The Sony A7S III and Canon EOS R5 are two of essentially the most fêted mirrorless cameras of the moment.
One is the long-awaited improve to a big favorite amongst video shooters. That’s the 12MP Sony A7S III, the sequel to 2015’s Sony A7S II.
The opposite is a do-it-all hybrid camera. The Canon EOS R5 is a 45MP stills monster that may additionally shoot video at as much as 8K decision and has unimaginable 8-stop in-body picture stabilization (IBIS).
The EOS R5 is an outstanding piece of apparatus, but additionally demonstrates the advantages of a narrower focus. The Canon EOS R5 can solely video shoot for a restricted time at its highest high quality settings, earlier than needing to cool down.
For those who’ll must seize video in low mild often, or in any lighting conditions for greater than half an hour, the Sony A7S III might be the higher selection.
However what if you wish to shoot a extra various mixture of stills and video? Right here the choice is a bit trickier, which is why we have compiled this in-depth comparability between the 2 cameras that can assist you resolve.
Sony A7S III vs Canon EOS R5 value and availability
The Canon EOS R5 and Sony A7S III had been each introduced in mid-2020. Canon’s camera went on sale at the very finish of July, whereas the Sony will begin delivery in September 2020.
Which costs extra? At this early stage the Canon EOS R5 does, and by a reasonably large margin. It’s $3,899 / £4,199 / AU$6,899 with no lens, to the Sony’s $3499 / £3799 / AU$5,999.
A roughly ten per cent distinction won’t matter to everybody, however the further money may go in direction of a brand new lens, or one of many ultra-fast CFexpress memory cards each cameras assist. The Canon EOS R5 takes a CFexpress Sort-B card, the Sony A7S III a Sort-A card. They’ll additionally use SD cards.
Sony A7S III vs Canon EOS R5 design
The Sony A7S III is considerably smaller and lighter than the Canon EOS R5. It’s 9mm narrower, 7mm thinner and weighs 39g much less.
That is no nice shock when Sony full-frame cameras are recognized for his or her comparatively trim proportions. Each cameras are weather-sealed, with the Canon EOS R5 having an analogous degree of hardiness to the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.
Their approaches to prime plate controls are somewhat completely different, although. The Canon EOS R5 has a basic monochrome show up prime alongside a few context-sensitive rotary controls.
The Sony A7S III’s format is probably somewhat extra accessible, with a conventional mode dial and devoted publicity compensation wheel. Come to those cameras with no concept how one can use them and also you’re extra more likely to get began shortly with the Sony, however the Canon in all probability provides professionals higher scope for workflow tweaking.
Nonetheless, we’re not too certain too many learners will, or ought to, purchase $3,500-plus cameras.
Canon and Sony select to spend the show price range in another way too. The Sony A7S III has a unbelievable EVF, one of the best we’ve seen to this point.
It’s a 0.9x magnification show, with as much as 120fps learn out and a 9,437,184-dot decision. Placing this by means of the quantity grinder, this works out at 2048×1536 pixels. That may be excessive for a tablet show, not to mention an EVF.
The Canon EOS R5’s EVF continues to be nice, however has rather more acquainted specs. It’s a 5.76-million dot OLED show, equal to 1600 x 1200 pixels. Have a look at these pixel figures and it could appear much less of an enormous decision disparity, however the Sony does have the sharpest EVF you may get in 2020.
Whether or not or not you want the Sony’s further decision is one other matter – it does not refresh any faster than the EOS R5’s EVF, so it is primarily further element you are getting.
Issues swap around while you have a look at the rear screens. The Sony A7S III has a 3-inch, 1.44-million dot screen (800 x 600 pixels), the Canon a barely bigger, sharper 3.15-inch 2.1-million-dot screen (960×720 pixels).
This will likely appear a bit odd when the Sony A7S III is a video-focused camera, which for many places higher emphasis on the display screen than the EVF. However let’s not overlook the Sony has a smaller physique, with tighter calls for on the restricted house. Each screens have vari-angle hinges, a giant profit for all of the YouTubers and content material creators on the market.
Sony A7S III vs Canon EOS R5 autofocus
Autofocus supplies one of many largest upgrades for the Sony A7S III over the A7S II. It has, similar to the Canon EOS R5, on-sensor section detection factors.
The variety of focus factors issues a lot lower than in a conventional DSLR phase-detection autofocus system, principally as a result of there are stacks of them today. The Sony A7S III provides 769 factors, whereas the Canon EOS R5 has 5,940 factors when utilizing ‘single level’ focusing.
Protection is probably a greater approach to evaluate the 2, however the Canon EOS R5 wins right here as nicely. It has 100% sensor protection, to the Sony’s 92%.
How about autofocus tracking? Canon has caught up with Sony right here, providing Face, Eye and Animal AF monitoring, and even Animal Eye AF for canines, cats and birds.
We’ve not yet absolutely examined the Canon EOS R5, however the Sony A7S III boasted among the greatest autofocus efficiency we have seen in our assessments, for each video and stills. You now have very granular management over the AF velocity and responsiveness in video, together with Sony’s extremely tenacious touch-tracking.
Each cameras additionally declare to focus all the way down to -6EV, which is a formidable feat for the Canon given it has a a lot higher-resolution sensor. We won’t declare a winner right here till we have absolutely examined the EOS R5, however it’s honest to say these cameras have the 2 most superior autofocus methods you could find in mirrorless cameras.
Sony A7S III vs Canon EOS R5 video
Here’s the massive one. A comparison of those two cameras was at all times going to hinge on their video efficiency.
There are advantages to every, however the Sony A7S III appears the extra constant performer for real-world use. But let’s begin with the Canon EOS R5’s highlights.
It could possibly shoot 8K video, the Sony can’t, and there’s an ‘HQ’ 4K mode that downscales 8K footage to 4K, with the intention to squeeze somewhat extra element into every 4K body.
You may as well seize uncompressed 4:2:2 10-bit footage through HDMI, or 2,600Mbps uncooked footage in-camera.
Each of those beat the Sony A7S III, which has a most seize decision of 4K and might solely document uncooked video to an exterior recorder. That stated, it could actually output 16-bit uncooked video through HDMI, which is pretty impressive.
On paper the EOS R5 looks like it ought to win. So why doesn’t it?
Overheating is a significant sensible consideration. We had no problems capturing at 4K decision for over an hour with the Sony A7S III, however the Canon EOS R5 is just specced to handle around half an hour of HQ 4K, or beneath 20 minutes of 8K earlier than needing to chill down.
4K/120fps mode, accessible in each cameras, is the worst-affected Canon EOS R5 mode, with a comfortable cap of 15 minutes.
These limits will, naturally, fluctuate somewhat with ambient temperature. However you possibly can learn all of Canon’s estimates in our EOS R5 and EOS R6 overheating story.
You may largely repair the EOS R5 utilizing the non “HQ” 4K mode of the Canon EOS R5 at 30fps, however video won’t look as sharp because the Sony A7S III’s commonplace 4K. No matter method you have a look at it, the Canon will not be ideally suited for pro-level video seize.
The Canon R5 arguably has a greater physique for warmth dissipation, together with a steel again panel. Nevertheless it additionally has to do way more computational leg work to spit out 4K and 8K video, resulting from its sensor.
The Sony A7S III makes use of a minor 1.1x crop when capturing at its high-speed 120fps mode, as this enables for a local 4K sensor read-out, and it could actually use the full-frame space at 30fps or 60fps in the event you don’t desire a crop. This requires a very good chunk of processing work too, in fact, however there’s merely so much much less data to juggle when coping with a 12MP than a 45MP one.
There’s additionally the basic Sony S-series profit to contemplate. Decrease sensor decision on the similar sensor dimension means the Sony A7S III has far higher pure mild sensitivity, leading to dramatically improved low-light efficiency.
Fewer worries about overheating and a cleaner, extra detailed image in low mild makes the Sony Alpha A7S III extra versatile for video. Even when it doesn’t have the Canon’s eye-catching 8K video seize.
The Canon EOS R5 does have one different profit. Its video stabilization is great, buoyed by its mind-blowing eight-step IBIS.
Sony did enhance stabilization with the A7S III, including an “lively” mode that mixes IBIS with software program stabilization. It makes use of the sensor “rind” not seen when capturing with a 1.1x crop. It’s good, however our early experiences recommend the Canon’s IBIS is healthier nonetheless.
Sony A7S III vs Canon EOS R5 stills
Some who hoped the Canon EOS R5 would change into virtually messianic amongst mirrorless cameras are upset with how its video efficiency has turned out. However there are few complaints to make about its stills.
The 45MP sensor can shoot rather more detailed photographs than the Sony A7S III. And because it additionally has wonderful IBIS value as much as Eight stops, you possibly can nonetheless comfortably use it handheld and see sharp outcomes.
This additionally reduces the advantage of the Sony A7S III’s bigger sensor pixels. Sure, photographs are more likely to look higher on the Sony on the similar excessive ISO setting, when you issue out the idiosyncrasies within the methods completely different producers truly deal with ISO labelling, however the Canon’s wonderful IBIS will merely allow you to use barely slower shutter speeds.
The one apparent good thing about the Sony A7S III is when capturing a topic in low mild that simply won’t work with a slower shutter velocity. Something in motion, in different phrases.
Regardless of the decrease decision, the Sony A7S III doesn’t have any advantages when it comes to burst capturing both. It faucets out at a stable however hardly groundbreaking 10fps (with the mechanical shutter). The Canon EOS R5 can shoot at as much as 12fps with the mechanical shutter, or 20fps with the digital one. And that’s with steady autofocus switched on.
That is fairly an achievement for a camera with a 45MP decision.
The Canon EOS R5 is a considerably higher stills camera than the Sony A7S III for many functions. However that’s no shock when Sony already makes different full-frame mirrorless cameras with a higher give attention to stills, just like the Sony A7R IV. The Sony A7S III is all about video, though its stills powers are definitely nonetheless ok in the event you’re primarily capturing for social media.
The A7S III’s battery is rated for 95 minutes of video seize, or 600 stills. That is a lot better than the Canon R5’s 320 shots (LCD) or 220 shots (EVF), although Canon claims it lasts a minimal of 70 minutes, when capturing 8K video. This reaches over two hours down at Full HD.
Sony A7S III vs Canon EOS R5 verdict
Did Canon over-reach with the EOS R5 in an attempt to make a mirrorless full-frame camera excellent for both video and stills? Perhaps.
Whereas it has a complete stack of advantages, like 8K video, wonderful stabilization, and 120fps 4K, they might all be undone by an inclination to overheat shortly. It won’t have an effect on all who shoot video each day, however if you wish to spend $3,500 on a camera, you need it to have the ability to deal with nearly all eventualities.
We’d belief the Sony Alpha A7S III out on a video shoot extra, and that issues. The Sony additionally has a lot better low-light video efficiency, which was at all times going to be the case when the sensor pixels are a lot bigger.
Stills followers who shoot the occasional video for enjoyable ought to positively think about the Canon EOS R5, although. Its larger decision means sharper photographs, and the excellent IBIS plus ultra-fast burst mode make it an extremely versatile device.