jamm Loc: northumberland uk

Hello out there I've a canon 5D iv would you say changing to the canon R6 would be much of a step up...thanks Jim

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

It depends.

Are you looking for the majority to say yes so you can justify it in your mind?

What does your 5D not do for you?

G.A.S?

jamm Loc: northumberland uk

Gas.. good answer really good answer 😃 i would say nothing maybe only 7 FPS only drawback but I can live with that..well thanks for saving me £2500. Jimmy

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

mirrorless vs. DSLR. The fundamental issue. Basically lighter vs. heavier, keeping lens set vs. getting new ones and/or adapter, past vs. future, big expense vs. none.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Some things may be nice, but, are they that important, or necessary.

BebuLamar

Up to you! In my opinion it's not a step up. Just a move to mirrorless. 5D=R5 in my opinion. R3 is a step up.

User ID

Phenomenal, operationally.
Not noticeable image-wise.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

That you need a new camera (despite the fact that you already have a very capable camera) is exactly what the camera manufacturers want you to believe.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It really depends upon what you shoot and what you do with your images.

If you shoot a lot of sports and/or wildlife, the autofocus system of the R6 might be a nice step up for you. Not that the 5DIV's AF system is bad, by any means. But the R6's is the "latest and greatest". There are literally thousands of AF points that cover almost the entire image area of the R6... while the 61 points in your 5DIV are fairly tightly clustered in the center of the image area. The R6 can track and maintain focus on subjects as they move across the image area... locking onto faces or even peoples' eyes. It can do the same with most animals' eyes.

On the other hand, the R6 is a 20MP camera, while you currently enjoy 30MP with your 5DIV. This may effect how much enlargement or cropping you can do. That might be important, for example, if you do a lot of landscape photography and make big prints.

For a several reasons, the R6 would be a better low light camera. First, with it's modest resolution the R6 has less noise, allowing higher ISOs to be used. Here's a link that demonstrates the difference:

https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm#Canon%20EOS%205D%20Mark%20IV_14,Canon%20EOS%20R6_14

But also the R6's AF system is able to focus in much lower light conditions. Part of the reason for this is because light has to pass through a semi-transparent mirror in your 5DIV to reach the AF sensors. Some light is lost to that mirror. While the 5DIV's ability to focus in as low as -3EV light (strong moonlight) is very good for a DSLR, the R6 blows it away by being able to focus as low as -6.5EV. The R6's AF sensors are embedded right in the image sensor itself, so light directly falls on them. It doesn't have to pass through a semi-transparent mirror or be redirected by another mirror.

The ability to focus at lower EV also effects using lenses with teleconverters. Your 5DIV can handle an "f/8 combo"... such as an f/5.6 lens with a 1/4X teleconverter or an f/4 lens with a 2X. With it's more sensitive AF system, the R6 is able to focus more combinations, with effective aperture of f/11 or even smaller.

The R6 and RF lenses can be a bit smaller and lighter than 5DIV and EF lenses. Still, you don't need to buy a bunch of RF lenses right away, because you can easily adapt EF lenses for use on the R6 where they typically perform as well or better than they did on your DSLR. (For example, there's no need to calibrate lenses on the mirrorless camera, since the AF sensors are right in the image sensor itself.)

Also, the R6 has in-camera image stabilization (IBIS), which can work in conjunction with any optical image stabilization you might have in lenses. IBIS allows non-stabilized lenses to be used at slower shutter speeds that may be needed in lower light conditions, as well as making stabilized lenses usable at even slower speeds than was possible on your 5DIV. (Everyone is different in their ability to hand hold a steady shot... just rest assured IBIS will allow slower shutter speeds than you were comfortable using before. You are probably already aware that neither IBIS nor optical stabilization in lenses can help freeze subject movement. Only faster shutter speeds can help with that.)

If you take a lot of shots in a typical day at high frame rates, you can expect the 5DIV to get nearly 3X as many shots per battery charge, compared to the R6. This is largely because of the R6's electronic viewfinder. Unlike the optical viewfinder in your 5DIV, the R6's EVF has to be powered up continuously or it will be completely blacked out. It's sort of like using continuous Live View with a DSLR, a heavy drain on the battery. The R6 can be fitted with a BG-R10 battery grip to add a second battery... However it's a bit more expensive than the BG-E20 used with the 5DIV. Also to get the top performance out of the R6 you will need to invest in the latest LP-E6N"H" batteries. While you can use older LP-E6N and LP-E6 in it, the camera will be slightly hampered with those lower capacity batteries.

Here's a summary comparison of the two cameras you might find helpful:

https://cameradecision.com/compare/Canon-EOS-R6-vs-Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-IV

There are other, more detailed comparisons online if you wish.

I also highly recommend Bryan Carnathan's reviews at The-Digital-Picture.com. He specializes in Canon gear and does a good job reviewing it.

Opusx300

No… but the R5 would be 🙂

BebuLamar

It's hard to call it a step up while B&H is selling the 5DIV for $200 more than the R6.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

I just stepped up from a 7DII to an R5. That's a step up. But going from a 5DIV to an R6? No.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

The AF would be a huge leap in both still and video.
So yes a big step there.
Resolution would be less though.
The R5 would be the camera that would be miles ahead. It is the one used to compare to the Sony a1 and Nikon Z9.

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

Very good answers and that's why I decided to go mirrorless instead of the 5DmkIV. I have been very happy with my decision.