Canon R5II Disappointment, I Did Not Expect This!

After testing the Canon R5II I discovered it had a weakness I was not aware of, and it may impact if the camera is right for you. Let me know what you think about the camera. Cheers, Duade
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:29 Buffer
04:12 Stacked Sensor
05:01 Precapture
08:10 Autofocus
13:35 Image Quality
19:34 Photo Examples
24:32 Conclusion
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[SamW]

I appreciate your candor when reviewing cameras. So many You Tubers skip over a camera's weaknesses or excuse them. They sound like fan boys rather than objective reviewers. When considering investing hard earned money, it's much better to watch your videos because of your candid, truthful approach to reviews. Thank you.

[TheChadWork]

Cockatoo quote, “Hey Charlie, you think he knows his Dynamic Range is lower with that camera?”

[NUL]

Nice analysis. I went from a 5DIV and R7 to the R5M2 and here is what I found after 8k photos. The R5M2 does have some tracking issues with smaller birds but it's very hit or miss. Sometimes it tracks them fine other times not. Large birds no problem. If I use the Canon RF 100-500 with the 1.4x TC on the R5M2 it tracks small birds worse than the R7. If I use the Canon RF 200-800mm it's quite a bit better. Compared to the R7 it seems the tracking issue on the R5M2 is that the animal eye detection algorithm isn't quite as good. This can likely be fixed in firmware. I agree with the sensor noise. It's worse than I expected but I have gotten some shots as high as ISO 8000 that are actually very good. It's quite a bit better than the R7 at the higher ISOs. 12800 is not as usable as I had hoped but I can make it work in a pinch as long as I don't crop too heavily. The other issue I found is that the highlight tone priority is not as good on the R5M2 as on the R7. Blown highlights are routine on the R5M2 and it's very easy to overexpose highlights even with the HTP turned on, so I have to be really careful about exposure settings compared to the R7. There is basically no noticeable rolling shutter on the R5M2; it's terrible on the R7. As for overall picture quality, I've gotten shots with the R5M2 that I could never have gotten with the R7 or 5DIV. So for me it's a good upgrade. I don't do video much as all so probably will never have it overheat. I spent almost 2 hours one day in 95F heat taking shots and the camera worked fine no issues.

[GoldLithium]

22:25 "Don't look now but there's a weirdo with his big white rod checking you out."

[MattH]

My favorite things about wildlife photography are the experiences you come away with and the stories behind the shots. I really like that you added the bit about your trip to the wetlands. It drove home the fact that despite the disappointments with the new camera, it is still capable of giving you an amazing and wonderful time capturing moments while enjoying nature!

[timthorington]

No need to apologize. As a wildlife photographer who is presently using the R5 I need to hear an honest review/opinion on the R5 version 2 b4 I decide whether or not I should upgrade. You've given me a lot of info both positive and negative and that's what I need to hear to help me make the upgrade decision.
Many thanks. Keep up the great videos...

[SteveComstockPhotography]

I have acquired two R5 MK IIs, and I’m just starting to use them in my wildlife and sports photography. I am encouraged to hear that I am not the only one experiencing the lock-up problem. I’ve had that occur on both cameras and had to do battery removal reboots. Hoping, as you do, that a firmware update will fix this issue. Thanks for your lengthy and informative report.

[brianmckeever]

As for the whispering birds: "How about we go somewhere a human isn't stalking us?" Terrific images sir!

[davepastern]

Hey Duade, interesting about the R5II DR issues that you are experiencing. Other channels (Whistling wing photography, Wild Alaska etc) aren't mentioning this.

Also, the AF stickiness. Only Jan has mentioned this alongside yourself. Everyone else is singing the praises of the R5II's AF performance on "auto" mode.

From what I have seen, the R3 is the current king of high ISO performance, and is typically the 2nd best for DR (behind the A1). In theory, DR should be a function of pixel size and the electron well depth of the sensor design and a BSI stacked sensor shouldn't necessarily have a hindered DR.

As I have said several times, I honestly believe that Canon is behind Sony in sensor development tech. Canon hasn't even managed to match the near 4 year old A1 (which has 5 more mp!) with the R5II.

Canon has no shame - they should have made absolutely sure that basic things like batteries were well and truly stocked to the hilt upon camera release. This is very bad on Canon's part.

I mentioned the buffer to Jan on his video a month ago and he felt it wasn't an issue. At 20fps (matching the original R5), the buffer is slightly better, but only slightly. if shooting at 30fps on the R5II, then it matches the R5 at 20fps. Not exactly a big improvement imho and a disappointment. There's no real sane reason why Canon couldn't have improved the buffer significantly other than an artificial cripplehammer to not pull sales from the R1. The same with the R1 having cross type AF (a combination of Canon not being able to produce a 45mp stacked sensor with cross type AF tech and cripplehammer imho).

I know I'm sounding like a whinging prick, but if I'm giving Canon my hard earned cash, I expect them to perform. I am a consumer and have every right to demand specs or performance. Yes, Sony isn't perfect - they have held back firmware upgrades for the A1, to the detriment of consumers.

The precapture looks like a really good tool, although having to hold down the shutter button to activate this feature is a crappy design imho. It should just give you that 0.5 second upon firing the shutter button.


I'm not in the market for the R1 or R5II (don't have the money) and my R3 does it for me, other than being only 24mp, which does hurt me with birding photography.

I got a new lifer on Monday - White winged Fairywren! Stoked. Have been to this location 4 times now and had no luck up until Monday. I also got my best image (still not great) of a red rumped parrot, and a zebra finch. Spotted wedgie, pair of BSKs hunting, nankeen kestrel hunting, pair of nankeen kestrels in a different location (with possible nest and as soon as I spotted the nest I backed away quick smart) and spotted a brown goshawk from a distance (and heard its call). So, a pretty nice day overall. No killer images, but it's just nice being out in nature and seeing the birds.

[dangoertz]

Great review. I purchased my R5 a few weeks back when prices started to drop in anticpation of the Mark II. I'm not a wildlife photographer, I shoot more product and lifestyle photos. I've been very happy with my R5 so far for my work and good to hear I didn't wait to purchase the Mark II. Dinamic range is so important for the photography I do.

[hendrickziegler]

That dynamic range chart seems inaccurate in the sens that it favor lower resolution bodies in a way that isn't plausible. My explanation would be that the DR is somehow evaluated on the pixel level and not for the whole image. This would explain the strange order of the Nikon cameras as well as the Sony cameras in the 20mp range doing better than A1 and A7rV. Or the 5DmkIV doing better than the R5 (which directly contradicts your own statements).

[ArleneBaverstock]

Duade you help make our decisions a lot easier when we have too choose witch camera gear to purchase. I’ve been wanting a 30 megapixel or better full frame camera from Canon for awhile now. Been waiting to see if Canon has got off their ass in producing one. The R6iii & R7ii or hints of a R9 are probably years away for this senior. But after watching this great video of how you delved into the pluses and minuses of what’s on the market now, I probably will go with the R6ii, and some good RF lenses.
Your a big inspiration to all photographers trying their best to getting the perfect shot we all hope to get.
All the best mate, wishing good health and peaceful adventures.
Brian

[kevincassar]

"Don't do anything got pre-capture!"

[cathco]

Great review, Duade. I shoot manual with Auto ISO. The first thing I noticed with the R5 II was that the camera was choosing a much higher ISO than my R5, which I no longer own. The R5 II was regularly choosing ISO 4000 or higher. My R5 never did this. To make matters worse, my Topaz Denoise is not compatible with the R5 II. I would have to purchase Topaz Photo AI if I want to continue to use Denoise. I'm using the manual Denoise in LrC now. Overall, though, I'm really happy I chose the R5 II. The AF when shooting birds in leafy trees is so much better than the R5. I love the adjustable fps in ES. I don't want 1, 000s of photos after a day out. Plus, a digital shutter sound. Buying the R5 II was the right choice for me.

[martinpettinger]

Hi Duade... a great a very fair review.... but nothing here to convince me to part with my R3....
The R3 is not a good wildlife camera .... its a great wildlife camera and a true joy to use and produces quality images throughout its DR.
... and its does not over heat ! :-)))

[derekv]

That's why I kept my R5 in addition to my mk ii. 😊

[wanderland_xyz]

Fine video and great shots, Duade. I've definitely noticed the additional noise on my R5II compared to my old R5. Haven't pushed it too much yet, but I'm happy to say so far the Enhance denoise in Lightroom cleans it up pretty nicely. What I'm eagerly awaiting, though, is an update adding the R5II to DxO Pure RAW 4--that's been my go-to NR software and I'm hoping it will remove any hesitancy to shoot at 12800 or even 25600 when needed.

[JeremyNeipp]

Thanks for sharing the full picture! Always value that much more than just the highlights

[peterrichards]

Once again Duade your comments are so valid and no beating about the bush that there are things that are disappointing about the new camera, I fully expect that like the original R5 the firmware updates will sort out a few of the problems but I do agree that Canon should do more testing before releasing the camera especially with the camera locking up, that really should not be happening. Myself like others took advantage of the price drop of the original R5 and been blown away how good this camera is, will probably look at the Mk II in a couple years time but lets not forget that the original R5 when it was released had a lot of problems and is now a completely different camera after firmware updates and I expect the same will happen with the MK II over time ~ Thanks again Duade for these honest YouTube videos that you put so much effort into ~ keep up the great work

[edwardcrawford]

Thanks Duade for the honest and informative video. Over the past year, I have rented Fujifilm and OM 1 Systems cameras with telephoto lenses to test them as possible replacements for the "getting heavier by the day" Canon equipment, R5 and RF 600mm f4. Nope, compared to the R5, their low light performance was seriously lacking. So, now I am testing my new R5 Mark II and, so far, its low light performance has been sub par compared to the R5. In response, I have set max auto ISO to 3200 and, based on preliminary results, have been forced to try out settings that bring the ISO down to 1600 or lower, which is going to involve slower speeds (more blur) and lots of photos (too many). On the positive side, I think a lot of these issues will be improved with firmware updates and Adobe getting its Lightroom and Photoshop software updated. AND, we will all learn to maximize the Canon R5 Mark II potential. Today, I am going to process some Mark II photos on Canon DPP 4 to see how that compares to Adobe, and also will be taking a lot of jpgs to see what that brings. Lastly, I will keep my R5 and continue using it in low light situations. Cheers, glad to see you are recovering. Wildlife photography is