An ode to Canon’s greatest digital camera ever

The Verge

One of the greatest camera ever made is the Canon 5D Mark II and I couldn’t stop thinking about all the memories I’ve created with it while reviewing the latest hybrid powerhouse from Canon — the R5 Mark II. This one comes with some impressive specs: Eye control AF, 8K internal video recording, stacked 45MP CMOS sensor, 8.5 stops of IBIS and plenty more.

Transcript

00:00The Canon 5D Mark II was truly a revolutionary camera.

00:05Now, I know this word is being thrown out a lot these days, but trust me, it was a revolutionary

00:09camera.

00:10Came out in 2008, and it was the first DSLR to film full HD 1080p video.

00:16It enabled photojournalists, photographers, and newcomers to start making videos.

00:21It let filmmakers achieve that filmic look in a relatively small and inexpensive body.

00:27It was a milestone camera.

00:29The hype was real when it came out.

00:31Everyone was talking about how it was used to film some parts of House, the TV show.

00:35Vincent Lafrette's short film was a viral success, showcasing what this camera can do.

00:41It was basically shot on iPhone before shot on iPhone.

00:46But it wasn't Canon's marketing strategy that did that.

00:49It was the community that embraced this new tech.

00:52In fact, it was so well-received, it took Canon by surprise.

00:55It even convinced the company to spin off specialized cinema line of cameras.

01:00The 5D Mark II changed industries, and changed my life too.

01:05It was my second professional camera, and I feel like I owe a lot to it.

01:09Some of my favorite photos were taken on the 5D line.

01:13I filmed some of my first YouTube videos with it, which I'm too embarrassed to show you

01:17here.

01:18I used the Mark III to take photos of sitting president, and I took thousands of product

01:22photos for The Verge with the Mark III, the Mark IV, even Mark II as of a few years ago.

01:28This camera line truly holds a special place in my heart.

01:32And since then, the 5D line became the R5 line, a mirrorless equivalent.

01:37And today, in my hands, I'm holding the spiritual successor to the 5D, the R5 Mark II.

01:42But can this camera have the same cultural impact as the revolutionary 5D Mark II?

01:52This camera is a long-awaited successor to the R5.

01:56An R5 is a camera which marked a new age for Canon, and the Mark II comes with some new

02:01ideas and a familiar look and feel.

02:05The R5 Mark II can film internally in 8K, it has a stacked sensor, 45 megapixel photos,

02:11eye-controlled autofocus, it has 8.5 stops of IBIS, 30 frames of continuous shooting,

02:17and so on.

02:19It is an impressive camera with impressive specs, but what made me enjoy using it wasn't

02:25all about the specs.

02:26This camera felt familiar.

02:28It felt comforting.

02:29It's been out for a few months, and there are many great reviews out there, so go check

02:34those out.

02:35Instead, I want to try something new here.

02:37I will pick three of my favorite photos that I've taken with this camera, and tell you

02:41what each photo taught me about the R5 Mark II.

02:44So let's start with the first one.

02:49So personally, and professionally, I switched to a PSC sensor system for a number of reasons.

02:56Smaller bodies, smaller lens, lighter gear, good enough quality for what I need.

03:01But astrophotography is one area where I find that system lacking.

03:05So here are some photos taken with my various Fuji cameras over the last few years.

03:10And yeah, I really like all of those, don't get me wrong, they look great in the video,

03:14they will look great on social media.

03:17Once you start pixel peeping and processing these photos, you start to see its limitations.

03:23Going back to full frame sensor made me realize how much I missed it.

03:27This is my first photo I wanted to highlight.

03:29A cold, quiet, windless night on top of a winding road overlooking the Emerald Bay at

03:35Lake Tahoe.

03:37Soon enough after taking this photo, I was very okay with the extra weight of the camera

03:40and the lenses.

03:41It was worth it.

03:43In fact, that argument isn't even as strong as it was a few years ago.

03:47Difference in weight aren't that big, 660g for the Fuji X-H2S compared to the R5's 740g

03:55for the body alone.

03:56Not that big of a difference.

03:57The lenses are a different story though, I'll give you that.

04:01But ever since that first photo, I just kept going out every night to keep taking more

04:06and more astrophotos.

04:09Once again, I was hooked.

04:12My second photo is this one.

04:14A man taking his cigarette break on a rainy, cold night, exhaling smoke out of his nostrils.

04:20And here I want to talk about this camera's autofocus system.

04:24It is good.

04:25It is better than good.

04:26It is great.

04:27But from just my everyday experience and using many, many cameras, I still find it just a

04:32bit less accurate than what I get with a Sony camera, specifically when it comes to video.

04:38This was also evident in some more challenging environments, like the silhouette of a person

04:42taking photos of a sunset.

04:44It just kept drifting in and out and hunting focus more than the Sony would.

04:48When it comes to photos, I did find the system extremely reliable.

04:52There weren't many situations where the autofocus stopped me from getting my shot, including

04:57this photo.

04:58I was trying to be sneaky, I kept my camera down near my hip, kind of sideways, had subject

05:04detection turned on, and I snapped a few photos, hoping my framing was correct and

05:08that the autofocus would do its job.

05:11And it did.

05:12The only thing I do wish was better is this eye-tracked autofocus.

05:17Basically, how it works is, when you're using the electronic viewfinder, the camera will

05:22focus wherever your eye is looking at in the frame.

05:27I absolutely love this idea in theory, but in practice, it just wasn't as reliable as

05:32I was hoping it would be.

05:34Although I can't wait to see this stuff improve, because those kind of features are

05:38really mind-blowing.

05:39And lastly, for my third favorite photo, I'm picking this one of the Golden Gate Bridge.

05:48I was hoping for a bit more of that famous fog rolling through, but sometimes you just

05:53have to work with what you get.

05:55Small tiny cloud passing over the bridge.

05:58Still charming in its own way.

06:00Similarly to my first photo, it is a nice reminder of how nice and crisp full-frame

06:04photos are.

06:06The 45 megapixel photos from a stacked sensor gave truly beautiful results, even in non-landscape

06:12photos.

06:13And another side effect of moving back to the Canon system for the time being is that

06:18I rediscovered my love for post-processing images.

06:22I've gotten a little bit lazy lately, since all my Fuji's photos are just mostly unedited.

06:27Ultimately, we have so many options and various cameras nowadays that a choice of which camera

06:33to use often comes down to smaller things like ecosystem, reliability, form factor,

06:40batteries, and just picking the right tool for the job.

06:45For beautiful landscapes, this camera did fantastically well.

06:50I set up this question at the top, and I already knew the answer for it.

06:53I don't think the R5 Mark II will have the same cultural impact as the 5D Mark II.

06:59Those days are kinda gone.

07:00You can argue that there's only one camera with similar impact since 2008, and that was

07:07the iPhone.

07:08Or any smartphone camera, but let's be real, it's mostly the iPhone.

07:12But using the R5, just like the 5D, still felt like riding a bike.

07:18A very modern, souped-up bike.

07:21And it's also super fun to look at these two cameras and compare them, and see how

07:25the world, our needs, and our culture has changed in 16 years since.

07:30The R5 now has 5,850 autofocus points with subject detection, versus only 9 in 2008 without

07:39any subject detection.

07:41Autofocus became such a big deal for companies to work on.

07:46This camera now takes 30 photos in a second, versus 3.9 back in the day.

07:52It also has a flippy screen, because we're all kind of content creators now making vlogs,

07:57so we have to film ourselves.

07:59It processes photos blazingly fast.

08:02A dual memory card slot is here, the CF cards are now obsolete.

08:08There's a whole lot more controls than ever before, but all the main buttons are still

08:13in the same place.

08:16It is comforting and familiar.

08:18And all those specs are impressive.

08:21But regardless of how our tech has changed, it is your own imagination and ideas that

08:26will help you grow and achieve your vision.

08:29A camera is just a tool to help you get there, so pick the one that fits you the best.

08:34Thank you so much for watching, a few questions for you.

08:38One, a little bit of a new format, tell me how you like it.

08:41Two, since this wasn't just like a straightforward review, you probably have some questions about

08:48the camera, so let me know if I can help you answer them down below.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended