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Canon 5DS

 
Canon EOS 5DS front
 
  • 51MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400 (Raise to 12800)
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Canon EF Mount
  • 930g - 152 x 116 x 76mm
  • Revealed February 2015
  • Read full specs
  • Alternatives
  • Lenses
  • Size Comparison
  • FAQ
Portability
55
Imaging
76
Features
72
Overall
74

Canon 5DS summary

Canon 5DS is Canon's Advanced DSLR digital camera initially announced on February of 2015. The camera includes a 51MP, CMOS Full frame size sensor with a max resolution of 8688 x 5792.

The 5DS stands at #20 out of 92 in Advanced DSLR cameras & overall #114 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our database. You should test our Smart camera search to get camera rankings based on your customized requirements.

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Here is a graph of specific factors used in the rating system.

Canon 5DS history

The Canon 5DS has a history of related digital cameras. Here, you can check out all past and current models along with main specs.

ModelVisualizeResolutionSensor SizeMax fpsReleased
Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-IV front thumbnailCanon 5D MIV
5DS vs 5D MIV
30MPFull frame7.0 fps2016
Canon-EOS-5DS front thumbnailCanon 5DS51MPFull frame5.0 fps2015
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Canon-EOS-5DS-R front thumbnailCanon 5DS R
5DS vs 5DS R
51MPFull frame5.0 fps2015
Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III front thumbnailCanon 5D MIII
5DS vs 5D MIII
22MPFull frame6.0 fps2012
Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-II front thumbnailCanon 5D MII
5DS vs 5D MII
21MPFull frame4.0 fps2009
Canon-EOS-5D front thumbnailCanon 5D
5DS vs 5D
13MPFull frame3.0 fps2005
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Canon 5DS Pros and Cons

Here is a list of pluses and minuses of the Canon 5DS based on factors which are normally considered important in a digital camera.

builtin Top screen
change lenses (Canon EF mount)
comes with phase detect auto focus
does have external mic jack
does have HDMI support
good minimum ISO (100)
good resolution screen (1,040 k dot)
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
has dual storage slots
has manual focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
large sensor size (Full frame)
screen is a decent size (3.2 inches)
sensor resolution is excellent (51 megapixels)
supports face detection focus
supports RAW files
supports tracking autofocus
weather sealing
does not have headphone jack
does not have selfie friendly screen
low fps (5.0 frames/s)
no articulating screen
no image stabilization
not so great battery pack (700 shots)
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Canon 5DS Sensor specs

The Canon 5DS is run by the Dual DIGIC 6 chip. The sensor size on the Canon 5DS is 36mm x 24mm (Full frame). The 864 mm² sensor has the capability to capture 8688 x 5792 pixels with aspect ratios of 3:2 and 16:9.

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The CMOS sensor has 51 megapixels and features a standard ISO range of 100 to 6400. The ISO can be widened digitally to a maximum of 12800. RAW photos are supported so you have more room to maneuver in post.

The image underneath illustrates the 5DS's sensor size compared to other popular sizes. The 5DS sensor has a crop factor of 1 and is showcased in green.

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To get a sense of various aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Camera sensor aspect ratios

Canon 5DS dimensions

Canon 5DS weighs in at 2.05 pounds (930 grams or 32.80 ounces) & has exterior dimensions of 152mm x 116mm x 76mm (6.0" x 4.6" x 3.0"). The weight of typical Advanced DSLR camera is 776 grams and the Canon 5DS is more heavy than other rivals.

Photography Glossary

Here is a image of the Canon 5DS alongside a soft drink so you're able to get a feel for its size.

Canon EOS 5DS dimensions scale

The top view under will provide the button arrangement on the 5DS.

Canon EOS 5DS topview buttons dials

Canon 5DS Lens details

The 5DS works with the Canon EF mount and has 306 lenses currently available. Here is a few of the lenses we have in our database that will work with the 5DS.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight
Canon-EF-15mm-f2.8-Fisheye lensCanon EF 15mm f2.8 Fisheye15mmf/2.8 330g
Tokina-AF-X-Pro-16-50mm-f2.8-DX-Canon-EF lensTokina AF-X Pro 16-50mm f2.8 DX16-50mmf/2.8 610g
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Sigma-300mm-F2.8-APO-EX-DG-HSM-Canon-EF lensSigma 300mm F2.8 APO EX DG HSM300mmf/2.8 2400g
Canon-EF-50mm-f1.2L-USM lensCanon EF 50mm f1.2L USM50mmf/1.2 580g
Sigma-18-200mm-F3.5-6.3-DC-Canon-EF lensSigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC18-200mmf/3.5-6.3 405g
Canon-EF-400mm-F2.8L-IS-III-USM lensCanon EF 400mm F2.8L IS III USM400mmf/2.8 2840g
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Samyang-XP-50mm-F1.2-Canon-EF lensSamyang XP 50mm F1.250mmf/1.21200g
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Canon 5DS Connectivity

The 5DS has the following connectivity:

  • USB Yes
  • HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that include NFC or Bluetooth connectivity are able to be controlled wirelessly via smartphones. You will be able to transfer images and in some cases adjust camera settings without connecting straight with the camera.

Many apps also allow a Liveview and hit the shutter if you are not close to the camera. If the camera comes with a HDMI port, it can easily be hooked up to an external monitor. A good number of cameras enable you to charge the battery pack through the USB port.

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Canon 5DS Video details

The max video quality on the Canon 5DS is 1920 x 1080 and you can save in H.264 file format. 1080p quality provides a good balance in video quality and file size but 1080p will not give you any room to crop. While the body has a mic socket, it is missing a headphone socket so you won't be able to check your audio levels.

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Canon 5DS Weather Sealing

Canon 5DS features weather proofing making it a very good pick for use in tricky places. This can be especially handy any time you are not sure about the conditions you might encounter in outdoor photography.

Canon 5DS Screen and Viewfinder

The Canon 5DS includes a 3.2" fixed screen with a resolution of 1,040k dots.

Please note that the screen has no touch support. The 5DS also comes with a Top screen so it’s possible to instantly view your settings.

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The ViewFinder specs for Canon 5DS are the following:

  • ViewFinder Optical (pentaprism)
  • ViewFinder Coverage 100 percent
  • ViewFinder Magnification 0.71x

For sunny outdoor conditions that make the camera displays washed out and tough to see, viewfinders are rather useful.

Canon 5DS Shutter details

Canon 5DS continuous shooting rate is 5.0 frames/s. The maximum shutter speed is 1/8000 seconds.

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Canon 5DS Flash and Hot shoe details

Canon 5DS has external flash support but is without inbuilt flash. The maximum flash sync is 1/200 seconds.

Canon 5DS Autofocusing details

Canon 5DS has both Phase Detect Auto Focus plus Contrast Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot faster and exact than Contrast Detect autofocusing. The camera includes Face detection which makes it useful for taking portraits of people.

The AF system includes 61 focus points to pick from. It also boasts Tracking Auto Focus for subjects on the move. Canon 5DS has the ability to use manual focus when needed in low light situations or you need to have more exact control on focus.

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Canon 5DS Battery life

The battery pack (LP-E6) in the Canon 5DS is designed to last for 700 shots with respect to the CIPA benchmarks making it lesser than it's competition. The usual Advanced DSLR camera battery life is 909. Nikon D780 comes with the maximum (2260) battery life in this kind of cameras.

Underneath is a collection of Advanced DSLR cameras that come with the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth
Nikon-D780 front thumbnailNikon D780
5DS vs D780
2260 yesnoyes
Nikon-D850 front thumbnailNikon D850
5DS vs D850
1840 yesyesyes
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Nikon-Df front thumbnailNikon Df
5DS vs Df
1400 yesnono
Canon-EOS-90D front thumbnailCanon 90D
5DS vs 90D
1300 yesnoyes
Nikon-D500 front thumbnailNikon D500
5DS vs D500
1240 yesyesyes

Canon 5DS for varying types of photography

The following illustration gives a outline of the Canon 5DS for varying types of photography. To see more, scroll to the specific paragraph underneath.

Canon 5DS Portrait photography advice

The Canon 5DS has a rating of 85 which is very high, meaning that it is a wonderful option for portrait photography. Taking portraits leans heavily to sensor specs, RAW support together with the ability to work with external lighting.

Photography Glossary
you can focus manually
excellent MP (51 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
comes with face detect focusing
exports RAW formats

Street photography with Canon 5DS

With a nice rating of 61, the Canon 5DS is a respectable pick for street photography. A good street photography camera comes with a good balance of picture quality and portability.

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sensor size is great (Full frame)
supports RAW formats
environment proofing
fixed screen
no image stabilization

Sports photography with Canon 5DS

A above average sports photography points total of 71 suggests the Canon 5DS is a respectable pick for taking photos of sports. A camera needs good focusing plus fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

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maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
fantastic sensor resolution (51MP)
large sensor size (Full frame)
offers tracking focus
environment proof
comes with phase detect autofocus
low fps (5.0 fps)
does not have image stabilization
bad battery (700 shots)

Canon 5DS as a Travel photography camera

Weight is super critical when selecting a travel camera. All round, the Canon 5DS gets a modest 57 as a travelling camera which is reasonably appropriate to buy for your trips.

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environment proofing
MP count fantastic (51MP)
low battery life (700 shots)
screen isn't selfie friendly

Canon 5DS as a Landscape photography camera

For anyone looking to pick a digital camera for landscape photography, the most important factor will no doubt be image quality. The Canon 5DS at it's above average rating of 75 as a landscape camera is a respectable choice amongst its rivals.

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has manual focus
swap lenses (Canon EF mount)
screen is a decent size (3.2")
great sensor resolution (51MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
environment sealing
2 card slots
lack of image stabilization
low battery life (700 shots)

Canon 5DS Vlogging highlights

A camera for vlogging ought to offer a articulating screen, mic input and if possible image stabilization. Considering everything, the Canon 5DS is simply not good as a vlog camera as it gets a subpar score of 30.

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supports face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
includes mic socket
display isn't selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization

Canon 5DS Alternatives

If you are shopping for replacements to the 5DS, below is a list of the top rated cameras which fall in to the class of Advanced DSLR.

The line chart here gives you a bird's eye view of the 5DS compared to it's highest scoring rivals mentioned previously.

These are some more cameras you might check out as alternate options. To review a comprehensive comparison, simply click on the "compare" link.

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Specifications

General Information
Company
Canon
Model
Canon EOS 5DS
Class
Advanced DSLR
Revealed
2015-02-06
Body design
Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Sensor type
CMOS
Powered by
Dual DIGIC 6
Sensor size
Full frame
Sensor dimensions
36 x 24mm
Sensor surface area
864.0mm²
Sensor resolution
51 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio
3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution
8688 x 5792
RAW support
Highest native ISO
6400
Highest enhanced ISO
12800
Minimum native ISO
100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points
61
Cross focus points
41
Lens
Lens mount
Canon EF
Number of lenses
250
Crop factor
1
Screen
Range of screen
Fixed Type
Screen diagonal
3.2 inches
Screen resolution
1,040k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type
Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage
100 percent
Viewfinder magnification
0.71x
DXO scores
DXO Overall score
87
DXO Color Depth score
24.7
DXO Dynamic range score
12.4
DXO Low light score
2381
Features
Min shutter speed
30s
Max shutter speed
1/8000s
Continuous shutter speed
5.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation
Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range
no built-in flash
Flash modes
no built-in flash
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash sync
1/200s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions
1920 x 1080 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p), 640 x 480 (30p, 25p)
Highest video resolution
1920x1080
Video file format
H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless
None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS
None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight
930 gr (2.05 lbs)
Physical dimensions
152 x 116 x 76mm (6.0" x 4.6" x 3.0")
Other
Battery life
700 images
Style of battery
Battery Pack
Battery model
LP-E6
Self timer
Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Time lapse recording
Storage media
SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I compatible), CompactFlash
Storage slots
Dual
Pricing at release
$3,699