EOS R5 - A high performer
I was excited to really put the Canon EOS R5 to the test. It's been a stellar camera for a range of portrait and event work, but I hadn't yet utilized the R5's most coveted features - such as the 20fps electronic bursts - in a truly appropriate setting.
Happily, the R5 delivered. With top fuel vehicles ripping by me at over 300mph (and only 20 ft away, at that), the R5 kept up effortlessly. Combined with native RF L-series lenses, the enormous speed ripping of the vehicles ripping down the track was no match for the R5's excellent autofocus and electronic shutter. Each pass gave me several options, all of which were perfectly publishable, which was a luxury my fellow DSLR shooters did not often have. The only bad takes were when using slower third party EF lenses, such as the Sigma 35mm art prime, which still delivered beautiful results with accurate autofocus.
My lens of choice throughout the three-day event, however, was the Zeiss Milvus 25mm f/1.4 prime lens. It is a fully manual lens, which means I did not benefit from the R5's excellent autofocus capabilities for much of the day. I did benefit from the electronic viewfinder's ability to make manual focusing incredibly viable in this type of setting, however, even at f/1.4, and the results were rewarding.
I also had the opportunity to experiment with the the R5 and RF-lenses' combined image/optical stabilization, which allowed me to slow the shutter sufficiently enough to get a desirable amount of motion blur while panning with the race cars completely handheld.
Below is a gallery of some highlights. I can't wait to head back to the track; perhaps with the upcoming EOS R3.
