A complete change in policy at Canon has transpired. The company has decided to compete in the mirrorless cinema market. With Cinema EOS established as a separate business, it seems the stills camera are off the leash. What a fantastic day it is for camera nerds and filmmakers alike who can rejoice in the specs and the creative possibilities of Canon’s new EOS R5 with 8K video and cutting edge new sensor technology.
The rumoured specs have turned out to be real and Canon will announce the EOS R5 today. Featuring a chunkier body design and dual card slots, the camera pictured above is aimed at the Canon 5D level of user – perhaps even a bit higher. Â Now there is a cutting edge camera to match those cutting edge EOS R lenses announced last year, such as the 28-70mm F2.0L and next generation mirrorless 50mm F1.2L.
The camera finally gets competitive with rival top of the range mirrorless cameras from Sony and Panasonic. IBIS, 4K video without a crop, 8K and a raft of new codec options are included. This the first time this has happened in 8 years.
Will the new camera have that Canon mojo and colour science like the 1D C? Will it be a success versus Sony and the Panasonic S1H?
Suddenly video is important at Canon again
After years of sub-par video specs from Canon versus the excitement generated by Panasonic, Sony, Fuji, Nikon racing ahead on mirrorless camera video features, Canon has woken up. It’s not clear what has prompted the change – new manufacturing coming online, long term technological R&D coming to fruition, or even falling DSLR sales and a big political shift in management.
What is clear, is that the EOS R5 is shaping up to be a beast. As well as the amazing video features, the camera comes with a raft of crucial ergonomic improvements over the ‘weak’ EOS R. Take a look at the back of the camera below:
It is far more like a traditional 5D in mirrorless camera form, and I’m very happy about that. A much larger EVF, a proper joystick in place of the terrible idea that was the touch-bar on the first EOS R, and a big chunky click wheel. In addition the dedicated focus magnification and rate buttons are very welcome for pro use.
Says Canon:
“Today’s announcement comes as a direct result of the tireless effort of Canon engineers who have been tasked with developing the next generation of Canon EOS R camera and RF lenses to help elevate the popular system that was announced in 2018,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and chief operating officer, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “In developing the new camera, Canon listened to extensive user-feedback from a variety of photographers. The outcome is a camera and lenses that will delight a variety of shooters and further helps to demonstrate Canon’s commitment to full-frame mirrorless cameras and lenses.”
Canon says the main goal of the enthusiast/pro level EOS R cameras will be “Speed, Comfort and High-Image-Quality.” There is rumoured to be an R6 announced later this year which takes the 5K RAW internal video recording and 20MP sensor from the 1D X Mark III and puts it in a body very similar to the R5.
The EOS R5 will be on show from 27th February to 1st March at Japan’s CP+ show.
“From a video perspective, the camera’s 8K video capture capability will prepare videographers for the future of movie-making- capturing 8K footage today allows for even higher-quality 4K productions in addition to the ability to extract high-resolution still images from the video footage. The EOS R5 will be the first Canon camera equipped with IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) and when used in conjunction with the extremely effective in-lens stabilization (IS), will allow photographers to handhold the camera in light levels not previously imagined. Additionally, the camera will also feature dual-card slots and will support the automatic transfer of image files from the device to the new image.canon cloud platform.”
Canon did not release detailed codec or frame rate information with the development announcement of the R5 today.
But given the surprising video specs on the 1D X Mark III, predominantly a stills camera, this more video orientated body has a lot to live up to on the codec side. Expect internal 10bit C-LOG plus 8bit options for smaller file sizes. The rumours had the camera do 8K RAW and 4K/120p. The data rate, we calculated to be the same in both modes as the 1D X Mark III image processor handles in 5.5K RAW at 60p. There’s no information about any crops but it’s very likely that 8K and 4K at 24p will be a full sensor readout with no crop.
The official Canon source of this information can be seen at: https://global.canon/en/news/2020/20200213.html
