Canon’s best camera just got even better. The new EOS 5D Mark IV has a 30.4-megapixel full-frame sensor, will record 4K video, and can snap away at 7 frames per second, but it’s also the first Canon SLR that lets you focus after you’ve taken a photo.
That’s a pretty amazing feature for a proper digital SLR — not just a point-and-shoot toy from Lytro — and it comes courtesy of the first implementation of what Canon calls Dual Pixel RAW, a new file format that includes another level of image metadata.
Like the difference between a flat JPG and a versatile RAW’s extra colour channels and exposure information, Dual Pixel RAW comes at a massive size premium over the smaller file formats — around double from what we’ve seen, with a 37MB RAW translating into a 67MB DPRAW — but captures image parallax information using dual-pixel focus arrays on the 5D Mark IV’s sensor — you might have heard of them before on previous Canon SLRs, but now that image data is being put to good use.
The 5D Mark IV’s 30.4-megapixel sensor has a native ISO range of 100 to 32000, and that’s expandable by a couple of stops in either direction to a total range of 50 to 102,400. A 61-point autofocus system includes 41 cross-type AF points, and it’ll focus all the way down to -4EV if you’re willing to use Live View mode. It’ll capture video at up to DCI 4K (4096x2160pixels) at 30/25/24fps, up to 120fps frame rates for 720p HD — and 8.8-megapixel frames can be extracted from that 4K
video output too.
As well as under the hood developments, the new EOS 5D Mark IV is even more water- and dustproof than its predecessors, and also has built-in Wi-Fi and support for GPS geotagging. The redesigned shutter is good for 7fps full-resolution snaps, with up to 21 RAWs stored in the temporary buffer or an unlimited number of JPEGs. There’s also a variety of silent burst and single-shot photo settings for the stealthier photographers amongst us.
Alongside the 5D Mark IV, Canon has also updated two of its more versatile L lenses, with the new 24-105 f/4L IS II USM becoming a new kit lens option for higher-end EOS models and the 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM further improving on the well-regarded wide-angle classic.
Here’s what you get in the box:
Canon doesn’t share RRPs for its cameras and lenses — saying that “prices will be set at dealer discretion” — but all three new bits of gear will go on sale from 8 September.
[clear]
[clear]