Canon EOS 5DS review

12th August 2015

Written by Gordon Laing

Quality

To compare the real-life quality between the EOS 5Ds and EOS 5D Mark III, I shot this scene with both cameras moments apart using the same lens, the EF 11-24mm f4L USM lens set to 24mm f5.6; note I also took this composition at f4 and f8 and found the f5.6 sample to deliver the greatest detail. Both cameras were also set to their base sensitivity of 100 ISO and metered the same exposure. I focused them using magnified Live View to avoid front or rear focusing issues, and used mirror-lockup to avoid vibrations.

Since image quality is what the 5Ds is all about, I’m skipping JPEG comparisons altogether on this page and jumping straight-in with a RAW comparison. I processed the RAW files from both cameras in Adobe Camera RAW using identical settings: Sharpening at 70 / 0.5 / 36 / 10, Luminance and Colour Noise Reduction both set to zero, and the Process to 2012 with the Adobe Standard profile, and a Daylight White Balance of 5500k / +10 tint. I enabled Chromatic Aberration correction to eliminate fringing, but disabled the general Lens Profile Corrections within ACR to avoid loss of resolution due to geometric corrections.

These settings were chosen to reveal the differences in sensor quality and isolate them from in-camera processing. The high degree of sharpening with a small radius and zero noise reduction is an extreme approach, but I chose them here to bright out all the detail and more easily reveal differences between the bodies.

In the full view above you can see the five areas I’ve selected for reproduction below at 100%, indicated by the red rectangles. The areas cropped from the EOS 5D Mark III in the right column below show a larger portion due to its lower resolution.

Examining the crops below reveals the extra detail captured by the EOS 5Ds, most obviously in the tile and brickwork, railings and various TV antennas. Where many of these are beyond the resolving power of the EOS 5D Mark III in this particular composition, they’re captured and separated by the 5Ds. Railings have distinct gaps between them and individual tiles are visible where only a solid texture is delivered by the Mark III.

This is as you’d expect for a camera with double the total number of pixels, but in this example the 5D Mark III is still delivering a highly detailed image that will be more than good enough for many people. It’s also important to note I shot these examples very carefully from a solid tripod with magnified Live View focusing and mirror-lockup, using one of Canon’s best quality lenses set to its optimal aperture. In short, all the stars had aligned here and in other situations you may only enjoy smaller differences. I would also note a minor sprinkling of noise is visible on the 5Ds here that’s not as apparent on the 5D Mark III; sure I disabled noise reduction and turned the sharpening up higher than most would ever use, but it’s worth noting the difference none-the-less.

I made a second comparison to see if the benefits were as significant when using an older lens, so scroll down further if you’d like to see how the EF 85mm f1.8 performs on both bodies. Alternatively scroll further to my Canon EOS 5Ds vs 5D3 noise results, or skip to my Canon EOS 5Ds sample images or back to my verdict.

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Above left: EOS 5DS, above right: EOS 5D III. EF 11-24mm at 24mm f5.6. 100% crops from ACR RAW

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Above left: EOS 5DS, above right: EOS 5D III. EF 11-24mm at 24mm f5.6. 100% crops from ACR RAW

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Above left: EOS 5DS, above right: EOS 5D III. EF 11-24mm at 24mm f5.6. 100% crops from ACR RAW

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Above left: EOS 5DS, above right: EOS 5D III. EF 11-24mm at 24mm f5.6. 100% crops from ACR RAW

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Above left: EOS 5DS, above right: EOS 5D III. EF 11-24mm at 24mm f5.6. 100% crops from ACR RAW

Canon EOS 5Ds vs EOS 5D Mark III RAW quality

In my first comparison above, I used one of Canon’s latest and best quality lenses, but I was also interested to see how both bodies compared with an older lens, the EF 85mm f1.8. The conditions, techniques and processing were the same as above, except for using the 85mm lens at f8 where in this test it delivered the most detailed result.

Above you can see the full view from the EOS 5Ds with the EF 85mm f1.8, marked with the six areas I’ve selected for reproduction below at 100%, indicated by the red rectangles. The areas cropped from the EOS 5D Mark III in the right column below show a larger portion due to its lower resolution.

As before the EOS 5Ds is resolving greater detail than the 5D Mark III, again most notably in brickwork, railings, antennas and other fine patterns such as text. But this time the quality of the lens has become a limiting factor, especially towards the edges of the frame. If you want to get the most from the 5Ds you’ll need to couple it with the highest quality optics, focus it immaculately and keep it steady during the capture.