NEW CANON EOS R5 MK II

We go in-depth into Canon's new AI mirrorless full-frame camera, starting with our full hands-on test and performance verdict

The new Canon EOS R5 Mark II has one hell of an act to follow. The original R5 was the best camera that Canon has ever made - in fact it was so good that, despite being launched back in 2020, it's still better than almost any camera on the market today. The Z8 and Z9 might be Nikon's flagships, but in terms of specs they're basically on par with the original EOS R5.

Beating its four-year-older brother is no mean feat, then, but the Canon EOS R5 Mark II manages more than just being an obligatory update: this is a truly transformative camera that shifts all the goalposts - having tracked them with its new ball-detecting autofocus - and proceeds to score thunderous goal after thunderous goal.

Neural net-powered in-camera upscaling and denoising, monster resolution for stills and video,better-than-ever image stabilization, never-before-seen autofocus tech that is light years ahead of the competition... the measuring stick just changed around here.

AI algorithms

But there is much more to this camera than meets the eye. I've already mentioned the Neural network Image Processing, which uses AI algorithms and deep learning to enable features like In-Camera Upscaling (which turns standard 45MP images into monster 180MP files) and High ISO Noise Reduction (which denoises images by 2 stops). I go in-depth on why I think these in-camera AI features are going to change everything, see more on page 36.

Speaking of AI, we need to talk about the new autofocus systems.

There are the usual granular improvements and refinements, and horses and aeroplanes have been added to subject detection mode, but trust me - the new stuff is way better than that.