Highlights: Our biggest launch yet - REIMAGINE Live Q&A

On the 9^th July 2020, we put the rumours to rest at our REIMAGINE event where we showed that we have made the ‘impossible’, possible with our biggest product launch ever. Following a keynote presentation earlier in the day, which hit over 70,000 views shortly after, we held a live Q&A to discuss the much anticipated EOS R5 and EOS R6 – two new full frame mirrorless cameras – four new RF lenses and imagePROGRAF PRO-300, a gallery-quality A3 photo printer. Technology journalist and host Lucy Hedges was joined by Canon experts and leading photographers and filmmakers who were among the first to get hands on with the new additions to our product range.

Attendees got the chance to ask their own questions and hear about the specifications of the products and the ways Canon Ambassadors put them to the test. Here are some of the highlights from the live Q&As, answering the top-asked questions of the sessions.

Q: What can you tell us about the Dynamic Range of the EOS R5?
A: Mike Burnhill, Professional Imaging Product Specialist said: “There is industry standard for testing dynamic range for still images so figures are subject to interpretation, but from our testing, it is one stop better than EOS R. But the EOS R5’ Dynamic Range capability is just one part of the package. The camera’s resolution, speed, and ISO all add to the camera’s great image quality.”

Q: Robert, can you tell us what it is like to use the tracking on the EOS R5?
A: Robert Marc Lehmann, Canon Ambassador said: “It is completely different to any camera I’ve used before. I was sent on an expedition to capture three very fast birds. The EOS R5’s autofocus really impressed me - it managed to track the birds. It has so much intelligence with the sensor, that the birds were always in focus. Every image was sharp. I trained to shoot photos like this for 10 years and the camera managed to do it in seconds. Especially with the birds of prey - it is easy for anyone to capture the birds.”

Ivan D’Antonio, Canon Ambassador added: “My experience with the camera’s autofocus was really impressive. I shot two videos, and I couldn’t be sure what would happen on the shoot. This freed me to focus on capturing the shot rather than whether it was in focus. It is my new best friend!”

Q: Ivan, can you tell us about some of the video features you find particularly impressive?
A: Ivan said: “I come from painting background so I always search for something that reminds me of a paintbrush - something little, light and that can produce beauty. There’s no compromise with image quality with this camera. The 8K video capabilities really impress me, it’s not just digital detail, it’s alive it makes you feel like you are inside the scene and you recall the feelings of shooting it. You can see all the details. And you can explore the shot even more in post-production as you have so many more options - you could even reconsider some shooting choices and allows me to do more. If you don’t need the 8K, but you want the extra details, it can give there is a 4K HQ mode which is 4K image with 8K detail.”

“For example, with the yoga video I shot with it, there was bad weather. I had only one chance to shoot the master shot and thanks to the full-frame sensor with shallow depth of field I could create new framing on the same shot. So, it looked like a totally different shot. Sometimes creativity comes in post-production, so having that freedom to follow my inspiration is amazing.”

Q: Why is it not possible to shoot 4K in RAW?
A: Mike said: “This is because our 8K RAW is not de-bayered, processing down to 4KRAW is complex to achieve. It is technically difficult to resize without compromising image quality while maintaining the ability to process raw data.”

Q: What makes 4K HQ so good?
A: Mike said: “In a normal 4k video signal you don’t have equal RGB data, but with 8K you can downsample to 4K you end up with equal amounts of RGB data so that there is no missing data – which means a much sharper image, without noise, to produce the perfect 4K resolution for maximum performance.”

Q: Mike, tell us about the IS of the EOS R6?
A: Mike said: “The in-body stabilisation is all designed by Canon. We designed a system that recognises different types of vibrations. The other key element is the RF Mount - this is what makes this all possible. The large size mount enables a larger image circle from lenses which allows more movement to be possible. The system is designed to detect and correct for lots of other vibrations such as when you're breathing and your heartbeat - I’ve even handheld this for 4 seconds!

“You will get an improvement with EF lenses but the standard we measure only accounts for certain things - so the CIPA IS number won’t improve but in the real world you will really notice 1 or 2 stops improvement. That’s where we are benefiting, we are compensating for the vibrations that most systems don’t.”

Q: Wanda, what was it like to handhold with the 4-second exposure?
A: Wanda Martin, Canon Ambassador said: “It was shocking - you can take much longer exposure than you ever could before. I am a fashion photographer and the poses are normally still, but this time I worked with dancers and it was a challenge for me. I wanted to capture the dynamism and fluidity of the dancers and I had a picture in my mind of blurred dancer and still background. With the EOS R6 this was possible. They said they can hold for 2 seconds and I was shocked, but I even managed 4 seconds. I thought maybe I do really need this camera!”

Canon Ambassador Javier Cortes added: “The IS in-body stabilisation is amazing. I’m always trying to be smooth and this does it perfectly. When the dancers were walking around it was easy to find the right position and I could find the perfect shot. I hate using tripods so this ability is great for me.”

Ilvy Njiokiktjien Canon Ambassador also commented: “I work a lot abroad, so carrying around a lot of equipment is not for me - the less the better. I wouldn’t even need a tripod now. I was shocked by how long you could handhold.”

Q: Tell us about the video capabilities for the EOS R6?
A: Mike said: “The EOS R5 is for professionals, but the EOS R6 is aimed at the everyday photographer that is passionate about photography and filmmaking - so the specs reflect this.”

Javier added: “For me it was a great surprise - I think you can compare it with a Cinema EOS camera. The capabilities of colour and grading is perfect. So, for me, it’s really good. Maybe it’s not for professionals, but I think you can achieve great results with this camera. You can just take it and shoot.”

Richard Walch, Canon Ambassador added: “It is about getting started with video - this is the issue for many photographers. And this camera is great for that. I want to encourage people to start shooting video - it has everything you need and then you can build from there.”

Q: Does it have time code?
A: Mike said: “Yes, time code as well as Canon Log which is great for those getting into film - they can get the most out of the file.”

Q: Tell me about overheating during video recording?
A: Mike said: “There is no magic solution, we have crammed a lot of tech in. If the camera is used for an extended period of time, it does need a cooling off period. The EOS R5 can do 8K for approximately 20mins, depending on the ambient temperature. With the R6 high 4K 60p you will get some heating, but you should be able to record for half an hour - so decent recording periods.”

Q: Mike, tell us about the new RF 600mm F11 IS STM and RF 800mm F11 IS STM
A: Mike said: “The EF 800mm is nearly 4.5kg these are special lenses for professionals - and are expensive - so it cuts out a lot of people who would like this capability. We try to produce lenses that break barriers. The RF 600mm F11 IS STM and RF 800mm F11 IS STM are under 1000 euros and are both super compact so it can live in your bag and have it wherever you go.

“Where I live there is so much wildlife, you always wish for super-telephoto lens and now I can have that and take it on a walk with me. These break the rules of what a super-telephoto lens can be - because we redesigned the mechanism. You can focus with smaller apertures, they are super-fast as well. When I was using it, it locked on to some Kites (birds) that were near me. The quality you get for the price blows you away. A 600mm or 800mm lens doesn’t have to be expensive and that’s what the RF Mount is about - making creative capabilities available to a wider range of users. These F11 lenses are perfect even on a drizzly day.”

Q: Can you get AF with the extender?
A: Mike said: “The new RF 600MM, RF 800mm and RF 100-500mm all work with AF with the extender. The area doesn’t even change - you still have hundreds of AF points with the telephoto lenses. So, you can really change what you can do with it. Canon’s job is to create the tools that help photographers redefine what’s possible.”

Q: Ilvy, can you tell us about the new RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM and what were the standout features of the lens for you?
A: Ilvy said: “I was using this lens to photograph a big family at their farm - so it was a long portrait shoot and I had to walk around the whole farm. First thing is that the lens is so light and that’s perfect when traveling. It’s easy to take with you and easy to hold. When taking the portraits, the family were all in different settings and what I really liked is that, despite the different backgrounds, the images all had the nice soft touch to them, so it felt a series and the images were connected to each other.

“The other feature I didn’t think I’d use was the macro setting - but I was wrong! I spent almost half of the day focusing on little details. I saw the world in different ways photographing tiny details so big - it was beautiful and really added to the series. I even captured the animals with this lens and used the macro feature to photograph the eye of a sheep - it’s like you can see through the eye, showing great depth.”

Q: What are the EF lens and adapter limits?
A: Mike said: “The only lenses that are not compatible are the telephoto lenses launched before 2008 - where the preset button doesn’t work but everything else does. The power zoom of the 35-80mm power zoom lens from the early 90's doesn’t work, but AF does. And that’s it - everything else works fully, however some might have a slight limit of AF points. These will be limited to only 80% rather than 100% - you may even get better optical performance as they account for aberrations.”

Q: Does in-body stabilization work with EF lenses?
A: Mike: “Yes, it does work with the lenses. They are bilingual - they speak EF or RF natively so there is no difference in performance. With any translation you can make a small mistake, but because it speaks the same language as the lens it works seamlessly. If you use lens with IS It’ll work perfectly - even if numbers aren’t showing this. You will get some amazing performance with a lens that has no IS.”

Q: Wanda how did this compare to other printers you’ve used?
A: Wanda said: “I’ve been doing photography since I was 16 years old, but never the printing. Whenever I needed a portfolio, I always went to an external company. I like taking control of every element so don’t know why I would let control out of my hands. Now I’ve had the chance to test printing my images - I realised how easy Canon has made our lives, giving us confidence to do this at home. Printing with different papers, settings and software from the EOS R6 and new lenses - I had the unified ecosystem and it just flowed so easily and consistently and I can do my own gallery quality prints at home. I was amazed by the quality, colour and black density. It was amazing just how accurate the colours were.”

Q: Do you think the ink system holds up in comparison to others you’ve used?
A: Sanjay Jogia, Canon Ambassador said: “I’ve always used Canon printers starting with a PRO-1 and then the PRO-1000, and it has been seamless from one to the other. It has exceeded my expectations, I’m constantly looking at prints in a critical way and this totally stands up to this. It exceeds expectations which is mind-blowing. The PRO-300 has 10 inks and it sits in the background just working. It comes in at a level for people wanting to get into pro printing without breaking the bank. You don’t have to be a guru to get high quality prints - that’s what this has proved. The ease of use is there, including not having to switch inks - something I’ve never had to do as a Canon user. It also has great software that makes it so easy to match what’s on your screen to what’s on the paper - it is true to life. With the Professional Print & Layout software, it helps to make the whole thing less scary - when I speak to people they think printing is so complicated and they just want to press go - that’s what you can do with this printer.”

Q: Can you tell me about the new paper launched?
A: Suhaib Hussain, EMEA Product Marketing Manager at Canon Europe said: “We offer a wide range of paper, the new paper is premium fine art rough. It is a textured paper that is a bit bumpy which adds a 3D touch to prints where they require more of a fabric or painting effect. The PRO-300 works with third party papers by downloading profiles. We cover all bases.”

Q: Sanjay, can you tell us about pulling photos from 8K video taken on the EOS R5 for print?
A: Sanjay said: “I will be honest - I’m a geek. I’ve always been an early adopter of technology and I was excited but scared about pulling stills from 8K because it meant things won’t ever be the same again. I didn’t know what to expect. When I first tried it I was lost for words. I handheld this EOS R5 and filmed a piece of 8K footage of a bride coming down the stairs and pulled a still from it. I put this into the dpp software and I was actually spoilt for choice on the frames I could pull. You get a 35mpxl .tif file you can extract from 8K footage.

“There are lots of moments on a wedding day that are very difficult to capture and you can be dynamic and move around to catch the scene. In the past, when I’ve looked at grading and pulling a still there is concern with how consistent it will be - now you don’t need to worry about this. I can’t wait for the lockdown to end so I can shoot a wedding. Video to print has never really occurred to anybody before - I’m still processing this and the situation and the excitement, because it will change the way I work.”

Q: Does the imagePRORAF PRO-300 have a roll feed and what is the limit?
A: Suhaib said: “It doesn’t support roll feed because we wanted to keep the size down. We improved this on the 10s and the weight is down to 14.4kg - a significant reduction - so adding roll would have made it more. But we listen to customers and in the past, we have improved the length of paper on other models so you can use a cut sheet and we are taking this into account - we are giving them the opportunity to print 39 inches.”

Thank you to all of those who attended the event and asked questions. If you were unable to join the live Q&A, you can catch up on all the action on the Canon Europe website here: https://www.canon-europe.com/pro/events/reimagine-live-event/