Canon 5D Mark IV sample photos and first set of production-level test shots posted!

 

 

We've just posted some sample photos from our Canon 5D Mark IV shoot with Canon Explorers Of Light Parish Kohanim and Denis Reggie, as well as an initial set of our standardized lab shots, so you can compare its image quality with the 5D Mark III and other cameras. (We posted a video of our studio time with Parish last week; stay tuned for some insights for wedding photographers from Denis later this week.)

Most of the studio shots were at higher ISOs, and in this case, the path to those final JPEGs was a little unusual. The camera we had for the studio shoot didn't have final firmware, so its own internally-generated JPEGs weren't representative of final image quality. Canon felt that the body and sensor themselves were OK, though, so we used the test body we received over the weekend to extract JPEGs from the original RAW files. (Which we have also posted.) Like other recent Canon SLRs, the 5D Mark IV lets you process CR2 RAW files into JPEGs, using the same parameters that can be set for normal JPEG recording during capture. Adjustable parameters include exposure compensation, noise reduction level, white balance, JPEG size and compression level, Picture Style (including all the sub-adjustments there for sharpening strength, fineness and threshold, contrast, saturation and color tone), color space (sRGB or Adobe RGB), Auto Lighting Optimizer, and lens aberration corrections. 

We output and uploaded three separate sets of JPEG images for each RAW file from the studio shoot, with these combinations of settings, delineated by the file names:

• No file name suffix - Default noise reduction and Standard Picture Style
• XXX_stdnr_finedetail.JPG - Default noise reduction and Fine Detail Picture Style
• XXX_noNR.JPG - No noise reduction and Standard Picture Style
   

 

Here's our favorite shot, from the day we spent in Parish Kohanim's studio. It was amazing watching him work with Adair (the lovely model here). He's been a Canon Explorer of Light for nearly 30 years now and a professional photographer for longer than that, but speaking personally (Dave E here), I don't think twice as long would even get me into the same ballpark. Special thanks to Parish for his generosity with both his time and studio space!

You'll also find the original CR2 RAW files for everything that's up there. Not much will read the 5D IV's RAWs except Canon's own DPP at this point, but we're sure various RAW converters will quickly be on the case, as we know a several software outfits use our test images to get their converters initially figured out.

A word of caution regarding the CR2s from the studio session, though: While Canon indicated that the hardware was representative of final production, and that JPEGs processed through our production body's firmware should be indicative of production results, it was nonetheless a prototype. We thus recommend that readers refer to our standardized lab shots as the most reliable guides for what to expect from retail samples.

 

Here's another shot of Adair, an amazing trooper: Still recovering from a foot injury a couple of months earlier, she spent a good hour plus hopping back and forth in high heels, somehow looking carefree every time. In our video of the session, Parish tells how he set up the lighting for this shot. He explains you can do this kind of lighting yourself, with just portable speedlites; no expensive and bulky studio lighting equipment needed!

• Canon 5D Mark IV •