Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

It’s been a whopping four years since Canon first shipped its full-frame EOS 5D Mark III dSLR, a popular model for professional photographers who don’t need the speed of a model the size of, say, a 1D X Mark II. And even then the 5DM3 wasn’t a huge change from the Mark II. But for its update, the 5D Mark IV, Canon has made a lot of essential upgrades necessary to make it current for its core users — such as wedding, fashion and landscape photographers as well as videographers — especially if the company wants it to last another 4 years. These include a new sensor (with updated autofocus) and updated metering system, 4K and HDR video and built-in GPS.

For the body, the 5DM4 will run $3,500; Canon plans to offer two kits as well, one with the 24-70mm f4L lens for $4,400 and one with the new 24-105mm f4L II lens for $4,600. (Canon doesn’t set prices in Australia or the UK, but those convert directly to £2,650/£3,320/£3,473 and AU$4,600/AU$5,785/AU$6,050.) It’s about $900 more than the 5DM2.

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Canon expects to ship the body and the 24-70mm kit during September, with the 24-105mm kit following in October.

What’s new

• Sensor and autofocus. With this model, Canon continues its trend of replacing the standard CMOS sensors in its dSLRs with versions that use its Dual Pixel CMOS technology — sensors with phase-detection autofocus points sharing each imaging pixel. The Dual Pixel CMOS architecture provides much better autofocus performance over older Canon systems, especially when shooting video or using Live View. The new sensor jumps to 30.4-megapixel resolution (from 22.3MP), and brings with it an update to the same second generation of its 61-pt High Density Reticular AF autofocus system that debuted in the 1DXM2, with a claimed AF sensitivity down to -4 EV in Live View, as well as its iTR face- and color-detection technology. The camera also gains the metering system found in the EOS 5DS models. Its image processor is the Digic 6+ which first appeared in the 1DXM2.
• 4K and HDR video. 4K recording has become essential in the current generation of high-end cameras; it delivers far more detail than HD and allows the ability to extract 8-megapixel images. Like the 1DM2, Canon skips the popular UHD 4K format (3,840 x 2,160), instead supporting just cinema-focused DCI (4,096 x 2,160). Most cameras that offer DCI also offer UHD, in part because the two formats have different aspect ratios: UHD’s TFV-friendly 1.78 vs. DCI’s 1.9. The 5DM4 also inherits the HDR movie capability Canon first incorporated into the 80D, which shoots each 1080/60p video frame at two exposures, then combines them for a single 1080/30p frame.
• Performance. Given the updates, the autofocus is likely faster, especially for Live View. However, its continuous shooting speed is only a bit faster — 7 frames per second vs. 6fps. That’s not bad in general for this class of camera, but here that rating is without autofocus, autoexposure and image stabilization. The buffer, too, is only a couple shots deeper for raw, which is disappointing.
• Features. In addition to Wi-Fi with NFC, Canon adds GPS; it can be used to sync the time across multiple bodies as well as geotag. And you can use FTP for file transfer via the Wi-Fi connection. Canon adds an intervalometer and a timer for bulb mode so your forefinger gets a break. There’s also a new file format, Dual Pixel raw, which will allow you to make sub-pixel adjustments in software for increased sharpness; since Canon is the last manufacturer to retain a softening antialiasing filter on its sensors — better for video but worse for stills — this is probably Canon’s workaround. The files are twice the size of a standard raw, however. In the same vein, you’ll now be able to shoot with its corrective Digital Lens Optimizer live rather than having to apply it in postprocessing.
• Design. Overall, the body design remains the same, save for a few tweaks. Perhaps most important, it has improved dust-and-weather sealing, on par with the 7D Mark II according to Canon. The remote terminal moves to the front to make room for a USB 3 connector, and it adds the much-easier-to-manipulate joystick control for selecting AF areas that we’ve seen in recent Canon models. The back LCD is similar to the one on the 1DXM2, but it supports touch for all actions (rather than just a limited number of operations). The shutter mechanism has a softer, less vibratory operation and the now-Canon standard Intelligent Viewfinder II overlay. You’ll have to buy a new battery grip, though, the BG-E20.

My take

Canon addressed many of the shortcomings from the previous model and seems to have brought it up to date appropriately. The biggest disappointment to me is the unchanged ISO sensitivity range; a high maximum usually means important improvements in noise reduction in the middle of the range. But it’s not surprising, since Canon usually targets maintaining image quality status quo when switching from standard to the Dual Pixel CMOS. Given that we’re approaching the Photokina (our coverage will appear at that link starting in September) announcement season it’s hard to judge how it will stack up against what competitors might be planning.

Given the new features, I suspect quite a few Mark III owners will be itching to upgrade; that means this fall should be a good time to pick up a used one.

Comparative specs

HyperX Alloy FPS Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

I’ve been using the new HyperX Alloy keyboard for a couple of weeks now. It sits in front of my monitor, turned at a slight angle to free up as much space as possible for the hand wielding my mouse. Nothing compares to range of motion for your mouse in first-person shooters.

None of this has made me any better at video games, but I’m told it’s how the pros do it. I thought that was good advice, listening to the pros. After all, that’s what Kingston did for the HyperX Alloy FPS keyboard.

The new Alloy keyboard, available now and retailing for AU$169 (not yet available in the US or UK, but that translates to around $130 or £100), was designed after talking to pros about how they play: Often on the go, bringing their own keyboards and mice, crammed onto whatever tiny desk they get allocated during the early brackets of an e-sports tournament.

There’s a mentality that gaming peripherals need to be big, mean and angular, only worth their weight in LED strips and chrome detailing. The HyperX Alloy couldn’t be further removed from that thinking, taking things back to base elements. It puts keys on a board, and it does it really, really well.

Dave Cheng/CNET

Specs

• 443mm by 130mm by 36mm (17.4 inches by 5.1 inches by 1.4 inches)
• 1049g (2.3 pounds)
• Steel frame
• 100 percent anti-ghosting
• Full NKey rollover functionalities
• USB charge port
• Coloured WASD keys
• Detachable braided cord and a mesh travel pouch
• Cherry MX Blue switches
• Red backlighting
• Game mode key

Checking items off the wishlist for things like portability, maximising desktop space, USB ports and even the types of switches used in the mechanical keys, Kingston, a company better known for its flash memory, has come out with a slim, slick mechanical keyboard for pros that even the violently amateurish like myself can appreciate.

Because luckily, those same requests make it an excellent keyboard for your average player too.

The slim keyboard alongside the travel pouch.

Dave Cheng/CNET

I can’t overstate how open my desk feels now, having replaced the Turtle Beach behemoth I’d been using with the slimmed down Alloy. I’m not admitting to bathing my mousepad in cold tea during a particularly tense shootout, but these things have been known to occur and the reclaimed desk space is a godsend. The Alloy is smaller even than the lightweight Dell number on my desk at work (yep, I measured).

It’s also a full keyboard with numpad, suspending the keys over a solid steel frame with no bezel to speak of. The design struck me as a little strange at first, with quite a bit of space between the keys and base, but the sleek, simple design won me over. The heavy base means that the keyboard won’t shift under even manic typing — the rubber feet usually do the heavy lifting on this front, but it’s nice to rest your hands on something that feels solid.

The mechanical switches (Cherry MX Blue, if you care about such things) are satisfyingly clicky and the tactile feedback on activation provided just the right amount of resistance for my fingers. I indulged, and swapped out my WASD and numbers 1 to 4 for the textured red keys included in the box. Just for that professional edge.

The HyperX Alloy uses MX Cherry Blue mechanical switches.

Dave Cheng/CNET

Little flourishes like the extra USB port for device charging on the rear and the game mode to disable your Windows key are excellent quality of life inclusions. The keyboard runs off a single braided plug-and-play cable, with an additional USB connector to power the charging port on the rear.

At the AU$169 price, it’s coming in well under what you’d pay for most mechanical keyboards from other gaming peripheral manufacturers. That’s because it avoids the bloat of features that you probably won’t ever use. Media controls are wrapped in function keys, rather than dedicated buttons. There’s only one USB port and no 3.5mm jack for your headphones. The Alloy is an exercise in minimalism. Kingston has built it to have the basics, and it built the Alloy very well.