Canon R5 II: Worth the Investment?

Brent,love your channel and your honesty. I doubt I will upgrade due to cost, but I’m really looking forward to your reviews on this new camera.

Love the honest rational used to make your decision and I'm really looking forward to your review and insights once you finally get it. I'm completely happy with my R6 II but I won't lie, the R5 II sounds very intriguing and who knows, never say never. I am waiting for something like the R7 II as a potential back up body. Keep the great videos coming Brent.

Thank you so much for not trying "to sell" the new camera, unlike bigger channels / yourubers - where they are complementing a lot and criticizing a little, making sure that they don't say too much, so they keep good relationship with the brands, their legit sponsors. I think R5 mk2 had more hype & mystery all of those years, but it doesn't feel like it's a game changer for the industry. Haha, and not a lot of people care about R1 😅😂 Thanks!

I think (or hope) that you’re underestimating how much you’re going to love the eye focus feature. Back in the film days I had a pair of EOS-3’s, the eye tracking was absolutely mind boggling! I can only assume that has vastly improved since then. For wildlife, it could be a game changer for you. Your reviews of the R5 are one of the reasons I have 2 of them. I am anxious to hear your review once you receive the new camera. Best wishes, and happy birthday!

I’m happy you are upgrading to the r5m2. Maybe I will come out for a workshop.

I own a R6M2 and I love this camera. It's got all the bells and whistles I need.. And it's never let me down. I won't be buying any of the expensive cameras.

I ordered it for all the same reasons. Great video bro

I did the same thing, got up 1/2 hour before the event started it and ordered it two minutes later!

What has shocked me is that I've just realized that the Canon new battery is £119 here in the UK while Nikon Z8 and Sony batteries are around half the price. That seems like an almost hidden cost no one talks about.

And I’m keeping my RX as well as for a back up.

Nice video and info. I share some common habits/thoughts. I did pre-order (+ 1 battery spare). I was waiting to get some "fresh" batteries for my R5 until I saw the specs...glad I did. For me AF improvements are number one, I shoot tiny critters and seem to always crop in some even with the new RF200-800 although less than I use too, my pack weight is a key factor so I do not care for grips and almost always hand held with wild life (not packing a heavy tripod for erratic critters), sounds like IS improvements, pre-capture should help me I hope, ...

When on sale it will be or used. It’s a huge bummer you have to buy a $700usd fan grip in order to use the “Fan” feature on the camera. It makes the holes useless without the grip totally absurd!

I'm buying the R5 II for much the same reasons: AF, stacked sensor, slo-mo with sound, etc. -- plus value for my channel. If it weren't for YouTube, maybe I wouldn't do it as my R5 is actually good enough.

Great video, as always, Brent. It looks like Canon have finally caught up with the features I have enjoyed (as have other users) for several years with Olympus OM-1. The main thing being a form of pre-capture and the stacked sensor. Why pre-capture is limited is beyond me (and yes, I appreciate it does have a 45mpx sensor which is double the data than the OM-1). One reviewer describes the feature as 'revolutionary', well, sorry it has been around on m43rds bodies for at least the last 5-10 years. Pre-capture is essential for any wildlife work, imho. The other major benefit is the new stacked sensor, For wildlife when panning this is beyond essential. As I like to say, "once you go stacked, you never go back..." Enjoy the new camera when you get it!

pre order are always a bit risky. When the R5 was out it had bunch of issues especially on overheating. Most issues were partly fixed by firmware over time. I'm going to wait and see

@BrentHall I am still struggling to decide if I should let go of my R6 Mk Ii for R5 ii or just get bigger better lenses for the reach. For bird photography R6 ii does have a reach issue as I only have RF 100-400 for now. Looking forward to your take on R5 ii AF to see if it's worth it.

I pretty much agree with your thought. Fortunately I have the extra money to spend. As far as the still/video switch is concerned it has no value to me. I programmed the Fn to switch among the c1,c2,c3 still modes. If I need quick video the red button on the top records c3 video while shooting stills. Otherwise I can switch to video on the top or now the left side. Shooting still while doing video is nice. Sad that you need the new batteries with the extra power for the newest features. Not really that surprising. I hope battery life is better in general.

Hey brent. In an unrelated matter I couldn't help but notice the 500 f4 behind ya. Are you happy with it? I'm asking cause I was thinking for my 60th birthday either getting that or 600 f4 of course used. No hurry on getting back to me. I'm shooting r6 mk.2. Thanks Brent ☺️

It's fascinating to see your thoughts (and others) on this camera. I've had no delusion of ever getting it, but it's still great to see where the industry is. Besides not being financially feasible, I don't see enough of an improvement, in the features that I would use, over the R5 (do I really have to say Mark I now?). I'm still happy with the R5 and know that my better investment, if I get some money to invest, is in lenses. I am glad to see that they moved the power switch to the right hand side, but the dedicated switch between stills and video would be of no benefit to me. I would think it would be better suited to a button instead of a switch - I currently have the M-Fn button mapped for this. If you're truly switching back and forth that often, I think a physical switch would be greatly inconvenient. I'm looking forward to the videos in 3-6 months after everyone has had a chance to really use the camera. It will be interesting to see the comments then.

How much better will a print be over say a 1DS or D5?