Canon EOS R3 on its way
Posted on Apr 15, 2021
With its eye on the needs of press and sports photographers, Canon has confirmed that the EOS R3 is in development. There’s currently no confirmation of availability, the full feature set or pricing.
The Canon EOS R3, when it arrives, will sit at the top of its mirrorless camera range. Its hybrid stills/video feature set is aimed at professional photographers who need an ultrafast, responsive camera to keep up with the fast–developing situations in front of them.
At its heart, the EOS R3 boasts a new, Canon-developed backside–illuminated, full–frame CMOS sensor, working with a Digix X image processor. This enables eye, face and head focus detection, plus a shooting rate of 30fps with AF/AE tracking, thanks to its electronic shutter and minimal rolling shutter. There’s no mention of shooting rate with the mechanical shutter, flash sync speed with the electronic shutter, or the sensor’s megapixel resolution.
Autofocusing is controlled by a next–generation Dual Pixel CMOS AF system to give advanced eye, head and body tracking, even when the subject is moving at speed. Intriguingly, Canon says a new subject tracking mode is set to be added, too.
A throwback to technology instigated back in the EOS 5 film SLR, released in 1992, the EOS R3 features an Eye Control AF function, allowing the user to select and move the AF point simply by looking through the viewfinder. Owners of the EOS 5 can probably recall that the controlled focusing was not overly reliable – it only had five AF zones to work with. So, how the next generation of Canon’s rollout fares, we’ll have to wait and see.
As you’d expect, the EOS R3 is built to withstand the rigours of pro shooting, with high levels of dust– and water–resistance, plus its integrated vertical grip makes it intuitive to use, whether shooting horizontal or vertical format pictures.
Readers will recall that Canon drip-fed the world details of its EOS R5 launch last year, so expect more juicy morsels in the coming weeks. However, with the Tokyo Summer Olympics due to start on 23 July, we’d expect the camera will be in the shops well before then.
For more information, please visit the Canon website.
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