I have a problem with EOS Utility.  I am using Windows 8.1 and apply Microsoft updates on a regular basis.  After one update EOS Utility would not load.  I tried reinstalling it and I tried resetting the compatibility flag and rebooting to no avail.  Has anyone else experienced the problem and more importantly found a solution?
Ken Lindup

In your article comparing the two, you don't mention that the SL1 cannot be used as a wireless master with its internal flash. I know it is not that important to some, but it is a deal breaker for me.

I've just posted a "mini review" of the 5Ds (no "r"). I was impressed with it as a camera for landscape, portrait and commercial work where you can take time to optimize focus and you don't need the fastest possible frame rate. See http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_5Ds_review.html

However for nature and wildlife, I agree that the EOS 7D MkII is probably the best bang for the buck right now if you don't absolutely NEED full frame. As Frank points out, things like atmospheric turbulance and slight focus offsets can negate the higher resolution of the 5Ds over the 5D MkIII, assuming you can get the framing you want without cropping. If you have to crop, then the 5Ds is better then the 5D MkII, but probably not as good as the EOS 7D MkII.

I've shipped it back, no regrets.

Frank

The last day of the rental is over, it's in the box.

Today I shot RAW and maximum size JPEGs simultaneously and the JPEGs did not fare well for me. They are slightly soft and low contrast, meaning that they would need additional sharpening and contrast adjustments and be just that much less useable. The only gain would be in-camera and editing speed compared to shooting RAW, but there's no speed gain compared to the 7dii.

I'm not planning to shoot landscapes or still-lifes again and, if I was, I'd probably get out my Pentax 67 and test all those rolls of 220 Kodak Portra that are in my freezer. I'm just not inspired to do so. Birds are a lot more entertaining and don't require more than the minimum travel around my part of the county.

Like my previous trial of the Sony A7r last year, I keep hoping for an ideal system with better resolution than I've got, only to be stymied because of the limits of my work habits, subjects and lenses.

Today I tried the JPEG setting instead of RAW, which was my normal file format with all of my Canon digital cameras up to 7dii. I don't see any loss on my screen or for my purpose - modest sized prints.

Shooting only maximum size JPEGs helps a lot in the field and in editing by the huge increase in speed they give as well as the number of images on a memory card. RAW file in-camera time simply means an active subject can't be well covered, the lags often eclipsing a bird's sudden movements and brief postures.

Maybe tomorrow I'll do side-by-side images in both RAW and JPEG for a more definitive comparison.

I'm still not sure I want to spend the money, mostly because I'm seeing too much image degradation due to the atmospheric distortion from excessive heat that we're having to get the most out of the camera. Only under the most ideal conditions - close, breezy and in the cool of early morning can I be reasonably sure of getting high image quality and those conditions haven't coincided with having a cooperative bird in front of me, yet.

Here's my initial take on a rental 5ds (no "r"):

I've had it for 3 days of mostly miserable sunny weather, so I've only had about a half day of suitably cloudy skies to work with. Still, I've managed to shoot enough frames to get the microfocus set with both extenders and, believe me, this is something you have to do, if you are going to get any worthwhile images from this camera - if you don't, you might as well save the money and get a cheaper model of 20Mpix or less. I've done it 3 times now and still think that it's not quite right with my 2x (the sun and heat don't make it easy to adjust focus at 50x the 1200mm focal length!)

Dynamic range seems to be significantly less than my 7dii and noise seems to be more intrusive at ISO 1600 which is needed a lot of the time to get at least 1/250 sec. at f/11.

What I was hoping for with this camera was at least comparable image quality with the EF 600/4 for birds (allowing for the higher pixel count to off-set the loss of magnification) and still be able to do great landscapes. I don't think that's happening due to the dynamic range and noise - I think the 7dii is still better for birds and I don't need a landscape camera at the moment.

By the time my week rental is over, I hope to be able to shoot it and the 7dii side-by-side on a cooperative bird for direct comparison. Here's hoping for more cloudy skies and normal temperatures.

Michael Tapes (of Lens Align)  Does a video review of the 5Dsr  with some very impressive AF performance
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html

Keith,

It sounds like your problem is not a universal exposure setting, but using an unfamiliar camera setting in an extreme lighting situation. If you had your camera exposure compensation set to -1, you'd risk a too-dark exposure on your next dark bird, so there's no real gain on average. Also, the effects of underexposure on the darker background can have consequences for the final image in some cases, affecting how you can use the image.

Spot metering would have helped in that case and even +1 metered directly on the white bird should not have blown out (zero would make the brightest area, the bird, mid-toned, +1 slightly brighter and more nearly the correct exposure). The use of spot metering can be problematic when using off-center focus elements and there's a difference between what the meter sees and what the focus sensor locks-on; in that case, there's a good reason to use center focus, OneShot and recompose, which, of course is difficult for moving subjects and sudden opportunities.

Some shots just get away, no matter what.

Frank

I understand, but I got one shot of a white heron taking off above the water with a nice reflection. I totally blew out the highlights on the heron. (Of course, I was using the camera's auto exposure, which I thought was supposed to be linked to the focus point somehow.) I was just thinking that starting with some -1 exposure might have saved that shot and subsequent shots of birds against the sky. If I shoot in raw than even if -1 isn't perfect, I can easily boost it in post.