Techradar recently had a chat with Canon Product Marketing Specialist, David Parry about the new upcoming Canon EOS R5. While there haven’t been any new specs or details released about the camera, he did confirm that while the EOS R5 isn’t a 5D Mark IV replacement, it does target the same market and customers who might have otherwise bought a 5D series DSLR.
It’s an interesting interview, as is often the case with David, which covers a number of topics about the new EOS R5 camera. As usual, while David is happy to expand on the topics he is allowed to talk about, he remained tight-lipped when it came to letting out any new information on the capabilities of the camera itself.
Initially, the discussion started around the ergonomics and general design of the camera, specifically the lack of the multi-function touch bar found on the EOS R.
We’ve got the joystick on here, instead of the Multi-function bar. Everybody knows the multi-function bar on the EOS R got a mixed response – some people really got on with it, some people really couldn’t get on with it at all,” he said. “So maybe going with this is a safer bet – more people are used to the multi-controller.”
Because this is a 5-series, more people at that kind of level will expect functions similar to what you get on a 5D.
When asked directly if this is basically why the camera is being called the EOS R5, David responded…
It’s aimed at that level of the market. This isn’t a replacement for the 5D Mark IV or anything like that. But this is a mirrorless 5-series, it’s aimed at that segment of the market.
Which makes sense because in film days we had the EOS 5, then with digital DSLRs we had the 5D, and now we’ve got the R5 now. So it’s all the same sort of level.
So, there you go. The EOS 5 was the 35mm line, the EOS 5D is the DSLR line, and the EOS R5 is the mirrorless line, but all are aimed at the same level of user. Although the EOS R5 won’t be the 5D Mark IV replacement. Does this mean we might see a 5D Mark V? Well, one was rumoured as recently as October 2019 for release at some point in Q4. Perhaps, for at least the coming generation, they’ll run the two side-by-side, similar to what Nikon has done with the Z6 and the D780.
Perhaps this means that the EOS R6 will also be analogous to the 6D product line, as suspected, although that wasn’t mentioned in this discussion as Canon hasn’t officially mentioned the EOS R6 anywhere yet.
The interview goes on to cover some of the challenges of the heat dissipation required to be able to shoot massive 8K video, and the new materials and technologies Canon has been using to help do that. They also go into some detail about the Eye AF system and the fact that it can also track birds, as well as the usual dogs and cats, which is something that no other manufacturer currently advertises.
If you read between the lines, there are definitely some clues as to what we might be able to expect in the EOS R5, but it’s still a little too early to speculate here. It’s well worth a look at the whole interview, though, if you’ve been interested in the EOS R5’s progress.
[via Canon Rumors]
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