Canon EOS 5DS R, reviewed by Gel

WOW!!

I"m impressed not only by the actual camera you reviewed but the actual writing of the review itself.

Great job!

Gel wrote in post #17648400
Great camera and a big improvement on the 5D3, I wrote up a full two page review with thoughts on the 645z (which I also own) and lots of sample photos to show how flexible the files are.

http://chrisgilesphoto​graphy.com …-for-wedding-photography/

Excellent review Chris!

great review Chris. how does it stack up to 5d3 in the high ISO noise department? that's a biggie to me. thanks.

Good review Chris, I agree with everything you wrote about the sensor and image quality. I love my a7R and do want an a7R II, but I am super-happy with my 5DS R and just a bit annoyed that it hasn't been more well-received. I guess people just want a 5D IV.

I am a little surprised that wedding/event photographers would be interested in the 5DS. I shoot architecture mainly (a fantastic application for the 5DS R), and after just a little editing work in Photoshop and I am having to save as PSB files instead of PSD (because of the huge filesize). I never had to do that before except for stitched panos; not even with 36MP files from the a7R II. So, the 50.6 MP resolution is affecting my workflow somewhat, but I suppose wedding photographers might not need to do as extensive editing in PS.

Chris,

Great review. As I read it, you mentioned, "As someone who shoots manually most of the time having a split second save all button is golden for me." Can you explain what the "save all" is, and why this is important to your flow?

Thanks.

Excellent review Chris! Thanks!!

Bryan

Hi folks, sorry I didn't have thread notifications enabled...

ed rader wrote in post #17698847
great review Chris. how does it stack up to 5d3 in the high ISO noise department? that's a biggie to me. thanks.

It's about the same. The new sensor behaves differently, so while 'technically' noisier by about half a stop, it's easier to treat, easier to downsize and remove and kinda ends up cleaner than the 5D3. Plus you can push the files a lot better at ISO3200 (about 2 stops) than you could with the 5D3. It starts to hit the ugly tree when pushing 6400 a couple of stops but most cams do.

David Arbogast wrote in post #17701924
Good review Chris, I agree with everything you wrote about the sensor and image quality. I love my a7R and do want an a7R II, but I am super-happy with my 5DS R and just a bit annoyed that it hasn't been more well-received. I guess people just want a 5D IV.

I am a little surprised that wedding/event photographers would be interested in the 5DS. I shoot architecture mainly (a fantastic application for the 5DS R), and after just a little editing work in Photoshop and I am having to save as PSB files instead of PSD (because of the huge filesize). I never had to do that before except for stitched panos; not even with 36MP files from the a7R II. So, the 50.6 MP resolution is affecting my workflow somewhat, but I suppose wedding photographers might not need to do as extensive editing in PS.

While I don't shoot the smaller raw sizes it's good to have a larger file available. While I do 95% wedding photography I shoot landscapes for pleasure and headshots as a sideline. It's better to have the available resolution there than not. The overlooked gem is the crop factor. I was in a church the other day and forced to stay at the back. I shot my 135L at F2 and cropped it to 25mp and had a hugely detailed shot despite the crop. As a result I carry less lenses and I can look at my 24-70 as a potential 24-140.

While the look won't be the same as if shot with a true 140mm it totally useful to have. When I edit the file sizes aren't a problem and while I use photoshop a lot. For bulk editing in Lightroom I use Perfect Browse 9 to select the images and generate smart previews in LR, then close lightroom, rename the raw folder and edit just the smart previews. Which at 2000 pixels long, but still raw. Then when exporting change the folder name back and the changes are applied on export.

golfecho wrote in post #17754393
Chris,

Great review. As I read it, you mentioned, "As someone who shoots manually most of the time having a split second save all button is golden for me." Can you explain what the "save all" is, and why this is important to your flow?

Thanks.

On the 1DX during shooting you could program the AF-on button to jump into a different mode. So assuming I'm shooting manually, but something was happening and I needed to get it faster than I could change the settings....then I could program that button to jump into a preset TV, AV or P mode. The function on the 5DSr is only really have enabled and to me, a bit pointless as it is.

A solid, "real world" review that cuts the BS and gets the point! All the nonsense about DR drives me nuts.

Thank you for taking the time to share you thoughts. Great work all around.

Hatch

Excellent review! Thanks for your time!

I am in the market for a new body and shoot mostly wildlife. I have been considering a 5D III or 5DS R. Now I am leaning toward the 5DS R. My concern is the autofocus system and the perceived notion that the 5DS R is a studio camera.
Thanks for taking the time to review so thoroughly.

I just ordered one today!

Thanks for your review, it very useful for me.

Great review and great pix.

I use the 5DsR in combination with a 7D MkII for wildlife, birds, travel, portraits and landscapes. The preferred lenses are the EF 14mm f/2.8L II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS, EF 70-200mm f/4L IS and the EF 500mm f/4L IS II, combined with the EF 1.4x and 2.0x TC-III. I keep the 500mm on the 7D2 most of the time and the 70-200mm on the 5DsR while shooting wildlife, but go to the wider lenses on the 5DsR for most landscape and travel shooting. If light gets low, I'll even swap the 500mm over to the 5DsR, because it's high-ISO performance blows away the 7D2, which is pretty darn good up to ISO 800. The ONLY advantage of the 7D2 for wildlife and birds is the fps. Bird-in-flight really are easier when you can shoot 10-fps and not worry too much about filling the buffer.

I don't have much to add to this excellent review, other than to say that it's pretty darn good for general applications other than weddings. Landscape files are stunning. I've gotten some great shots with in the 9-mos. that I've been shooting it, but nothing killer enough yet to spring for a 72" print, which I think is entirely reasonable, given the right subject. The prints in the travel books that I've made since buying it just jump off the page.

Some people seem frightened of the pixel-density. I'd remind those people that they've likely shot at these same densities, or even smaller pixels, on crop-sensor cameras. Yes, care must be taken, but if you can get sharp, crisp pix on your crop-sensor, then you can do so with this body.

brassfootball66 wrote in post #18003780
Great review and great pix.

I use the 5DsR in combination with a 7D MkII for wildlife, birds, travel, portraits and landscapes. The preferred lenses are the EF 14mm f/2.8L II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS, EF 70-200mm f/4L IS and the EF 500mm f/4L IS II, combined with the EF 1.4x and 2.0x TC-III. I keep the 500mm on the 7D2 most of the time and the 70-200mm on the 5DsR while shooting wildlife, but go to the wider lenses on the 5DsR for most landscape and travel shooting. If light gets low, I'll even swap the 500mm over to the 5DsR, because it's high-ISO performance blows away the 7D2, which is pretty darn good up to ISO 800. The ONLY advantage of the 7D2 for wildlife and birds is the fps. Bird-in-flight really are easier when you can shoot 10-fps and not worry too much about filling the buffer.

I don't have much to add to this excellent review, other than to say that it's pretty darn good for general applications other than weddings. Landscape files are stunning. I've gotten some great shots with in the 9-mos. that I've been shooting it, but nothing killer enough yet to spring for a 72" print, which I think is entirely reasonable, given the right subject. The prints in the travel books that I've made since buying it just jump off the page.

Some people seem frightened of the pixel-density. I'd remind those people that they've likely shot at these same densities, or even smaller pixels, on crop-sensor cameras. Yes, care must be taken, but if you can get sharp, crisp pix on your crop-sensor, then you can do so with this body.

I own a 7D2 and 5D3. I'n thinking of going to one body only. The IDXII has a 20 megapixel sensor and I don't need 14 FPS. I do all my wildlife shooting with my 7D2 and I do crop it a lot. I need A FF that I can crop until I get a bigger lens. Currently I have the 100-400 II and a 1.4 III. I don't use the TC often and prefer not when BIF.

I don't mind 5 FPS but I would have preferred 8. I don't need 100's of bird shots just a handful is good enough for me. How is the AF? Accurate initial AF acquisition? I don't mind waiting a second for it to settle in. Subsequent bursts accurate as well? Compared to the 7D2?

Thanks in advance