The Canon EOS 5DSR is still, almost a decade after it launched (and four years after it was discontinued), Canon‘s highest-resolution camera.
Today, the rest of the industry has caught up. But in 2015, when the Canon EOS 5DSR was released, its 50.6MP sensor made it the highest-resolution full-frame camera in the business.
And that puts it in an interesting place. Because while the likes of the Sony A7R V, Leica SL3 and Sigma fp L have broken the 60MP barrier – and obviously medium format cameras like the Hasselblad X2D and Fujifilm GFX 100 II have shattered the 100MP threshold – Canon hasn’t released another camera that exceeds 50MP.
So while the Canon EOS 5DSR is nearly 10 years old, even the mighty Canon EOS R5 – the highest resolution camera that the company currently makes, at 45MP – can’t match its pixel count.
Which means that the 5DSR is still a monster, right? An absolute beast, so powerful that Canon hasn’t been able to replace it even after a decade?
Well, kinda. The truth is that the Canon EOS 5DSR is incredibly niche. More than anything, it’s a studio camera where everything is single-mindedly catering to its headline resolution. Indeed, separating the 5DSR from the original 5DS is the lack of anti-aliasing filter to really amplify the resolution.
Everything else, though, isn’t quite as up to scratch – such as the absence of Canon’s signature Dual Pixel AF autofocus system. Or the 5fps top speed for continuous shooting. Or the max 1080p video, despite having more than enough pixels for 8K – let alone 4K. Or the lack of in-body image stabilization.
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Still, that’s judging a 2015 studio stills DSLR by a set of standards it was never meant to meet. The camera that does, though, is the EOS R5.
It has Dual Pixel AF (version II, in fact), it has 20fps burst shooting, it has 8K video, it has image stabilization. And at its launch, Canon told me that its 45MP resolution actually offered detail on par with a 50MP sensor.
Whether or not that was true then, it’s certainly true now; following a milestone firmware update, the Canon EOS R5 can shoot 400MP photos – that’s more than any full-frame camera, and matches the best medium format cameras.
Still, if all you need is raw resolution, the Canon EOS 5DSR is remains hard to beat. No Canon or Nikon camera can match its native pixel count, and it doesn’t look like either of them are even going to try any time soon.
So I salute you, 5DSR. All these years later, you still deserve that crown.
If you enjoyed this article, you’ll probably be interested in the best Canon EOS 5DS deals. I also recommend checking out the best Canon cameras and best Canon lenses for DSLRs, along with the best Canon RF lenses for mirrorless cameras.