Functionality being added to the Canon EOS R soon after release with firmware update

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Nice! EyeAF in continuous focus. Another Sony's advantage gone. One feature I really wanted

I expect a lot of rant when people learn about fps the camera could make with EyeAF and servo AF. It is already 3 fps with AF priority without doing all the picture analysis computation to detect face and eye.
 
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What is sad for me is the significant drop of the FPS with AF. The initial 8 FPS would have been great but 3 with AF priority is slow.
Canon is probably having problems with the readout speed of the sensor or processing all that information for fast enough AF.

It is sad, I fully agree so let's just take this camera as what it is and not what everyone wish it was.

EOS R is not action camera and canon does not advertise it as an action camera. It could be excellent architecture / landscape / macro / product / portrait camera. Everything where action photography is not the purpose. I could imagine it also as very good travel camera due to small factor - action is sometimes needed but it could still do quite well even for that.

It is pity that it does not have built in GPS for landscape and travel photography but it is not such a huge miss when you want to save as much as possible battery for shooting.

What EOS R is not - replacement of 5D4 for people who do event / journalist / wildlife / sport photography. Most of moaning is from people who want it to be that as well. Let's hope that we will see such camera soon but it will cost more than 5D4, not less as EOS R does.

I don't understand video features so I will skip judging those.
 
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I'm not jumping into Canon EOS R vagon any time soon (taking into account that no firmware update would add a 2nd memory card slot). Biggest fail ever
Plenty of cameras only have one card slot. It keeps cost down on consumer grade cams. If you need 2 slots for the added reliability, get an existing camera that has it, or wait for a future (higher cost ) release. There are differences between family sedans and Porsche’s also.
 
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This is more exciting for me because this points to a higher model (1DX or 5DS/R version of the EOS R) coming not too long after this release. That camera should be priced in the upper 3-4k. I mean look at the lenses that are coming out for the RF mount. They definitely definitely won't be stopping here. Did they hold back on this model? Yes, I think so but it's really not a bad camera at all. In fact, even just on specs sheet, it holds its own + you have an amazing set of lenses. I won't even talk about the software/functionality of the Sonys... yes, given time, I could probably get used to it. Sony lenses are expensive and limited. The 24-70mm f2.8 gm is $2200 - and it doesn't have any sort of image stabilization. Canon's EF 24-70mm 2.8 is going for ~1600 currently. Sony's 70-200mm f2.8 gm oss is ~2600, about 500-600 over the brand new canon 70-200mm III. They have no native 50mm f1.2 or a 28-70 f2. Canon is offering fast/no compromise lens mount adapters. Plus I'm curious as to how useful the custom function on the RF lenses will be used in real-life scenarios. This is going to be fun.

Reportedly, they registered two FF cameras months ago. My guess is they are holding one back (a higher res version) for release next spring and cautiously using the lower priced model as an entry point.
 
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Reportedly, they registered two FF cameras months ago. My guess is they are holding one back (a higher res version) for release next spring and cautiously using the lower priced model as an entry point.

If you're a company that makes its own sensors, with your own fab, an astronomically expensive and complicated endeavor, you would be sorely tempted to push the low-end camera out first - the one that didn't require a truly new sensor architecture. While the fab is creating a few hundred thousand warmed over 5d4 sensors, you'd be giving your design team an extra couple months to figure out how to make the readout not suck. You would hope that they would succeed, and that the fab would retool over the holidays and start pumping out higher-end models with more than 7 frames per second while using focus-priority servo AF (what the 5d4 can do, and therefor the critical perceived inflection point).

All is going according to plan, but for no one knowing - probably not even Canon - when the engineers are going to solve readout. Sony had to do some world-class inventing to figure that one out. No doubt Canon will eventually too, but creative technical endeavors are difficult to assign time estimates.

I'm willing to bet they don't have that tech in the can, otherwise we'd have seen both bodies released. Further, prognostication: if the engineers fail to completely solve readout, we'll see a 5ds series come out next with a large megapixel array and very poor FPS, to be received by a market that doesn't care a lot about FPS. If they do solve it, we might be treated to an all-rounder, with high megapixels and decent FPS. That would be the thing for the competition, but I don't think anyone knows how good the readout will be yet.
 
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If you're a company that makes its own sensors, with your own fab, an astronomically expensive and complicated endeavor, you would be sorely tempted to push the low-end camera out first - the one that didn't require a truly new sensor architecture. While the fab is creating a few hundred thousand warmed over 5d4 sensors, you'd be giving your design team an extra couple months to figure out how to make the readout not suck. You would hope that they would succeed, and that the fab would retool over the holidays and start pumping out higher-end models with more than 7 frames per second while using focus-priority servo AF (what the 5d4 can do, and therefor the critical perceived inflection point).

All is going according to plan, but for no one knowing - probably not even Canon - when the engineers are going to solve readout. Sony had to do some world-class inventing to figure that one out. No doubt Canon will eventually too, but creative technical endeavors are difficult to assign time estimates.

I'm willing to bet they don't have that tech in the can, otherwise we'd have seen both bodies released. Further, prognostication: if the engineers fail to completely solve readout, we'll see a 5ds series come out next with a large megapixel array and very poor FPS, to be received by a market that doesn't care a lot about FPS. If they do solve it, we might be treated to an all-rounder, with high megapixels and decent FPS. That would be the thing for the competition, but I don't think anyone knows how good the readout will be yet.

We did see two cameras registered, though- interesting, no?
 
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justaCanonuser

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Nice! EyeAF in continuous focus. Another Sony's advantage gone. One feature I really wanted

Would be great if it worked for glass wearers. The EyeAF of my old EOS 3 never worked properly when I had my glasses on. Never tried the Sony EyeAF, any glass wearer out there knowing how good it is?

Interestingly, Sony copied some old Canon inventions on a modern level, be it semitransparent fixed mirrors or eye tracking AF. Shows that Canon not always was that conservative like appeared to be in the past years...
 
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Would be great if it worked for glass wearers. The EyeAF of my old EOS 3 never worked properly when I had my glasses on. Never tried the Sony EyeAF, any glass wearer out there knowing how good it is?

Interestingly, Sony copied some old Canon inventions on a modern level, be it semitransparent fixed mirrors or eye tracking AF. Shows that Canon not always was that conservative like appeared to be in the past years...

I think it's different vs old eye tracking AF. Sony version is pressing a button for the AF to track the focus on the eye. Whereas Canon version, you use the eye to focus where to focus. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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AF is where the battle lines are drawn. Sony has done tremendous stuff with AF and it's to our advantage as Canon will have to compete.

I never thought Canon has one of the best AF system until now.
  • 5635 AF points
  • -6EV with 1.2 lens
  • DPAF (world leading video AF)
  • eyeAF
  • Quickest AF for target acquisition
Yep... with 3fps continuous AF & servo :)

I'm not buying EOS-R since it's first generation and has one card slot. I'll wait for the next pro version.

I'm not sure Canon will catch up to Sony's eyeAF this generation, but I can see them catch up to them really quick.
 
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AlanF

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I think it's different vs old eye tracking AF. Sony version is pressing a button for the AF to track the focus on the eye. Whereas Canon version, you use the eye to focus where to focus. Correct me if I'm wrong.
You are correct - the decades' old Canon technology focussed on what you were looking at. The new eye AF picks out the eye of the subject and focusses on that.
 
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AlanF

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I never thought Canon has one of the best AF system until now.
  • 5635 AF points
  • -6EV with 1.2 lens
  • DPAF (world leading video AF)
  • eyeAF
  • Quickest AF for target acquisition


I'm not buying EOS-R since it's first generation and has one card slot. I'll wait for the next pro version.

I'm not sure Canon will catch up to Sony's eyeAF this generation, but I can see them catch up to them really quick.
The current Canon DSLRs are the fastest to lock on to subjects and beat Nikon and Sony. Where they fall behind is on tracking, and the big question is when they can process the DPAF data fast enough.
 
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The Japanese website MyNavi interviewed Canon managers. And there are a couple of things I wanna share here:

  1. Canon says the EOS-R sensor is not the same as the one used by the 5DIV. The new sensor has been refined and with new micro lenses and with addition of Dual Pixel AF.
  2. The Image Quality of the EOS-R will be higher than that of any other Canon DSLR camera thanks to the new sensor, new processor and the new high performing lenses
  3. Canon did not add on sensor stabilization because of the costs, the heating issue and size issues. But they will consider adding on sensor stabilization on future models
  4. Of course we can expect lower and higher end EOS-R models to be released in the near future
  5. Canon is considering making a 8k Cinema EOS-R camera.

So possibility of IBIS in future EOS R models
 
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AlanF

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I can't believe that the IQ of the EOS-R sensor is higher than that of the 5DSR! The EOS-R might have better DR at low iso and be usable at very high iso, but the 50 mpx AA-filterless sensor is simply the best around for sharpness and IQ - my 5DSR is far sharper than my 5DIV for normal use.
If they are basing it on DR, then that would be an admission that they are behind Nikon and Sony.
 
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