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    Review: New Canon EOS R firmware

    By Updated:57 Comments1 Min Read Canon Business General
    polleosr 728x462 - Review: New Canon EOS R firmware

    During last month's announcement of the Canon EOS 90D, Canon EOS M6 Mark II, Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM and Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM, Canon also announced a new firmware update coming for the Canon EOS R coming sometime this month.

    ThePhoblographer had a chance to review the beta version of the new firmware and came away quite impressed claiming that the autofocus improvements make the EOS R focus comparable to Sony.

    From the review:

    Further, we were surprised to see just how good the new firmware is. To me, Canon’s place in the mirrorless camera world has been all about its lenses. They’re making focal length options that no one else is even talking about, much less creating. Now that they’ve given the camera a bump in autofocus performance, we’re happy to report that we were really shocked at what it can do. Read the full review

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    57 comments

    2. Canon is doomed.....
      People should be far more concerned about Sony. All of that R&D is really harmful to the bottom line.

      I wonder if Sony even makes a profit on its camera lines (not selling sensors or lenses – just the bodies).
    3. People should be far more concerned about Sony. All of that R&D is really harmful to the bottom line.

      I wonder if Sony even makes a profit on its camera lines (not selling sensors or lenses – just the bodies).
      No, Sony uses its boutiquey camera line to promote its sensors. If you call their tech support with a tough question, you will hear the representative sigh and say, "You do realize these cameras are just window dressing, don't you?"
    5. Ah really? Just AF improvements and the ability to lock onto a subject and hold onto it while in motion?
      Time to unload all my camera gear for Pentax now.
      I was hoping this firmware update would enable a second card slot and give me ibis.

      Canon is doomed! Doomed I say!!
    6. I was hoping this firmware update would enable a second card slot and give me ibis.

      Unfortunately a firmware update isn’t enough to enable those. You have to flip the corresponding DIP switches on the mainboard as well.
    7. It took ONE reply before someone mentioned the S-word.

      Now I can’t wait for this firmware. I find it epic for most of what I do, hopefully the last bit with crazy erratic action gets a bit better.
    9. I'm wondering if this is a new trend we will see with mirrorless. It might be possible to more readily tweak some of the underlying software with mirrorless than it was with DLSRs.
      Highly plausible I think. Being that the AF is on the sensor and not a separate more locked off sensor and hardware layout.
    10. It took ONE reply before someone mentioned the S-word.

      Now I can’t wait for this firmware. I find it epic for most of what I do, hopefully the last bit with crazy erratic action gets a bit better.
      This will be a boon for music photography. The autofocus in a live music environment has been the part I've found the most lacking with the R so far.
    11. People should be far more concerned about Sony. All of that R&D is really harmful to the bottom line.

      I wonder if Sony even makes a profit on its camera lines (not selling sensors or lenses – just the bodies).

      Sony's 2018 fiscal year (2018FY), which ended March 31, 2019, saw increased sales of 14.6 billion yen for its Imaging Products and Solutions division for a total of 670.5 billion yen.

      “While two percent might not seem impressive, Nikon’s imaging division reported a 17.9 percent decrease while Canon reported an annual decrease of 11.3 percent YOY.” I’m not a financial analysts and I don’t think DPR has one on staff either, but what this means is Sony’s single-lens Cyber-shot and interchangeable lens Alphas are offsetting the continued contraction of the point-and-shoot market.
    12. As I said in another thread, I wonder if the 90D and the M6II come with these improvements or if they’re limited to the R bodies for product differentiation reasons.

      They come with it. Watch the demo vids from the 90D/m6ii release party at the race track.
    13. Highly plausible I think. Being that the AF is on the sensor and not a separate more locked off sensor and hardware layout.

      You guys are discussing what's already been the reality for *years* with mirrorless sysstems. Look at Fuji if you want a great example. The evolution of the X-T1 is a good one. The autofocus system was horrible (think EOS-M) upon release. By the end, firmware v4, it matched the performance of the next X-T2 model, strictly through firmware. Similar story with the X-E2. That one got so much better through firmware that they re-branded the newer models as the X-E2S.
    15. I'm wondering if this is a new trend we will see with mirrorless. It might be possible to more readily tweak some of the underlying software with mirrorless than it was with DLSRs.
      Perhaps, although recall that f/8 AF was added to the 1D X with a firmware update.
    17. As I said in another thread, I wonder if the 90D and the M6II come with these improvements or if they’re limited to the R bodies for product differentiation reasons.

      The 90D does on liveview, but with the OVF, its a different system, which felt pretty similar to the 80D to me, other than the framerate. Which is no bad thing obviously.

      The M6 II with the VF was noticeable better again, as the 14fps meant that the screen just looks slightly choppy, making it very easy to keep seeing whats going on - it still does on the R, but the lower framerate made it a bit harder - in silent mode its another story, but that still has the caveats about distortion. So far it seems like DPAF is DPAF, as in they're releasing its best version with whatever camera is coming out.
    19. They are upfront: “Editor’s Note: This trip was fully paid for and covered by Canon. The Phoblographer’s staff is trained to resist any sort of overly positive reporting that could come as a result of these press excursions. This report is being presented to you with facts.”

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