First CANON EOS 5D Mark IV experience and impression. A few days before the Photokina 2016 in Cologne, CANON has presented the successor of the world-famous CANON 5D Mark III. The CANON EOS 5D Mark IV is supposed to be a further development of the well-known system for professionals and demanding hobby photographers and also in the video area now with 4K function also high-resolution videos possible. Since the release of the CANON EOS 5D Mark III, all photos have also been taken on my blog and for many projects with the model. The more excited I was now of course, how the camera behaves in the first short practical test.

CANON EOS 5D Mark IV – First experience and first impression – The all-round camera

In the coming weeks and months you will find both on my blog, as well as on my two YouTube channels (German/English) in each case still more reports and videos, as well as instructions, which will give you as readers, but also some bloggers perhaps again tips for more beautiful photos. Therefore, today I will first introduce the changes of the new CANON EOS 5D Mark IV.

My requirements for my camera: Due to the luxury lifestyle blog and the various cooperations also next to the blog, my camera must be versatile above all. The images are primarily used for the blog, but also especially in travel collaborations often later for advertisements or magazines. The image quality must be sufficient accordingly. The areas of use just like the blog, travel, fashion, food, details and of course video for both YouTube channels.

Currently in daily use with me are the Canon 5D Mark III and in addition the Canon 80D, which I have already presented once separately. Compared to the Canon 5D Mark III, I currently choose the Canon 80D for videos, due to touch screen, better focusing in video and of course Full-HD with 60fps, which was not yet supported in the Canon 5D Mark III when it was released in 2012. Thus, my new camera must be absolutely versatile usable and should also remain handy.

Even though I originally came from the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, I quickly got used to the smaller format. When many photos are taken, the battery grip is screwed on and the camera is perfect for the next fashion week or long videos and interviews. Thanks to additional shutter button and double battery life the perfect solution.

The question that arises for me, can the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV convince me to make a change and also film my videos in the future with the 5D4 or do I stay with the previous equipment with the Canon 5D Mark III and the Canon 80D. Where are the differences between the Canon 5D3 and 5D4? Where does the added value arise for me to switch.

CANON EOS 5D Mark IV – What’s new with the Canon 5D Mark IV

What changes can you expect in the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, what has changed compared to the previous model – the Canon 5D Mark III. Which features are helpful with the new camera from Canon, which ones should you take a closer look at? The following overview gives a brief summary of the changes:

. CANON EOS 5D Mark IV CANON EOS 5D Mark III
Resolution 30.4 Megapixel 22.3 Megapixel
Dual Pixel Raw yes no
Standard ISO range 100-32,400 (expandable to 50-102,400) 100-25,600 (expandable to 50-102,400)
AF measuring fields at aperture 1:8 up to 61 fields 1
Exposure metering 150,000 pixels (RGB+IR metering sensor with dedicated processor) 63 zone metering (brightness only)
Frames per second 7 frames in RAW 6 frames in RAW
Videos up to 4K with 25/30 fps Full HD with 25/30 fps
Connections WiFi/NFC/USB3.0 -/-/USB2.0
Screen Touchscreen with 1.6 million pixels 1.0 million pixels
GPS connection built-in only via external accessories

CANON EOS 5D Mark IV – First impression Handling and weight

Those who have gotten used to the Canon 5D Mark III over the last few years won’t notice much of a difference at first, the dimensions between the two models are almost identical, on the back of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV there is now an additional button not far from the joystick to the right of the display and the remote release socket has been changed from the left side to the front.

A USB 3.0 port has been added, and the matching connection cable for connecting the camera directly to a PC or laptop is already included in the packaging.

The weight between the two models has been reduced by 150 grams, so the new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV only weighs 800 grams, compared to 950 grams for the previous model (both without battery and lens).

Those who have already worked with the previous model from Canon, as I have for the last four years, will not have a big change, but can immediately start “photographing” and especially “filming”.

CANON EOS 5D Mark IV – First experience video production

There are for me the some very interesting and noticeable changes, which I would like to present in the future you also in detail and individually and in separate blogposts on it will go:

• 4K video – The recordings are then made in the format 4096 x 2160 (17:9 format) with up to 30 frames per second. However, it should be noted here that a crop factor of about 1.7 is applied. Even the Canon 1D-X II, the professional model, still has a crop factor of 1.3.
  Whether this is a “problem” will only be seen in the long run, at the moment the use of 4K resolution is a nice additional add-on for me, but for my videos currently not yet a duty. Filmed is currently with 1920×1080 and 60fps and thus the 4K option would serve mainly as an additional zoom option with me, if you want to zoom out individual sections, such as at the Fashionweek, special travel locations, etc.. The 4K videos are recorded at 29.97fps with about 500Mbps.
  I’m currently planning some changes to the YouTube channel, so I’m relatively free to choose how I’ll use my new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV in the future.
• Full-HD Videos – At 1920×1080 pixels it now also records at 59.94fps, if you want to record at up to 120fps and create super slow-motion with it, you can do this in HD format. For my requirements absolutely sufficient, who wants here however also Full HD or higher, should reach for the Canon C300 or 1D-X II.
• HDR videos – A point that is often ignored, but very interesting for my application. Especially if you often have to cope with changing lighting outdoors, sitting in a vehicle or plane and it is either too bright or too dark in the movies, you can choose the new HDR option. It is then recorded – similar to photography – with a bright and dark image and later merged. This results in videos with rich colors and good lighting. I’m already looking forward to a detailed review of this option and will then present it to you on the YouTube channel and blog in the next few weeks. The first short impression looks very promising.
• 4K – Single image option – Who quickly on the road once a VLOG shoots, concentrating all day only on the videos, often forgets to make appropriate thumbnails for the videos. The subsequent extraction of the single image from the video is usually frustrating and the images too blurry and poorly lit. With the Motion-JPEG format, each frame can now be accessed individually in the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV’s 4K mode. However, from my own experience, I recommend you choose a shutter speed of 1/60 or even faster. The first review seemed very good.
• Autofocus / Movie AF – 99% of users talk about manual focus for video and exclude the use of autofocus. So it was with me, until I found a reliable and quiet autofocus function in my new Canon EOS 80D, which is also regularly used in all videos now. Face tracking works perfectly and so it is now finally on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. This function I will personally still love and also more detailed in combination with the also available touch screen now present Whether smooth transition between objects in the background and foreground or fast (but quiet) focus – everything can be adjusted.

Interim conclusion VIDEO options on the new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV: For my purposes, many extensions are very helpful and will also be permanently very well received by many YouTubers. Whether necessarily for YouTube in the next two years should be recorded consistently in 4K, remains to be seen. Of course, the ranking factor of 4K videos (similar to the 60fps option some time ago) may be a consideration, but to date, the options with slow motion, HDR videos, and zooming out of 4K videos for fashion shows and interviews are clearly more important to me. Here, long-term continuous use will show which features really give me the most added value from the camera.

CANON EOS 5D Mark IV – First experience photo production

In addition to the many new features and enhancements, there have also been some changes in photo production and I will also present this in more detail in the coming weeks and months and explain the benefits in everyday use. Especially for many bloggers, wedding photographers and landscape photographers some really perfect enhancements have come out:

• Dual Pixel AF – certainly I also smiled at the function a bit in the beginning and saw it more for wedding photographers and portrait photographers, instead of bloggers and ambitious photographers in the sports sector – but after a short review you love the function. It simply takes two photos with slightly different sharpness, the size on the memory card is then about 60MB – but the possibilities, are perfect. In total, CANON allows three setting options with the included software (not together):
• Bokeh Shift – shift bokeh slightly from front to back and vice versa. Perfect for fashion photos (!)
• Image Micro-Adjustment – targeted slight change of sharpness. Especially for food photos, it was immediately noticeable. If you work a lot in fine dining with lots of detail, you’ll love the post-processing option. I was also immediately thrilled here, as well as with portrait photos.
• Ghosting function – Ghost images can be removed more easily (not used much by me so far).
• ISO range – Not only has the ISO range been expanded from 25,600 to 32,000 compared to the Canon 5D Mark III, but the image noise has also been significantly reduced. Especially those who, like me, also have to shoot frequently in the ISO ranges around 6,400 will notice it immediately. Dark interiors, outdoor evening situations are much easier and better to capture. The usual image noise is reduced and focusing has become much easier. I’ll show you comparison images between the 5D Mark III and the 5D Mark IV shortly.
• Autofocus and sensors – these have been noticeably improved compared to the previous model. The new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV now has 61 AF sensors (identical to the Canon 1D-X Mark II) and up to 41 of them are cross-type sensors. What has already attracted attention several times and should be very popular again, especially among bloggers, for beautiful interior or even beauty photos, is the enlarged AF area. Compared to the predecessor, the sensors have been moved much further to the edge of the image and the focusing is much better and more precise even in the dark.
• Exposure metering – While the Canon 5D Mark III only measured the brightness via the exposure sensors, Canon now uses the same principle for the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV as it did for the Canon 7D (as well as the Canon EOS 1D-X Mark II) and determines not only the brightness, but also the color information. Especially those who often have to work with extreme light contrasts, taking fashion photos into the backlight, will also be thrilled, like me. Likewise, the function now also supports flashes with TTL/II 

CANON EOS 5D Mark IV – First impression Nice to have

But besides the new ports, the additional button for autofocus on the back, a few things have changed on and in the device, which should simplify the workflow significantly in the long run:

• GPS function – finally (!). Especially if you are on the road a lot as a blogger, also once spontaneously photographing nature and after many appointments it no longer manages in the evening to file the photos neatly, to provide accordingly with the keywords, you often ask yourself the question – “Where did I take the picture again, was it beach A or beach B, was it the waterfall there or on the side”. Recently, if desired, all pictures are directly provided with GPS coordinations (similar to the smartphone) and can be sorted much easier later. I use the setting for GPS alignment on my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV directly after switching it on. It is also possible to permanently synchronize the GPS data, but this leads to a much higher battery consumption. For most users, the setting (1) should therefore be the better choice.
• WiFi / NFC – as a social media user, my first thought was often, do I absolutely need and will I upload many snapshots during the day directly to the various networks. I used this feature a few times on the Canon EOS 80D and now for review on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, but the main benefit has become quite different for me. The control of the camera from a distance, the extra screen when watching video. With the Canon APP, the camera can be paired directly and transmits with almost no delay the current images of the screen and allows directly the adjustment. Especially if you also make outdoor photos, the camera is firmly mounted at night, you enjoy the adjustment in the warm and check the image afterwards. I have saved myself some unnecessary cold moments in recent weeks and could spontaneously decide whether I want to view the images on my Samsung S7 edge or on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and adjust if necessary. Those who used to reach for the traditional remote shutter release (with or without cable) will enjoy the additional adjustment options of the APP as much as I do…. and will certainly send a picture directly to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook from time to time.

CANON EOS 5D Mark IV – First experience and outlook

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is definitely a perfect extension to the previous models and also the first reviews “4K only with 30fps”, “why a crop factor at 4K”, “only 7 images in RAW”, etc. I can only smile after the first weeks. If you’re looking for a professional camera that’s perfect for any application, you absolutely can’t go wrong with the Canon 5D Mark IV.

It is an all-round product for video productions as well as photo productions and thus clearly stands out from the competition. Of course, for video producers, the Canon C300 II may be more suitable if the focus is on video productions and you absolutely need 4K at 60fps or slow motion in full HD. But if you want to produce great wedding videos with beautiful light on the one hand, and gorgeous photos with many options in post-processing and already during production on the other hand, you will have a lot of fun with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.

I’m already looking forward to the next weeks and months, when I can give you as a reader (and probably also many bloggers and YouTubers) more tips on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, how to simplify the workflow or even how to get more out of the camera.

How can you use Dual Pixel RAW effectively, how can I use the functions of HDR videos perfectly for themselves personally and how can I get a very own image style.

Just like the new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV in the endurance test, I will then also introduce you to two great lenses that will work well for bloggers and YouTubers. First impressions of the new Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.4L IS II USM as an all-around lens (also for travel) and the new Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM ultra-wide angle lens are already more than promising and probably the solution many bloggers and YouTubers have been looking for.

I’m already looking forward to give you in the future as a reader, but also for many bloggers and YouTuber, still tips on how to better manage some situations, how to take the first steps even on YouTube and what camera to choose for your equipment.

Whether it’s a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, a Canon 80D or a Canon 750D, I’ll be happy to introduce you to my cameras, my “problem situations” and of course my solutions on the lifestyle blog.