Canon EOS R5 vs Nikon Z5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS R5 and the Nikon Z5, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Both cameras were introduced in July 2020. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS R5 over Nikon Z5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z5 over Canon EOS R5.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z5 have 3.2" screens with 2,100k dot and 1,040k dot resolutions respectively. Canon EOS R5 has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Nikon Z5 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS R5 has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 5,760k dot resolution and Nikon Z5 has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Canon EOS R5 features a 45.0 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 864 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Nikon Z5 features a 24.3 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 571.2 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS R5 is equipped with DIGIC X processor and can take pictures up to 8192 x 5464 resolution. Nikon Z5 is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 6016 x 4016 resolution.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS R5 has Canon RF lens mount and Nikon Z5 has Nikon Z lens mount. Due to their Full Frame sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (8 stops of compensation in Canon EOS R5 and 5 stops of compensation in Nikon Z5). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z5 have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 on Nikon Z5) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB Type-C inputs for data transfer and battery charging. Canon EOS R5 has a Micro HDMI and Nikon Z5 has a Micro Type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS R5 comes with LP-E6NH battery pack with battery life of 320 shots and Nikon Z5 comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 470 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS R5 has two card slots - one for CFexpress Type B and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II). Nikon Z5 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z5 have Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane. shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS R5, and up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Z5. Canon EOS R5 can shoot continuously up to 20.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 12.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Nikon Z5 can shoot continuously up to 4.5 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS R5 has Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system with 5940 focusing points and Nikon Z5 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 273 focusing points. Canon EOS R5 has detection range from -6 to +20 EV and Nikon Z5 has detection range from 3 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z5 range from -3 to +20 EV and -3 to +17 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Canon EOS R5 and ±5 EV range on Nikon Z5. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS R5 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z5.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Canon EOS R5 and via Hot Shoe to Nikon Z5. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Canon EOS R5 and 1/200 sec on Nikon Z5.

Canon EOS R5 body has dimensions of 138 x 98 x 88 mm (5.43 x 3.84 x 3.46") and Nikon Z5 body has dimensions of 134 x 101 x 70 mm (5.28 x 3.98 x 2.76"). Canon EOS R5 weighs 738 g (1.63 lb / 26.03 oz) and Nikon Z5 weighs 675 g (1.49 lb / 23.81 oz).

Canon EOS R5

Nikon Z5

138 mm

98 mm

134 mm

101 mm

98 mm

101 mm

88 mm

70 mm