Canon EOS R3
Angela Nicholson finds out whether this flagship mirrorless camera for professionals hits the mark
Price: £5,879/$5,999
According to Canon, the EOS R3 sits above the R5 and R6 as its flagship mirrorless camera, but below the EOS-1D X Mark III overall. Nevertheless, it’s aimed at the same audience as the company’s top-flight DSLR and has a similar build, featuring the same weatherproofing if not quite the same durability.
Inside the R3 is a new 24.1MP full-frame back-illuminated stacked CMOS sensor, which is paired with the Digic X processor. It’s a combination that’s designed to deliver fast responses with minimal rolling shutter effect. As such, the R3 has a maximum continuous shooting rate of 30fps and a top shutter speed of 1/64000sec when the electronic shutter is in action. Switch to the mechanical shutter and the maximum shooting rate drops to ‘just’ 12fps while top shutter speed is 1/8000sec. These top rates are all possible with full autofocus and metering functionality.
Canon has given the R3 Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, which means it uses phase-detection focusing. It also has an improved Deep Learning algorithm and the tracking system is capable of detecting human bodies, heads, faces and eyes, animal bodies, faces and eyes, and vehicles. The eye, face, head and body detection also all works whatever AF area mode is selected (it can also be disabled). This means you can either specify the area or subject that you want the camera to focus on, or you can let the camera detect the subject and focus on it.