euro camera. At least among these 30 apps there are ca. 5-10 usefull tools that the competitor brands don't have, and some are free as well. It's just pain in the ass to install and manage. All in all the A7R2 feels as if i suddenly have the power of a second 1DC, GH4 and D800/5DsR available. Just if i could choose, for each specialized purpose i would still prefer to use the Canon, Pansonic or Nikon cameras. In cases where i only can bring one camera or i need the special strength of for example a second 1DC, the A7R2 now is a great choice. For each user who only has a 5D3, D800 etc, the camera also is a new great alternative. In general the camera doesnt offer better 4k video or phot images than the 2012 technology of a D800 or 1DC. It's a bit sad, because aside from a stop more in highlights, even the new Red Weapon doesnt seem to offer a different image compared to the 2011 Red Epic MX. Aside from 1-2 stops more in dynamic range, the C300 II probably also doesnt deliver a better image than the 1DC. This means that until the year 2018 we can be stuck with the same image quality options that we had 6 years ago. At some point technology does come to an end, which is seen in the audio world, where certain speaker / microphone standards have not been topped since 20-40 years. Sony has a really nice 50 megapixel sensor that's above what's in the A7R2 and right now built in the Pentax 645z and a Hasselblad and a Phase One. Unfortunately that only works with medium format and will have sensor cooling issues as well. Above that Phase One offers an 80 megapixel sensor, which is only usable until ISO 400(!). I guess the next 2-3 years will be about making existing technologies cheaper, products smaller, and combining more features. But the image quality has reached a certain limit.

Andrew, just read your setup guide which is great, did a lot of things the same way. Just one thing drives me crazy: you state that the focus magnifier goes from x5 to x12.5 - but whatever settings i try, i only get x4 and that's it. The manuals don't say anything about how to set it differently and internet tutorial videos on older A7 models do also show x4. So what is your magical setting? It would have been great if Sony would have come up with the same flexible magnifier value solution as on the GH4 anyway. Which brings me to my verdict about the A7R2, after testing all cameras: If you have a 1DC plus a external monitor, shooting 4K videos feels more pleasant and the results will still be a bit better than with the Sony (including lowlight). If you have a 5DsR, shooting photos will still be a bit better overall experience with the Canon as well. If you love the mirrorless features of the GH4, workflow with the Panasonic is still a bit nicer. The special thing about the A7R2 is that it combines all features of these other cameras in one body and adds a few helpful things like the internal stabilizer (although that is not on Canon lens level). So the Sony will not be able to deliver any image you have never seen before or something that couldnt have been shot with the other cameras, but it will be a decent allround tool if you don't want to carry around or buy 2-3 of these specialized cameras.

The point is that if you like a brand in general, you own a lot of accessoires for that brand, and you know that a brand can do much better, it makes you angry if their politics unnecessarily create a lose-lose situation for the consumer and themselves. It's also important to speak out against it in public, so Canon knows they are on a bad path. I personally simply don't like the look, menus, mount, history etc of Sony DSLRs that much to switch for 1-2 years until Canon finally have their game together with swivel screens, focus peaking etc.

My open letter is a bit shorter: I am a customer that owns 100+x expensive Canon products and from day to day I am more ANGRY about Canon, as it seems their marketing department is playing tricks on us and intentionally holds back features and informations. This profit maximization will NOT work on my end and only leading to buying less to no Canon products in the future, as I don't consider myself to be as stupid as Canon seems to think their customers are. Since a week I am testing the new 5DsR, and in a 3700 Euro camera Canon did manage to implement a video mode on 2008 levels that is so bad it is beaten by any phone. They added new overdue features that are welcome on first sight like an internal timelapse trigger. But unlike on a GH4 or many other cameras, you can't say when your timelapse should start or set a 4 digit number of pictures you want to take - no, in the 5DsR's menu you can only either let the camera take a TWO (!) digit number of pictures or an unlimited amount without a certain start or stop time. As Canon programmers can't be 10 years behind in logic, this important feature intentionally must have been limited, so that in the end you still need an external timer. Surprisingly Canon for the first time did add full video autofocus that works with all full frame AF lenses, which unfortunately is useless because of the bad video quality. This feature is not mentioned anywhere by Canon, telling customers: PLEASE don't use one of our expensive products for BOTH photo and video, you HAVE to buy TWO of our products if you want to be served right. My answer to that is that I will kick out all Canon cameras soon, buy no more 5D4 or C300II and instead buy THREE new Sony A7 model variations that ALL can do both photo and video on decent levels!!!

in a canon 5ds event a while ago they admitted that most of the canon lens lineup will not be suitable for their new 50 megapixel flagship, and they showed an internal list that only the newer (higher priced) top lenses do really do the resolution justice. they also know that the newer zeiss and sigma primes are great and will work. nevertheless serious MP count for lenses and stickers might be problematic, as there are still too many factors involved in image results. what indeed is very important for filmers who are limited in light and through high iso noise is the transmission, which also indeed is very different on lenses in unexpected ways. looking at these values is definitely important before buying and more important than the official f-stop-value alone.

the ideal specs for a drone camera are at least 4k 60fps plus an interchangable lens mount. if low budget drones should carry it, it needs to be a leightweight camera, and if you have a low budget drone, you also probably would like to use a camera that is in a cheaper range like the XC10, not 6000-8000 euros/usd. price range of the ursa mini is okay, but the camera is still too heavy. right now it looks we would need to wait longer for that and live with a 4k 25fps GH4 as probably best option for low weight, low budget drone flights. in general it seems the manufactures seem to go in two directions to fight the decreasing camera sales: canon, red and others come up with the slowest innovation rate as possible and split their features in many different or too expensive products. on the other hand, black magic and panasonic seem to deliver more than people expect from them. so it's most likely that the most suitable 4k 60fps drone camera will be coming from them. unfortunately also not before 2016. but at least way before 2018, which is the earliest date i expect canon to make overwhelmingly positive camera releases again (if they do at all).