Canon EOS R1 top-of-the-line full frame mirrorless camera development announcement coming in Q4, 2021

 

* * * Check out the upcoming Canon EOS R3 camera * * *

My readers know me as The Wildlife Ho-tographer. I have been a Canon user for over three decades, mostly in wildlife photography. I bought the first EOS-1 camera back in 1989 when it was first introduced and have upgraded to every new model since then. You can follow my travels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, see my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

Many of you also know I am not a fan of mirrorless cameras, notwithstanding the great improvement made in the EOS R5 and EOS R6 models. My biggest complaints are the latency in the EVF versus a top-of-the-line DSLR camera like the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III. The mediocre battery life even when a battery grip is added and the marginal benefit of the RF over the EF mount lenses.

Canon has announced the development of the EOS R3. Despite the ongoing Covid pandemic, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in July is still on. There is a good chance the EOS R3 will be available by then. This will push the development announcement for the EOS R1 to probably late 2021 and delivery should commence by the first half of 2022. The EOS R1 camera will be the best Canon top-of-the-line body ever and may include the following :

• All new image sensor with a global sensor
• Best-in-class AF system superior to the EOS R3 and EOS R5 cameras
• Quad Pixel AF with best-in-class dynamic range 
• The fastest frame rate of any Canon camera, not using Live View
• Imperceptible latency in the EVF. Almost equal to a DSLR viewfinder
• Best battery life of any Canon mirrorless camera w/o a battery grip

The EOS-1D X Mark III can shoot up to 16 fps using the viewfinder. That is more than enough for me. I hardly ever go over 12 fps. This kind of bragging right, similar to Super Mega Pixel sensors, bores me. If all the above features are in the new EOS R1, I may finally be buying my first mirrorless camera.

Upcoming Canon Pro EOS-R camera may be the EOS-1D R with a hybrid EF/RF lens mount

My readers know me as The Wildlife Ho-tographer, using Canon equipment for over 30 years. I have been an EOS-1 user since 1989 when the first model came out and currently use the EOS-1D X Mark II as my main body.

You can read my post on the upcoming EOS-1D X Mark III here for possible camera specifications and follow my travels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and this blog  plus my website.

Canon announced the EOS R system featuring the newly designed RF mount on September 5, 2018. You can download the whitepaper on this new body here. I was invited by Canon to a hands-on demonstration of the production camera on September 9. You can read my earlier post in October 2018, explaining why a long time user like myself will not buy the current EOS-R mirrorless camera.

Now it appears Canon may have listened to users like myself and is working on a pro version of the EOS-R mirrorless camera in an EOS-1 body and use both the EF and RF lenses without the need for an adapter.

As I mentioned in my 2018 post, there is no technical reason why Canon cannot make an EOS-1D mirrorless camera. They chose to go with the less weight solution and came up with an also-ran camera called EOS-R plus a new, expensive RF line of lenses.

In order for the EOS-1D camera body to accept the RF and EF lenses, Canon engineers will have to compensate for the different sensor-to-flange distance (20mm vs 44mm) and electrical connectors (12 vs 8) between the two mounts.

These difference can be overcome if Canon decides to listen to their professional and serious user community and remedy their mistake once and for all. The EOS-1D X Mark III will be announced in Q1, 2020. After that, Canon can work on the pro EOS-1D R mirrorless model and have a camera ready perhaps in late 2020 or early 2021. Keep checking back for the latest information and development.