Fast and furious: shooting streetball with the Canon EOS R5

Barcelona-based photographer and filmmaker Raisa Abal has built up a large following for her high-energy images of skateboarders, many of which she showcases in Dolores, a female skateboarding magazine which she helped to co-found. Her subjects are often frozen in mid-air performing complex tricks, while the scenes themselves appear cool, casual and bursting with life.

Raisa found she was aided in her task by the Canon EOS R5's 20fps maximum burst shooting speed and accurate AI-powered face-tracking, which gave her a dependable hit rate and plenty of sharp results. Instead of thinking about the technical aspects of shooting, she could concentrate on capturing the dynamics of the players and the flow of the game.

It can take time to transition to a new camera, but Raisa was able to use the EOS R5 quickly and confidently, thanks to its ergonomic handling and intuitive controls. "It was a little like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV) that I am used to, but the smaller size made it comfortable to hold all day," she says.

Prior to the shoot, Raisa underestimated the ability of the EOS R5's electronic viewfinder (EVF) to keep up with play, but was impressed with how it handled. "I had never used a mirrorless camera before, but I've tried friends' and always felt that I couldn't completely trust what I was seeing through the viewfinder because it's digital. There's often a delay, which feels like I'm not seeing real life. But this was so quick. I was amazed!"

The Canon EOS R5 builds on the cutting-edge specs of the Canon EOS R, and its enhanced EVF has a 120fps refresh rate – compared to the still-impressive 60fps on the EOS R – as well as a resolution of 5.76 million dots for a stunning amount of detail.

"Streetball players are very fast and tall, so when they got close to the basket they jumped really high," continues Raisa. "I was following the game directly through the viewfinder and found it faithful to reality."

Not one to stand on the sidelines for too long, Raisa soon hit the court to capture some unique perspectives and angles. "I wanted to take pictures from in amongst the players to try to capture their movements, but it was hard as the game is very quick and I often got caught between them."

Raisa was often incredibly close to her subjects, but she was still able to recompose her frames easily using the flexible Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM, an RF 'Trinity' lens that offers maximum quality as well as a fast maximum aperture that excels in low light. "The 24-70mm is one of my favourite lenses, as it focuses very well and is bright. Due to its range, it is very versatile as well," says Raisa. "I like being able to use the wide-angle and also to have a little zoom in case the situation changes."

The EOS R5, along with all of Canon's EOS R System cameras, features Canon's innovative RF mount, and this gave Raisa access to a wide choice of professional RF lenses, including the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM. "It was really easy to change lenses throughout the game."

Referring to the rapid continuous shooting rate on the EOS R5, Raisa says, "When I fired the first burst, I thought 'Wow, this is going to be fun!' For me, the most important thing to document was speed and strength; something that expressed the power of the players."

The EOS R5's deep-learning AI has revolutionised autofocus for photographers who shoot erratic targets. During the game, Raisa relied on the Face/Eye detection mode to recognise and track the players at speed, and this kept them in razor-sharp focus even when they were turning away from her to follow the ball. "Imagine chasing a subject that's very fast, while running, and this subject also runs and jumps. I chose face tracking because the players sometimes moved their heads very quickly. It was just spectacular."

This exceptionally fast AF performance (0.05 sec), along with 5,940 AF points that cover almost the entire frame, meant that Raisa could remain fully in the moment creatively, while feeling confident that the focus of the EOS R5 would deliver killer slam-dunk shots.

The EOS R5 has been designed to be the ultimate hybrid stills and video camera, offering modern content creators the ability to shoot up to 8K 30p 12-bit RAW and 4K 120p video footage using the camera's full-frame sensor.

During the game of streetball, Raisa was able to switch between the two mediums seamlessly thanks to the EOS R5's customisable buttons. "In two clicks you are ready to record," she says. "On the EOS R5, the record button is at the top, so you can easily hold the camera with your thumb on the shutter release to record and stop, while you can see what you are recording with the screen reclined. This was more comfortable than usual, and super stable while holding the camera in your hand."

To aid handheld shooting further and ensure critically sharp results, Raisa could rely on the EOS R5's 5-axis in-body image stabilisation system, which provides up to 8-stops of protection against camera shake when used with compatible lenses. This was a game-changer, as the weather was dull, but Raisa didn't have to compromise on image quality by raising the ISO too high. "The day was very grey and we had spotlights simulating sunlight, so the light was quite low. In Manual Exposure mode, I put my ISO at no more than 200."

At one point the conditions turned from grey to rainy, but the EOS R5's weather resistant magnesium body meant that play – and the shoot – could go on. "The camera body and lenses, as always with Canon equipment, were spectacular and super solid," concludes Raisa.