One of the greatest camera ever made is the Canon 5D Mark II and I couldn’t stop thinking about all the memories I’ve created with it while reviewing the latest hybrid powerhouse from Canon — the R5 Mark II. This one comes with some impressive specs: Eye control AF, 8K internal video recording, stacked 45MP CMOS sensor, 8.5 stops of IBIS and plenty more.
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00:00The Canon 5D Mark II was truly a revolutionary camera.
00:05Now, I know this word is being thrown out a lot these days, but trust me, it was a revolutionary
00:09camera.
00:10Came out in 2008, and it was the first DSLR to film full HD 1080p video.
00:16It enabled photojournalists, photographers, and newcomers to start making videos.
00:21It let filmmakers achieve that filmic look in a relatively small and inexpensive body.
00:27It was a milestone camera.
00:29The hype was real when it came out.
00:31Everyone was talking about how it was used to film some parts of House, the TV show.
00:35Vincent Lafrette's short film was a viral success, showcasing what this camera can do.
00:41It was basically shot on iPhone before shot on iPhone.
00:46But it wasn't Canon's marketing strategy that did that.
00:49It was the community that embraced this new tech.
00:52In fact, it was so well-received, it took Canon by surprise.
00:55It even convinced the company to spin off specialized cinema line of cameras.
01:00The 5D Mark II changed industries, and changed my life too.
01:05It was my second professional camera, and I feel like I owe a lot to it.
01:09Some of my favorite photos were taken on the 5D line.
01:13I filmed some of my first YouTube videos with it, which I'm too embarrassed to show you
01:17here.
01:18I used the Mark III to take photos of sitting president, and I took thousands of product
01:22photos for The Verge with the Mark III, the Mark IV, even Mark II as of a few years ago.
01:28This camera line truly holds a special place in my heart.
01:32And since then, the 5D line became the R5 line, a mirrorless equivalent.
01:37And today, in my hands, I'm holding the spiritual successor to the 5D, the R5 Mark II.
01:42But can this camera have the same cultural impact as the revolutionary 5D Mark II?
01:52This camera is a long-awaited successor to the R5.
01:56An R5 is a camera which marked a new age for Canon, and the Mark II comes with some new
02:01ideas and a familiar look and feel.
02:05The R5 Mark II can film internally in 8K, it has a stacked sensor, 45 megapixel photos,
02:11eye-controlled autofocus, it has 8.5 stops of IBIS, 30 frames of continuous shooting,
02:17and so on.
02:19It is an impressive camera with impressive specs, but what made me enjoy using it wasn't
02:25all about the specs.
02:26This camera felt familiar.
02:28It felt comforting.
02:29It's been out for a few months, and there are many great reviews out there, so go check
02:34those out.
02:35Instead, I want to try something new here.
02:37I will pick three of my favorite photos that I've taken with this camera, and tell you
02:41what each photo taught me about the R5 Mark II.
02:44So let's start with the first one.
02:49So personally, and professionally, I switched to a PSC sensor system for a number of reasons.
02:56Smaller bodies, smaller lens, lighter gear, good enough quality for what I need.
03:01But astrophotography is one area where I find that system lacking.
03:05So here are some photos taken with my various Fuji cameras over the last few years.
03:10And yeah, I really like all of those, don't get me wrong, they look great in the video,
03:14they will look great on social media.
03:17Once you start pixel peeping and processing these photos, you start to see its limitations.
03:23Going back to full frame sensor made me realize how much I missed it.
03:27This is my first photo I wanted to highlight.
03:29A cold, quiet, windless night on top of a winding road overlooking the Emerald Bay at
03:35Lake Tahoe.
03:37Soon enough after taking this photo, I was very okay with the extra weight of the camera
03:40and the lenses.
03:41It was worth it.
03:43In fact, that argument isn't even as strong as it was a few years ago.
03:47Difference in weight aren't that big, 660g for the Fuji X-H2S compared to the R5's 740g
03:55for the body alone.
03:56Not that big of a difference.
03:57The lenses are a different story though, I'll give you that.
04:01But ever since that first photo, I just kept going out every night to keep taking more
04:06and more astrophotos.
04:09Once again, I was hooked.
04:12My second photo is this one.
04:14A man taking his cigarette break on a rainy, cold night, exhaling smoke out of his nostrils.
04:20And here I want to talk about this camera's autofocus system.
04:24It is good.
04:25It is better than good.
04:26It is great.
04:27But from just my everyday experience and using many, many cameras, I still find it just a
04:32bit less accurate than what I get with a Sony camera, specifically when it comes to video.
04:38This was also evident in some more challenging environments, like the silhouette of a person
04:42taking photos of a sunset.
04:44It just kept drifting in and out and hunting focus more than the Sony would.
04:48When it comes to photos, I did find the system extremely reliable.
04:52There weren't many situations where the autofocus stopped me from getting my shot, including
04:57this photo.
04:58I was trying to be sneaky, I kept my camera down near my hip, kind of sideways, had subject
05:04detection turned on, and I snapped a few photos, hoping my framing was correct and
05:08that the autofocus would do its job.
05:11And it did.
05:12The only thing I do wish was better is this eye-tracked autofocus.
05:17Basically, how it works is, when you're using the electronic viewfinder, the camera will
05:22focus wherever your eye is looking at in the frame.
05:27I absolutely love this idea in theory, but in practice, it just wasn't as reliable as
05:32I was hoping it would be.
05:34Although I can't wait to see this stuff improve, because those kind of features are
05:38really mind-blowing.
05:39And lastly, for my third favorite photo, I'm picking this one of the Golden Gate Bridge.
05:48I was hoping for a bit more of that famous fog rolling through, but sometimes you just
05:53have to work with what you get.
05:55Small tiny cloud passing over the bridge.
05:58Still charming in its own way.
06:00Similarly to my first photo, it is a nice reminder of how nice and crisp full-frame
06:04photos are.
06:06The 45 megapixel photos from a stacked sensor gave truly beautiful results, even in non-landscape
06:12photos.
06:13And another side effect of moving back to the Canon system for the time being is that
06:18I rediscovered my love for post-processing images.
06:22I've gotten a little bit lazy lately, since all my Fuji's photos are just mostly unedited.
06:27Ultimately, we have so many options and various cameras nowadays that a choice of which camera
06:33to use often comes down to smaller things like ecosystem, reliability, form factor,
06:40batteries, and just picking the right tool for the job.
06:45For beautiful landscapes, this camera did fantastically well.
06:50I set up this question at the top, and I already knew the answer for it.
06:53I don't think the R5 Mark II will have the same cultural impact as the 5D Mark II.
06:59Those days are kinda gone.
07:00You can argue that there's only one camera with similar impact since 2008, and that was
07:07the iPhone.
07:08Or any smartphone camera, but let's be real, it's mostly the iPhone.
07:12But using the R5, just like the 5D, still felt like riding a bike.
07:18A very modern, souped-up bike.
07:21And it's also super fun to look at these two cameras and compare them, and see how
07:25the world, our needs, and our culture has changed in 16 years since.
07:30The R5 now has 5,850 autofocus points with subject detection, versus only 9 in 2008 without
07:39any subject detection.
07:41Autofocus became such a big deal for companies to work on.
07:46This camera now takes 30 photos in a second, versus 3.9 back in the day.
07:52It also has a flippy screen, because we're all kind of content creators now making vlogs,
07:57so we have to film ourselves.
07:59It processes photos blazingly fast.
08:02A dual memory card slot is here, the CF cards are now obsolete.
08:08There's a whole lot more controls than ever before, but all the main buttons are still
08:13in the same place.
08:16It is comforting and familiar.
08:18And all those specs are impressive.
08:21But regardless of how our tech has changed, it is your own imagination and ideas that
08:26will help you grow and achieve your vision.
08:29A camera is just a tool to help you get there, so pick the one that fits you the best.
08:34Thank you so much for watching, a few questions for you.
08:38One, a little bit of a new format, tell me how you like it.
08:41Two, since this wasn't just like a straightforward review, you probably have some questions about
08:48the camera, so let me know if I can help you answer them down below.