Camera test
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Anatomy
Back view The back of the EOS 5DS/R looks like the back of other Canon enthusiast and top-end DSLRs. There’s the large quick control dial that dominates the back, there’s a row of buttons to the left of the monitor and then important controls like the AF-ON (which could be bigger, in my view) and selective metering buttons at top right. As you’d expect, there is a high degree of button customisation potential and ten buttons/dials can have their default functions changed. Having the multi-controller joystick set to Direct AF point selection to make moving the AF zone around a one-touch function is very useful. The Rate button is handy if you have time to go through the preview shots and the rating you give transfers over to Lightroom. The EOS 5DS/R has two card slots, CF and SD/SDHC/SDXC and you have various options how you want them to work; JPEGs to one, Raws to the another, for example. From the front There are no design surprises from the front and the EOS 5DS is clearly a member of the 5D family. The large pad at seven o’clock is the depth-of-field feature and in Custom Control there are 13 other setting options that you can choose from, and that is an improvement from older 5D cameras. Sensor cleaning can be set to take place when the camera is turned on or off. It only takes a second or so but if you prefer a faster start-up then turn it off.
From the top
locked and the central button has to be used to change mode. Above the LCD are dual function buttons which work in conjunction with the rear or front command dial. The downside is the small icons on the LCD but that’s nothing new and there are other ways (like the Q menu) of changing key settings.
For current Canon users, the top-plate will look very familiar with the exposure mode dial on the left and a large LCD information panel on the right. The on/off switch is located around the exposure mode dial, so turning the camera on is a two-handed affair. Start-up time is quick, but it’s slower with the sensor cleaning switched on. The exposure dial is
In view
The 3.2in monitor does not articulate nor is it touch sensitive, and that might be surprising considering so many monitors do offer such features, but Canon obviously feel the typical EOS 5DS/R user is unlikely to need such niceties and it might well be right. The optical viewfinder is excellent; the viewing image is bright and contrasty. In addition to the usual readout, some
key settings can also be shown and these are overlaid on the viewing image itself. The monitor’s image is first class so no problem in that regard and are some useful extras. Having a one-touch zoom button for image previewing is not new to Canon and there are several options when it comes to magnification choice. I settled for 16x. The full-size option was too much for me and
meant lots of navigating around the image looking for the focal point which I found slow. 16x is easily enough to check sharpness and facial expressions critically. What I really liked was the option to add or delete and even resize items that get shown in the Quick Menu. You can be very minimalist and just choose items that you frequently change or like to check on.
Very usefully, Canon’s Intelligent Viewfinder II feature lets you pick what feature you want overlaid on the optical viewfinder.
The camera’s Custom Quick Control lets you personalise which items appear when you push the Q menu button.
The Q menu is handy especially with the camera on a tripod – the bigger icons compared with those on the top-plate LCD help too.
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Issue 21 | Photography News
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