Canon announces 24.1 megapixel EOS R3

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Canon has officially (and finally!) announced the EOS R3, a new mirrrorless camera that combines the familiarity and speed of Canon’s professional-level EOS-1 DSLR cameras with the EOS R mirrorless full frame system.  

Image: Canon
Image: Canon

Body-wise, the EOS R3 has a newly designed, lightweight, dust and water-resistant magnesium body that will be familiar to anyone who has used a 1D-series body.

The body features a 5.76 million dot electronic viewfinder with low lag and a refresh rate of up to 120 fps at full resolution. On the rear of the camera is a Vari-Angle 4.1-million dot touchscreen.

Inside, you'll find a newly designed back illuminated stacked CMOS 24.1 megapixel sensor, which Canon says almost entirely eliminates rolling shutter distortion. In electronic shutter mode, the camera is capable of shooting up to 30fps with AE and AF tracking in RAW with no blackout, and the electronic shutter can also be used with both Canon and third-party flashes for the first time.

Image: Canon
Image: Canon

Canon says they have also introduced a new flicker detection and high frequency anti-flicker shooting mode to detect and correct flickering light sources and reduce banding or colour and exposure issues in the EOS R3.

Autofocus

Capable of focusing in 0.03 seconds, Canon describes the EOS R3 as the fastest EOS R series camera yet. The AF system takes advantage of deep learning algorithms, and offers AF tracking including human and animal eye, body, and face detection as well as head detection for humans in both stills and videos. 

For motorsports photographers, Canon has also introduced a vehicle tracking function, with the ability to prioritise the vehicle or the driver’s helmet.

Image: Canon
Image: Canon

Eye, face, head and body detection are now available in all AF modes, and there's a new Flexible Zone allowing users to select the size and shape of the Zone AF area. The EOS R3 can focus in lighting conditions as low as -7.5 EV.

The EOS R3 offers three different ways to select the AF point: a quick smart controller, a multi controller and Eye Control AF. According to Canon, Eye control AF (which we wrote about in our earlier announcement of the R3) provides a more natural connection between the camera and the photographer and moves the focus point to where the photographer looks. Canon said during our first look that this will need to be calibrated and is probably better suited to static rather than moving subjects.

Image: Canon
Image: Canon

Finally, a 5-axis In-Body Image Stabiliser can combine with the optical Image Stabiliser in many RF lenses to provide up to 8-stops of stabilisation.

Connectivity

Inside, you'll find built in Bluetooth 5.0 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, along with a built in Gigabit Ethernet port, and the ability to transmit images via FTP. Canon also says both R5 and EOS-1D X Mark III users can share settings between the three cameras. 

You'll also be able to remotely control the camera from a mobile device using the Canon’s Camera Connect App or using the Browser Remote function via an ethernet connection. The Browser Remote function allows for remotely changing metadata, as well as the ability to browse and download images.

Image: Canon
Image: Canon

There's also Canon’s Mobile File Transfer (MFT) app that transfers images over a mobile device to an FTP/FTPS/SFTP server. Canon says future enhancements will include text conversion of voice memo.

A new smartphone holder accessory for the EOS R3, the Smartphone Link AD-P1, will let photographers mount their Android device on top of the Multi-Function Shoe Adapter (which can now power devices as well) and transmit images via the MFT app.

Finally, the EOS R3 uses the same LP-E19 battery as the EOS-1D X Mark II and EOS-1D X Mark III, and has both CFexpress and UHS-II SD slots. 

Video

The EOS R3 is capable of capturing 6K 60p RAW footage (although this is reliant on using the CFexpress slot), along with 4K 60p, which is oversampled from 6K footage. In addition, there is 4K 120p for slow motion, and Canon says it is also possible to record up to six hours of regular video or 1.5 hours at high 119.88/100p frame rates.

Availability

The EOS R3 will be available in Australia from late November 2021, with a recomended retail price of $8,599 AUD. In the meantime, you can read more about the EOS R3 at Canon.com.au.

Finally, also announced today were two new RF lenses, the RF 16mm F2.8 STM (RRP $549 AUD) and the RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM (RRP $1,379 AUD).

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