Canon EOS 5DS R Digital SLR with Low-Pass Filter Effect Cancellation (Body Only)

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Well after months of waiting on pre-order, it finally arrived. Heres the high points thus far: 1) The build and feel is 99% identical to a 5D3, which is fantastic ergonomically, and experienced Canon shooters will feel right at home with this one. Its solid, study. weather sealed, and the mode dial got a nice little upgrade with raised icons and what seems like a bit more solid grip. The new LPE6N battery provides longer life but Im using my old LPE6 (standard) in it just fine right now. Dual Digic 6 chip do suck up a lot of juice. 2) The lag time between the shutter and the jpg preview popping up on the rear LCD is a little longer than the 5D3, but thats to be expected as were talking 70MB RAW files here. Yes, 70MB. 3) Speaking of the shutter, the sexiest thing about this camera (besides the red "R") is the new shutter and its new sound. Its like a sniper rifle with a silencer. Its very stealth and sleek with its new all motor driven mechanism (as opposed to the old standard motor lift and spring return). By the way, the RGB+IR metering system they brought down from the 1DX for this? Awesome. Love it. I feel like the metering has been more accurate than my 5D3, and Ive even used the 1DX many times myself. 4) Ive been handheld shooting with a Canon 135 f2 L. First of all, what a lethal combo with this new 5DSR. Wow. Resolution is off the charts good. I found handheld shooting certainly requires a bit more care than the 5D3 to get the most out of the sensor, but we all knew that going in. This is a studio/tripod loving camera. HOWEVER, you can get really good results going about 4-5 times focal length with your shutter speed. (50mm lens x 5 = 1/250th second). Of course, having IS on your lens really helps. By the way, add "Mirror LockUp" to your custom menu (the green tabs). This way you can go in quickly and alter your shutter release lag time if need be, which is precisely why they built the new shutter. That way, you press the button, and the mirror flips up and the camera waits anywhere from 1/8 to 1 second before dropping the curtains on the sensor. You can set it in that range or just turn it off, or engage traditional old manual mirror lock up with the first button press lifting the mirror and the second button press dropping the curtains. 5) I cant get this thing to Moire. I have deliberately shot some really small fabric patterns and weaves, brickwalls, so on and so forth, I cant get it to create the negative artifact. Without the Low Pass Filter effect (this camera has TWO LFPs that cancel each other out to raise sharpness) the propensity for generating Moire and Aliasing goes up.... THAT SAID, at 50MP even the smallest details can get resolved well, so artifacts dont really seem to be a problem so far. Now I know I have some dancers I shoot that wear silky shiny dresses with tight fabric weaves and I suspect I may encounter some color moire there. However... Lightrooms Moire tool does a really good job to easily and quickly remove it if need be. 6) This is NOT NOT NOT a general use, everyday camera. Please get a Canon 5D Mark III (5D3) for that or the amazing 6D for half the price of 5D3. The 5DS and 5DSR really are for professionals who need the ultra high resolving capabilities for a variety of reasons such as Large Print work, studio work, pictures of large groups, architecture and landscapes, and the ability to shoot wide and crop in post without losing details. You dont want to buy this camera to take family pictures. Its overkill and the file sizes, as I mentioned before, are enormous. I own both the 5D3 and 6D. Both are excellent cameras and both are excellent general purpose cameras. 7) Buy Glass. Dont buy this camera expecting the world from even your 24-105 F4 L lens. I have one. Good lens. 5DSR DOES make it look better than on a 5D3... BUT, if you really want to take advantage of what this machine can do, you need to look into some of the upper level L glass like the the new 16-35 f4 L or the 70-200 f2.8 IS II. The 135 f2 L is STILL one of the sharpest lenses ever made and looks gorgeous on this, as do the new Sigma ART lenses. (Everything I just mentioned, I own and have shot on this 5DSR now) 8) ISO performance - Ok its a studio and landscape camera. Its meant to be shot at or near base ISO, right? (100-800). Well last night I shot a bunch of stuff in my house handheld at 6400 ISO. Lemme tell ya... It looks...really....nice. For all the flak on how much this camera would suck at higher ISOs I think it looks no worse than a 5D3 and maybe even a bit better (again, mostly dependent on your technique.) I would suggest as I always do with higher ISO... ETTR. Expose To The Right. Push your camera exposure compensation UP one stop and pull back highlights in post if need be. I think the 5DSR images at 6400 are really very clean for that sensitivity, but everyone has their own personal feelings about what is "usable" Not here to debate. Thats just me. Id put the 6400 ISO performance on par with a 6D. Im perfectly happy with it. 9) If youre a pro who needs the juice. Buy this. You will not regret it. Its an excellent and well built professional tool. I cant wait to do a REAL studio test with this. I will update as I do. UPDATE: 6/24 - Posting pictures shot with this seems futile given how images are compressed to post on the review, but here ya go: (Handheld shot using the Canon 16-35 f4 L on the Boat and Canon 135 f2 L on the girl) UPDATE: 6/26 - I have run across an owner or two who have gotten very minute amounts of Moire in some extreme situations (wildlife in this case). But nothing that wasnt quickly corrected in Lightroom without any damage to the image quality. That said, I still have not had the issue. It confirms my second thoughts when I cancelled my initial order of the 5DS in favor of the 5DSR UPDATE 7/14 - First studio shoot last weekend was a big success so far as Im concerned. Was amazed by how much detail was retained on the face and hair even from half and full length poses. Headshots were amazing. EVen though you tend to soften the skin in post, the ultra fine details you can retain where you really want to keep it (eyes, eyelashes, eyebrows, hair, etc) is uncanny. Very happy with the results. Its being able to crop in and turn a wider shot into headshot and still have the same resolution in so doing as I would had I just taken a headshot with the 5D3. Loads of flexibility!!! UPDATE 7/21 - Someone posted a good question about the contrast and saturation compared to other popular current Canon models like the 5D3. Yes, contrast and particularly color saturation seem to be more and richer. Canon previously stated months ago that this camera would be using a better CFA (Color Filter Array) more akin to those of the vaunted and still loved Canon 1Ds III. I just two days ago did direct comparisons between the 5D3 and 5DSR and concur this indeed seems to be the case when I had both cameras in a controlled situation in a studio setup using the same lens, exposure settings, strobe power, and even manually set white balance of 5600k on both cameras. The 5DSR naturally produced a bit warmer and richer color palate (as in zero LightRoom adjustment on both cameras) UPDATE 7/27 - Took the R to a small play my kids were in. 70-200 f2.8L IS II running in ISO 6400 the whole way through. Keeping at f2.8 I was getting anywhere from 160th to 320th in Aperture Priority mode with changing stage lighting. (Shooting RAW as always) Gotta say Im still very pleased with the results, and even more so after a bit of NR added in Lightroom in the Luminance channel. UPDATE 8/3 - DIFFRACTION LIMITS - Ok this is a bit more technical for us geeks but in general, all lenses become diffraction limited around f16, which has in recent history been correct with all our 20MP-ish cameras. Diffraction limits are correlated to pixel size and density though. So at 50MP, the same lens that was DL at f16 on a Canon 5D III is now DL between f11-f14 on a Canon 5DS. I have shot many frames at f11 on my 5DSR and they look amazing (using Canon 16-35L f4 IS). The diffraction effects will start creeping in beyond this, so effectively f11 is the smallest aperture you can stop down to before you begin to LOSE sharpness. a 5D III gets you to f16 because the pixels are much bigger than the 5DS. With the smaller pixels, more fine detail can be resolved so the DL hits sooner (bigger aperture). If you shoot a lot of Macro stuff I dont see much ever done smaller than f11-f14 anyway. So this should not be a problem. As for landscapers, f11 on a serious wide angle lens (assuming youre using good focus point technique) should get you close to infinity focus through the frame anyway. If you really need deeper focus, then consider focus stacking anyway. I dont think Ive ever shot anything at f16 more than once or twice even on my 5D III.

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He is my average guy review for the average guy. After using the 5DS side by with my 5D Mark III, I have determine the following about the 5DS: 1. Better out of the box dynamic range that you will notice, 2. Better exposure metering in bright daylight when us average guys shoot, 3. Has a fantastic electronic level so I can finally get my shots straight, 4. Resolution finally exceeds your ability to shoot handheld so this ends the megapixel war (so everyone stop talking about it), 5. There is a usable gain in resolution over the 5D Mark III if you use a tripod and mirror lock up (so this is rare), 6. They put a USB 3 on the side with a cable protector (finally) so you can safely shoot tethered, this was a problem with the Mark III with the slower USB port, 7. It has usable mirror lock up delays that do help get better pictures, 8. The silent shutter is much nicer (pleasing to the ear) and make you bother people less at performances or weddings... Bottom line, if I had a choice between the 5D Mark III and the 5DS even just for walk around shooting in any light, I would pick the 5DS hands down.

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Ive burnt more than a few brain cells over the last couple of months trying to decide on which way to go, Canons 5DSR or Sonys A7RII. Fortunately, after selling a house and liquidating some gear, I decided to plunge into the best both of worlds and pick up both bodies. Here are some thoughts specifically on the 5DSR with regard to touted items off its marketing literature as well as topics of interest relative to the Sony body. Hopefully, Ill cover a few topics not hit by others. - ISO6400 Limit - I never really had a need to go past 6400 on any body given the grain that is added. So I dont see this as a limiting factor. The noise added on the A7RII is also quite appreciable and oddly, prefer Canons signature. I have not used the A7S or the new A7SII so the grain may be less noticeable on those bodies given the larger pixels. - Mirror Lock-Up Delay - On the Canon 5D3 for years, I used the 10-second delay with Live-View which basically did the same thing and creates an electronic first-curtain. Marketing at its best here. - Pixel Noise - Both bodies have visible noise when images are magnified (pixel peep); with the Canon there is a bit more however, at base ISO settings. Given the 5DSR has more resolution, you can sacrifice some of that by dialing in a bit more noise reduction bringing the noise level to about the same. At higher ISO settings, the noise looks to be similar between the two. However, if your aim is going for exposures longer than 2 minutes, I cant recommend either body and would recommend a 20-something MP body. It seems those little pixels get hot quickly on both the Sony and Canon and leave hot-pixel artifacts. - Dynamic Range - Yep, the A7RII has more DR, its well documented, at native ISO settings. Whats not well talked about is the DR is about the same from ISO1600 onward. Further, if one exposes correctly, you shouldnt need to pull 5-stops of shadows up, which cause photos to look a bit baked. This topic is a bit overblown (sorry couldnt resist that pun). I must admit however, the raw files coming out of the Canon have a higher contrast than the Sony, I wonder if the processing is artificially destroying some DR bandwidth and clipping the shadows and highlights - unfortunately, I leave that answer to those who more technical than myself. - Lenses - There are some pretty good lenses native to the Sony mount and Sonys stable is getting bigger and better all the time, largely with the help of Zeiss (love those Loxias). But if you need scalpel-sharp images availing a high megapixel sensor, the EF mount is really the only place you will find what youre looking for right now for anything on the Canon or the Sony. Some lenses on the EF mount simply dont have a Sony-mount peer - ironically with the help of Zeiss (think Otus & APO135). The new 35mm f/1.4L II and 300mm f/2.8L IS II also really make the 5DSR sing. Mounting any of these EF lenses to the Sony negates any idea of a small inconspicuous package. - Focus - Focusing Canon lenses on the A7RII is better now than on previous models, but still not quite as good as on a Canon body. The longer telephoto and super-telephotos are not so good on the Sony. - Build - This one is pretty clear to me, I have taken a 5D3 out in rainstorms and torrential blizzards where Ive had to chip away at the ice that collected on the body - no problems over the years of abuse with operations and functions. I assume the 5DSR is at least as rugged. I just dont have that same confidence in subjecting the Sony to the same abuse - time might tell if I get brave and Ill report back. - Ergonomics - I really wish I could re-assign the magnification button to somewhere on the right hand so I can hit LiveView and magnification without having to bring my left hand back behind the camera (its usually holding a heavy lens. Otherwise, those coming from a Canon 5D# or 1D# body should come up right to speed with the 5DSR. P.S., the Sony isnt as bad as everyone says it is once you get accustomed to where things are. - Moire - Not normally a problem, but there have been a few instances of shooting buildings where I get patterns on the shades in the windows and of the air-duct exhaust fins on buildings, but usually only see them when zoomed in. Very little problem here. Generally, between the two models and all the hype/bash that was floating around, the Canon 5DSR compared more favorably (maybe my expectations were low) and the Sony A7RII compared less favorably (maybe my expectations were high) - so it seems reality is somewhere between all the hubbub. My only advice is to know what youll be using the camera for, dont get upset that the screwdriver you bought is not able to pound in the nails like a hammer. If you need insane resolution where youll be blowing up prints that people will actually be viewing up close to (versus a billboard), Canon has produced a wonderful tool for architecture, landscapes, macro, portraiture, etc., and this might be your ticket. But the 5DSR is remarkably unforgiving to a lazy or casual photographer that relies on post-production to get things right. If undecided, go out and rent them to find out which fits you best. Both are remarkable tools and should fully satisfy your needs, if those needs fall within each cameras respective capability. Peace & Happy Shooting!

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The Canon 5DS R has become my go-to camera. I was running the 5D Mark III and was thinking about going to the Mark IV but after about 6 months of running with the 5DS R, I have to say that Im not going to give it up any time soon unless the 5DS R Mark II comes out. Sure, the stats on it arent great. 5FPS. Buffer fills up quickly. File sizes can be unmanageable if your computer isnt up to snuff. Gotta have good glass in order to take full advantage of the 50MP sensor. But it does take some great photos where the depth of colour is incredible and the flexibility in post is almost limitless. The details that this sensor renders is just amazing. My style of shooting is generally with my boy and his friends - always running around doing something either indoors or outdoors. My favourite go-to lens for this camera is the Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II and it does a superb job in giving me the photos I want. So Im usually running and gunning trying to capture the moment and then Ill download the RAW files and crop in LR. After getting used to the workflow, I have really come to appreciate the fact that I am able to run and gun and then figure out the composition afterwards. While some other photographers would like to frame the subject, compose the shot and then shoot, thats just not possible with a bunch of 3-4 year old boys so usually the style is take shots on the run. The ability to crop, the colours and the sheer detail from the sensor is what really sets this camera apart. The only downside to this is that if youre not running a fast CF card with sufficient storage, you may run into buffer and/or not enough shots scenario. I personally run a Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB 160 MB/s card and that will give me 720 shots with full RAW - which, to me, is enough for a day of shooting. There are times when the autofocus isnt as great as say the 1DX Mark II or the new 5D Mark IV but my miss rate is about the same as when I was using the 5D Mark III as my primary rig. People have said that the 6400 max ISO isnt enough - personally, if Im approaching 3200, Ill stop down the shutter speed (as I usually shoot wide open on a minimum f/2.8). Ive pushed the camera up to 6400 and while the files are usable, Ive had to apply some measure of noise reduction in LR while in post. There have been reviewers that have said that good technique is necessary for this camera - while that is true, lens selection also plays a part. If youre not using a minimum of the the 2x focal length rule, then you will get some soft images if your technique isnt great. Ive handheld in darker conditions without any issues because of my lens selection. Moire has not been an issue. 20,000 shutter clicks so far and I havent seen anything. Personally, while I have yet to shoot any sports with this, I really believe it is able to handle it (if youre OK with 5FPS) because of some of the incredible shots I get of my boy and his friends when theyre playing/running - while they dont run as fast as athletes do, there are comparables in terms of trying to capture action. Obviously, if youre a serious sports shooter, then the 1DX Mark II is the way to go. Ergonomics is classic Canon 5 series. Cant beat it - if youve shot the 5 series for any length of time and you pick this camera up, youll feel right at home. The build is also incredible - almost indestructible. My boy dropped my camera on a hardwood floor and the only thing that broke (and required a $70 repair) was the battery cover - had to be drilled out because we couldnt pop the battery cover off. In all, this is my favourite camera so far and Ive run quite a few Canon and Sony cameras. If youre wondering whether this will handle low light with faster action, then the answer is yes so long as you put fast glass on it.

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Ive shot a couple thousand images now with my 5DS under a wide variety of conditions. Controls are basically identical to the 5dIII making operation easy for long time Canon users. The camera does not disappoint with expectations for increased resolution. Images shot with my 50 mm 1.2L can be astoundingly sharp and tonally rich. The increased pixel count not only means better fine line detail, but also, greater smoothness and accuracy with textures. The greater resolution not only means sharper enlargements, but also greater versatility with cropping. Ive made several good headshots from images that were shot half- or three-quarter body. If the lens and light are good enough, the challenge is holding the camera steady enough to take full advantage of all those pixels. The big but fully expected downside is file size. A RAW image typically weighs in at 60+ megabytes. A detailed minimum compression jpg coming out of photoshop can easily weigh in at 30+ mb. Layered files go off the charts, and these massive images eat up card and hard drive space like nothing Ive worked with before. Many processing functions take awhile, and sometimes my CS6 just chokes up. I will continue to use my 5DIII as my general, all purpose camera, reserving the 5DS for those occasions when the additional resolution justifies the file sizes. It is certainly not the tool to use for sports, due to its slow per second frame rate and the massive size of its files. But for landscapes, portraiture, and other work requiring great detail, this is a dream machine. It is everything youd expect a 50 mp 5 series Canon to be.

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I purchased the Canon EOS 5DS about two and a half years ago and have absolutely no regrets. Immediately, this camera amazed me with very first photo I took. The level of detail it captures is beyond spectacular. At 50.6 megapixels, many experts compare this camera’s image quality to that of a medium format at around one-fourth the cost. Don’t get me wrong, this is by no means a medium format camera. I mainly use my 5DS for portrait photography. My go-to lenses are the EF 85 f1.2L II and the EF 24-70 f2.8L II. Surely, if you’re looking into buying this camera, you don’t plan on using cheap lenses. High quality glass is a MUST! You will also need to invest in a large, high-speed CompactFlash memory card. I currently use the Lexar Professional, 128GB at 160MB/s. I have filled one of these cards on a single photo-shoot more than once. A single RAW file can range from approximately 57MB to 75MB. These files take a long time to load from the camera to the card, and from the card to your computer. Because of this file size, you can’t expect to shoot continuous, high-speed shots. The camera is also very sensitive. Meaning, if you’re shooting hand-held, don’t expect a clear shot with slower shutter speeds. I never go below 1/160s hand-held. Many other reviews complain about an ISO 6400 limit. This is not true. If you go into the camera settings, you can set your ISO from a low of 50, to a high of 12800. I only shoot in manual mode so, I can’t speak for the other shooting modes. The 5DS is a battery hog! Another wise investment would be a battery grip and a spare set of batteries if you regularly shoot for extended periods of time. The Canon Battery Grip BG-E11 fits perfectly. As for the batteries, it uses the LP-E6 and LP-E6N. Overall, I am extremely happy with this camera. I’ve had great success with maybe one in five hundred shots that are slightly out of focus. If you’re looking for a professional camera, look no further.

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I traded in my 6D for this camera. Its everything its supposed to be. Dont worry about all the reviews that tell you you have to use the utmost shooting discipline to get good results. Its not true. You can use it just like a 6D or 5DIII and get better results. If you want to max out the quality, then yes, use mirror lockup, a tripod, 2x the reciprocal rule, etc.

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So much has been said about the 5DS and 5DSR already that Im not going to waste your and my time with a full review. I have used this on trips to British Columbia and Iceland for landscape photography. Here are a few of my thoughts after using the 5DS for 2 months. 1) To consistently get the full resolution out of this camera, you need good support gear. I have a mid-range Manfrotto tripod and ball head, and after my trips I realize I need some more sturdy support equipment. I upgraded from a 70D, and the added heft of the 5DS is straining my ball head. I have a few shots where the head drooped ever-so-slightly during a long exposure, or where the wind shook the camera enough to slightly blur the image. Your satisfaction with your results are all about expectations; if you expect the highest quality images, you will need sturdy support equipment. 2) All the buttons are mushy feeling compared to Canons lower tiered models; Im guessing this has to do with weather sealing. 3) The shutter is really quiet compared to any other DSLR Ive heard. 4) The resolution is addicting. 5) Lightroom is noticeably slower with 50 MP files than it is with 20 MP files. Be prepared. Feb 2018 Update: No issues whatsoever to report. Still producing amazing images.

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I am a photographer and really like this camera. I do mostly wildlife photography and by using this camera, I can overcome lens length by cropping with the high resolution this camera offers. If cropping too much, it does get noisy, but still can get better resolution and a closer view of wildlife with this camera vs my older Mk III. The settings are very close to the Mk III with a few extra differences, but very few. Overall, I like this camera so far and the high resolution gives more resolution but need fast cards because of the high file sizes, especially is you are using RAW on your camera which is needed.

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This is the most awesome "small format" camera resolution available and the "problem" discussed in reviews re noise is not at all problematic, even at 6400 iso. The noise is no worse than the Canon 5D M2 and the resolution is dramatically better. Any noise can be easily handled and even with dramatically improved sharpening over LR by adding Topez DeNoise to your workflow. The latter is an awesome sharpening tool and is highly useful even with low noise images. The Canon 5D SR is highly recommended as the best resolution camera out there unless you want to pay 20-40,000 for a medium format camera.

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