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Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

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    Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

    As this forum is titled camera reviews, I thought it might be fun to actually post a user review of a camera.
    I bought my first 5D Mk IV on release date in September 2016. I have had all the iterations of the 5 series so this was my logical upgrade. The first thing I found was that it followed from the 5D Mk lll as set of logical improvements, better ISO performance, less noise, better dynamic range, improved focusing and of course more pixels. (I had no need for more pixels hence putting it last on my list).
    I have used the camera extensively for studio work, landscapes and action shots. The first thing I noticed was the improved focusing when in difficult lighting conditions, secondly the camera is quieter, third point was how much faster it is to use a touch screen, especially in conjunction with the quick menu. The improved low light performance and additional dynamic range proved to be everything I had hoped for and the quality of the images is first class. The resolution if you are using good glass allows me to extract head and shoulder portraits from full length shots (i have even won competitions with such portraits). I had kept my 5D Mk lll as a second camera, the idea being that I could just put one camera down and pick the other up, rather than changing lenses. At first this worked for me but gradually I found I was using the old camera less and less. So when the price dipped below the £3,000 mark, I bought a second 5D Mk IV and sold the Mk lll. The reason i like to work with two cameras is that I use prime lenses most of the time and it allows me to avoid changing lenses too often.
    I have to say that after 50 years, taking pictures this is the perfect camera as far as I am concerned. It is fast enough to use for car rallies and motorcycle racing. Has exceptional image quality for portraits and landscapes in other words it is a great all rounder, a genuine jack of all trades.
    Last edited by SpringfieldPhoto; 25-01-2019, 22:06.
    Alan

    No longer using Canon but still teaching new Canon users (and others) the gentle art of Photography.

    http://www.springfield-photography.com/

    #2
    Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

    Two 1DMk4's were exchanged in October 2017 for two 5DMk4's. The 1DMk4's were fine but I wanted better lowlight performance and I missed the full frame of my original 5D classics. (My first digital cameras). A good deal was done with Castle Cameras in Winton which was well worth the 160 mile round trip.

    The new outfit was collected on a Wednesday and was played with a little in my front room (like you do!) before photographing some friends 50th wedding celebrations on the following Saturday. I arrived at the venue early, (a local sports centre), took a few test shots of the empty venue and Wow! I could see immediately that I had made the right decision. I can only agree with Alan that this must be near the perfect DSLR (for, me anyway). Opportunities for quite heavy crops and still have the ability to produce exceptional prints I think is amazing.

    Before purchase, I had read in some reviews that battery life on the 5DMk4 was a concern. Both of my bodies are equipped with the optional grip and and an extra battery and I have never had to change batteries during a shoot. The cameras have been used extensively in the last 14 months (including a Hell's Angels wedding!!) and the the results have been outstanding.

    With the grip, extra battery and a Canon 24-105 it's quite heavy on 'walkabout' but using a Black Rapid strap, I have done several all day shoots with no discomfort. All in all I'm well pleased!

    Gerry

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      #3
      Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

      I agree with all of the above....I found it a step change from the MKIII when I upgraded last year.
      Brian Vickers LRPS

      brianvickersphotography.com

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

        I had gone 5D - 5D II - 6D, as the 6D suited me better than the 5D III - didn't like the feel of it, and the low light performance of the 6D was better, but I returned to the fold with the 5D IV. It's close to the ideal camera for what I use it for, which is allsorts. It goes some way towards replacing my 7D II as well as an action cam, although better still to use them together.
        Really happy with it.
        Please don't ask about my kit, it's embarrassing!

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          #5
          Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

          I was flicking through the PhotoPlus Canon magazine in the newsagents earlier and they compared all of the FF bodies. I skipped to the conclusion and the 5D4 was declared the winner.
          Chris
          80D - 10-18 IS STM - 15-85 IS USM - 55-250 IS STM - 50 f/1.8 STM - 100-400L IS II USM - 100 f/2.8L Macro - 1.4x III

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            #6
            Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

            See I knew that there were lots of opinions out there.
            Alan

            No longer using Canon but still teaching new Canon users (and others) the gentle art of Photography.

            http://www.springfield-photography.com/

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

              I recently checked and discovered that I have now taken over 30,000 pictures with my two 5D Mk IVs. Do I still love them? YES. I wouldn't swap them for anything currently available from any manufacturer. I use them for all sorts of photography, from macro to high speed action. I have used them for all day shoots in the outdoors, weddings, car rallies and all types of studio work. I accept that they are heavy but when using big lenses they balance perfectly.
              I'm looking forward to the next 30,000 pictures.
              Alan

              No longer using Canon but still teaching new Canon users (and others) the gentle art of Photography.

              http://www.springfield-photography.com/

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                There is no Canon mirrorless option to match the spec of the 5D4...I would be interested to some degree if there was for weight saving...but the lenses are still big and heavy and cost far more. As you say balance is a big factor....I was out all day with mine and a 24, 50 and 200 fast primes with no problem using a ruck sack.
                Brian Vickers LRPS

                brianvickersphotography.com

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                  Having moved to Fuji kit a while back I decided to dip my toe in the full frame market. So having done some research and discounted the Sony and Panasonic ranges as too expensive and, err., too expensive I went to the Taunton branch of LCE and had a look at the Canon R and RP and the Nikon Z6. Weighing up all of the options I walked out with the Nikon.

                  The main reasons where the overall size, the standard style controls and the package as a whole - 24-70, camera and FTZ adaptor in one box. In particular with the FTZ Nikon have managed to provide an adaptor that works will pretty much all of their widely varied F Mount Lenses. Some don't AF but give focus confirmation, and even then with wider angle lenses, MF is not problem with focus peaking.

                  I really wanted to like the Canon kit - having used them for a very long time and having a selection of lenses I could borrow from my wife - but the cameras are not successors to the 5D and 6D ranges where the Z6 (D750) and Z7 (D850) pretty much are. Aside from the 3D AF those cameras are famed for...

                  And I really did want to like the R but that Touch Bar thing...
                  EOS 7D mk II, Sigma 150-660C, Canon 17-85 EF-S, Tamron 10-24 and a wife who shares my obsession.

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                    #10
                    Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                    Canon have a long way to go to convince me to move to mirrorless. In fact, the only mirrorless camera I have seen that might tempt me is made by the new boys to the full frame market, Panasonic. I have to agree with Andy with regard to the R and RP, Nikon have done a better job with the Z6 and 7.
                    I still feel totally at home with my large, heavy and superb 5D MkIVs and can't see any reason to change for the foreseeable future.
                    Alan

                    No longer using Canon but still teaching new Canon users (and others) the gentle art of Photography.

                    http://www.springfield-photography.com/

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                      Originally posted by SpringfieldPhoto View Post
                      ...Nikon have done a better job with the Z6 and 7....
                      I have a friend who is a Nikon Shooter and he traded in his 850 for a Z7. What he tells me is that he had much better results with the 850 for autofocus than he is having with the Z7 using their adapter and native lens that he used for his 850. Let him use my EOS R and he feels that it is a much better camera than his Z7 with the Autofocus (More Keepers on the R than his Z7). Although the R is not a sports or wildlife replacement with it's mere 5 fps, it dos do an awesome in focusing and does a remarkable job at events that I shot at as well as my landscape images. I find it a excellent upgrade over the 6DMKII

                      Tom

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                        #12
                        Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                        I would say the Z7 AF is going to be behind that of the D850 purely because the D850 is way better than most cameras out there - Thom Hogan describes it as the best all-round DSLR you can buy at present. There is some stuff that Nikon have implemented badly in the 6 and 7 - 3D AF has an unusable UI, and I mean totally impractical as well as unusable - so your friend's conclusions are not unreasonable.

                        I watched a couple of Youtube videos recently - one by Jared Polin, the other Chelsea and Tony Northrup - and the both came to completely different conclusions re the Z6based on a two-day launch event they attended. Polin thought it was fine and got some excellent shots out of it, no problems with AF usage and found some of the best shots he took were with adapted F glass - the 105 macro and 70-200 f2.8. The Northrups spoke as if they never got a keeper all way through the two-day event and seemed to think the camera was fatally flawed...

                        My experience matches Polin and the Z6 has yet to let me down - that's not to say I've not had some issues with the customised controls but that's me not the camera - though at present I only have the 24-70mm/f4s which is the best kit lens I've used by far and is unlikely to stress the camera's AF. That may come when I pluck up the courage to trade some Fuji gear for a nice Nikon 200-500 f5.6. And hope my wife doesn't kill me...
                        Last edited by AndyMulhearn; 29-07-2019, 12:42.
                        EOS 7D mk II, Sigma 150-660C, Canon 17-85 EF-S, Tamron 10-24 and a wife who shares my obsession.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                          Originally posted by AndyMulhearn View Post
                          ...My experience matches Polin and the Z6 has may come when I pluck up the courage to trade some Fuji gear for a nice Nikon 200-500 f5.6. And hope my wife doesn't kill me...
                          Traded the Tamron 150-600 for the canon 100-400L with the 1.4x extender and the wife’s comment was that I should of bought the canon lens to start with, then shook her head, rolled her eyes and said again, don’t even tell me this is the last lens you’ll purchase.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                            LOL

                            What is it Colin says? Buy cheap, pay twice?
                            EOS 7D mk II, Sigma 150-660C, Canon 17-85 EF-S, Tamron 10-24 and a wife who shares my obsession.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Canon EOS 5D MkIV User Review

                              Yes the Northrups slated the Nikon....I think they were just shocked that at launch it was pitched in the same price range as the 850 and thus raised expectations.....whereas Canon launched the R for 2/3rds of the 5DMk4 which was commensurate with the lower spec.
                              I think you need to take your time to get the best out of a camera....at the photography show I got more focussed keepers with my 5D4 and 50mm f1.2 than with the R fitted with my lens (taking shots of the same model and same settings etc)...but the R should have been spot on with no micro adjustment issues. My choice would be the RP right now accepting the R doesn't match 5D4 and especially as its just under £1k at HDEW... its a great price......but why would I downgrade anyway.....this extra weight training is good for me!
                              Brian Vickers LRPS

                              brianvickersphotography.com

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