Sometimes I read technical analysis of a camera and I chuckle at the conclusions. Phrases like "unusable" and "major distortions" get tossed around. Early on, the consensus with the R5 from "armchair engineers" was that the electronic shutter performance was "terrible"...I actually saw multiple people saying the performance was terrible and unusable. Granted, I've spoken with several NFL photographers that have shown me examples and told me that the performance for their use case would indeed be just that - unusable. But that doesn't mean it won't work for other use cases...please see bellow.
What do I deem "unusable"? When the rolling shutter effect takes away from the subject of the image. In the case of the R5 as a motorsports photographer, I find the electronic shutter to be HIGHLY usable and extremely beneficial.
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to use my new R5 to cover one of our races that was thankfully able to still be held. I used electronic shutter extensively as I threw everything I could at the camera...I left the event prepared to sell my 1DX Mark II...and I have. Here are just a few examples taken with the R5 in the 12-bit RAW electronic shutter that some people are afraid to use. Don't be afraid. Give it a shot and see if you think it will work for the application you're working in. LEARN how your camera performs and understand when you can exploit this feature - I think you'll be very surprised.
Truly minimal distortion that have no impact or create any distraction.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0098 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
Distortion is there, but I don't consider this shot ruined because I used it and most people wouldn't notice the distortion if it wasn't pointed out to them or they were looking for it.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0229 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0550 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0376 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
Shots like this where the background is entirely blurred, you would probably never know!
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0448 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
This is a single shot from a 65 image sequence I shot using the Electronic Shutter in the R5. Distortion is visible, but it doesn't really take away from this sequence of images. The main point is that I was able to capture a brilliant series of images with the car tracked in every frame. We're using the sequence to create a two-page spread that should look really awesome. Using 20fps now lets us choose WHICH images we want to use to show what happened. It's awesome.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0653 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
I would also like to point out that using the 12-bit electronic shutter under these particular artificial lights didn't create any banding from the light frequency. High ISO performance also remains extremely impressive! This is a 45mp image sensor using electronic shutter under artificial light at ISO 12,800. Not only is is completely usable and I delivered to the client, but it looks downright exceptional. So my apologies if I'm laughing at people who say you can't use the camera in the 12-bit electronic shutter...that sentiment is incorrect.
I'm a Canon user, and acknowledge my bias...but this has to be the best performing photography camera on the market with a truly incredible sensor.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0573 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
What do I deem "unusable"? When the rolling shutter effect takes away from the subject of the image. In the case of the R5 as a motorsports photographer, I find the electronic shutter to be HIGHLY usable and extremely beneficial.
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to use my new R5 to cover one of our races that was thankfully able to still be held. I used electronic shutter extensively as I threw everything I could at the camera...I left the event prepared to sell my 1DX Mark II...and I have. Here are just a few examples taken with the R5 in the 12-bit RAW electronic shutter that some people are afraid to use. Don't be afraid. Give it a shot and see if you think it will work for the application you're working in. LEARN how your camera performs and understand when you can exploit this feature - I think you'll be very surprised.
Truly minimal distortion that have no impact or create any distraction.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0098 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
Distortion is there, but I don't consider this shot ruined because I used it and most people wouldn't notice the distortion if it wasn't pointed out to them or they were looking for it.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0229 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0550 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0376 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
Shots like this where the background is entirely blurred, you would probably never know!
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0448 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
This is a single shot from a 65 image sequence I shot using the Electronic Shutter in the R5. Distortion is visible, but it doesn't really take away from this sequence of images. The main point is that I was able to capture a brilliant series of images with the car tracked in every frame. We're using the sequence to create a two-page spread that should look really awesome. Using 20fps now lets us choose WHICH images we want to use to show what happened. It's awesome.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0653 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr
I would also like to point out that using the 12-bit electronic shutter under these particular artificial lights didn't create any banding from the light frequency. High ISO performance also remains extremely impressive! This is a 45mp image sensor using electronic shutter under artificial light at ISO 12,800. Not only is is completely usable and I delivered to the client, but it looks downright exceptional. So my apologies if I'm laughing at people who say you can't use the camera in the 12-bit electronic shutter...that sentiment is incorrect.
I'm a Canon user, and acknowledge my bias...but this has to be the best performing photography camera on the market with a truly incredible sensor.
MS-NMRA_NMCA-MARTIN2020-0573 by LSXPhotog, on Flickr