Railfan Technology > Canon R5 Thoughts?

For those of you that have decided to move up to an R5 or R6, particularly from a 5Dm3 or 5Dm4, I'm curious what your thoughts are both as a camera system and specifically applied to railfanning.  I don't have any particular reason to upgrade at the moment, but I keep thinking about it.  I suspect the new camera lust won't be satisfied until I do, but I'm curious about the reactions of those who have made the leap.  Anything that's a huge step forward or anything that's a perpetual nuisance?  Having an EVF with real-time exposure preview seems like a huge plus to me, particularly when shooting in challenging light.

I'm certain you have explored all the R5 stuff on dpreview.   

Well then what do you do about the lenses?  Use the adapter?  Buy new?  Advantage of new system I think is availing to new lenses. Now $ wise for me would be?? as I have full set of 1.4 primes, not a big investmen in
zooms tho.

So what is big advantage on mirrorless.  Camera and lens companies get to reinvent the wheel.  Sell more product in conjunction with reviewer's who can only make money reviewing new equipment.
Jump on the newest product forgetting the adage of what is most important for good photography.

If I were doing event photography, product photography, maybe street photgraphy. I would have already switched. 
For general hobby, especially wildlife, basic outdoor stuff not sure of advantage.  Night photography I muddle along with a D-780.  Unless you can tell me that sensor is a big improvement
for night photography I don't see the advantage.    Wi

Probably will be a time to switch but lifecycle wise it may not arrive for me.

Bob

Anyone who is willing to spend $3500 to shot trains I think may have a little to much spare change on him. The photos aren't going to look any better then if you used a Canon Rebel. 

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

If you just post online, an iPhone may meet your needs.  One benefit of subscribing to the Lightroom, and Photoshop package is a phone app allowing you to adjust iso, shutter speed and aperture.

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/23 13:19 by bobwilcox.

The sensor is newer and more state of the art. The auto focus is superior.  The rebels had their day, but that day is past.

I looked at the R5 when I was looking to upgrade from the Canon 5D Mark IV - I
was quite impressed.  The R5 was the first (and only?) Canon digital camera to
break free of a rather poor dynamic range of 13.6 where as just about any Nikon
digital camera was spec'd out at 14.5 and above.  Theoretically, the higher the
dynamic range, the better the detail will be in the darker shadowed areas. 
Imagine a stripe that fades from solid black to solid white - the camera with the 
highest dynamic range will be the camera that can capture more of the shading
before going solid black or white.   Canon upped its game from 13.6 to 14.6 -
finally.

The R5, like most mirrorless cameras, has many more focus points to chose from 
and the coverage nearly reaches the entire screen, not just a cluster in the center.

Auto-focus is also much improved - with the camera being exceptional in locking
focus on varying subjects (like faces, eyes... even, yes, trains!).

How about 12 frames per second instead of 7?

The R5, also like many mirrorless cameras, has a 5 point in camera image
stabilization.  It's rated at 5 stops I beleive, if you are using a Canon mirrorless
lens.  That means you can theoretically get a sharp image hand held at 1/6th or
even slower.

If you are getting older (who isn't....), I will tell you it is awesome... and a near
requirement for me these days, (ugh), in being able to see  (chimp) the image
through the eye cup vs pulling out glasses to see it on the vieiwing screen
all while fighting the glare. 

The smaller size is also nice - I'm often shooting in some pretty bad
neighborhoods along Amtrak's NEC and it's easier to go unnoticed, especially
if you have mirrorless lenses to go along.

Obviously, you can use Canon's adapter to continue using your current crop
of lenes (pun intended). 

Or... lol, you can do what I did and finally jump ship for Nikon.  In the end, it
seemed to me that while Canon's mirrorless cameras were set up "better" and
somewhat more intuitive, I came to a conclusion that the Sony sensors that
Nikon uses just seem a pinch better in high contrast, low light situations.  At
the time, and I think still, NIkon was also a season ahead, and often apples
to apples, a bit lower in cost.  Fortunately, a comany called "Fingers" makes
a great Nikon mirrorless to Canon DSLR lens adapter.  Though I am not a
fan of investing in DSLR lenses at this point, the used market is a bargain if
you don't mind using the adapter(s). 

Incidentally, I believe I read that due to the way the new mirrorless lenses
are designed (notably, the connect point to the camera and the distance and
angle the image gets projected onto the sensor) yeilds much better results.
Nikon's mirrorless lens are rated sharper that their DSLR counterparts.

To Bob's point - I'd agree that 80% of the time, a Rebel does the job.  Bob's
images are proof - all you really need is a camera with a proper functioning
shutter, a lens with a proper functioning aperature and the knowledge on
what ISO to set your sensor for the best results based on the shutter and
aperature combination.  But, while that is all you need, a mirrorless offers
some options you may want - and, to be honest, in some circumstance,
need, to get shots you might miss (think frames per second, better ISO
performance, better image quality in difficult lighting situations, and a
convenience factor that might just make getting that shot you may have
missed, easier to get.

/Mitch 

 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/23 15:16 by Mgoldman.

bobwilcox Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you just post online, an iPhone may meet your
> needs.  One benefit of subscribing to the
> Lightroom, and Photoshop package is a phone app
> allowing you to adjust iso, shutter speed and
> aperture.

I downloaded the free Lightroom for iPhone app which gives me control of the phone camera settings.  Chris uk.

Had to look up the lens adapters, ' fringers ';

https://www.fringeradapter.com/

If you do model RR photography, the focus bracketing and focus stacking performance of the R5 has gotten good reviews. 

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Had to look up the lens adapters, ' fringers ';
>
> https://www.fringeradapter.com/

Ah - right, Fringers, not Fingers!
Went up $50 since 2021 it seems.
Still using it - works great with my Nikon Z7 II and my Canon 16-35 f/4, 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8. Works well with my Canon 100-400 mm too, though not with the 1.4 extender.

Fringer EF-NZ for Canon to Nikon Lens Adapter Auto Focus Adapter Ring Compatible with Canon EF Lens to Nikon Z Mount Zfc Z5 Z6 Z7 Z50 Cameras Adapters https://a.co/d/4KbrwzK

/Mitch

Posted from iPhone

I'v moved from 5d4 to RP, R6 and R6 II. Just sold my 7dII for an R7. All good. Still use EF lenses thru canon adapters. generally. have a few RF lenses, mostly non-L primes and a few zooms. Can't complain.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/23 19:55 by dirkb.

photobob Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone who is willing to spend $3500 to shot
> trains I think may have a little to much spare
> change on him. The photos aren't going to look any
> better then if you used a Canon Rebel. 

Totally agree with this Bob, most of the newer bells and whistles just give folks things to play with that they'll never need. Only time they would is if someone is a true pro or has a specific need. I wonder if railfans think enough about what they're DOING with all their shots, are they going to museum presentations, banners and billboards, publishing to hard copy or the internet, etc.? Publishing to books, magazines or the internet doesn't need any of this. Vast majority of fans don't need the extra bells and whistles for personal use, and it reminds me of the DLSR sensor MP "arms race" through the years that was touted, most end users never needed 30+ MPs to render perfectly acceptable images. Through the years, companies have depended upon consumers constantly having too much money to throw away on too many choices that they're only too glad to supply, and much of this digital photography suckerism is no different...

JG



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/23 11:11 by jgilmore.

I've found a Canon 60 D meets my needs along with L series lenses.  Spend your money on the glass!

jgilmore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> photobob Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Anyone who is willing to spend $3500 to shot
> > trains I think may have a little to much spare
> > change on him. The photos aren't going to look
> any
> > better then if you used a Canon Rebel. 
>
> Totally agree with this Bob, most of the newer
> bells and whistles just give folks things to play
> with that they'll never need. Only time they would
> is if someone is a true pro or has a specific
> need. I wonder if railfans think enough about what
> they're DOING with all their shots, are they going
> to museum presentations, banners and billboards,
> publishing to hard copy or the internet, etc.?
> Publishing to books, magazines or the internet
> doesn't need any of this. Vast majority of fans
> don't need the extra bells and whistles for
> personal use, and it reminds me of the DLSR sensor
> MP "arms race" through the years that was touted,
> most end users never needed 30+ MPs to render
> perfectly acceptable images. Through the years,
> companies have depended upon consumers constantly
> having too much money to throw away on too many
> choices that they're only too glad to supply, and
> much of this digital photography suckerism is no
> different...
>
> JG

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots

I moved from a Canon 5D MkII to a Canon R model this year. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a R5, I noticed an improvement in the sharpness of the images. I edit my photos in Photoshop Elements and then finish them in DeNoise. I used DeNoise before I moved to the R and I'm very happy with the improvements using the R body and editing tools.

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer