Canon EOS R3 Announced

With the mirrorless arms race heating up Canon has introduced a new competitor by announcing the EOS R3.

Canon looks to be introducing a juggernaut into its EOS R line of of mirrorless cameras. Canon literature is positioning the new EOS R3 squarely between its EOS R5 and flagship 1DX Mark III models. Specifically, they allude to “great emphasis on superb AF performance and speed, with fast-moving subjects” and “being designed to meet the reliability and durability demands of professionals.” It’s not hard to infer with this new model that they are trying to entice more professional sports and news photographers over to their mirrorless line. 

Let’s dive a bit deeper into the bevy of features that they’ve mentioned in their press release. 

Sensor Step Up

The center of the EOS R3’s is it’s new Canon-developed,  back-illuminated, full-frame,  stacked, CMOS sensor. This buzz-word jumble should provide the camera with faster readout speeds while taking stills. It should also produce less rolling shutter distortion when using the Electronic Shutter, and be able to operate with Electronic Shutter still image shooting at up to 30 fps (with Dual Pixel CMOS AF and auto exposure1 no less!) Not to mention 30 fps is a staggering 10 fps more than even Canon’s own 1DX Mark III. 

Echoes of AF Past

The EOS R3 will benefit from the advanced AF systems introduced in the R6 and R5 cameras as well as employing deep learning technology to enhance the eye and body detection. Currently the Canon AF system has options for Eye and Head detect, but will be introducing a new Torso Detect function as well. (Presumably useful for any sports photographers who’s subjects wear helmets or masks of any sort.)

The camera also introduces a new system of Eye Control AF through the electronic viewfinder. Eye control AF was introduced in Canon Cameras way back in the early 90’s, but with the technological advancements in the intervening 30 odd years the EOS R3’s new Eye Control system promises to be more reliable while also incorporating more features overall. (Coincidentally the last camera to carry this Eye Control AF was the EOS 3, which was also the last EOS camera to carry the ‘3’ moniker until the EOS R3 as well.)

According to Canon, the EOS R3’s EVF will offer the ability to set “the initial area for AF tracking by simply looking directly at the viewfinder location where they (the photographer) want to begin AF.” The camera will then focus on and track subjects in that location of the frame automatically, as long as Eye Control AF2 and Servo AF are active.  

It is unclear if the Eye Control AF will work continuously in video mode, but it will likely be useful to sports or wildlife photographers where milliseconds can be the difference between a great shot and missing the picture.  

Tough New Body

The EOS R3 will feature a new body with better weather and dust resistance. The new body is the first in the EOS R line to feature an integrated vertical grip section for easier shooting in portrait orientation. Canon refers to the body being a one-piece design similar to other professional cameras who’s chassis are machined from a solid block of material. The one-piece body will give the camera greater durability and weather sealing, equivalent to EOS 1D class cameras. 

Canon also makes mention of a Mobile File Transmitter application for iOS and Android as well. This sort of app is great for stream lining modern photographic workflows, whether its getting a shot to social media or sending proofs to a client. 

Final Thoughts

Canon’s press release heavily touts the camera’s utility to sports, wildlife and photojournalism photographers, but makes little mention of it’s video capabilities. As such its hard to say if this new camera will offer much for video shooters over the EOS R5 or Cinema EOS C70, but if nothing else the improved body and weather sealing over the rest of the EOS R line may make it a solid choice for any videographers in need of a truly bullet proof camera. 

New Delkin Type B CFexpress Cards

Delkin has released a new CFexpress card in their BLACK series. These new cards should be great for Canon R5, C300 MarkIII, C500 MarkII shooters. Press Release from Delkin Follows:

Delkin’s New BLACK CFexpressTM Type B Cards Deliver Up to 1700 MB/s Sustained Speeds

POWAY, CA, MARCH 30, 2021 – Delkin Devices, a manufacturer of flash storage solutions and camera accessories,
announced today the newest addition to their top-selling line of memory cards: BLACK CFexpressTM Type B memory cards. Specially designed to meet the ever-growing demands of today’s broadcast, cinema and photography industries, Delkin’s BLACK CFexpressTM cards leverage today’s latest technology in order to provide the fastest speeds on the market. 

Other competing CFexpressTM Type B cards may state a maximum write speed, but BLACK takes things further with sustained sequential write speeds of at least 1400 MB/s (higher depending on capacity). This sustained speed versus potential write speeds is what guarantees flawless cinema-quality video capture, including DCI 8K RAW 12-Bit @30fps (2600 Mbps) in the Canon R5. This is especially valuable during events like weddings, sport meets, concerts and other situations you cannot redo. The cards are also capable of offloading data at speeds reaching up to 1730 MB/s, ensuring the quickest, most efficient data transfer from card to computer for immediate file access and sooner post-production. 

“With more camera manufacturers deciding to integrate support for CFexpressTM Type B memory cards into their new camera models, we felt the need to provide camera owners with a card that they could trust to protect and preserve their precious memories” says Jenn Sherry, Delkin’s Retail Sales & Marketing Manager, “As cameras continue to advance and new data-heavy modes are introduced, it has become even more important for storage mediums to be able to keep up. We believe that BLACK CFexpressTM is the solution for complete video capture, just as the creator envisioned.” 

Each BLACK CFexpressTM Type B memory card has undergone extensive testing to ensure full functionality and performance in today’s high-end cinematic hosts, including ones from Canon® (C300 Mark III, C500 Mark II, 1D X Mark III & R5) and Nikon® (D6, Z6 II & Z7 II). Select hosts originally designed with native support for XQD cards can also accept CFexpressTM Type B cards via firmware upgrade. In addition to their “Lifetime Warranty” policy, Delkin continues to offer a unique built-in insurance policy for their BLACK memory cards, known as the “48 Hour Replacement Guarantee”. Delkin will replace any non-working BLACK card within 48 hours or less (not including weekends – in the US and UK), prior to receiving the non-working card. Cards can also be replaced over-the-counter at any authorized Delkin BLACK reseller. Additional information on Delkin BLACK can be found here:
www.delkindevices.com/delkin-black/.