Last Updated on 07/23/2020 by Mark Beckenbach
We shot some high ISO images with the Canon EOS R5 while taking a stroll in a Brooklyn rainshower at night.
The Canon EOS R5 is in for review right now, and we decided to not only do our standard durability test, but to also show how it performs at high ISO settings. The Canon EOS R5 is the closest thing we’ve got to a mirrorless version of the Canon 5D series of cameras. While it’s surely performing like one, it feels a bit like a 90D and a 5D series camera smushed together. There’s no magic touch bar, but the joystick’s placement is a bit odd. If you’re a veteran Canon shooter, you’ll also find the back dial placement to be a tad odd. For my hand, I really need to pull my thumb back and down to crank that wheel–which I’ve set to aperture control. Luckily, you also have a control ring around the lens in case you need it. But overall, I think Canon users will be very happy with this camera. Coupled with some of the company’s fantastic lenses, I think anyone will really like the Canon EOS R5.
Editor’s Note: This is not a review. Nowhere in this article are we saying this is a review, so please do not take it as such.
Weather Sealing
To take full advantage of the Canon EOS R5 and the weather sealing, you need an L lens. These lenses have weather sealing built in. And with the rainstorm NYC experienced recently, the Canon EOS R5 survived with no problems at all. For those of you who are pros, we know you understand this: the Canon 5D series was a series of cameras that lots of hobbyists bought. So if you’re going for one of these or considering it, know that you can take it into the rain and it will be just fine. We’re going to give it more durability tests as time goes on, so stay tuned.
ISO 25,600
Here are two image samples at ISO 25,600. They’re very good. The colors are great and the noise reduction is pretty low. For the record, the camera has noise reduction set to normal and these are JPEGs right out of the camera and converted in Capture One for the web. Pretty fantastic, right? We’re waiting to see when the RAW file support comes for Capture One, and when it does I think we’re going to see the most benefits. Canon’s RAW files have never been as versatile as the output that we’ve seen from Sony sensor. But Canon makes their own sensors. A strong argument can be made for Canon’s colors though, and you can see them right here in the images.
These photos were shot with the Canon RF 50mm f1.2 L USM. With the 50mm f1.2, you’re supposed to get around 7 stops of image stabilization, and the Canon EOS R5 also has image stabilization in the sensor. For the record, I wasn’t trying to test the image stabilization settings: I was just focusing on the high ISO output. One could argue that with high ISO output this good, you might not need image stabilization.
ISO 51,200
These images are from the Canon EOS R5 at ISO 51,200. These aren’t as good as results from lower ISO settings, but they’re still very clean. You’re getting lots of details still in the scenes. We’re really impressed. Take a look. We’ve still got more testing to do though!