Canon's full-frame EOS R

All of a sudden the full-frame mirrorless space is starting to look a little cozy. And before we know it, it will be crowded. Canon’s offering is the recently announced EOS R. Housing a 30.3 megapixel full-frame sensor, the EOS R uses the same DIGIC 8 processor that first appeared in the mirrorless Canon M50.

In terms of autofocus, the camera relies on Canon’s proprietary Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus, and coupled with Touch and Drag AF, you can intuitively select from any of the 5,655 available AF point positions – quite an impressive feat indeed. When it comes to speed, Canon claims the camera can focus in as little at 0.05 seconds, making it extremely quick. Meanwhile, if you work in low-light conditions, the autofocus is possible in conditions as dark as -6EV – Canon’s first to work in such low light. The EOS R can also operate totally silently for use in any setting. The body is magnesium alloy and weather-sealed.

The EOS R features Digital Lens Optimizer which corrects factors such as lens aberrations and draws on the power of RF lenses to send correction data to the camera body. This minimises the impact on continuous shooting speed. The EOS R can capture moving subjects with up to 8fps continuous shooting (fixed AF) and 5fps with AF tracking.

The advanced Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) features 3.69 million dots and provides 100 percent coverage of the scene, making it possible to see subjects in accurate colour even in near-dark conditions, while the fully articulated, touch-screen LCD has a resolution of 2.1 million dots.

Video capability extends to 4K 30p with 10-bit output via HDMI, with up to 12-stops of dynamic range at ISO 400. Canon Log is also supported. Like the Nikon Z6 and Z7, the EOS R has just the one card slot.

The EOS R introduces a new full-frame RF mount, and initially four RF-mount lenses will be available: RF 28-70mm f/2L USM, RF 50mm f/1.2L USM, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM and RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. For established Canon shooters with plenty of expensive glass, the good news is that Canon has also announced three adapters to allow EF lenses to be used with RF-mount cameras. One is a simple mount converter, the second includes a customisable control ring, while the third includes a drop-in filter slot, making it possible to use variable ND or circular polarisers with any lens.

SPECS: CANON EOS R

Lens mount	Canon RF
Effective pixels	30.3 megapixels
Sensor size	36 x 24 mm (full frame)
Sensor type	CMOS
Max resolution	6720 x 4480 pixels
ISO range	100-40,000 (expandable to 50-102,400)
Image stabilisation	No
Autofocus	Contrast Detect (sensor)
	Phase Detect
	Multi-area
	Center
	Selective single-point
	Tracking
	Single
	Continuous
	Touch
	Face Detection
	Live View
	Manual
Number of focus points	5655
LCD type	Fully articulated, touchscreen, TFT LCD
Screen size	3.2-inch
Screen dots	2,100,000
Viewfinder resolution	3,690,000
Viewfinder coverage	100%
Viewfinder magnification	0.76×
Shutter speed range	30-1/8000s
Exposure modes	Program
	Aperture priority
	Shutter priority
	Manual
Built-in flash	No
External flash	Yes (via hot shoe)
Flash X sync speed	1/200 sec
Drive modes	Single
	High-speed continuous
	Low-speed continuous
	Self-timer
Continuous shooting	8fps
Metering modes	Multi
	Center-weighted
	Spot
	Partial
Exposure compensation	±3 (at 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
AE Bracketing	±3 (3 frames at 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Video formats	MPEG-4, H.264
Video	3840 x 2160 @ 30p 4K (MOV, H.264, AAC, Linear PCM)
Video formats	MPEG-4, H.264
HDMI	Yes (Mini-HDMI)
Microphone port	Yes, stereo
Headphone port	No
Speaker	Mono
Card slot	1 x SD card (UHS-II supported)
WiFi	802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth	4.1 LE
Remote control	Yes (via smartphone)
Body construction	Magnesium alloy
Battery	LP-E6N lithium-ion
Weight (inc. batteries)	660g
Dimensions	136 x 98 x 84mm

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