For most of a decade the 5D Mark IV was the default Canon on working sets: 30.4 megapixels of full frame, 61 autofocus points with 41 cross-type, two card slots, and a sealed body that mounts every EF lens Canon has made since 1987.
It does everything competently and nothing badly, which is a rarer quality than any single headline spec.
What it is good at
61 focus points, 41 cross-type. The autofocus system that made this body a working standard. It tracks in conditions where cheaper systems give up.
Two card slots. CompactFlash and SD. Every frame written twice on jobs that cannot be reshot.
Full frame at 30.4 megapixels. Enough resolution for commercial work without the file sizes of a 45-megapixel body.
Best settings, by situation
These are starting points calibrated to this camera's actual range. Adjust for your lens, your light and how fast your subject is moving.
Weddings and events
Mode A · f/2.8 · Auto ISO, cap 6400 · AF-C · both slots recording
Two slots is the reason this body is on so many wedding shoots. Set both to record the same frames rather than splitting RAW and JPEG — the point is redundancy, not capacity.
Portraits
Mode A · f/1.4–2.8 · ISO 100–400 · single point, near eye
Forty-one cross-type points cover the centre of the frame densely, so you can place focus on the eye rather than focusing and recomposing. The EF portrait primes that made Canon's reputation all mount natively.
Low light
Mode A · widest aperture · Auto ISO, cap 12,800
Native ISO runs to 32,000, higher than most full-frame bodies of its generation quote. Twelve thousand eight hundred is a comfortable working ceiling; the files above it are usable when the alternative is no picture.
Video
4K DCI 30p
4K here is the wider DCI frame at 4096 pixels rather than UHD. Plan storage before a shoot: 4K on this body produces very large files, and one of your two slots is CompactFlash.
Three things to know before you buy
All three are verified, and each one matters to a different photographer.
890 g before a lens
Add a 24-70 f/2.8 and you are well past 1.5 kg on one shoulder for eight hours.
One slot is CompactFlash
CF is an older, pricier format that most current cameras dropped. Budget for it.
No in-body stabilisation
Canon puts stabilisation in the lens, so an unstabilised prime gives you none.
Who it is for
- Wedding and event professionals
- Portrait photographers
- Commercial and editorial work
- All-round professional use
- Not for budget-conscious first-time buyers, anyone wanting a light kit.
Carrying it all day
At 890 g with a battery and card it is not heavy on its own. It becomes heavy the moment a fast zoom goes on the front, and then it stays there all day.
A cushioned shoulder pad spreads that load instead of concentrating it on one point, which is the difference between a camera you carry and one your back remembers the next morning.
Our strap comes in two lengths, 32" and 44". Same strap, same quick-release clips, same safety tether in both — the XXL is simply longer, for photographers who are tall or broad and find every standard strap rides too high. It is a measurement of you, not of your camera. See it on Amazon, backed by a 3-year HiiGuy warranty.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV — key specifications
| Sensor | 30.4 MP Full frame |
| Lens mount | Canon EF |
| Native ISO | 100 - 32,000 |
| Burst | 7 fps |
| Autofocus | 61 points |
| Video | 4K DCI 30p |
| Card slots | 2 |
| Battery | 900 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 890 g with battery and card |
| Dimensions | 150.7 x 116.4 x 75.9 mm |
| Weather sealing | Yes |
| Announced | 2016 |
Specifications verified against the published data on 7 September 2026.
The full comparison table, an honest read on who this body suits and who should look elsewhere, and the manufacturer's own video are all on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV page.
If you are also considering
Almost nobody is choosing between this camera and nothing. These are the bodies it actually gets compared against.
- Nikon D850 — the Nikon with 45.7 megapixels for similar money used
- Canon EOS 90D — the crop-sensor Canon, faster and far cheaper
- Nikon D780 — twelve frames a second, if speed beats resolution for you
Every camera we cover is in the camera guides, and the specifications above can be checked against the independent database at DPReview.
Where to buy it
We do not sell cameras. If this is the right body for how you shoot, check the current price on Amazon. Prices move often enough that publishing one here would only ever be wrong.
As an Amazon Associate, HiiGuy earns from qualifying purchases. The camera link above is an affiliate link; the HiiGuy strap is our own product.
