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Canon’s next full-frame mirrorless camera promises to be its most capable, powerful model yet. In a development announcement today, the company teased a few details on its forthcoming EOS R3, a mirrorless model that’s positioned between the EOS R5 and 1D X Mark III.
Details are a bit thin, but that’s expected with this type of news. It’s an indication that the EOS R3 is ready to go out into the hands of photographers for real-world testing.
We do know that the R3 is built to satisfy pro photographers. Its body design includes an integrated vertical shooting grip, and Canon promises that its overall build quality and weatherproofing are made to the same standards as its 1D series. It’s a camera that photojournalists working in conflict zones can rely on.
Inside there’s a full-frame image sensor, the first that Canon has developed with a stacked BSI design. It promises very quick readout, good enough to capture photos at 30fps with its fully electronic shutter, without worry of skew or other rolling shutter distortion artifacts.
The autofocus system from the EOS R5 continues here. It leverages Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF focus system, one that leverages intelligent face, eye, and subject recognition. It’s already among the best you can get in any camera, and should only improve along with faster sensor readout.
A new electronic viewfinder is included. Canon is using it to resurrect an ancient, nearly forgotten feature from its 35mm film days—Eye Control AF. The camera’s focus point will move along with the photographer’s eye. We’re eager to see how well it works—the Canon EOS ELAN 7ne film SLR, from 2004, promises to do the same thing. I happen to own an ELAN 7ne, but I was never able to get it to work with my eyeglasses. We’ll just have to see how much Canon has been able to improve the tech in the interim.
We’ll know more about the R3 at a future date. There’s no doubt that Canon is working to get the camera in hands of sports specialists covering the delayed Tokyo Olympics, now on schedule for this summer.
New(ish) Super Telephoto Lenses
The RF lens system is growing too. Two new entries are also certain to be Olympic darlings, but aren’t new lens designs. For its first super telephoto primes, the RF 400mm F2.8 and RF 600mm F4, Canon is taking the optical formulas from the latest editions of its EF 400mm and EF 600mm and putting them in made-for-mirrorless housings. Both EF versions were refreshed in late 2018.
The result is a big lens that’s just a bit longer than the SLR version. If you already own either lens, there’s no reason to upgrade, but you can lighten your load by a few grams versus using the EF editions and a lens adapter together by opting for the native RF lenses.
Both primes support teleconverters, include 5.5-stop optical stabilization, and are protected from dust and splashes. They’re priced the same as the EF versions—$11,999 for the RF 400mm F2.8 L IS USM and $12,999 for the RF 600mm F4 L IS USM—and will go on sale in July.
A Brand New Macro
Canon is also introducing a new macro lens for the EOS R system. The RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM features an absolutely unique optical design, so it’s not quite like macros for any other camera system.
The 100mm focal length is pretty typical, but the RF 100mm focuses closer than other macros. Its maximum magnification rating is 1.4:1, an impressive feat for a lens that can still focus to infinity.
It also includes optical stabilization, a plus for getting workable handheld results at close focusing distances. The IS system works in conjunction with cameras with in-body systems for up to eight stops of correction. If you use an EOS R or RP, models without IBIS, you’ll enjoy up to five stops of correction from the lens itself.
Most intriguing is the lens’s Spherical Aberration (SA) control ring. At its default, neutral position the SA ring draws images as you’d expect—with sharp details and soft, blurred backgrounds.
Increasing the amount of SA hardens backgrounds, netting the soap bubble bokeh effect that’s drawn manual focus photographers to boutique brands like Meyer Optik Görlitz. Dialing the SA down nets photos with the a soft focus effect. We’re eager to try it out for ourselves—it’s a creative tool that you simply can’t get with other camera systems.
Canon promises to deliver the RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM to customers in July for $1,399.
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