After years of anxious anticipation, Canon has officially announced the release of two powerful new cameras. With their brand new and first-ever mirrorless flagship, the Canon EOS R1, and the next generation of an already incredibly capable and powerful camera, the Canon EOS R5 Mark ii, this is without a doubt the biggest release from the manufacturer in many years. People have been waiting for these cameras for quite some time (5+ years in fact) and we’ve all been wondering just how good they were going to be. How would these two cameras stack up against the competition? Well, we now have answers!

After many years of development, I must say that I (and many other Canon fans) am quite disappointed with the R1. We’ll touch on this more in a bit, but it just feels like this camera is too little too late, especially for something that is supposed to compete with other flagship cameras such as the Nikon Z9 and Sony a1. I think that when the specs were announced, everyone was at least a bit disappointed, to say the least. On the other hand, the R5 Mark ii seems to be an absolutely stellar camera and a great follow-up to its predecessor, the Canon R5, which is arguably one of the best cameras Canon has produced in decades. The Mark ii really seems to check all the boxes, and I think Canon has hit it out of the part with this camera.

In today’s article, we’re going to take a look at both of these exciting new cameras from Canon, closely examine their specs, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s get right into it and take a look at the brand-new Canon EOS R1 and Canon EOS R5 Mark ii.

Canon EOS R5 Mark ii

• Price: $4,299 USD

• 45MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Sensor

• DIGIC Accelerator Processing

• Dual Pixel Intelligent AF, Eye Control

• 8K 60 Raw / 4K 60 SRAW / 4K 120 10-Bit Video

• Up to 30 fps, Pre-Continuous Shoot Mode

• 5.76m-Dot EVF with OVF Sim. View Assist

• 3.2” Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD

• In-Camera Upscaling to 179MP

• CFexpress & SD UHS-II Memory Card Slots

• Wi-Fi 6E / Wi-Fi 6 Support

We’ll start today’s article with the Canon EOS R5 Mark ii as this is the better overall product in my opinion (I think many photographers would agree). This camera looks pretty awesome! I personally shoot with the original R5, and I absolutely love it. When I read up on this new version and saw all of the specs, I was certainly impressed. Perhaps there are a few minor features/specs I wish this camera had but for the most part, it looks incredible! Let’s break it down.

This camera looks to be a really competitive offering that excels in both capturing high-resolution stills and video. The R5 Mark ii features a lot of tech included in the flagship R1 and in many ways, it’s the better product for general photographers who don’t specialize in a few niche styles of photography. Whether you’re looking to shoot landscapes, wildlife, action sports, or portraits, the R5 Mark ii will have you covered.

Sensor:
Probably the most noticeable upgrade from the original R5 is the introduction of a brand-new 45-megapixel stacked BSI CMOS Sensor. This thing may have the same number of pixels as the original R5 (which is plenty) but apart from that it’s better in every way. Stacked sensors really add a ton of noticeable benefits when it comes to both photos and video. For starters, this technology allows for very fast burst modes. The R5 Mark ii can shoot up to 30 frames per second with the electronic shutter, and with the new pre-capture feature, this camera can capture frames up to a half second before you press the shutter button. While utilizing the electronic shutter you can also capture 14-bit RAW files. This is hands down one of the falsest sensors on the market, especially when you consider the 45 megapixels of data that it’s recording. Speed is no issue with this powerful new sensor.

Autofocus:
The autofocus capabilities of the R5 Mark ii are phenomenal and are a vast improvement on the original R5. This is one area where Canon is really giving the competition a run for their money. The upgraded and AI-assisted AF system is lightning fast and accurate and will identify and track subjects like never before. In fact, the R5 Mark ii is superior to the R3 when it comes to AF. This new camera features a lot of the same AF tech found in the R1, meaning it can identify, recognize, save, and track individual subjects and assign each of them importance or priority when shooting. This means less jumping back and forth between multiple subjects in a shot and a better overall hit rate. The R1 might have a slight edge when it comes to AF but the R5 Mark ii is exceptional, to say the least.

Video:
The Canon R5 Mark ii is a great video camera as well and it features some new tech that people are very excited about. This really is a true hybrid camera, and it seems that Canon has worked hard to address the infamous overheating issues in the original R5. For starters, the stacked sensor and faster readout speeds lead to fewer issues with rolling shutter. This creates much nicer videos especially those incorporating artificial sources of light. This camera can achieve up to 8K 60 Raw / and 4K 120 10-bit Video with plenty of shooting options. The R5 Mark ii also gives users the option of shooting in the upgraded C-Log 2 video profile which is far superior to past options. And the icing on the cake is that Canon finally offers the incredibly helpful feature of a waveform display to make sure you get your exposures just right. On top of that, this camera now features a red recording light which the old version did not. Overall, the R5 Mark ii is great when it comes to recording videos.

Build & Handling:
When it comes to the overall build and user experience of the R5 Mark ii, Canon didn’t cut any corners here either. This camera comes in a very similar form factor as the original R5 with almost identical specs in size and weight. The Mark ii features the same IBIS system achieving roughly 8-stops of stabilization. There are a few minor changes such as a dedicated video/photo switch, a slightly modified on/off switch, and a red light to indicate recording. One of the most noticeable changes is the powerful new electronic viewfinder featured on the R5 Mark ii. This EVF pulls a lot of tech from the R1 and R3 and works great. It’s larger, features a 5.76 million dot display, has eye control allowing users to direct the focal point of the camera wherever their eye looks, and it’s blackout-free due to the new stacked sensor. Additionally, the new R5 Mark ii can be paired with three separate battery grips including a standard grip, one with an ethernet port, and a cooling grip that features a powerful and silent fan to prevent the camera from overheating. Apart from that there really aren’t many other changes from the original R5 when it comes to build and handling.

Overall, the R5 Mark ii looks like a really stellar camera from Canon and a great follow-up to the original R5, which is definitely one of the best cameras Canon has released in decades. Let’s take a look at the other camera that was officially released alongside the R5 Mark ii, the long-awaited and highly anticipated flagship EOS R1.

Canon EOS R1

• Price: $6,299 USD

• 24MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Sensor

• DIGIC Accelerator + DIGIC X Processing

• Dual Pixel AF with Action Priority

• Improved Eye Control AF

• 6K 60 Raw & 4K 120 10-bit Internal Video

• Up to 40 fps, Pre-Continuous Shoot Mode

• 9.44m-Dot 0.9x EVF, OVF Sim. View Assist

• 3.0” 2.1m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD

• Vertical Grip, 2x CFexpress Type B Slots

• Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G Base-T Wired Ethernet

This is arguably the least exciting camera of the two. The Canon EOS R1 is finally here, and I think it’s safe to say that we’re all a bit underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly some very impressive specs on this camera and there are a few areas where it really excels, but overall, I think Canon has really missed the mark with their first-ever mirrorless flagship camera. When compared to competitors’ offerings, this thing just isn’t up to par in my opinion. If this camera fits a specific niche that happens to be your shooting style, it might be worth taking a look at the R1 but if you want more of a generalist that excels in all aspects of photo and video, this might not be what you’re after. Let’s break it down and take a look at specs and details.


Sensor:
We’ll start our conversation with the brand-new 24-megapixel full-frame stacked BSI CMOS sensor. The biggest letdown here has to be the resolution. If you’re a photojournalist or sports photographer and you don’t necessarily need a high megapixel count, this won’t be an issue. But for the rest of us, 24 megapixels is simply not enough to justify the price of this camera in today’s market. When compared to the Nikon Z9 with 45.7MP and the Sony a1 with 50.1MP, 24 is honestly just not up to par. Yes, the image quality and detail are great but I would argue that for a large majority of photographers in today’s day and age, Canon has really missed the mark. Now that we’ve gotten the elephant in the room out of the way, there are actually some really great things about this sensor. Just like the R5 Mark ii, this is a brand-new, high-tech, and lightning-fast stacked sensor. This means that the R1 can achieve wicked-fast burst modes, up to 40 frames per second with the electronic shutter, and the readout speed is the fastest Canon has ever achieved coming in at 1/300th of a second. And when paired with the DIGIC X Processor and the new DIGIC Accelerator the R1 is one of the fastest overall cameras currently available. The R1 can capture 14-bit RAW images while using the electronic shutter and of course, it features the incredibly handy pre-capture feature allowing you to capture images up to ½ a second before you press the shutter button. On top of that, if 24 megapixels isn’t quite enough, you can utilize the built-in AI upscaling feature allowing you to greatly increase the resolution of JPEGs. Photographers can also use the built-in AI-assisted noise reduction feature on images captured in low-light settings.

Autofocus:
One area where the Canon EOS R1 really shines and stands out from the competition is in its autofocusing capabilities. When it comes to incredibly high performance, fast, and accurate subject tracking, the R1 just might be the best thing currently available on the market. This is the best AF Canon has ever produced and the R1 even outshines the incredibly capable R5 Mark ii in this instance. With improved AI subject recognition the R1 can identify and recognize multiple subjects within a scene and you can even set priorities on each one so that the camera knows which subject to keep focus on. The camera will also continue to focus on subjects or objects in crowds or convoluted scenes where they me be obscured at times. If you’re trying to track an athlete on a field or an animal in a dense jungle the R1 should have no issues here. On top of this the overall animal, human, and even automobile subject recognition is greatly improved compared to past generations. Additionally, the newly designed sensor will also ensure that subjects maintain good contrast and detail making it easier for the camera to focus on them. Canon has also redesigned and largely simplified their AF menus making it much easier to select the right option. The camera is just so good that it can now do most of the heavy lifting on this front allowing the photographer to focus more on capturing the perfect moment. Overall the autofocusing capabilities of the R1 are phenomenal.

Video:
The R1 is also a very solid video camera. I think that the R5 Mark ii takes the cake on this front but the R1 is no slouch. It can record oversampled 4K up to 60 fps and can shoot 6K video but only in Canon Raw formats leading to huge files. Another great feature that improves overall video recording is the brand-new stacked sensor. This eliminates rolling shutter and can create much smoother and cleaner videos especially when in the presence of artificial light sources. The R1 can record in C-Log 2 which is an absolutely beautiful and easy to work with format. One downside of the R1 is that unlike the R5 Mark ii it doesn’t feature a waveform display while recording. I’m not sure why Canon would include this on the R5 Mark ii and not the R1, but this is exactly what they’ve done. Overall the R1 is a very solid camera when it comes to recording high-quality videos.

Build & Handling:
The overall design and form factor of the R1 is fairly similar to the R3 with a few minor upgrades and improvements. Just like the R3 it features an integrated vertical grip and shutter button. There are a few changes when it comes to the button layout but for the most part it is very similar allowing you to easily and efficiently switch between vertical and horizontal orientations. The R1 is very weather resistant so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about moisture or dust getting into your camera unless you’re in the most extreme of circumstances. One of the main upgrades that is very prominent on the R1 is the electronic viewfinder, and this is a massive upgrade from the R3 putting the camera in a very comparable position with the Sony a1 and a7RV. The EVF on the R1 is quite large creating a very high resolution and expansive field of view. In fact this immersive display houses 9.44 million dots creating an ultra-high resolution image. Due to the stacked sensor, your shooting experience will be blackout free and of course, the R1 has excellent eye tracking AF built into the EVF.

Overall, the R1 really is a nice camera but at the end of the day, I think it’s too little too late. Canon has been developing this product for 5+ years and now that it’s finally out in the world it just doesn’t stand up well against other flagship mirrorless cameras from the competition.