The 5D Mark IV didn't really impress when it was released two years ago. In the middle of the ongoing mirrorless war, the leaked brochure of the full-frame Canon R camera shows what seems to be a simple mirrorless 5D Mark IV.
The race to the bottom continues for Canon. After the boring 5D Mark IV, the stagnant 6D Mark II, and an insipid line of EOS M cameras, we are going to be served with what appears to be a derivative of an existing DSLR.
The sensor seems to be recycled from the 5D Mark IV with 30.3mp (30.4mp on the Mark IV), and identical values for the resolution (6720 x 4480), pixel unit, and total number of pixels. While the 5D Mark IV certainly has the best sensor made by Canon, it still lags behind the ones from Sony and Nikon.
IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) is missing, which makes sense because two of the four RF lenses are fitted with Image Stabilization (Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro and the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM). Also missing is the second card slot, but at least Canon sticks to the traditional SD card, unlike Nikon, which picked the expensive XQD format for its Z line.
In the video department, the Canon R can record in 4K UHD/30 and 1080p/60, but the amount of crop is unknown at this time. Unfortunately, based on the poor track record of this company regarding video, I fear the worst. The 5D Mark IV came with a 1.7x crop factor in 4K recording, while the fantastic DPAF (Dual Pixel Auto-Focus) was simply disabled on the Canon M50. At least Canon got rid of the inefficient MJPEG codec and the R camera can now record in h.264 at 120 Mbps.
Talking about auto-focus, the brochure indicates an impressive number of AF points with a maximum of 5,655 points. In terms of lens compatibility, the camera can be fitted with EF and EF-S lenses via the adapter, but the EF-M lenses are not compatible. Considering the poor selection of EF-M lenses, they won't be missed.
The four Canon RF lenses to be announced on September 5. Despite their weight, the RF 50mm f/1.2 and RF 28-70mm f/2 lenses are very appealing.
Here are some of the main specifications of the Canon R camera:
- Sensor: 30.3 megapixels (6720 x 4480)
- Image format: JPEG, RAW (14 bit Canon original), C-RAW (Canon original)
- Card: 1 slot, SD/SDHC/SDXC
- EVF: OLED color electronic viewfinder, 23mm eyepoint, 0.71x/33.3° magnification
- Autofocus: Max. 5,655 when selected with cross keys. EV -6 to 18 (f/1.2, at 73°F/23°C, ISO 100, One-Shot AF)
- Metering range: EV -3–20
- ISO sensitivity: 100 to 40,000 (extended ISO: 50, 51,200, 102,400)
- Maximum shutter speed: 1/8000 s
- High-speed continuous shooting: 8 fps (5 fps at servo AF)
- Video: 4K/30 and 1080/60, crop and video features unknown
- Codec and bitrate: MPEG-4 AVC / h.264, 480 Mbps (All-I) or 120mbps (IPB)
- LCD monitor: 2.15 millions dots, articulated flip screen, 100 percent coverage, 3.15 in./8.01 cm diagonal (2.63 in./6.67 cm width, 1.75 in./4.44 cm height)
- Battery: LP-E6N, 370 shots CIPA rating (450 with power saving)
- Weight: 660 g (including battery / memory card), 580 g (body only)
- Size: 135.8 x 98.3 x 84.4 mm
To be fair, this camera will take nice pictures and sell like hot cakes. Canon products are extremely solid performers. Lovely colors, legendary reliability, good weather sealing, perfect ergonomics, and flawless customer service are part of the equation. Specifications are not everything, but I personally think that Canon missed another opportunity to be competitive. The Canon R system only demonstrates that this brand is not willing to give us anything more than they are forced to. In this case, Sony, Fuji, and the Micro Four Thirds cameras are what forced Canon to release a full-frame mirrorless product. Will it be enough to convince people not to switch to Sony and Panasonic? Personally, I find the Canon response quite pathetic. At this point, I would recommend to anyone to wait and see what other manufacturers are going to announce this month. Panasonic is expected to unveil its own full-frame mirrorless system on September 25, while Sony should introduce a new a7S III soon.
Hahahah a fan boy wrote this article.
I'm a Canon shooter. I wish I could be a Canon fan boy.
So maybe you an explain your own confusion about Codec and bitrate:
MPEG-4 is a container
h264 is the codec, camera shoot 2 different bit-rate for 2 different qualities, but with one only codec
There is no one AVC and one h.264.
One is All-I One is Long gop.
Show very little knowledge to talk about a video product
What about the extra ring on the lenses for extra functionality?
Why just jump on only the soso aspect of the camera?
Click bait?
Hi. The article states correctly that the codec is h.264 but I wrote MPEG-4 AVC and h.264 in the specs list instead of ALL-I and IPB, which is now corrected. Thanks.
But there is some confusion in your comment, here is quick explanation:
MPEG is not a container but a set of standard defined by the Moving Picture Experts Group under several parts.
MPEG-4 AVC and h.264 are the exact same thing which is a codec (compression standard) defined by the MPEG group under Part 10 (MPEG-4 AVC) and by the ITU-T (h.264).
MP4 is the container (MPEG-4 Part 14).
All-I and IPB are the spatial algorithm methods used for compression.
Tell me more about what real pro's do!
Why? His name and profile pic say it all. Ken, is that you?
More please!
It's a troll account FYI.
Shhhh! I'm fighting fire with fire.
Real pros shoot film, digital is for people shooting kid’s soccer games.
Real pros manually focus lenses, auto focus is for shooting little league games.
Real pros shoot chrome, print film is for shooting hippies.
Real pros shoot monochrome, color film is for shooting county fairs.
Real pros shoot twin reflex, single lens reflex is for shooting the World’s Fair.
Real pros shoot large format, 35mm is just for photos of your horselsss buggy.
Yes sir!
I'm having fun reading these comments. It's certainly more interesting than reading specs of a camera I may never buy.
In 43 years as a working, licensed, bonded photographer, I have never heard a REAL PRO use the term "REAL PRO." Stop slinging your genitals around, you're going to hurt yourself. This silliness is kindergarten crap.
What a dumb answer...
So you think you now better. Why hasselblad made a mirrorless ? or the other `real pro` companies slowly switching to mirrorless ? or you just want to flame this pointless argument
I really hope for your sake that this is a joke or a provocation. If not, you must be blind and totally ignorant.
People who still mirrorless is a joke and a fluke, aren't blind anymore but just plain stupid.
Read the name and look at the profile photo, guys. Troll wasting your time and energy.
This is ridiculous!
Given a photo, no one can tell which camera, lens had been used to take it, sometimes you cannot even tell if it came from an iPhone!
Camera won't make you a pro.
Lmao you guys are gettin trolled hard core. "hugh Janus" lmao how have i never heard that XD. genius lol.
Okay, so take for example Okar Bakke, he have shot pictures for Lexus, Koenigsegg (car companies) exc, and he shoots mirrorless because it is better for his workflow. And I think most pro photographers to this day edits their photos in Lightroom.
Real pros use glass plates and can hang their accessories off of their enormous handlebar moustaches.
In today's edition of shitty FStoppers comments : old man yells at clouds.
I'm becoming super tired of people doing nothing but complaining about meaningless first world crap.
"You must shoot Olympus".
I have no idea what that even means. What are you trying to say about Olympus shooters? Let's see, my stereotype of people who shoot Olympus are those who are into extreme sports.
In any case, if you must know, I shoot Nikon, Sony, Rolleiflex, Zero Image, Kodak, and Agfa.
Edit: cute troll account.
Yeah, that must be it, I'm a hipster.
But my demographic aside, at least I'm not stupid..
By definition it is not, dumb ass.
Yeah, alright, you got me :P :)
Real photographer use Vivitar. You are Idiot.
Dude he's a troll. roll with it and laugh. honestly I haven't seen a troll this successful in a looooong time lmao. Honestly Mr. Hugh Janus excellent work. I'd buy you a beer if i could.
They sure are getting a lot of clicks and traffic with all this hate though
Truth
*sigh*
Good for him.
hug anus is idiot. you are moron. viva vivitar
For me, Fstoppers was about providing high-quality photography information and training. Honestly, I find this biased, anti-Canon rhetoric irritating and it is certainly not contributing to a good brand positioning of Fstoppers itself. The differences between good and bad photos have a lot more to do with the photographer than the gear and what I wanted to get from Fstoppers is valuable insights on how to shoot and post-process better images.
Please tell us about a "real entry", as you're clearly an expert. ;-)
You must be a troll.
I've never shot a wedding or a school portrait, and I couldn't care less about 4K.
Keep guessing
Don't worry, another writer will probably disagree with me and write a counter article. I'm not preaching the absolute truth and I'm also wrong sometime.
Sure the difference between a good and bad photo is not directly related to gears but having modern gears helps otherwise we would still take pictures with film cameras. My point is that Canon missed another opportunity to make it right for the camera (lenses are interesting actually). The insight is that people should wait and see what others brands are going to release before pre-ordering. Unfortunately I fear that Canon might not be the best bang for the buck.
Canon hasn't been the best bang per buck for a while now, for a rather large segment of the market.
That said, considering that your article is based upon a leak, perhaps some of the criticism is unfounded due to it being based upon speculation?
As a frustrated Canon shooter, I expect that this camera will be a mirrorless 5D. That in itself isn't a big problem, as long as it's priced properly - With properly meaning about the same as an A7 III.
I like to have lots of gears in my camera, too.
I dont understand what do you mean by "boring 5D Mark IV" - which is very personal statement, and than talk about specs that are based on the leaked brochure. So technically perfect camera is less boring?
And mirrorless camera with the same specs is also boring than?
I know people who shot with Mark IV and there pictures are far from "boring". So what does it makes of a camera? Less boring?
Specs are just specs. Does the price worth the specs is much better question. If it does - than nothing to complain about, it will find its place on the market. Probably already is.
"To be fair, this camera will take nice pictures and sell like hot cakes. Canon products are extremely solid performers"
Which is it? You writing a personal article or an objective one? Are you fair or not? I like personal opinions if they are based on some kind of "makes sense" experience... but it seems this whole article comes from frustration of needing to write something when you have nothing to say. But the title of the article is a click-bait so maybe it will turn into a storm of comments somehow... which is all the modern sites need. More clicks. More revenue. Why dont you just ask what other people think about the leaked brochure... will make the same effect... less bulls*
"My point is that Canon missed another opportunity to make it right for the camera (lenses are interesting actually"
Than why dont you write so? Honestly from the beginning... that maybe we all should wait before everything plays out on the board and when we see the whole picture - make decisions.
I am sorry if I am too harsh on you. But whole "click-bait" approach is too much for me. With the title and title picture. I am always hopping that fstoppers are better than that :). But I am driven by "long-long ago" nostalgia.
I think Nikon and Canon decided to give us "sub-cameras", a second one in the bag for professionals... maybe main camera for some people who dont care about slots and high end af features (we all get spoiled by eye-af?). Though I am not sure about Canon prices yet, but it seems - that Canon is leading in its quality-price value and since Canon mostly dominates the market in Japan, it takes things slowly, step by step - which makes a lot of sense. They have time before Olympics to make a splash... Nikon on the other hand is gambling. In Japan a lot of my friends Nikon users worried that it will "bleed" more and will be eaten by some other giant.
A brand new mirrorless camera that is recycling a sensor from an old DSLR that was already sub-par compared to its competition when it was released years ago would be pretty boring. Lets hope that's not the case.
I also hope they did some adjustments to the sensor. Though I dont have much experience with it, I have an assistant-turned photographer who swears by it :). Here in Japan, in studios, like 70 percent use Canon. I am pretty sure that is not because of the canon services...
Thanks for your comment Tim. You don't have to be sorry, it's all good. My article is just an opinion piece. The point is not about good or bad. It will be a good camera that will do the job. Same as a 2000 Toyota Corolla can bring you from point A to B without issue. But in the meantime all the other manufacturers come up with great features and I wish I could see some (not all, let's be realistic) in my next Canon body.
As you pointed it out the price will be decisive. If it comes at $2,000 or below, it might be a good deal. In the $3,000 area, I'm not so sure.
Well it just make sense not to rush things with mirrorless bodies for Canon. They want to see how all other "players" make their moves... but the lens line up seems very good. Exciting actually.
And they dont position there EOS R as a high-end mirrorless camera. No endless teasing like Nikon did, just a matter of fact - "we`re in" kind of move.
My title would be "Canon plays it safe"... not over-the top "screwed up". :)
"Unfortunately I fear that Canon might not be the best bang for the buck."
Based on what? Lets see some comparison, will make it a better article.
Canon has not been the best bang for the buck in just about any segment for years now. Nobody buys Canon because it's a good value for the feature set. They buy it because of the reliability and excellent ecosystem of lenses, accessories, and servicing.