Crowd-Sourced Post: Canon R5 and R6 Introduction

Tell me, what is your reaction to the announcement yesterday about the new Canons?

Short summary:

Canon R5:

• 45 MP full-frame CMOS sensor
• 8K 30p RAW/4K 120p video
• Dual-pixel CMOS AF II focusing
• 8-stop in-body image stabilization
• High-resolution 5,760,000-dot electronic viewfinder
• Up to 20 FPS continuous shooting with electronic shutter
• Touchscreen
• Top-plate status LCD that stays on when the camera is off
• Dual card slots, one CFexpress and one SD UHS-II
• WFT-R10 wireless support (WRT-R10 is Canon's wireless file transmitter)
• 5.43 x 3.84 x 3.46 inches / 138 x 97.5 x 88 millimeters
• 1.62 lbs. / 738 g (body with battery and memory)
• $3,899 body only
• Canon's pitch: "Better than a 5D"

Canon R6:

• 20 MP full-frame CMOS sensor
• 4K 60p video
• Dual-pixel CMOS AF II focusing
• 8-stop in-body image stabilization
• 3,690,000-dot electronic viewfinder
• Up to 20 FPS continuous shooting with electronic shutter
• Touchscreen
• No top-plate status LCD
• Dual card slots, both SD UHS-II
• No WFT-R10 wireless support
• 5.43 x 3.84 x 3.48 inches / 138 x 97.5 x 88.4 millimeters
• 1.5 lbs. / 680 g (body with battery and memory)
• $2,499 body only

Here's the body size compared to a couple of existing FFM cameras.

Here's the body size compared to a couple of full-featured but smaller-format cameras.

Here's the R6 body size compared to two direct competitors.

What are your thoughts? You don't have to be in the market for a camera, and you don't have to be a Canon shooter. You can say anything you want, from your opinion of Canon's marketing decisions, to whether you personally find the products to be appealing or not, to what you think of how these offerings stack up to the competition's. I'll add selected comments to the post.

Oh, but one thing though: Make just one or two points per comment. You don't need to give us a long rundown of your reaction to every aspect of the cameras. (Remember, past about two reasonably-sized paragraphs, the shorter the comment, the more people will read it. The longer, the fewer. Wait, is that also true of blog posts?!)

Each time I took a run at this yesterday, I found myself being way too...me. That is, I couldn't be objective enough, couldn't seem to help interpreting them in light of my idiosyncratic reaction as a consumer. I figured it would be better to let you do that than to pretend my opinion matters more than anyone else's. As a reader recently said privately, "The strength of your reviews is that they are personal reactions, not attempts at neutrality. A weakness of your reviews is that they are personal reactions, not attempts at neutrality."

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Mike
(Thanks to Moose)

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Dogman: "I really don't pay much attention to new camera announcements anymore. So my reaction is mostly 'meh.' What did catch my attention is that the R6 is 'only' 20MP. To me that's a Good Thing. I'm kinda burnt out on more pixels jammed onto sensors. Just keep it functional, simple and useful. Otherwise, I don't see anything that excites me."

Mike replies: The Nikon D4 sensor also found in the Dƒ was only 16MP, but it was a beaut.

Kenneth Tanaka: "My reaction: I bought an R5. Sony has been my main system since, what, 2014 or 2015? It’ll probably remain so for certain technical work. But the fact is that Canon was my first, and main, camera system since 1973. Although I’m down to just a single DSLR, a 5D Mark IV body, I have drawers brimming with excellent Canon glass. Late last year I rented the R and didn’t like it. But I did like the R concept, so I bought the RP. I love that little 26MP full-frame camera! Light, small, has my favorite color richness that I love so much about Canon. And the new RX-mount lenses I’ve been using are sublime, not to mention becoming reacquainted with my old EF glass. So I sold some gear in February in anticipation of the new R5.

"As I mentioned already I am a purely color guy and a real fan of Canon’s color science. (Sorry Sony, but you’re not quite there.) Every Canon digital camera I’ve ever owned (from the venerable 1D-series to the lowliest p&s) has given me superb, rich color. So I expect no less from the R5. (Sorry, I’m not a video guy so the 'groundbreaking' 8K capture facilities will remain lost on me.)"

Benjamin Marks (partial comment): "I don't know about you all, but I am getting a 'Nikon F6 End-of-Concept' feeling. Once prices come down to $1,000 per unit on these [full-frame mirrorless] puppies, you'll buy one and be set for the next 10 years, just like you were with your F3 or F1."

Steve Biro: "The R5 is way too expensive for me and battery life in the R6 makes it a non-starter—again, at least for me. Nonethless, I'm sure Canon will do well with this line because, well, because Canon."

Dave Van de Mark: "Compared to my brand new camera, the Panasonic S1R, the R5 looks to claim quite a list of 'fastness' and 'moreness' goodies in its specs while staying on the lighter and smaller side of my camera.

"But those high-end specs are about things that I would never need nor use, which is why the 'mere' contrast focus and tracking capabilities of the Panny doesn't bother me. And video isn't important either.

"I think Canon was smart not going after Sony in a pixel race—45 to 47 MP may be a nice sweet spot for FF. What I can't compare at this moment is the overall ergonomic character of the Canon R5, but I will say right now my S1R is an absolute dream to control and use, weight notwithstanding. And that's being said having had extensive experience with other ergonomic champions like Nikon and Fuji."

Trevor Johnson: "Excellent news. Over the last few weeks, Canon UK has very kindly lent me some cameras and lesnses, at no cost, with free courier delivery. Last weeekend I had the RP, the 15–35 ƒ/2.8, and the 'R' adapter. I was mainly interested in the lens and how good the adapter was with all my current EF lenses. The lens and adapter were excellent, but what surprised me was how much I liked the RP body. So it will be either the R5 or R6. For what I do the R5 makes the most sense of all the 'R' series."

SteveW (partial comment): "I can't justify the investment to a new system since I don't use video at all and I'm satisfied with my Nikkor F-mount lens set. But I won't lie, it's fun to see these new releases."

Mike: "Nikon Z 6 shooter here. Both are real nice, especially if you’re a Canon shooter. Will be a hit for Canon.

"Finally, IBIS.

"The R5 seems to be competitively priced for what you get. $500–700 more than a A7III/Z6/S1 for an R6 is kinda a hard sell. I would think $2,200–$2,300 (price of EOS R at introduction) is more realistic. Why exclude 5 GHz WiFi? There’s that Canon nickel and diming again."

Fred Haynes (partial comment): "I’m not impressed. But I’m certainly not in the market, there’s that one spec, the price! I think that’s going in the wrong direction."

Michael J. Perini (partial comment): "Well, if there is anything the whole camera industry needs, it's buzz. I haven't seen this much buzz in a long time, especially from Canon. That has to be good whether you are a Canon fan or not."

Stan B.: "Do they have something against...aesthetics?"

Ned Bunnell: "Rather than comment on the cameras, I’ll tell you what their presence means to me about Canon’s future.

"I worked for Canon prior to Pentax [Ned retired from the position of President of Pentax USA —Ed.]. If you remember, Canon was late to market with a DSLR. At one planning meeting I was at in Tokyo, a very senior executive took me aside and basically said 'Don’t worry, we’re going to be number one. You’re doing a great job marketing the PowerShot. Keep at it and don’t mess up the brand while we finish the project.'

"Canon is still a conservative company with very long-range plans. Just conjecture on my part. But if I had a similar meeting today in Tokyo, the senior executive would likely be telling me 'Don’t worry, we’re going to be the last man standing.'"

Steve Greenwood: "I'm not in the market for a full frame body—still enjoying the Panasonic GX9—but if I was I'd be looking at the Sony A7 Mark II at $1,398 for the (555 gram) body instead of the R6 at $2,499 for the (680 gram) body. The Sony is still very capable for stills (my only interest) and the selection of both native and adapted lenses is huge."

Thomas Rink: "Sorry, but my opinion is probably of little use here. Because for a lot of features, I don't even know what they mean. For instance, what is '10-bit 4:2:2 C-Log raw,' or 'hybrid dual pixel phase detect/contrast detect'? I guess I'm too technically challenged for these cameras."

Andy Munro: "Overall a positive mirrorless splash. I have not been looking at new cameras so this latest feast from Canon is very positive. Lots there to like, and it made me look. But isn't this just more of the same? Where is the SIM card slot and while you're at it, make that 5G. Let me auto (or selectively) offload to Dropbox (or your choice of destination) and auto tag the EXIF. Let me log into WhatsApp/Facebook/etc. and send the photo."

Aaron (partial comment): "For me personally it's size, size, size. No, not sensor size (my Micro 4/3 and APS-C bodies do a fantastic job for my needs). And no, not body size (A Panasonic G9 is about the same size). It's body + lens size."

Jon S: "I spend a lot of time, about eight to 10 hours a day, looking through a viewfinder shooting e-commerce images. I can't for the life of me imagine wanting to spend that much time looking at a tiny screen millimeters away from my eyeball. It's a shame because the 100% AF coverage, eye-detection AF, and the faster USB 3.1 gen 2 protocol for tethering means it is an ideal camera for me otherwise."

John Abee (partial comment): "Short answer = Too Expensive."

Doug Vaughn (partial comment): "Best feature = IBIS for my classic Zeiss, Olympus, and Nikon lenses."

Comments

[Arg]

I left Canon in 2013 and have been µ4/3 since. This is the first larger MILC that could tempt me to upscale. Simply fantastic.

[Stephen Scharf]

Here's my take on it: I don't care.

I am so sick of camera gear introductions, I could scream.

We were WAY past meeting the needs of 99% of people 99% of the time a couple years ago.

[Stephen Scharf]

Okay, okay...I'll add two comments:

What Ken Tanaka said about Canon color. Oh, and Canon Auto White Balance, which is a dream for professional RE and Architectural photographers (just puttin' a plug in for the workin' pros here, mind...)

And...what Ned said. Bang on. But, I would expect that level of insight from Ned.