Over three years after the announcement of the Canon EOS R camera, I have decided to buy my first mirrorless camera, the Canon EOS R3. My readers know me as The Wildlife Ho-tographer, using Canon equipment for over 30 years. You can follow my travels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and this blog.
Canon invited me to a special showing of the EOS R back in October 2018 but the camera's performance was underwhelming. I have held off buying a mirrorless camera until the technology has matured enough to give me performance at least comparable to my EOS-1D X Mark III body.
I have put the R3 through extreme, vigorous tests to separate hype from facts. Went to a few local parks, Central and Baja California, Grand Tetons National Park, Alaska, Europe, sub Arctic Canada, Japan and Africa for some real world wildlife testing. So far, I am impressed but not wowed. The EVF cannot match the OVF on the EOS-1D X Mark III for speed and accuracy but it provides real time exposure of the image before I take the shot. That is a distinct advantage of the EVF over the OVF. The Electronic Shutter performs slightly better than the Mechanical Shutter on the Mark III. The AF tracking, especially in Animal Mode is impressive in most cases but the Eye AF is over hyped and unimpressive.
The R3 and RF 100-500mm lens combo and battery life performed well in cold climate (-20F) until the temperature got down to -60+F. The LP-E19 battery drained rapidly and stopped working in about half an hour. The AF tracking in Animal Mode cannot match the EOS-1D X Mark III's AF performance. Sometimes, it was confused by small branches, flowers and leaves when I tried to zero in on Hummingbirds.
The R3 camera feels very solid and comfortable in my hands. Practically indistinguishable from the EOS-1D X body. All my cameras have the same feature settings so I don't have to fumble around to locate the functions I use most often. I am a wildlife photographer, not a videographer so there will be no testing on video features of the R3.
Coming from decades of DSLR use, I am prepared to give the new technology some time. I am beginning to get used to the EOS R3 and gaining more confidence with the camera. I still have a few more real world wildlife photo shoots to go on in the next few months. Stay in touch and check back often. The R3 mates well with the RF 100-500mm lens. Almost all the photos here were taken with the RF 100-500mm lens. The rest were shot with the EF 600mm f/4L IS III. I will use this new camera/lens setup and compare it to the EOS-1D X Mark III with EF 100-400mm II combo. They are currently my workhorse.
Canon is expected to ship the Canon EOS R3 starting November 26, 2021. I expect to get mine by the end of this month, at the latest. For those who can't wait to get their hands on one, here are the Owner Manual and Technical Manual.
Download them to peruse all the wonderful features of the camera and get a head start. After I have taken delivery of the EOS R3 and the RF 100-500mm lens, they will accompany me on a few real world wildlife safaris under the most demanding situations and I will write a complete review of the camera. I will have the EOS-1D X Mark III body with me as a comparison. Keep checking back for the latest information on the EOS R3 body.
Canon announced the revolutionary EOS R3 full frame mirrorless camera on September 14, 2021. I have placed my order for the body a few minutes after the official announcement was made, plus the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 zoom lens. Hope to take delivery by the end of November, 2021. Up to now, I have not been a fan of any mirrorless camera or RF lens. My readers know me as The Wildlife Ho-tographer. I have been using Canon equipment for over three decades and in particular, the EOS 1 model camera since 1989.
The reason why I have waited this long is the current crop of full frame mirrorless cameras lack the battery life, ergonomics and 'zero' latency of the EVF I demand of a wildlife camera. The EOS R3 appears to have addressed all my concerns. After I have taken delivery of the EOS R3 and the RF 100-500mm lens, they will accompany me on a few real world wildlife safaris under the most demanding situations and I will write a complete review of the camera. I will have the EOS-1D X Mark III body with me as a comparison. Keep checking back for the latest information on the EOS R3 body.
My readers know me as The Wildlife Ho-tographer and I have been using Canon equipment for over three decades. I started with the first EOS 1 in 1989 and have used all the models since then. When Canon introduced their EOS R in 2019, they invited me to a private, introductory launch event but I was not wowed by the camera and all its subsequent new models until now.
The EOS R3 will be my first mirrorless camera. I have placed my order and will write a thorough, real world review and compare it to the EOS-1D X Mark III, after I have taken delivery (hopefully no later than November) and gone on a few wildlife tours. Expect a long wait if you have not placed your order already. Keep checking back on my Blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.
MELVILLE, NY September 14, 2021 – Building on the success of the EOS R camera series, Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the next leap forward in full-frame mirrorless cameras – the professional-grade Canon EOS R3. The new camera leverages the advancements in technology that Canon has developed since the original EOS R launch in 2018 and bridges the gap between the immensely popular EOS R5 and the world-renowned Canon flagship EOS-1D X line. The EOS R3 is the first ‘3’ series camera from Canon since the widely used EOS-3 film camera launched in 1998.
The EOS R3 camera’s features greatly emphasize superb AF performance and speed with fast-moving subjects. It was designed to meet the reliability and durability demands of professionals, even when working in some extremely challenging conditions.
‘The launch of the EOS R3 sets a new benchmark for the Canon EOS R camera system. Canon listened carefully to the voices of professionals when developing a camera to meet their standards,’ said Tatsuro ‘Tony’ Kano, executive vice president and general manager of Canon U.S.A.’s Imaging Technologies & Communications Group. ‘The EOS R3 is a monumental evolution in digital imaging technology. I look forward to seeing the camera in action on the sidelines of sporting events and in the hands of nature and wildlife photographers across the globe.’
The core of the EOS R3 features a Canon designed and manufactured 24.1-megapixel back-illuminated stacked CMOS sensor. The sensor is the first of its kind from Canon, and when combined with the DIGIC X processor, delivers a high-speed readout allowing for continuous blackout-free shooting at up to 30 fps in electronic (silent) shutter mode and up to 12 fps in mechanical shutter, with minimum rolling electronic shutter distortion. The combination also increases the high sensitivity, light-capturing efficiency of a native ISO range of 100-102400, expandable up to 204,800 for still images. Like the EOS R5 and R6, the camera features the improved Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with 1,053 AF Points and evolved EOS iTR tracking down to EV -7.5 for subjects such as eye, face, head, animals, and select cars and motorcycles. In addition, the camera features up to 8 stops3 of in-body image stabilized (IBIS) shake correction.
Leveraging technology and performance feedback from the popular EOS R5 and EOS R6 cameras, the EOS R3 uses Deep-Learning technology to further enhance eye and body detection for even better performance during portrait and action-type shooting. Featuring a new 5.76-million-dot and 120 fps blackout-free Electronic Viewfinder, the EOS R3 camera will provide photographers with the ability to select the initial area for AF tracking by simply looking directly at the viewfinder location where they want to begin AF. With Eye input AF2 and Servo AF activated, the camera will focus on and track moving subjects at that location in the frame. When Face Detect + Tracking is active, the camera will continue to follow moving subjects around the entire active AF area.
The EOS R3 camera doesn’t just capture spectacular still images, it also packs impressive video specs as well. The camera is capable of shooting 6K 60p RAW and 4K 120p 10-bit uncropped video with Canon Log 3 support, in addition to the possibility for oversampled 4K and RAW movie internal recording. Canon Log 3, which is frequently used in cinema production, helps to reduce the possibility of highlight blowouts. What’s more, the features such as industry standard BT.709, BT.2020 color gamuts, and cinema gamut help to maintain color and tonal consistency. Coordinated 5-axis IBIS helps to correct operator motion or shaking providing dependent video capturing even when using a lens without built-in Optical IS.
Additional features of the EOS R3 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera include :
• Canon’s next-generation Multi-Function Shoe that is compatible with a variety of accessories including the Speedlite EL-1, and new accessories such as the ST-E10 Speedlite Transmitter, External Mic and Smartphone Link Adapter
• One-piece magnesium alloy design, integrating the body with a vertical grip section
• Weather and dust resistance equivalent to EOS-1D camera models.
• Mobile File Transmitter application for iOS® and Android® devices allows photographers to transfer their images quickly and easily without the need for wired LAN equipment
• Built-in Wired LAN, 5GHz Wi-Fi®, USB and Bluetooth® technology
• Dual-card slots, supporting one CF express and one UHS-II SD
The Canon EOS R3 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera is scheduled to be available in November 2021 for a suggested retail price of $5999.99*. For more information, please visit usa.canon.com
