Canon EOS 5Ds
Can it still hold it’s own in 2020, 4 years after it came out?
The answer is yes. It’s a great camera for what it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect by any means.
The 5DS This is the 5DS I use to shoot every day, fitted with my favorite lens for the camera: The Canon 100MM f2.8 L Macro
Specs
We all want to know the specs of this camera, but I’m going to give the basics. By basics I mean I’m going to write most of the stuff people actually want to know about this camera’s specs.
Shutter speeds of 30 seconds up to 1/8000 of a seccond
Compatible with EF lenses
DSLR, so there is a flappy mirror box in there
A redesigned shutter from the 5D Mark iii that is more stable
Most all of the features from the 7D Mark ii including the anti flicker feature I love
A 50 megapixel sensor
Built in intervalometer
61 point AF system with 45 cross type points and 5 dual cross type points
Burst shooting up to 5 FPS
USB 3.0 connectivity for file transfers and tethered shooting.
1080p recording at 30p or 24p, 720p recording at 60p, and 480p at 30p
1080p and 720p recording in All-i or IPB compression
Dual card slots (UHS-1 SD and UDMA7 CF card)
Raw shooting at 50mp, 28mp, and 12 mp
ISO from 100-6400 expandable to 50 low or 12800 high but you loose dynamic range in both high and low settings
Weather and Dust sealing
Flash sync speed of 1/200 of a second
Resolution, Lenses, and Camera Shake
With 50 Megapixels, you can capture extreme amounts of details.
Lets address the elephant in the room right off the bat, high resolution cameras need a high resolution lens. If you use a 24-105 F4 L on this you will always get a somewhat soft image. Prime lenses will be your best friend, as well as high resolution zooms like the 70-200 series lenses. So if you are looking at this camera and don’t have a solid set of lenses to go with it, then you will get soft results. Now there are two options here, as the camera actually has a couple tricks up it’s sleeve. One is to lower the resolution. Shooting this camera at 28 or 12 megapixels can help with the sharpness in some cases. The other is just shoot with sharper lenses.
Now you don’t have to spend a ridiculous amount of money to get sharp results. The 50mm f1.8 STM is a great lens to use on this as it can resolve well on this sensor. I use a 100mm F2.8 L macro with IS most of the time for my work. This is because the IS is going to be a feature you will want. Camera shake is apparent on this camera. You will want to be shooting like a crop sensor and keeping the shutter speed doubled over your focal length. If you have IS then you can go back to shooting it like any other full frame camera. This camera was clearly never meant to be used hand held in most cases, but that doesn’t mean you can’t.
If you shoot at 28 or 12 megapixels you can easily use it handheld just like a traditional 5D series camera. You can also incorporate flash into your shooting which will help with getting a sharper image if you need to shoot handheld on locations. In most cases I shoot with flash and when I don't I’m shooting at 28 megapixels.
On the topic of resolution, raw files from this camera are massive. If you are using 32 gig cards you will get just over 400 Raw files at 50 megapixels. Another reason I drop to 28 megapixels is because it drops that size almost in half. If I’m caring it around with me just to shoot for fun, I drop it to 12 megapixels. If you are hellbent on shooting 50 megapixels, then also account for storage. I shoot regularly and I fill a two terabyte drive easily in a year.
On a tripod in the studio, this camera shines. It pulls phenomenal amounts of detail when paired with a sharp lens like the 100mm f2.8 L Macro.
What is it designed for?
This camera was designed primarily for shooting in studio, or shooting with tripods and monopods. You can do wildlife with this camera as long as you are using high enough shutter speeds or a monopod. Generally speaking though, there are better cameras you can use for wildlife like the 7D Mark ii which this camera feels identical too.
This camera does a phenomenal job with portraits, still lives, and product shots.. I love shooting it in the studio, and find it to give high details and plenty of resolution to print big. It also gives a lot of potential for cropping if need be. This means I can leave extra space around my subject to crop it to fit whatever size I need to print to. Clients may ask for 4x6s, 8x10s, and 11x14s and it’s nice to know I can hit every aspect ratio without awkwardly cropping my subject.
This camera also does well with still life work as well. Shooting with flash in the studio it gives a lot of detail on a small sensor. Generally you had to go to medium format to get this high of a resolution in digital photography. Now I still find medium format to provide better color, dynamic range, and sharpness. That being said using the right lens on the 5DS and you will get phenomenal results. On top of that there is the sister camera: the Canon EOS 5DSR. This variant removes the aliasing filter to provide a sharper image at the cost of increased moire patterning. I rented a 5DSR and it only occurred in only a couple image out of over 1000 images shot, but it was a girl wearing a corduroy skirt. It’s not often I’ve had this issue, but it is something you may have fix in post.
Raw files are standard canon fare for editing. Compared to newer cameras it will lack in dynamic range, but it does provide more than enough data to recover the sky and shadows in the bushes.
Advantages
The biggest advantage of the 5DS’s sensor is printing and printing big. If you print at 240dpi, then you will get a 24x36 inch print. I feel canon focused this camera for businesses and artists who need high resolution files. Another nice feature is that it has similar (and in my testing better) dynamic range than the 5D Mark iii it compliments. Raw files are standard Canon fare, less dynamic range than a Nikon or Sony but still providing good results and more than enough shadow and highlight recovery.
It’s also quite functional from a professional standpoint. It is whether sealed as well, and being a 5D series camera it’s a tank. I’ve had no issues with it using it in surprise rain storms or on the sidelines of a spartan race. It also features a dual card slot setup that has saved me when my SD card decided it didn’t want to work anymore. If you shoot critical events, then the extra redundancy is fantastic. It also has USB 3.0 for tethered shooting that can quickly send the 50 megapixel files over to your computer in about a second.
That’s what makes this camera so great, it can be a high resolution specialty camera, but drop it down to a lower resolution and it can track subjects and work well in action scenes. This camera can be a 5DS when you need resolution, a 5D Mark iii when you need to get work done on the go, and a 7D mark ii when you want to capture sport and wildlife all be it at a slower frame rate.
Another thing this does well is art reproduction and large format photo copying. I used this to create digital copies of newspapers and it resolves all the text shockingly well. Even the dots that make up the photos in the paper are visible. This is a case where the 5DS is better than the 5DSR, as moire patterns really show up in the images in the newsprint.
Disadvantages
Even if sharpness is an issue, most people will never see the image at 100%. Shooting wide open here even on a sharp prime will result in more pronounced softness compared to a 20-30 megapixel sensor. Hand shake is also a contributing factor, and becomes a challenge in the field.
All this resolution comes to a price, and that price can quickly be with lenses. As mentioned above, certain lenses will just perform poorly on this camera. Sadly this includes many L series lenses sold by Canon. That 24-105 f4 L that is versatile and in many photographers camera bags will produce soft results. Stopping down helps, but it will never reach the sharpness that this camera can achieve. If you want to know what canon recommends then click here to go to an article by CanonWatch.com that covers the official release by canon. Generally speaking, most primes will do just fine. As for zooms, well just rent and test before you buy.
Now this doesn’t mean you can’t use these lenses, as I do use the 24-105 f4 L on my 5DS quite often. In order to do that I’m dropping my resolution in order to do so. The same goes with the 17-40 f4 L as well, where I have to drop to 28 megapixels just to get a somewhat sharp image. I get that it’s a 50 megapixel camera using lenses that have been out for up to 30 years at this point, but it’s still an added hassle and price you pay to have a high resolution sensor. Just a side note though, Even though the image softens up, it doesn’t mean the images are far from usable. In fact, the example shows the model’s eye looking just a littler softer than expected. The softness isn’t “terrible" and it does retain a fair amount of detail. It is something that will show through when you are printing or zooming into 100%.
Now there are cameras with high resolution sensors available these days. In fact the Sony A7r series is something to consider if looking at a 5DS. Now adapting these canon lenses you already have to the A7r will introduce the same issues with the 5DS if they cannot resolve enough detail. The thing is, if you sell or trade your camera and lenses to get the A7r series with native glass (or third party glass like Sigma who is CRUSHING IT!) then you will have quite a competent system. Most of the Sony lenses these days will resolve beautifully on their cameras, even the A7R iv. This can make the 5DS a hard pill to swallow if you already don’t have lenses that will work well with the 5DS.
Video is also kinda meh, but it’s a Canon released in 2016 so that’s to be expected. It would have been nice to see a 60 FPS option in 1080, but I shoot primarily in 24 FPS and never cared about slow motion so just something to keep in mind.
Why I still shoot with the 5DS
Despite it’s quirks, this camera has stayed my favorite even to this day. It’s beautiful and powerful, and though it’s not quite as competent as newer cameras, it still has a long way to go before it becomes incompetent.
I used to shoot primarily with a 7D mark ii. It was fast, competent, and reliable. I loved the way it felt and handled. When I got the 5DS though, I instantly felt like I have been using the camera for years. The only thing I missed over the 7D mark ii was the fast shutter speed, but I never really shot action to use 10 frames per second in the first place. It felt like anything the 7D could do, the 5DS could do as well or better. On the outside, the 5DS is similar to the 5D Mark iii in size and feel, but the 7D mark ii is very similar to the 5D Mark iii as well (though ever so slightly, and I mean slightly, smaller). Even the menus and features inside the camera are identical to the 7d Mark ii it seems. I do wish that they included the thumb stick switch, the better frame coverage for AF, and built in flash of the 7D mark ii. Those aren’t deal breakers for me. The 5DS feels comfortable and familiar. It produces stunning results. Portraits are beautiful and if you expose correctly the dynamic range is far from an issue.
I love this camera, and it’s not for everyone. It is for me though. Unless canon releases another 5DS, I have no plans on upgrading. If you don’t need 50 megapixels, and chances are you don’t, then there are many other options out there that may be a better fit.
Quick Review
Dynamic range is good enough. If you are exposing properly then it has never been an issue but under or over exposing can make recovery a challenge
The AF performance is great, and is built off the 1DX and 5D Mark iii’s 61 point AF system
Internally, it functions and feels like a 7D mark ii
Externally, it feels just like the 5D Mark iii
Lenses may produce soft results, so make sure you have lenses that can resolve well on 50 megapixels
The ability to drop the resolution to 12 or 28 megapixels makes it great for hand held shooting or getting better results out of softer lenses
The resolution drop makes it perform more like a 5D mark iii with more manageable files sizes
Speaking of which, massive file sizes at high resolutions can bog a computer
Cards fill up quickly, I get around 400-450 shots out of a 32 Gigabyte card
Hand shake becomes similar to that of a crop sensor at 50 megapixels, so shoot at a shutter speed of twice your focal length to help counter act that
USB 3.0 is fantastic for tethered shooting
Weather and dust sealing is a blessing for when you have to shoot in rough environments
Video features are limiting these days, but it does produce a nice video straight out of camera
Recommended for: portrait, studio photography, landscape, still life, and art reproduction
If your lenses are not in the official Canon recommended list, then I say find a used 7D Mark ii, 5D Mark iii, or 5D Mark iv if you want to stick with canon
The same goes for if you style of photography isn’t recommended here, the 7D Mark ii, 5D Mark iii, and 5D Mark iv make for some really fantastic professional DSLRs
Though 50 megapixels seems great, most people don’t need it. This is a high resolution camera for those who need high resolutions