With the seemingly endless rumors surrounding its impending release, it's only a matter of time until the Canon EOS R5 Mark II breaks cover… and it already sounds like it is shaping up to be a very exciting sequel! And the rumors won't stop coming, with multiple-resolution images being just another potential feature that might be coming to Canon's new 5-series powerhouse.
We have already reported on the rumors that the Canon EOS R5 Mark II might feature an all-new high-resolution sensor of up to 60MP, which would keep it competitive with the class-leading Sony A7R V. However, the latest info from Canon Rumors suggests that the R5 Mark II might be able to employ multiple resolutions for photographers who just don't need all those megapixels every time.
We have seen this before from Leica's latest cameras; the Leica M11 and Leica Q3 both have 60MP sensors but can shoot either 60MP, 36MP, or 18MP images all using the full sensor size, with no crop. Leica also manages to squeeze more dynamic range out of lower-megapixel images by using the extra combined pixels to gather more light and information.
This is also how the best camera phones have operated for quite some time. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra have a 200MP sensor that, while usable, takes images that are 50-100Mb each, so by default the camera takes 12MP images. These pixel-binning techniques (as well as some AI magic) have enabled phones to push nighttime image quality to new heights.
In my humble opinion, for the majority of photographers, a 60MP+ camera sensor is just not necessary – and in a lot of cases can be detrimental to a workflow with much larger image sizes that take longer to transfer, require more storage, and are often too much for many computers to handle when it comes to editing.
The Canon EOS R5 Mark II is shaping up to be a technically amazing camera, and having multiple resolutions would make it a much more versatile offering and widen its appeal – so I for one hope this rumor turns out to be accurate.
Find out more about the latest Canon rumors – or you can see our guides to the current best Canon cameras or the highest resolution cameras you can buy today. And of course, check out our Canon EOS R5 review to see what we made of the original!
