EOS R3 DOES 24MP AT 30FPS WITH CAF
AS EXPECTED, THE new Canon EOS R mirrorless flagship is a sports camera powerhouse designed to lure some of the most staunch DSLR users. Interestingly, Canon is very much promoting the photographic capabilities of the EOS R3 even though it boasts impressive video specs too. The key emphasis is on high speed, high sensitivity and high reliability… all requirements of not just sports and action photographers, but also press photographers and those shooting wildlife. Similar to the pro-level DSLRs, the EOS R3 has an integrated vertical grip, but it’s still more compact and lighter than the EOS-1D X Mark III. However, Canon says the magnesium alloy body still has the same level of weather protection as the 1D X III and uses the same LP-E19 battery pack, so there’s interchangeability between the two cameras. To this end, the external control layout is virtually identical too.
At the heart of the EOS R3 is a new backsideilluminated (BSI) and stacked CMOS sensor with an effective resolution of 24.1 megapixels. The native sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 100 to 102,400 with an extension to ISO 204,800. The stacked design enables a much faster readout and, in concert with its DiG!C X processor, the R3 delivers continuous shooting at 30fps with 14-bit RAW capture and with full AF/AE adjustment between frames. There’s no viewfinder blackout either. This, of course, is achieved with the camera’s electronic shutter and the top speed with the mechanical shutter is 12fps, again with full AF/AE adjustment. Incidentally, the electronic shutter has a top speed of 1/64,000 second and, thanks to the sensor’s faster read-out speed, allows for the use of electronic flash (with sync up to 1/180 second and continuous shooting at 15fps).
Quoted burst lengths are 150 for RAW files and up to 540 for best-quality JPEGs. In addition to RAW capture, the R3 offers C-RAW, HEIF and JPEG, the latter two in a choice of four image sizes and 10 compression levels. Essentially, the 10-bit HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format) format is an HDR capture mode, delivering a wider dynamic range and colour gamut than JPEGs via the Rec.2020 colour space. The compressed C-RAW option gives roughly 40% smaller files sizes than normal RAW capture. There’s also a choice of 3:2, 4:3, 16:9 and 1:1 aspect ratios. The R3 has dual memory card slots, one for CFexpress Type B and one for SD types with UHS-II speed support.
Sensor shifting is used to give in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) which, in combination optical image stabilisation in some RF lenses – what Canon calls ‘Co-ordinated Control IS’ – delivers up to eight stops of correction for camera shake. The R3’s new sensor also has the Dual Pixel CMOS AF II architecture for phase-difference detection autofocusing (PDAF) with a total of 4,779 points for 100% vertical frame coverage and 90% horizontal. A key upgrade is the ability to use any of these points – or the focus area zones – as the starting point for subject tracking. A new AF area mode allows for the shape to be customised to suit the subject or situation. AI-based object recognition has been added for racing cars and motorcycles, which joins that for people, animals and birds. There’s body, head and eye detection… and head detection will still work if somebody is wearing a helmet or goggles, as can be the case in quite a number of sports. Sensitivity extends down to -7.5 EV at ISO 100 and f/1.2.
Particularly interesting is Canon’s return to the Eye Control AF capability it first introduced with the EOS 5 enthusiast-level 35mm SLR in 1992, and was better implemented in the semi-pro EOS 3 from 1998. Eye
The knock-on effects of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have been many and varied on both individuals and industries, and the photography world has experienced its fair share of related difficulties. Many working photographers simply couldn’t work, while lockdowns prevented everybody from travelling, attending events of any sort or even socialising with family and friends… all activities where you’d typically be taking lots of pictures. Reduced incomes – as a result of lockdowns forcing many businesses to close or operate at very reduced levels – have no doubt resulted in reduced spending on items not considered essential… such as a new camera or lens.
For the camera makers there have been disruptions to supply chains due to global issues with shipping caused by container ports either closing at various times or being short-staffed due to Covid outbreaks. This has also affected deliveries, not to mention causing a huge increase in the cost of shipping anything around the world. Covid outbreaks at factories have also interrupted manufacturing, causing shortages of critical components such as, in particular, computer chips.
With all this going on, it’s pretty amazing that anybody got anything done over the last 12 months, but it actually turned out to be a reasonably good year as far as new imaging products are concerned… perhaps not quite a vintage year, but not far off it. There were quite a few highlights and certainly enough going on to keep everybody interested, if not actually spending money. According to Japan’s Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA), demand in 2021 was still quite a bit down on pre-Covid 2019, but up a little overall on 2020 at least until August (which were the latest figures published when this article was compiled). However, the on-going global chip shortage will have a bigger impact on the production volumes for the last third of 2021 (traditionally much higher in anticipation of Christmas sales), so it will be interesting to see where everything ends up compared to 2020, which actually finished the year stronger than it had begun. What continues to be very obvious is that DSLR production is steadily declining (possibly by as much as 25% by the end of 2021 compared to 2020) while production of mirrorless cameras is, not surprisingly, steadily increasing, albeit destined to be the most impacted by year’s end due to the issues just outlined.
However, you don’t really need the numbers to see what’s happening in the interchangeable lens camera market. Just one new DSLR was launched during the period of eligibility and it is a further update of a model that’s close to seven years old. Additionally, both Canon and
Nikon continue to delete older models from their line-ups without replacing them, and Sony has called time on its A-mount system, ending production of its last DSLR model, the A99 II (yes, it had a fixed mirror, but it still had a mirror which made it a reflex camera). In comparison, there were 14 new mirrorless cameras released during our period of eligibility (including Fujifilm’s two medium format models, but not counting the Nikon Z 9 which, in mid-October, had yet to be officially launched).
Excellent though the Pentax
K-3 III undoubtedly is, we decided not to have a DSLR category this year primarily because, with all the camera makers’ resources going into their mirrorless systems, there is no real innovation or development going on here anymore. We continue to maintain our four main categories for mirrorless cameras – Consumer, Enthusiast, Professional and Hybrid – and have reinstated the award for best medium format camera although, of course, this year Fujifilm is competing with itself here. We’ve also reorganised our categories for lenses in recognition that, once again, just about all the activity is in the mirrorless sector.
The categories for zooms and primes are retained, of course, but we’ve divided them again into those designed for full-frame sensors and those for cropped sensors (i.e. APS-C and Micro Four Thirds) given there are different design objectives inherent in both. The freedoms inherent in the mirrorless camera configuration are now being exploited in many interesting and innovative ways.
Not surprisingly, all four lens categories were hotly contested, but none more so than that for full-frame primes with contenders from Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Sigma and Sony (which had a total of three models in the running). The bar is set very high here in terms of what’s being achieved with fast wide-angles, even faster standard lenses and close-focusing macro lenses. What’s happening with mirrorless lenses is arguably the most exciting part of the camera world at the moment.
The impact of the Covid pandemic is not over yet and it’s very likely that 2021 will see an overall decline globally in camera production and sales, but 2022 represents the light on the horizon and if product development continues as it has even in the most trying of times, there will be much to look forward to.