Canon 5DS Comparison Review

The Canon EOS 5DS is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera that was announced in February 2015 and is equipped with a full frame sensor. It offers a resolution of 50.3 megapixel.

Is the Canon 5DS a good camera? The 5DS has a Camera Elo of 2106. This rating puts the 5DS among the top 30 percent of all digital single lens reflex cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (full frame cameras), the 5DS ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 3.5-star performance rating.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Canon 5DS relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three consecutive views from the front, the top, and the rear side are shown. All width, height and depth measures are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Canon 5DS alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Canon 5DS	152 mm	116 mm	76 mm	930 g	700	Y	Feb 2015	US$ 3 699	ebay.com
2.		Canon 1D X Mark II	158 mm	168 mm	83 mm	1530 g	1210	Y	Feb 2016	US$ 5 999	ebay.com
3.		Canon 5D Mark II	152 mm	114 mm	75 mm	850 g	850	Y	Sep 2008	US$ 3 499	ebay.com
4.		Canon 5D Mark III	152 mm	116 mm	76 mm	950 g	950	Y	Mar 2012	US$ 3 499	ebay.com
5.		Canon 5D Mark IV	151 mm	116 mm	76 mm	890 g	900	Y	Aug 2016	US$ 3 499	amazon.com
6.		Canon 5DS R	152 mm	116 mm	76 mm	930 g	700	Y	Feb 2015	US$ 3 699	ebay.com
7.		Canon 6D	145 mm	111 mm	71 mm	770 g	1090	Y	Sep 2012	US$ 2 099	ebay.com
8.		Canon 6D Mark II	144 mm	111 mm	75 mm	765 g	1200	Y	Jun 2017	US$ 1 999	amazon.com
9.		Nikon D810	146 mm	123 mm	82 mm	980 g	1200	Y	Jun 2014	US$ 3 299	ebay.com
10.		Nikon D850	146 mm	124 mm	79 mm	1005 g	1840	Y	Jul 2017	US$ 3 299	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99 II	143 mm	104 mm	76 mm	849 g	490	Y	Sep 2016	US$ 3 199	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Canon 5DS was launched in the US market at a price of $3,699. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check 5DS offers at
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Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the sensor inside a digital camera is one of the key determinants of image quality. All other things equal, a large sensor will have larger individual pixel-units that offer better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Furthermore, a large sensor camera will give the photographer more possibilities to use shallow depth-of-field in order to isolate a subject from the background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Canon 5DS features a full frame sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.0. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Canon 5DS among the large-sensor cameras that aim for top notch image quality.

Since 2007, DXO Mark has published sensor performance measurements that have been derived using a consistent methodology. This service is based on lab testing and assigns an overall score to each camera sensor, as well as ratings for dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), color depth ("DXO Portrait"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports"). The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of alternative cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Canon 5DS	Full Frame	50.3	8688	5792	1080/30p	24.7	12.4	2381	87
2.		Canon 1D X Mark II	Full Frame	20.0	5472	3648	4K/60p	24.1	13.5	3207	88
3.		Canon 5D Mark II	Full Frame	21.0	5616	3744	1080/30p	23.7	11.9	1815	79
4.		Canon 5D Mark III	Full Frame	22.1	5760	3840	1080/30p	24.0	11.7	2293	81
5.		Canon 5D Mark IV	Full Frame	30.1	6720	4480	4K/30p	24.8	13.6	2995	91
6.		Canon 5DS R	Full Frame	50.3	8688	5792	1080/30p	24.6	12.4	2308	86
7.		Canon 6D	Full Frame	20.0	5472	3648	1080/30p	23.8	12.1	2340	82
8.		Canon 6D Mark II	Full Frame	26.0	6240	4160	1080/60p	24.4	11.9	2862	85
9.		Nikon D810	Full Frame	36.2	7360	4912	1080/60p	25.7	14.8	2853	97
10.		Nikon D850	Full Frame	45.4	8256	5504	4K/30p	26.4	14.8	2660	100
11.		Sony A99 II	Full Frame	42.2	7952	5304	4K/30p	25.4	13.4	2317	92

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but also of capturing video footage. The 5DS indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the 5DS can use is 1080/30p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the 5DS has an optical viewfinder that provides a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.71x. The following tables report on some other key feature differences and similarities of the Canon 5DS and comparable cameras.

Core Features

		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Canon 5DS	optical	Y	3.2 / 1040	fixed	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	n
2.		Canon 1D X Mark II	optical	Y	3.2 / 1620	fixed	Y	1/8000s	16.0/s	n	n
3.		Canon 5D Mark II	optical	Y	3.0 / 920	fixed	n	1/8000s	3.9/s	n	n
4.		Canon 5D Mark III	optical	Y	3.2 / 1040	fixed	n	1/8000s	6.0/s	n	n
5.		Canon 5D Mark IV	optical	Y	3.2 / 1620	fixed	Y	1/8000s	7.0/s	n	n
6.		Canon 5DS R	optical	Y	3.2 / 1040	fixed	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	n	n
7.		Canon 6D	optical	Y	3.0 / 1040	fixed	n	1/4000s	4.5/s	n	n
8.		Canon 6D Mark II	optical	Y	3.0 / 1040	swivel	Y	1/4000s	6.5/s	n	n
9.		Nikon D810	optical	Y	3.2 / 1229	fixed	n	1/8000s	5.0/s	Y	n
10.		Nikon D850	optical	Y	3.2 / 2359	tilting	Y	1/8000s	9.0/s	n	n
11.		Sony A99 II	2400	Y	3.0 / 1229	full-flex	n	1/8000s	12.0/s	n	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

One useful feature of the 5DS is a presence of a top-level LCD. While being, of course, smaller than the rear screen, the control panel conveys some of the essential shooting information and can be convenient for quick and easy settings verification.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Canon EOS 5DS and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Canon 5DS	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	3.0	-	-	-
2.		Canon 1D X Mark II	Y	mono / mono	Y	Y	mini	3.0	-	-	-
3.		Canon 5D Mark II	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
4.		Canon 5D Mark III	Y	mono / mono	Y	Y	mini	2.0	-	-	-
5.		Canon 5D Mark IV	Y	mono / mono	Y	Y	mini	3.0	Y	Y	-
6.		Canon 5DS R	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	3.0	-	-	-
7.		Canon 6D	Y	mono / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	-	-
8.		Canon 6D Mark II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	Y	Y
9.		Nikon D810	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	3.0	Y	-	-
10.		Nikon D850	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	mini	3.0	Y	Y	Y
11.		Sony A99 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	Y	micro	2.0	Y	Y	Y

It is notable that the 5DS has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Further information on the features and operation of the 5DS can be found in the free online Canon 5DS Manual or on the Canon support site.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of technical specifications can provide a useful overview of the capabilities of different cameras, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the 5DS. User reviews, such as those found at amazon, can sometimes inform about these issues, but such feedback is often incomplete, inconsistent, and biased. This is why expert reviews are important. The following table reports the overall rankings of the cameras as published by some of the major camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price	Street Price
1.		Canon 5DS	..	+	..	83/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2015	US$ 3 699	ebay.com
2.		Canon 1D X Mark II	..	..	4.5/5	89/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2016	US$ 5 999	ebay.com
3.		Canon 5D Mark II	4/5	91/100	..	79/100	4/5	..	Sep 2008	US$ 3 499	ebay.com
4.		Canon 5D Mark III	..	+ +	..	82/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Mar 2012	US$ 3 499	ebay.com
5.		Canon 5D Mark IV	4.5/5	+ +	4/5	87/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Aug 2016	US$ 3 499	amazon.com
6.		Canon 5DS R	5/5	+	..	83/100	5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2015	US$ 3 699	ebay.com
7.		Canon 6D	5/5	+ +	..	83/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	US$ 2 099	ebay.com
8.		Canon 6D Mark II	4/5	+	4/5	80/100	4.5/5	4/5	Jun 2017	US$ 1 999	amazon.com
9.		Nikon D810	5/5	..	5/5	86/100	5/5	4.5/5	Jun 2014	US$ 3 299	ebay.com
10.		Nikon D850	4.5/5	+ +	5/5	89/100	4.5/5	5/5	Jul 2017	US$ 3 299	amazon.com
11.		Sony A99 II	..	..	4.5/5	85/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2016	US$ 3 199	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The review scores listed above should be treated with care, though. The ratings are only valid when referring to cameras in the same category and of the same age. Thus, a score needs to be put into the context of the launch date and the launch price of the camera, and comparing ratings of very distinct cameras or ones that are far apart in terms of their release date have little meaning. Also, kindly note that some of the listed sites have over time developped their review approaches and their reporting style.

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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just use the search menu below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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