It’s finally official! Canon announced EOS R5 and EOS R6, two brand new full-frame mirrorless cameras. For the Canon EOS R5, I had been following with great interest since February 2020 when Canon first announced that they are currently developing the Canon EOS R5 and new RF lenses, followed by another announcement in April 2020, unveiling new features of Canon EOS R5, a sneak preview. In between those times, there wasn’t much news on Canon EOS R6 except for the rumours flying around the internet and social media.

For this article, I would be sharing information and details of the two brand new full-frame mirrorless cameras, EOS R5 and EOS R6. As for more personal views and thoughts on those two new EOS R full-frame mirrorless cameras, I would publish it at a later date. With my coverage of Canon’s EOS cameras and lenses over the years, along with my own personal photography coverage from Canon’s first mirrorless camera, the Canon EOS M, to the EOS R5 and EOS R6 of today, this article would be too lengthy and heavy in content, thus it would be best that I split into two parts.

Now, let me bring you into the new world of the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Born to rule, the Canon EOS R5, a highly capable camera with high quality resolution, high speed shooting, equipped with a new and improved AF system, in-body IS, a game changer for both stills photography and videography, with dual card slots. Partnering together with fellow Canon EOS R6 that was launched together with EOS R5, these two brand new full-frame mirrorless cameras are setting new standards and directions in the full-frame mirrorless camera market.

“The EOS R5 and EOS R6 will definitely surpass our advance and professional users’ expectations with their suite of features and technologies. In fact, the EOS R5 is not only Canon’s best mirrorless camera to date, but also one that is more than qualified as a filmmaking camera. With its fast burst shooting speed, 5-axis in-body image stabilization and ability to record 8k videos with its full-frame sensor, the EOS R5 will truly be an exciting product for our users,” said Edwin Teoh, Head of Marketing, Singapore Operations, Canon Singapore.

New Generation Image Sensor – Unparalleled Imaging Performance

The EOS R5 is equipped with a 45-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, close to medium-format resolution, this would meet the high demands of professional photographers. From large format commercial printing to capturing intricate details in landscape photography, including intensive cropping frequently required in wildlife photography, the EOS R5 is up to the task and can do them all.

They are powered by the new DIGIC X image processor that debuted in Canon’s flagship EOS-1DX Mark III. The electronic shutter in both the EOS R5 and EOS R6 is capable of continuous shooting up to 20fps at full resolution, even with AF and AE tracking. The mechanical shutter is able at a continuous speed 12fps as well, putting both cameras among the fastest full-frame mirrorless cameras in the market.

The new DIGIC X imaging processor has also vastly improved in its noise handling capabilities. Even though the EOS R5 has 45 million pixels, its native ISO can go up to an incredible 51,200, with an option to expand up to 102,400. Despite having 50% more pixels as compared to the EOS R, the EOS R5 performs better in the ISO department.

As for the EOS R6, it is equipped with a 20-megapixel full-frame sensor, that is inherited from Canon’s flagship EOS-1DX Mark III. Sharing the same image sensor and image processor as the EOS-1DX Mark III, the EOS R6 is capable of achieving a native ISO of up to 102,400 (expandable to 204,800).

Enhanced Dual Pixel CMOS AF – Face and Animal Detection AF

Canon Dual Pixel CMOS AF has been around for a few years, this technology has been a key component behind Canon’s core Auto Focus (AF) technology that are inside Canon’s best cameras. It’s designed to provide smooth, high-performance focus tracking in movies and fast AF acquisition when shooting still photography. This technology makes capturing a moving subject and retaining sharp focus easy.

For the EOS R5 and EOS R6, this proprietary technology by Canon has been upgraded to the next generation by enhancing the image-reading speed of the CMOS sensor. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF II combined with the very fast processing speed of the new DIGIC X imaging processor has brought about several major improvements in AF capability.

For the first time ever in the EOS lineup, the AF coverage area has been expanded to cover the entire sensor (100% x 100%). This means focusing is available on any part of the frame, that would make focusing on subjects at the far edges a breeze.

As compared to the EOS R, the number of AF points for both EOS R5 and EOS R6 during automatic selection has increased sevenfold, to an impressive 1,053 points. Manually selectable AF positions on the EOS R5 is 5,940 while the EOS R6 has 6,072, which is 1.5x more than the EOS-1DX Mark III. This is a significant increase, thus improving the the accuracy in AF tracking dramatically.

Face Tracking with Eye Detection AF was first made available in the EOS R and EOS RP cameras. Now with the new Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, both EOS R5 and EOS R6 can enable AF Priority mode for either people or animals. In addition, the camera is able to recognise not just the body, but also the head and eyes of the subjects as well. All these advancements in AF would definitely be Delighting You (us photographers!) Always, in demanding photography genres such as sports and bird photography, helping and benefitting them tremendously.

In low light situations, do not fret. Never miss a moment even in a dimly lit situation with EOS R5’s low luminance AF sensitivity of EV -6 and EOS R6 at EV -6.5, a condition so dark that human eye would even find it difficult to see.

In-Body Image Stabiliser and Dual Card Slots

These two features are here, inside both EOS R5 and EOS R6 camera bodies, another first for the Canon’s EOS series cameras. They both incorporate a 5-axis camera-shake blur correction In-Body Image Stabiliser (In-Body IS) function. When they are used in tandem with an Optical Image Stabiliser (Optical IS) equipped RF lens, or even RF lenses that do not have IS, the camera-shake reduction is as effective up to 8-stops decrease in shutter speed. For Canon photographers using EF lenses that do not have Optical IS, they can also gain image stabilisation as well.

Both cameras use a new algorithm, made possible by the new imaging engine DIGIC X, to process gyro signal data and achieve higher image stabilisation effects. Coordinated control utilises the image stabilisation mechanisms of both the camera and lens, simultaneously. This coordinated control results in an optimised stabilisation across the entire zoom range, from wide-angle to telephoto, depending on the lens in use.

With this In-Body IS capability, photographers can shoot handheld of a 2 seconds exposure using RF lens with 100mm focal length, and get a sharp image with fluid water motion, without using a tripod.

Inside the compact size camera body, the EOS R5 has two card slots, one is a CFexpress, the other is a SD memory card. The CFexpress card supports high-speed transfer, allowing the camera to perform continuous shooting of 45-megapixel still images, at up to 20 fps, as well as internal recording of 8K RAW movies (without additional recording equipment). The EOS R6 has two card slots that accommodate both SD memory cards.

In-camera 8K video recording – Sharper and more colour-accurate videos

The EOS R5 can shoot in 8K, thanks to the incredible processing power of the DIGIC X combined with the ultra-fast CFexpress media, enabling the EOS R5 to record 8K movies at a smooth 30fps with full sensor readout. Shooting in 8K gives users the flexibility in cropping during post-production even for 4K delivery, allowing more creative expression through zooming or panning.

In addition, there is an option to record 8K RAW movies internally without any external accessories. The EOS R5 is able to record up to 120fps in 4K as well, a feature that is highly sought after in the industry. The EOS R5 is able to record in a variety of formats, including RAW, H.265 HEVC and H.264 MP4 in either ALL-I or IPB compression.

As for the EOS R6, it is able to shoot in 4K videos up to 60fps, and slow motion at 120fps in Full HD, all without crop, similar to the EOS R5.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF will be available for both EOS R5 and EOS R6 in all resolutions and formats. With all the above video features, making both cameras great tools for video makers and hybrid shooters.

External monitoring and recording are available via HDMI port at up to 4K 60fps with 10 bit, 4:2:2 for both cameras. For HDR shooting, both cameras have PQ and Canon log features that allow users flexibility in recording and grading for HDR content.

Advanced Wireless Features – Seamless Connectivity

The Canon EOS R5 currently has the most advanced wireless feature in any Canon cameras to date. It has native support for 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless LAN without the need for any additional accessory, a first for a Canon camera. FTP and FTPS data transfer are supported as well.

With all these connectivity features, photographers can easily transfer image data from the camera to a smart device, PC or even FTP server. If the user requires even faster speeds, or SFTP with secured LAN, this optional accessory WFT-R10 is available. It comes with 2×2 MIMO and wired LAN for faster and more stable connections.

As for the EOS R6, it supports only the 2.4GHz band but retains FTP and FTPS functionality.

Both EOS R5 and EOS R6 support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and they are the first to work fully with the new image.canon cloud platform. Once configured and with a Wi-Fi connection established, the camera can automatically upload image and video files and store them in the image.canon cloud for up to 30 days with no limit in size. This includes original RAW files and 8K movies as well. Users can even configure image.canon to automatically transfer original image data to various cloud platforms such as Google Photos, Google Drive or Adobe Creative Cloud.

Intuitive to Handle, Built to Last

Both the EOS R5 and EOS R6 have a magnesium alloy body, dust and drip-proof construction. They are lightweight, it also prevent dust and water droplets from entering the camera body as well.

On the topic of shutter durability, the EOS R5 has the same shutter durability as the EOS-1DX Mark III at 500,000 cycles, while the EOS R6 has 300,000 cycles shutter durability. A point to take not is that, the shutter curtain of both EOS R5 and EOS R6 can be configured to either close or remain open when power is off. This is an extremely useful feature as it can prevent dust from entering the sensor chamber when photographers change their lens.

The EOS R5 has a top LCD panel while the EOS R6 has a Mode Dial. Canon photographers who are experienced and used to the EOS 5D series would greatly welcome the popular Multi-controller and Quick Control Dial that are available on both models. This combination allows quicker selection of AF points and change of settings on both cameras.

Both EOS R5 and EOS R6 are designed with the Vari-angle LCD with full touch screen convenience during AF and menu selections. The EOS R5 sports a 0.5-inch hi-res Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) with 5.76m dots, which is 1.5 times more than the resolution of EOS R’s EVF. The EOS R6 has a 3.69m dot EVF.

Display refresh rate of the EVF is now at 119.88 / 59.94fps for both cameras, which is twice of the EOS R. The smooth display makes tracking of moving subjects much easier. A new LP-E6NH battery has been created for both cameras, which has 15% higher capacity than LP-E6N, which lets users shoot for longer. Both cameras are compatible with existing LP-E6N and LP-E6 batteries. The BG-R10 battery grip (sold separately) is an optional accessory equipped with Multi-controller, designed for shooting in vertical orientation. The BG-R10 makes portrait photography easier and has a dust and drip resistant design which matches both cameras. It accommodates two battery units (LP-E6NH, LP-E6N, or LP-E6 batteries), allowing users to continue shooting for even longer periods with less concern about the remaining battery power. When combined with the PD-E1 adapter (sold separately), it is also possible to recharge batteries or supply power to the camera via USB cable.

Pricing and Availability

The EOS R5 will be available for pre-order from now to 28th July 2020 at Canon authorised dealers at the following recommended retail price.

Model

Recommended Retail Price

EOS R5 (Body)

$6,199

EOS R5 (with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM)

$7,898

Pre-orders will receive a complimentary Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R worth $319 and a SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC 64GB worth $43. The EOS R5 official sales launch will be 30 July 2020.

The EOS R6 will be available with two kit lens options, the EOS R6 Kit with the RF24-105mm f/4L IS USM or the EOS R6 Kit with the RF24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM. The R6 will be available in the later part of Q3 2020, with pricing to be confirmed.

*** Updated 3rd August 2020 ***

The Canon EOS R6 is now available for pre-orders till 25 August 2020. Pre-orders can be made on https://shop.canon.com.sg/eosr6.html

The LP-E6NH Battery for the EOS R5 and EOS R6 will be available in August 2020 for $149.

The BG-R10 Battery Grip will be available by 30 July 2020 and will retail for $439.

The WFT-R10 Wireless File Transmitter for the R5 will also be available by 30 July 2020 and will cost $1,599.

* Information and pictures courtesy of Canon Singapore and GLOO PR *

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