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Canon Announces New Mirrorless Flagship EOS R3

By Mike Maher

Published: April 14, 2021 Last Updated: April 14, 2021

Canon continues to go all-in on developing and growing of their mirrorless camera line. See what the new EOS R3 has in store for us.

Canon has really beefed up their mirrorless line of cameras and lenses over the past few years, including last year’s EOS R5. We have been watching the camera rumors that suggested Canon was developing a new flagship mirrorless camera to go up against their own 1D X Mark III DSLR.

Today, Canon announced the new EOS R3 full-frame mirrorless camera. The body and controls will be similar to the 1D with improved dust and water resistance.

All the final specs have not yet been announced, but here’s what we do know.

35mm full-frame back illuminated CMOS sensor
DIGIC X image processor
Up to 30fps with AF/AE tracking
Deep learning algorithm for head and eye detection will now detect torsos

No release date has been announced. But, expect to see the camera at the Tokyo Olympics, seeing as this camera was likely developed for sports photography given the improvements to autofocus on torsos and high-speed movement.

Price is still unknown, but likely similar to other Canon flagships. The current generation 1DX starts at $6,499 USD and this will likely be in the similar range, higher than the current R5 price of $3,899 USD. Expect around $5,000+ USD.

Here’s a copy of Canon’s full press release:

TOKYO, April 14, 2021—Canon Inc. announced today that the company is currently developing the new EOS R3 full-frame mirrorless camera, which will feature a newly developed 35mm full-frame, back illuminated, stacked CMOS sensor and a DIGIC X image processor. The new camera is designed to provide the high-level basic functionality required to meet the needs of professional and enthusiast users.

The currently-in-development EOS R3 is based on the concept of high-speed, high-sensitivity, and high-reliability. The EOS R3 will be introduced into Canon’s lineup of professional and enthusiast cameras, that includes the EOS-1D X Mark III flagship DSLR camera (released in February 2020) and the EOS 5 series, including the EOS R5 full-frame mirrorless camera (released in July 2020). The EOS R3 aims to provide professional-level quality for both stills and video capture, even for moving subjects.

The EOS R3 is the first EOS series camera to be equipped with Canon’s newly-developed 35mm full-frame, back illuminated, stacked CMOS sensor that makes possible high-speed readout. The camera also features a DIGIC X image processor for high-speed image processing that realizes high-speed continuous shooting of up to 30 frames-per-second¹ (FPS), with AF/AE tracking when using the electronic shutter. In addition, the camera significantly reduces image warping, a common challenge with electronic shutters, and is also capable of capturing moving subjects with reduced noise in such low-light environments as indoor areas or nighttime scenes.

Alongside Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology—by which each pixel on the image sensor possesses both image capture and phase-detect AF functionality, thus enabling high-speed, high-accuracy, and wide-range AF—the EOS R3 uses an algorithm that employs deep learning technology that enables improved head and eye detection for human subjects, as well as a new capability to detect subject torsos. Thanks to this enhanced performance, the camera’s autofocus system provides high-performance subject tracking, even during portrait photography and in scenarios with frequent subject movement, such as sports. Development is also underway to enable detection of additional subject types.

In addition, the EOS R3 is Canon’s first digital camera to feature an eye control function². When shooting still images and looking through the viewfinder, this new feature enables the AF frame to adjust according to detected movement of the user’s eye, making possible more pleasant shooting, with quick focus when transitioning between subjects.

The EOS R3 answers the high-level needs of professionals by providing dust and water resistance developed with each iteration of the EOS-1 series, body design with integrated vertical hand-grip, reliability and ease of use, as well as compatibility with Canon’s Mobile File Transfer³, announced alongside the EOS R3, which supports high-speed workflows.

With the goal of expanding the possibilities of imaging for users, the EOS R system will continue to expand its lineup of impressive cameras and RF lenses.

¹Continuous shooting framerate may decrease depending on the attached lens and/or shooting environment.
²This feature may not be useable depending on such factors as users’ wearing of sunglasses, hard contact lenses or glasses for vision correction, as well as individual characteristics including eye size, eyelid thickness, and eyelash length.
³Compatible with iOS only. EOS R3-compatible version requires paid purchase. Both wired and wireless connections are supported, but wired connection requires compatible USB cable (purchased separately by user).
*iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries, and is used under license.

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Cover image via Canon.