Canon R5m2 & R1 : First Impressions

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Hmm, yep guess that would give you the higher MP, at least for 15 shots pre-capture.

A half second seems like plenty of time to realize something interesting just happened. I'd almost like it to be settable to fewer so not to have to write 15 45mp files every time.
 
Handy specs comparison between the Z8 and R5II even though one can quibble with some of the accompanying assertions. It will be interesting to see whether the Canon video AF has improved to the level of Nikon.

 
0.5s is more than you need....almost all of us with the A9III ended up settling at 0.3s as the ideal pre-capture for bird takeoffs and overall reaction time. Of course everyone's reaction times will differ but I don't think many would need longer than 0.5s.
 
R5ii Menu System …



Nina Bailey's video is on Vimeo, and is a change — refreshing hopefully — from most of the YouTube fare of the last few days.

The information is aimed at experienced Canon users and draws attention to how the menu system is organised. Nina's theme is 'Evolution or revolution?': the answer being that most of the 'new' features are already on the R3 or R6ii, but have been improved.

I appreciated the video's lack of hype: Nina's delivery is clear and serious.

Warning: one hour long, so you need to be interested in the details!

… David
 
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Not-so-Minor Changes…
#1 : R5ii — New Battery


Battery : LP-E6P
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

The LP-E6P is the same-but-different:
  • same size/shape as the original R5's LP-E6NH battery;
  • batteries are interchangeable:
    • old batteries fit the new camera; new batteries fit the old, but…
    • R5i will need a firmware update before accepting new batteries;
    • R5ii will accept old batteries but will lose 'certain functions'.
So, why was there a need for the 'improvement' and what 'functionality' will be lost if I slip one of my spare R5i batteries into the new monster?

Canon:
Designed specifically for the Canon EOS R5 II and EOS R1, this advanced battery ensures extended shooting sessions and is compatible with a range of Canon accessories, including:
CF-R20EP Cooling Fan for EOS R5 II,
BG-R20 Battery Grip for EOS R5 II,
BG-R20EP Battery Grip with Ethernet for EOS R5 II.

Not much there — more on the battery grips later.

What I was told by the Canon reps at yesterday's Brisbane R1/R5ii launch was that pre-capture (for example) would not be available with the previous version of the LP-E6… series battery. Wildlife photographers, particularly those of the birding persuasion, had best heed this warning and buy the appropriate backup battery for their expensive new wonder-cameras! Sports photographers, who'll be delighting in hitherto unimaginable AF enhancements, might fare worse if they use old-style batteries. One has to wonder what is in the batteries 'chips'.

And some good news: new batteries can be charged in 'old' chargers.

I wonder whether the EU has managed to discourage Canon from including a charger in the R1/R5ii boxes!



R5i : LP-E6NH
R5II : LP-E6P
 
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The EU didn't encourage anyone to exclude chargers... Oh my... If anything, be greatfull a USB-C charger now charges everything from your phone and tablet over the laptop to the camera.

You know what made OEMs excluding a charger? Profits. You kbow the answer? Buy one for 10-20 bucks, should be doable if there is enough budget for a 4k+ camera
 
The EU didn't encourage anyone to exclude chargers... Oh my... If anything, be greatfull a USB-C charger now charges everything from your phone and tablet over the laptop to the camera.

You know what made OEMs excluding a charger? Profits. You kbow the answer? Buy one for 10-20 bucks, should be doable if there is enough budget for a 4k+ camera


You'd think from the profits they're making from a 4K camera, they could throw in a charger that costs them probably a couple bucks to make.
 
You'd think from the profits they're making from a 4K camera, they could throw in a charger that costs them probably a couple bucks to make.

Depeding on the charger, a couple (!) of bucks is too high in terms of production cost. And my professional experience conforms that yes, companies do optimize costs at that level, even at the cent level if production volumes are high enough. Or where do you think all those profit margins come from? If anything, electronic OEMs should thank the EU for giving them an excuse to not ship chargers anymore without reducing prices.

And by the way, Canon includes a charger with R1. Nikon doesn't with the Z9. If that isn't a reason to switch!
 
We've found the answer: "what's in the box" for the R1 & R5ii is essentially the same as what came with my first digital camera (the Nikon E5000 which is sitting next to me together with its five batteries — batteries weren't long-lasting in the olden days!).
 
You'd think from the profits they're making from a 4K camera, they could throw in a charger that costs them probably a couple bucks to make.
Material-wise, the battery charger costs somewhere between $2 ~ $3 to manufacture, Canon needs to recuperate their R&D spendings. I remeber back in the good old days, printers companies don't include USB cables.
 
2-3 USD for material alone? The housing is in the single digit cent territory (it is shocking how cheap injection molded platics are once production volumes pass the four digit markt). That leaves some very rudimentary electronics components. In total, at low volumed (Canon falls in the high volume category) one of those charges costs the producer (let's not kid ourselves, Canon, like everyone else, is sourcing those from a third party) maybe (!) 2-3 USD per piece, including admin and overhead.

That is a very rough, and maybe wrong, cost estimate so, based on what other OEM camera chargers I saw in my life. If they include fancy electronics, that changes things. For that, one should have to tear it apart.
 
Here are (favorable) first impressions on the Canon R1 from an F1 race photographer:

Thanks, John.

Perhaps, every BCG wildlife photographer should watch Kym Illman's video in order to appreciate the frenetic 24-megapixel-jpeg world of the sports photographer — like taking a photo of an F1 car's tyres (at speed!) and sending it to the crew chief in the pits for assessment of tyre wear.

Serious use of a 'flagship' camera, indeed; even if most of us would prefer to stick to our 45 MP raw files.

That Kym speaks our language without the trace of an accent (that I can discern) is a bonus.

… David
 
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Not-so-Minor Changes…
#1 : R5ii — New Battery


View attachment 93444
The LP-E6P is the same-but-different:
  • same size/shape as the original R5's LP-E6NH battery;
  • batteries are interchangeable:
    • old batteries fit the new camera; new batteries fit the old, but…
    • R5i will need a firmware update before accepting new batteries;
    • R5ii will accept old batteries but will lose 'certain functions'.
So, why was there a need for the 'improvement' and what 'functionality' will be lost if I slip one of my spare R5i batteries into the new monster?

Canon:
Designed specifically for the Canon EOS R5 II and EOS R1, this advanced battery ensures extended shooting sessions and is compatible with a range of Canon accessories, including:
CF-R20EP Cooling Fan for EOS R5 II,
BG-R20 Battery Grip for EOS R5 II,
BG-R20EP Battery Grip with Ethernet for EOS R5 II.

Not much there — more on the battery grips later.

What I was told by the Canon reps at yesterday's Brisbane R1/R5ii launch was that pre-capture (for example) would not be available with the previous version of the LP-E6… series battery. Wildlife photographers, particularly those of the birding persuasion, had best heed this warning and buy the appropriate backup battery for their expensive new wonder-cameras! Sports photographers, who'll be delighting in hitherto unimaginable AF enhancements, might fare worse if they use old-style batteries. One has to wonder what is in the batteries 'chips'.

And some good news: new batteries can be charged in 'old' chargers.

I wonder whether the EU has managed to discourage Canon from including a charger in the R1/R5ii boxes!



R5i : LP-E6NH
R5II : LP-E6P
Some are saying 30FPS may require the P battery also. I haven't found anything official about the 30FPS thing. I did find official documentation on Canon Japan that Precapture requires P battery as you were told. I think 8K video or at least some of the 8K modes may require it??
 
  • Some are saying 30FPS may require the LP-E6P battery also.
  • I think 8K video or at least some of the 8K modes may require it [LP-E6P].
Nina Bailey, in her video (see post #105 above), suggests that 30 frames/second might only be possible with LP-E6P batteries

I also wonder whether the new battery grips might require LP-E6Ps. Information is sketchy.
 
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Thanks, John.

Perhaps, every BCG wildlife photographer should watch Kym Illman's video in order to appreciate the frenetic 24-megapixel-jpeg world of the sports photographer — like taking a photo of an F1 car's tyres (at speed!) and sending it to the crew chief in the pits for assessment of tyre wear.

Serious use of a 'flagship' camera, indeed; even if most of us would prefer to stick to our 45 MP raw files.

That Kym speaks our language without the trace of an accent (that I can discern) is a bonus.

… David
24 MP is great for many uses but I found that color moire in feather detail is still a problem. 50 MP works for me, 24 MP not so much.
 
24 MP is great for many uses but I found that color moire in feather detail is still a problem. 50 MP works for me, 24 MP not so much.

On the topic of moire, it's interesting that Canon uses the anti aliasing filters on all the cameras, even on the 45 mp cameras, where nikon doesn't use them on the 45mp cameras. I think in theory higher megapixels means less need for the aa filter, but they still use it.
 
On the topic of moire, it's interesting that Canon uses the anti aliasing filters on all the cameras, even on the 45 mp cameras, where nikon doesn't use them on the 45mp cameras. I think in theory higher megapixels means less need for the aa filter, but they still use it.
In my experience, the Nikon cameras are a bit more susceptible to moire though with the offset of providing sharper OOC files and they are better for landscape and astro work.
 
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