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Canon EOS R5 at WPPI

The upcoming Canon EOS R5 was on display at the company’s booth at the 2020 WPPI Expo in Las Vegas, so we stopped by (and nudged our way past other attendees as politely as possible) to get a closer look. The representatives present at the booth couldn’t provide any details beyond the development announcement; “what’s been published is all we know,” was the common refrain. In case you missed it, here’s what we know:

• Newly designed CMOS sensor (we’re guessing ~40MP)
• In-camera image stabilization
• 20 fps continuous shooting (silent shutter)
• 12 fps continuous shooting (mechanical shutter)
• 8K video capture
• Twin card slots

Still, we took some photos to get a better idea of what Canon’s done ergonomically to its upcoming full-frame mirrorless model.

We can see right away that the grip is deeply sculpted, with an almost-certainly customizable function button near the lens mount. Just behind the ‘EOS R5 DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCEMENT’ label there’s another port door that’s hard to see, but may conceal a socket for a remote release or wireless transmitter.

Card slots

Here down the side of the camera we can see the card slot door. Again, all we know is that there are dual slots behind there; but the advertised provision of 8K capture means that they’ll need to be speedy, even with a good compression algorithm. Dual-type slots on the EOS 5D Mark IV could be a hint here; perhaps we’ll see one SD slot and one CFExpress slot. Or maybe just dual UHS-II SD card slots. Time will tell.

Top panel

On the top right of the camera, we can see what looks to be an identical control layout to the existing EOS R. The same status panel, and the same Mode + Dial combo for changing your exposure modes. Do you prefer this way of working, or do you long for an old-fashioned mode dial like Canon put on the lower-end RP? Let us know in the comments.

On/Off switch

On the opposite side of the camera is the on/off switch, similar in size to those on the EOS R and RP, but there’s a bit more of a protrusion near the back, perhaps for easier operation with your thumb. That also looks to be a polycarbonate panel surrounding the flash hot shoe, which is likely a ‘window’ for the camera’s wireless connectivity antennas.

Rear plate controls

Apologies for quality of this image, but the camera was nearly up against the back of the display, and there was no visibility from back there – so we have to make do with this top-down angle.

First of all, in the place of the EOS R’s touchbar is a traditional AF joystick and better-placed AF-ON button. Just underneath that is a dedicated ‘magnify’ button for checking focus, along with ‘INFO’ and a ‘Q’ button for pulling up the on-screen quick menu.

Underneath this is a thumb-dial surrounding a ‘SET’ button; this is a familiar setup from many of the company’s DSLRs, and is making its first RF-mount appearance here. No surprise, the screen looks to have the same swivel-out and rotate design as the R and RP, but next to the ‘Menu’ button on the top left is a dedicated ‘RATE’ button, which is accompanied by a microphone. It could be that the R5 lets you attach audio clips to your images using this control.

Rounding out controls on the back of the camera are the traditional ‘Star’ and ‘Focus Selection’ buttons on the top right.

Ports

Again, given the nature of the display, this is the best view of the ports I can get you – but everything is legible, at least. So we know that there will be microphone and headphone ports, a remote port, and a USB (likely type-C) port and HDMI output. You can also get a clearer view of the port cover on the bottom-front of the camera.

It looks like there may be enough distance from the screen hinge to the mic and headphone ports that they won’t get in the way of each other, so fingers crossed on that.

Let’s take a look at the RF 100-500mm lens, also under development.

Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L

In amongst the EOS R5 announcement was the teasing of ‘nine RF lenses’ coming later this year, including the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM on the right side of this image. For comparison, it’s sitting next to an existing EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II; the 100-500mm is a little chunkier, but of course, you’d need a teleconverter on the 100-400mm lens to get the same reach and that would add bulk of its own.

Canon RF 100-500mm controls

Here we can see the ‘smooth / tight’ ring the new RF 100-500mm shares with the EF 100-400mm. This basically sets the resistance of the zoom mechanism, depending on your preferences, or if you just want to eliminate zoom creep when you’re not actively shooting. We can also see the AF/MF switch and a focus limiter option.

Canon RF 100-500mm controls

Way down there, we can see the rest of the switches on the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L, which include a stabilizer on/off switch and a ‘stabilizer mode’ option, giving users an option to bias the stabilizer depending on whether you want absolute stability or if you’re doing panning.

Canon EOS R5 at WPPI

And there you have it – Canon’s upcoming high-end, full-frame mirrorless camera, under glass. We’re hoping to learn more soon, but in the meantime what are you most excited for about this camera? Would you consider getting one yourself? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)