Portrait photographer and YouTuber Manny Ortiz recently set out to compare the new Canon EOS R5 to his hobbyhorse, the Sony a7R III. But besides doing a general side-by-side usability comparison, he was interested in one thing in particular: dynamic range.
Ortiz is a Sony shooter these days, but it started out on Canon DSLRs and only changed because it didn’t get the flexibility it wanted from Canon files with the 5D Mark III. Sony’s cameras, menu, and other quirks aside, it allowed it to pick up highlights and shadows where Canon didn’t.
But with the release of the EOS R5, Manny wanted to see if Canon’s sensor technology had finally caught up with Sony in actual shooting situations. So he left for two different shots, put both cameras to the test, and then fed the files into Lightroom to see how much shadow and highlight detail he could pick up.
You can watch the full video at the top to see the shoots in action or scroll down to see the footage for yourself. The Before and After shots show SOOC followed by a version with shadows mounted at the top and highlights at the bottom; the last side-by-side comparison shows two very similar images which were both edited the same way.
Canon before and after
Sony before and after
Side by side
The good news, at least according to Manny, is that he just couldn’t tell the difference between the files coming from those 40-megapixel cameras, at least in terms of dynamic range. In other words: Canon’s sensor technology has indeed caught up with Sony.
To be clear: we are talking about a real world, humans will notice this by comparison and not by a Photon-to-photo dynamic range test of the two sensors. Then again, if you take a look at PtoP’s tests, you’ll see that these two cameras are, indeed, neck and neck, and the R5 outperforms just about any older Canon camera, including the EOS R. origin.
For a deeper comparison, watch both cameras in action and listen to Manny’s thoughts on everything from dynamic range and color science to skin tones, to the dramatically improved AF performance of the Canon EOS R5 and how. it roughly matches the Sony, watch the full video at the top.
Image credits: All photos by Manny Ortiz and used with permission.