Canon R5 Mark II - First Impression – Mike Schaffner Photography

My new Canon R5 Mark II mirrorless camera is quite an improvement over my Canon 5D Mark III DSLR. The 5DIII was released 13 years ago and I bought mine a year later. Oh my, how things have changed. It’s like trading-in the family minivan for a sports car.

There are a few, very minor things I wish they had done differently. However, these are not significant and certainly don’t have me regretting going with the Canon R5 Mark II. Given that everyone uses their camera differently I can’t expect to have a perfect fit for my needs and wants but Canon has come pretty close. So, my issues are really not bad news. In addition, there are some things that great improvements over the 5DIII

The Things That I Really Like

– Seeing The Info Real Time In the EVF

I really like the amount of data that you can see displayed in the electronic view finder (EVF) of the camera. As I mentioned before, I like to “expose to the right” (ETTR) as it maximizes the amount of data I collect. Being able to see the histogram in EVF before allows my to fine tune my exposure settings. With the 5DII I would take a shot and review the histogram, adjust the settings and reshoot. Sometimes this would involve multiple shots as I optimized the settings. With the Canon R5 Mark II, I no longer need to do this.

A secondary advantage is that since I can optimize it before shooting I no longer need to look at the LCD screen at all. By their nature, mirrorless cameras drain batteries much faster the DSLRs due to all of the electronic features. By perfecting the exposure before shoot in the EVF I can shut off the LCD screen and reduce the battery drain. Now some might find it difficult to not look at the LCD after every shot. I get it, you can’t wait to see the the pic. Having started out on analog {film) cameras I’m comfortable with not looking at the LCD constantly. The only thing I was interested in looking at in the LCD screen was the histogram after the shot. Now I no longer need to do that.

– Customizing The Dials and Buttons

Control Ring adapter for the Canon R5 Mark II — *Credit: Canon*

The new Canon mirrorless camera systems have a control ring either on the RF (mirrorless) lenses or on EF (DSLR) lens mount adapter. This increases my options for customization. As a result, I can now directly make changes to shutter speed, ISO, aperture, exposure compensation, and center the focus point all by customizing the function of various buttons or dials. Additionally, I can see all of the settings in the EVF allowing me to make the needed changes quickly. The EVF even indicates which button or dial controls which setting so no fumbling around with the wrong button or dial. It makes for very quick and precise shooting. I should note that if you use the EF lens you can get the adapter with or without a control ring. I recommend getting it with the control ring.

– Shooting Manual With Auto-ISO & Exposure Compensation

My 5DII did allow my to shoot manual with auto-ISO. However, you could not also use an exposure compensation setting. Fortunately, the Canon R5 model line corrects this design oversight. A great tool allowing me to be able to shoot quickly in varying lighting conditions and still fine-tune the ETTR.

– The Articulated LCD Screen

In the first bullet point above I mentioned I often shut off the LCD screen. So why would an fully articulated LCD screen be nice. The 5DII had a fixed LCD screen so whether I used the view finder or the LCD I had to be in a position to view them. Sometimes, camera angles just aren’t conducive to that without extreme body contortions. At my age, extreme body contortions just aren’t an option. A fully articulated LCD allows me to angle the screen to a viewable position. I don’t need this capability all that often but it’s really great to have that option when you do need it.

Another advantage with an articulated screen is with some street shots. Since you don’t have to lift the camera to your eye you can be more discreet and less obviously taking a photo. For some street shots this is very helpful.

– Lots of Megapixels

The Canon R5 Mark II has 45 megapixels, twice the amount of the 5DII camera. I know many, would say that you don’t “need” that. This sentiment is based a common practice of posting only to social media. I like to occasionally print photos and larger possible print sizes is a great option. I also offer my photos for sale and it is nice to offer the option for large size prints.

Larger prints are definitely nice, however, the most practical advantage of large megapixel images is the it allows you to get a decently sized image of the picture-in-the-picture. By this I mean, an image where you significantly crop the original image to a just a small portion. With the “extra” megapixels you can still get a decent sized image.

What About Eye Control?

The Canon R5 Mark II has some state-of-the-art eye control and focus tracking features. I like them and will likely use them from time to time. However, for my style of shooting these features aren’t significant. I primarily shoot architecture, landscape and street photography. There’s just not a significant need for focus tracking for me in these types of photography. For others, I can see how this would be very significant especially for bird and sports photography.

So No Complaints?

I’m happy to say, none really. All of my issues were relatively minor. As with anything new, there is an adjustment period. When looking at the camera and all the things it could do I thought there has to be a way to do what I want to do. Fortunately, with some persistence and diligent research I was able to figure thinks out and configure things to my liking.

Am I Happy I Got The Canon R5 Mark II?

I'm happy with the Canon R5 Mark II — *Credit: Adobe Stock*

You bet I’m happy! I started out by saying it was like getting a sports car. I’m still perfecting my technique with it but I can already tell I’m going to enjoy the ride every time.

I waited a long time to make the switch from a DSLR to mirrorless. I wasn’t going to spend thousands of dollar to get something that wouldn’t give me better quality images than the 5DIII did. The Canon R5 Mark II came through wonderfully in that regard. It was the right camera at the right time for me.

– A Word Of Caution

Can the right gear improve your photography? Yes, to some extent. The improvements I got were related to the technical quality; higher resolution, wider dynamic range, and image stabilization. While they are significant improvements in and of themselves, their effect on the overall quality of my photography is marginal. These improvements are nice but they don’t replace knowing how to get the most from your gear, knowing how to recognize a good photo opportunity, knowing how to compose the image, being able to visualize the end product, and knowing how to get the most out of the editing process. In fact, your gear my be the least important factor in your photography journey.

Don’t go chasing gear as a way to improve your photography! My advice is

When you need to buy a new camera, buy the best one you can afford. But keep in mind the real answer for making significant improvements in your photography isn’t in the gear. It’s in knowing how to use what you’ve got and improving your skills.