The Best Canon 5D Mark IV Tips You Need to Know

I do understand that getting a new camera is an exciting prospect but when you do get a new camera, there comes a learning curve that you have to master, as well. Now, if you are someone who is already well-versed in the whole process of taking pictures and you are well aware of all the aspects of cameras and photography, then you will not have any issues when it comes to learning how the camera is. However, if you are someone who is new or someone who has shifted from a different system altogether, things can be confusing, to be honest.

That is why in this roundup, we are going to take a look at some of the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV tips and explore everything that is good about this camera. For those who are not sure about the camera and are finding it complicated, this whole guide is going to help you with getting the most out of your camera.

Canon 5D Mark IV Tips and Tricks

Now, I do understand that not many people will need tips and tricks for their 5D Mark IV and the reason behind that is rather simple – they have already mastered the art of camera and how to use everything. But the same cannot be said about everyone else who is still trying to find the right ways that will let them fiddle with the camera the right way.

Thankfully, the tips that I am about to list down are going to help everyone and more importantly, you will get to know that you can actually use these tips on almost every camera, and that too, without any issues. However, worry not, I will also talk about some 5D Mark IV specifics as we go further into the guide.

1- Taking Pictures in RAW

The first tip that anyone is going to give you about cameras is that you should always take pictures in RAW. This is not something that you should shy away from even if RAW is an overwhelming format for you because it actually requires you to inspect and edit your photos later on.

The benefits of taking pictures in RAW can have an entirely different article on them but I am just going to mention that if you want to have full control over your images when editing them, the best way you can handle this situation is by taking the pictures in RAW because it will genuinely let you have full control.

2- Always Using a Good Lens

One more thing that is often overlooked by beginners is that they are never really investing in a good lens for one reason or another. Now, I get it that you are not looking to make the most of the situation you have at hand but to be honest, if you want to look into something that is good, and you want to be sure that your camera’s real potential is not going to waste, you are in need of a good lens.

Now, this raises another question for a lot of people. What makes a good lens, in the first place? Well, we have a number of factors that add up and make a lens for what it is and these can range from various perspectives, to be honest.

However, a good lens should have a wide aperture, a good focal range, and most importantly, good quality glass. Why? Well, all these things combine to make a wonderful experience. If you are okay with spending a little more money, then you can go ahead and buy a lens that has image stabilization and weather sealing, as well. But that is going to cost you more.

Moving further, there are some excellent third-party lenses as well, especially from the likes of Tamron and Sigma. So, it is better to check on those, too. If you are still confused, you can check my roundup of the best lenses for Canon 5D Mark IV for a proper understanding.

3- Manual Mode is the Way to Go

One more tip that I am going to leave you with is that once you have the lens and the camera setup, the next thing that you need to do is put the camera in manual mode. I am fully aware of just how technical and overwhelming it can be but to be honest, this is the only right way of taking pictures. Why? Well, when you are in manual mode, you have full control of your camera and each set that goes into it, and this allows you to truly result in the pictures you want.

4- Faster Shutter Speed is Better

Moving further, a lot of times, people are often mistaken for a simple thing that relates to shutter speed. For those who are wondering what shutter speed is, it simply refers to the speed with which the shutter actuates. The faster the shutter speed, the less time the light will have to hit the sensor, but this will also result in much clearer pictures with no blur or shake.

The reason why I am suggesting a faster shutter speed is that it allows you to truly capture some stunning images and that too, without any issues.

5- Keep the ISO as Low as Possible

Okay, now that you have handled the shutter speed, it is time to move to ISO. Here, you have to keep the ISO as low as possible. Why? Well, the higher the ISO is, the brighter your pictures will be, and all the artificial brightness will basically introduce digital noise in your pictures, trust us, you do not want to go that route at all.

Therefore, the best way to deal with this situation is to keep the ISO as low as possible. Now, this will obviously mean that the pictures will come out darker, and how do we tackle that? I am going to explain that in the next tip.

6- A Wider Aperture

Now that you have handled both the shutter speed and ISO, it is time to come to the last part of the exposure triangle and that is the aperture. Aperture basically refers to the lens’ opening, the wider it is, the more light it will let in, and the brighter your pictures are going to be.

Simply put, you should make sure that your lens’ aperture is set to f/1.8 to f/2.8. This is an ideal range and with low ISO and faster shutter speed, this is going to be great. However, if you want to make things even darker, you can go higher, as well, like f/5.6 or even f/8. Provided you have enough light coming from external sources.

ISO, shutter speed, and aperture combine together to make the “exposure triangle” and if you do not know, all three of these best settings for Canon 5D mark iv work in tandem, so adjusting one setting wrongly can negatively impact the other settings too.

It will take some time before you can master the exposure triangle but it is not going to be something that will be complicated.

Why is Autofocus Not Working on Canon 5D Mark IV?

Thankfully, the camera does not suffer from any mechanical failures that can render the autofocus completely useless. However, the modern Canon cameras can be used in manual focus mode as well if you end up turning the switch on the lens to MF. This will lock the focus to manual and you will have to handle everything yourself.

However, if the switch is set to AF and the autofocus is still not working, check the asterisk button that is found on the back of the camera and press that until the autofocus starts working. The last case is simply resetting the camera and that should return the settings to default.

If the camera is still not focusing, then there might be some other issue, and getting it looked at by professionals is going to help you.

How to Fix the Noise Issue of Canon 5D Mark IV?

The camera has an excellent sensor. However, no matter how expensive or high-end a camera sensor is, there are limitations that can come your way, and the more you are avoiding such issues and being aware of them, the better.

If you are experiencing the noise issue in your Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, I would simply suggest that you turn down the ISO because that is significantly going to help you in getting pictures that do not have a lot of noise in them.

Why is Canon 5D Mark IV Not Sharp?

A lot of people are not aware of it but the camera is one of the best cameras out there. Whether the camera is sharp or not is something that is largely on the Canon 5D lens that is being used. If you feel like the camera is not producing pictures as sharp as they should be, changing the lens is the one thing that you should go for because that would help a lot and you will get the type of pictures you want without any issues.

Additionally, if you are noticing blur in your pictures, you should go ahead and speed up the shutter speed as the blur and lack of sharpness could also be because of that. However, if all of this is still happening, cleaning your lens and getting your sensor cleaned by a professional is a good way to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

I do understand that the Canon 5D Mark IV can be an overwhelming camera to use. Simply because you are getting a lot of features in a single camera and things are only going to get more and more confusing that way. However, with this guide that we have for all the Canon 5D Mark IV users, the goal here is to make things easier to understand and more streamlined, as well.