Canon R5 Anticipation for R5 Mark II?

[jcass]

Having been on an upgrade cycle of 7 to 8 years, I confess that I am likely to purchase an R5 Mark II on introduction after having my R5 for a year and half. That'll be two firsts for me: upgrading after only 1 1/2 years, and buying a camera at intro. Of course, this is depending on an actual release and the final specifications of the camera.

I love my R5 and plan to keep it as a second body. There are a couple of features though that just keep tugging me down the road to upgrade:

1. Pre-buffer shooting. I always miss birds launching by a hair and would like to take photos of lightning. In sports, I have a good sense for the moment of the action, this can only help.
2. Auto-focus improvements, especially QPAF and low light AF. The R5 is fantastic, but it does hunt in low light and improvements in the R6 II and R8 AF have been lauded. I admit, this is a weakness of mine and I can use all the help that I can get.
3. Increased resolution/size of viewfinder and display. My eyes just ain't what they used to be. My unicorn is the articulating viewfinder.
4. Multi-function hot shoe. My old flashes suffice, but the incompatibility moving forward is frustrating.
5. Stacked sensor... dynamic range... improved low light image quality. No complaints in my R5, but can you imagine it being better!

I'd like to know what other folks think about the Mark II... should the February announcement actually occur. I think it will. What features do or don't matter to you?

 

[KEN_A]

Aiming to get the new R5 II and will order when announced. How long it will take to get is anybodies guess though.

 

[Photofarmer]

Always puzzles me why announcement and delivery dont coincide. Seems dumb to me

 

[koenkooi]

Always puzzles me why announcement and delivery dont coincide. Seems dumb to me

The most positive explanation I can think of is to use the pre-orders for fune-tuning the allocations, e.g. send 50% to the US, 30% to the EU, etc. The more likely explanation is that marketing likes seeing the anticipation and buzz.

 

[MrSparks999]

Same strategy as used by Apple

 

[SO8]

Always puzzles me why announcement and delivery dont coincide. Seems dumb to me

Drip feeding 'rumours' of spec etc .... like the Fujifilm X100 VI ... rumour of it coming out was right. Name was not X100 Z but VI as the rumour people hadn't understood Fuji's numbering system. The full spec was leaked very obviously maybe a month before. Canon do the same. They test the water, leak a few goodies and then the full spec nearer the time. All part of their marketing strategy I guess. The Pro's who get to try it out prior to release and those in the 'know' who sign to promise they won't say a word aren't always subtle either.

It's all good fun for us I guess.

 

[Dcweather]

I'm fine with my R5 as it is, except that its features are different-enough from the R7 to cause confusion. Maybe the R5 II will be more like the R7. That would be a benefit. The other issue for me is that, since getting the high-mpx R7 and almost always shooting reach-limited, I have a lot less use for FF than for crop. So, not sure I will upgrade. What I really need is an R7 II - but that is likely years away.

I hope not!! I'm counting on at least a facelift version sorting out t he R7 major issues which are bigger than any in the rest of their line up.

 

[RedCobra]

I hope not!! I'm counting on at least a facelift version sorting out t he R7 major issues which are bigger than any in the rest of their line up.

If they dump the third wheel and make it like the R7 I won't buy it. I sold my R7 due to its poor AF compared to my R5 and my OM-1

 

[koenkooi]

I’ve not long sold my R5 bodies will they were still worth something pre upgrade. I didn’t really gel with the R5 mostly because I was plagued with the locking/freezing issues. (now fixed with the latest firmware upgrade) Canon had a look and insinuated it was user error which compounded my poor experience with the R5. The EVF lets it down also especially with fast action photography where some lag is noticeable. The small buffer when shooting RAW was also restrictive on occasion.

I did intend holding on for the R5ii though potentially a price increase might put it above the cost of a grey import R3. Also would the improvements really address my concerns and improve my confidence in the camera. I am tempted to go for the R3 as it would address the issues experienced with the R5. The R3 also had freezing issues which seems to have been sorted with firmware upgrades. The only downside is the drop in pixels as I do crop extensively on occasion. So in a nutshell I’m on the fence regarding R5ii or R3 and will see how things pan out with the final spec before deciding.

The R3 is available right now, the R5II is still a few months away from shipping and you'll have to get lucky with the preorders, I expect demand will vastly outstrip supply for most of 2024.

 

[Shotbycurtin]

The R3 is available right now, the R5II is still a few months away from shipping and you'll have to get lucky with the preorders, I expect demand will vastly outstrip supply for most of 2024.

Not in a rush, got my hands full currently building a house. Hoping to follow some motorsport in Europe next year so the aim is to hopefully be sorted for that.

 

[SO8]

The trade in price for my R5 has gone up where I work by £500 since I last looked. I think I might just sell it, pocket the money and use my R8 until I can get an R5 ii as, unlike in previous times, I do believe we are soon to see it appear.

I’ve also just bought a 24-240 which I only intended for the R8 so the R5 wouldn’t be getting much use. It is fairly much mint so I will get a good price.