Canon’s entry into the world of big sensor mirrorless cameras was a little later than expected, but now it’s there, it’s all in.
When Canon launched its first large sensor full-frame EOS R-series cameras about three years ago, it was a little late to the scene.
Granted, it wasn’t alone, with Nikon only having joined nearby, as well. The two camera companies have long been the ones to beat in terms of camera and lens superiority, with over 70 years in business for each, giving them each a ton of reach.
But up until 2018, the two had been a little late to dabble in what was becoming the growing technology in big cameras.
Digital was well and truly here, but players like Sony had been making a dent in full-frame mirrorless cameras, not just digital SLRs, with mirrorless models able to get the feature set up with less mechanical parts, making for cameras that offered a big impact, but not necessarily the same weight or size
A few years on, Canon’s R-series is showing the company knows what to do with the technology, complete with the 8K EOS R5, and also announcing a professional grade mirrorless is on the way. That doesn’t mean its other cameras weren’t professional — the R5 is pretty freakin’ professional — but more that the larger style of camera body used by photojournalists and sports photographers would finally get a mirrorless counterpart.
The announcement comes in the EOS R3, Canon’s first full-size camera body focused on a mirrorless sensor, featuring a new rear-illuminated CMOS sensor from Canon boasting capture of up to 30 frames per second with a 35mm full-frame sensor.
While the R3 camera is still in development, Canon is already talking up the feature set, with fast dual pixel autofocus, a way of controlling autofocus using your eye, and something professional cameras don’t always get with support for a mobile file transfer app for phones and tablets. Much like other professional-style bodies, it will also be a big camera with dust and water resistance.
Alongside this announcement, Canon also announced three equally big lenses for the EOS R mirrorless system, with the RF 100mm F2.8 Macro, plus two long length lenses, the RF 400mm F2.8 and the RF 600mm F4.
There’s no price on these lenses, but all are expected in late July. As for The Australian release of the Canon EOS R3, there’s no immediate word on that, but we’re hopeful for by the end of this year, if not next.
