Review: Canon EOS R3 final review by DPReviewTV

Jan 27, 2020
826
1,796
I, too, found it odd the way Chris had the R6 edging out the R3. Each time, I looked at the comparison and found the R3 to equal or edge out the R6 in the noise comparisons.

FWIW...Jared just released a new video comparing A1 & R3 AF. Watching it now...don't know what he might have to say at the end, just watching the EVF recordings and tbh they are both impressive.
I watched this 3 times to makes sure I wasn't mixing up things, but the R3 sure looks to have lower noise than the R6 and the Panasonic S5 - Chris says the exact opposite. Biased? or just incompetent?

The problem with so much on the internet is that the presenters and "influencers" are amateurs - and/or sometimes quite incompetent.

I've said it often, but will repeat myself. Getting your information from the internet is not a good idea unless you know those very few reveiwers that are professional, accurate and honest. If you want to know how well something works, you really have to try it out for yourself. If we all stop clicking on the influencer's videos, we will all be better off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0

bbasiaga

Canon Shooter
Nov 15, 2011
721
971
USA
We’ve had this discussion before. The issue is their bias. Here’s an older example, but I’ve seen no evidence of change.

[quote author=rishi on DPR]
The metering sensor on the 1D X II has experienced a significant increase in resolution. With 360,000 RGB+IR pixels, it's the highest resolution metering sensor we've ever seen. This should lead to accurate metering...

[quote author=rishi on DPR]
[The D5's] all-new AF system is coupled with a new 180K pixel RGB metering system and Advanced Scene Recognition System, helping to achieve optimally balanced exposures and accurate white balance in even the most challenging light.
[/quote]

There are lots of other examples, such as docking Canon’s Servo AF tracking when they had the camera set to Spot AF (the manual recommends against that), complaining that when set to full auto AF the Canon camera just selects the closest subject (which is exactly what the camera is supposed to do), or bashing the ‘poor DR’ of the 1D X II, then claiming the similar DR of the D5 was not a problem since ‘DR isn’t as high a priority for the intended audience’ (because, you know, those cameras were aimed at completely different markets).

Overall, their attitude remains, “Nikon/Sony make stellar cameras capable of producing outstanding images. Canon makes cameras that take good pictures.”
[/QUOTE]

I felt like they were really stretching to find something bad to say about this camera. And what they came up with was, as you and other point out, based on their lack of understanding of the system - or a cop-out tot he 24mp argument.

Given that's all they could come up with, it would seem to imply this is going to be a very capable camera.
 
Upvote 0

SilverBox

I'm not new here
CR Pro
Aug 30, 2018
63
78
I was consider a cinema camera as an A cam for my video work - but I would still get better use out of a hybrid. I am a little worried now how it will perform in my use cases, the R5 has only been an issue twice in over a year.

Yeah to your point, when looking at the price of this camera, it is the same price as a C70 but with more sophisticated stills capabilities than the R6/R5. Through that lens it is a great value, because as a hybrid shooter you have an exceptional body for events and sports stills, with the ability to do video capture of almost anything since there is no clip length limit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
2,438
UK
Saw that the other day when they posted. I'm a little underwhelmed, they titled it a Final Review, but it's not a review at all but a quick update to their earlier preview. 'll save y'all some time:

1. "I'd buy it over a 1DX III, but it's meh because 24mp".
2. "It's the only camera that will shoot full raw at 30fps, but it's meh because 24mp"
3. "It's got a great buffer, I like the AF performance, but it's meh because 24mp"
4. "It's expensive for what it is, because 24mp"

I usually find them reasonably on point in most instances. For me, this time around they come across as though if it ain't 50mp, it ain't sh*t.
I think Canon miscalculated when they decided on the R3 specs.

A lot of people will be of course be perfectly happy with 24MP. Some may even prefer it....

But I think most would like the *option* to switch between 45MP and 22.5MP (or 48/24MP), which I think would be possible with dual-pixel tech.

A lot of people who are heavily invested in Canon will be disappointed that in terms of MP they are behind the Sony and Nikon flagships, and they'll be equally disappointed that they'll have to wait another year or more before Canon launches a truly competitive model (i.e. the R1) at double the cost of a Z9....

I've been with Canon for 11 years and for financial reasons I'm unlikely to change, but I have to be honest - if I could afford to switch systems my first choice would now be a Sony a1 and some lovely Sony glass including the 200-600mm.
 
Upvote 0

entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
2,438
UK
It's often something with DPR and Canon. A few years back, their reviews came across as though if it didn't have >14 stops of DR (as DxO calculates their downsampled-to-8-MP sensor scores) and you couldn't lift the shadows 5 stops, it was crap.
I see that the Z9 has circa one stop less DR than the Z7ii, but that ain't gonna stop anyone buying the Z9.

Having said that, I'm firmly of the view that the more DR I can get, the better, although my R5 is more than satisfactory and can easily handle lifting shadows by 5 stops, with a little help from Topaz Denoise, of course.
 
Upvote 0
But I think most would like the *option* to switch between 45MP and 22.5MP (or 48/24MP), which I think would be possible with dual-pixel tech.
You're more likely to get a 48MP/12MP switch as interpolation by SQRT(0.5) in each linear direction would be fairly unlikely imho.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0

koenkooi

CR Pro
Feb 25, 2015
3,569
4,109
The Netherlands
[..]But I think most would like the *option* to switch between 45MP and 22.5MP (or 48/24MP), which I think would be possible with dual-pixel tech.[..]
Dual pixel is the other way, the R5 has 45M dual-pixels, so 90M sensels. Canon marketing never talks about it that way because the sensels share the same microlens and colour filter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0

entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
2,438
UK
You're more likely to get a 48MP/12MP switch as interpolation by SQRT(0.5) in each linear direction would be fairly unlikely imho.
Yes, that's a good point. The real "problem" that many have with high MP seems to relate to file size and hence buffer size and fps limitations. So for me, the best option would be a high res sensor (45-50MP), with the ability to switch to uncropped compressed RAWs on occasions when buffer and fps were more important than MP.

But Canon have made their decision and we have to live with it. They have deliberately kept the MP of the R3 lowish, largely I think for the purposes of market segmentation - a field where they are experts. The problem they have is that the R3 is very overpriced compared to the higher MP Sony a1 and the Nikon Z9, which have redefined flagship cameras in terms of specification and price.
 
Upvote 0

unfocused

Photos/Photo Book Reviews: www.thecuriouseye.com
Jul 20, 2010
7,184
5,483
70
Springfield, IL
www.thecuriouseye.com
We’ve had this discussion before. The issue is their bias. Here’s an older example, but I’ve seen no evidence of change.
Yes, we have had this discussion before. All reviewers have biases and from my perspective, you just have to understand that. Bias does not negate the review whether it's DPR or The Digital Picture. You have your preferences in reviews and find that DPR isn't to your liking. I have mine and I don't have a problem with DPR. Generally, I think most reviewers are pretty weak and you have to go through quite a few of them to really get a sense for the pros and cons of any camera or lens.

It doesn't bother me that they don't read the manuals. In fact, that may be purposeful in that most people never read the manuals and if the camera is well designed and intuitive, you should be able to pick it up and use it without having to scour through a manual.

A consumer product review is not a document submitted to a court or to a scientific review panel. I see no reason to parse every word they use. On this forum there seems to be this conventional wisdom that DPR is hopelessly biased in favor of Sony or Nikon. I think people make too much of this perceived bias and if you feel they are biased, then just take that into account when you read the review.

As for this particular review, I found it to be pretty weak and seemed to be thrown together to get something online before the cameras ship.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0

koenkooi

CR Pro
Feb 25, 2015
3,569
4,109
The Netherlands
[..]It doesn't bother me that they don't read the manuals. In fact, that may be purposeful in that most people never read the manuals and if the camera is well designed and intuitive, you should be able to pick it up and use it without having to scour through a manual.[..]
I read the manuals as soon as they become available, which nowadays is months before a pre-order ships. But even with reading the manual and having more 15+ years of experience with Canon cameras, I still pick up new things when watching Jared read the manual on youtube.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

RayValdez360

Soon to be the greatest.
Jun 6, 2012
787
555
42
Philadelphia
Jared thinks it beats out the A1...certainly in focus abilities. Nice thing too is that in 2 weeks those same focus abilities will be downloadable to my R5.
its not the focus abilities, it is super responsive and smarter than the R5 allegedly. The R5 does get fooled a lot.
 
Upvote 0

RayValdez360

Soon to be the greatest.
Jun 6, 2012
787
555
42
Philadelphia
The ‘review’ is not very thorough or scientific… there are many ways to get some more objective data from a camera by taking actual measurements. Statements like ‘oh it kinda looks a bit noisier to our eyes’ aren’t very meaningful.


This is much more a subjective ‘impression’ of the camera.
I like real world reviews more than spec reviews. honestly i just look at the high iso noise section in spec reviews. seeing a person use it means more. I pay for quality and convenience.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0

john1970

EOS R3
CR Pro
Dec 27, 2015
971
1,213
Northeastern US
You're more likely to get a 48MP/12MP switch as interpolation by SQRT(0.5) in each linear direction would be fairly unlikely imho.
Maybe we will have such a feature in a R1 where we can switch between 80 vs. 20 MP?? Pure speculation, but would be a great feature to have.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

Del Paso

M3 Singlestroke
CR Pro
Aug 9, 2018
3,295
4,182
If it was possible, I'd prefer a "sports" camera reviewed by a sports photographer, and not by a "professional" reviewer.
And a hi-MP camera checked by a landscaper, for instance. That's why, apart from Brian's TDP, I no longer watch or read other reviews, unless generated by real users of a specific camera.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0
Okay, so what your are saying is that unless you shoot video, you're better off to buy the R6 at less than half the price of the R3. You'd save a boat load of money which would buy you another lens? Why didn't you just come out and say it rather than hint around the edges?

I assume the obvious reason to not test the R3 against the R5 was that the R5 would blow the camera out of the water with its higher quality sensor. For those of us who had hoped for a Z9 Canon, color me disappointed and underwhelmed.
 
Upvote 0
Maybe we will have such a feature in a R1 where we can switch between 80 vs. 20 MP?? Pure speculation, but would be a great feature to have.
I'd hoped for that with the R3 but I'll save my money for the R1 but only if Canon doesn't release a 12mp R1 that shoots really fast poor quality images. It's funny how the competition can produce a high resolution camera but Canon can't?
 
Upvote 0
Jul 21, 2010
31,088
12,851
But I think most would like the *option* to switch between 45MP and 22.5MP (or 48/24MP), which I think would be possible with dual-pixel tech.
Possible but probably not in the way you intend. For DPAF, the pixels are all split vertically (which is why DPAF has trouble focusing on horizontal lines). That means that your hypothetical 45/48 MP image would have a 3:1 aspect ratio instead of the normal 3:2 (and thus viewing those images on any normal display would look like an old 4:3 TV show stretched to a 16:9 display, only worse…trust me, no one wants to look twice their normal width!).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

unfocused

Photos/Photo Book Reviews: www.thecuriouseye.com
Jul 20, 2010
7,184
5,483
70
Springfield, IL
www.thecuriouseye.com
I assume the obvious reason to not test the R3 against the R5 was that the R5 would blow the camera out of the water with its higher quality sensor.
How is the R5 sensor higher quality? Or do you think higher resolution equates to higher quality?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0