Canon R3 Review Balanced Against R5, R5C, 1DX III

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Jan 19, 2014
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Camnostic updated its comprehensive Canon EOS R3 review geared to help R5 and 1DX III shooters make upgrade decisions. Recently added are video aspects and comparisons to the new Sony and Nikon flagships, as well as the R5C. There are a lot of “ifs” and “buts,” but the upshots:
Should 1DX III Shooters Upgrade?
In short, yes – if you think 30 frames per second, more megapixels and significantly improved ergonomics matter enough to cover the

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You write: "Size is still much larger than an R5 class body, despite being less than 100 grams heavier" but according to Canon: the
R5 is approx. 650 g (738 g with card and battery); and the R3 is approx. 822 g (1015g with card and battery), which makes it 277 g (~10 oz) heavier in the field.
 
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"The R3 is a respectable flagship, but it isn’t a market show-stopper"

Agreed. It won't have the same appeal to technophiles as a Sony A1 or a Nikon Z9, but with the exception of the R5, Canon have generally been conservative in specifications, so this is not unexpected. It's designed as a workhorse for those already locked into the Canon system, rather than a technological masterpiece, and it will continue to be bought in droves by those who earn a living from photography.

A really good review, one of the best I've read.
 
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"The R3 is a respectable flagship, but it isn’t a market show-stopper"

Agreed. It won't have the same appeal to technophiles as a Sony A1 or a Nikon Z9, but with the exception of the R5, Canon have generally been conservative in specifications, so this is not unexpected. It's designed as a workhorse for those already locked into the Canon system, rather than a technological masterpiece, and it will continue to be bought in droves by those who earn a living from photography.

A really good review, one of the best I've read.
Thanks, entoman.

AlanF, you are correct. I was compared one with battery and one without. Thank you, and that is now fixed!
 
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I had R3 with me in Africa for two weeks. I wanted to love it but preferred the R5. I met two TOP wildlife photographers on the trip - both returned R3 to Canon. And one of the biggest Canon reviewers (we all know and respect him) also returned his R3. I do not know their reasons but mine was the autofocus on R5 worked better for me. With R5 I could almost always see the focus box on the eye of the animal, but on R3 almost never. I called Canon and we tried to fix the problem we could not. The only thing I liked on R3 was that it could shoot RAW video at 50 fps.
 
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I've been pretty happy with my R3. I still carry the R5 and if portrait opportunities arise, I will switch just for extra 21MP provided there is time. If I can get the initial lock, it tracks ducks and other birds much better than my R5. I need to go try it on some reptiles/mammals. All shots to date have been with the RF600 f/4L and RF100-500. Not complaining about the battery, either.20220206_113844(1).jpg
 
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I’ve had my Eos R3 since launch… it is by far the best Canon camera I have owned to date. I parted with the R5 due to overheating. The R5C seems to suffer from terrible battery life, making it impractical imo.

The dynamic range of the R3 is much better than the R5/C. It seems about equivalent to the DGO sensor equipped C70 and C300 Mk3. This was not expected. Also ISO performance is best in class. Beating my Sony A7S3 and FX6. So much so that I sold the Sonys.
I believe the R3 is Canon’s best hybrid hands down. While 8K resolution may be the “in thing”, I can tell you I’m usually trying to remove detail from my videos( bpm filters, vintage lenses, film grain etc… ) not add it.
 
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I've been pretty happy with my R3. I still carry the R5 and if portrait opportunities arise, I will switch just for extra 21MP provided there is time. If I can get the initial lock, it tracks ducks and other birds much better than my R5. I need to go try it on some reptiles/mammals. All shots to date have been with the RF600 f/4L and RF100-500. Not complaining about the battery, either.View attachment 202559Your R5 firmware must not be updated. It tracks equally as the R3 with its update. If not it will get an algorithm update as users report any findings to customer support.
 
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Couldn’t agree more about the lose-ability of the new hot shoe cover.

What I want is to get a definitive answer about using existing Canon flash units (like a 600 ex rt) on an R3 without the flash shoe adapter.

The R3 manual says that the 430 Ex Rt III is compatible without an adapter, but for the life of me I can’t see what the difference is between the 430 and the 600 aside from the 600 having the weather sealing.

I’ve sent a query to Canon CPS about this but have yet to hear back.

The new Flash shoe does seem to work great with the smaller ST- E10 flash controller however, I especially like that it has button on it which brings up all the controls on the cameras rear screen or viewfinde.
 
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Couldn’t agree more about the lose-ability of the new hot shoe cover.

What I want is to get a definitive answer about using existing Canon flash units (like a 600 ex rt) on an R3 without the flash shoe adapter.
I have used my 600EX-RT on the R3 without the adapter...performs exactly as it should. ST-E30-RT does as well.

FWIW, I can also verify the lose-ability part with the accessory shoe cover. Though not available in any retail outlet I've found so far, I was able to buy a couple from Canon Parts for approx $8 ea (USD):

1-866-481-2569 option 3
R3 Accessory Shoe Cover
Part # CB5-8265-000

I noticed in the early YouTube reviews that the R5c doesn't use this same cover. I rather prefer the style it comes with, just the tab that slides into place. Might try to pick up a couple of those once they are available.
 
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Good review overall. One slight correction though - the camera comparison chart incorrectly states the R3 has a full-size HDMI output - it actually uses the same micro-HDMI as the R5.
 
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