Yesterday Sony set the gear world ablaze with the Sony Alpha a1, their new flagship full-frame mirrorless camera. It boasts a ton of pretty great features that most of you already know about. In particular, I love the EVF on paper, the 1/400 flash sync and the autofocus looks tremendous.

So what could Canon potentially bring to the table with their upcoming flagship mirrorless camera, which I call the EOS R1? The rumors for this camera have been minimal, with only very broad strokes about what we can expect.

One area I think Sony should have changed with the Alpha a1 is the form factor and ergonomics of the camera. If you have ever used a flagship DSLR like the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III or Nikon D6, you can have a hard time going back to other cameras, this is especially true with the EOS-1D series of cameras.

I am hoping that when Canon does bring the EOS R1 to market likely later this year, we get more EOS-1 than EOS R5 when it comes to form factor and ergonomics. While the ergonomics are very good on the EOS R5, personally I had a bumpy road getting used to things after only really shooting with EOS-1D cameras for the last decade or so. I'm used to the EOS R5 now, but I would still love it in a larger body with a similar layout to the EOS-1D X Mark III.

So what have I heard about the EOS R1?

Unfortunately nothing new. There have been mentions of a new Quad-Pixel AF system, which we have seen patents for in the last year. There has also been repeated mention of giving the EOS R1 a global shutter image sensor. The latter may be hard to do and perhaps Canon can do something like Sony did to get rid of rolling shutter when using the electronic shutter.

I also don't believe we're going to see another 20mp camera. I think it's safe to say that pro-level cameras going forward will be 8K capable. So I would suspect we're going to see at least a 45mp image sensor in the EOS R1. I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight increase.

I have been told that we will hear from Canon about the EOS R1 sometime in the 2nd half of 2021. With the Olympics looking less and less likely to happen, there may not be a marketing rush to get the camera to market and that could get pushed back. We'll also have to see how manufacturing challenges are alleviated throughout 2021, as that will likely play a big role in announcements from Canon.

Once I hear more, I will obviously let the Canon world know!

More to come…

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243 comments

  1. Exciting! I am glad this actually gives them time to work out all the details which would result of a more fine-tuned product in the end. Hope R1 will solve some of R5's pains in that it will have a bigger body, but given the weathering sealing, one might not expect magic when it comes to heat dissipation.
  2. R1 will exceed the tech specs of A1 and be in stock at BH within 12 months.

    Canon will offer a (free?) program to modify Series III EF 400mm and 600mm lens to RF mount.
  3. Given that motorsports seasons are going to start(WRC has already started and both F1 and MotoGP are expected to have longer seasons than normal) and high probability of Olympics being cancelled(as mentioned before) even if Canon announces R1 I expect to see it being used to cover motorsports season.
  4. The only reason the A1 made me happy is that I think it definitely speeds up the timeline on the R1, no matter if it's a rough year for sports.

    I'll admit, I would be slightly disappointed if the R1 is higher than 40 megapixels. I already have 45 megapixels on my R5, so I would far prefer 60-120 FPS still photographs at 30 megapixels than 30 FPS stills at 50 megapixels. That said, if the market is truly changing so drastically in this way(24 megapixels has not caused any issue on the 1D or A9), I guess I would appreciate both of my cameras being similar in resolution like the 5D3 and 1DX2 were.


    The R1 seriously can't come fast enough. I'm ready to sell all of my EF glass and EF bodies to complete the switch the moment the pre-orders go live. My R5 has been simply incredible and somehow makes my 1DX2 feel like a dinosaur.
  5. Prediction: The R1 will only be released this year if they actually go forward with the Olympics.
    I doubt that is such a tight dependency. It makes no sense to sit on a developed product that is ready for mass production. What would that gain you?

    We've seen numerous products launch as soon as possible despite not being able to meet the demand (all types of PC hardware, for example), for example. If Canon was behind schedule with development of the R1, a cancellation of the Olympics may take off some of the pressure, sure. But I would fully expect them to start production and shipping as soon as they are ready. Especially since production will likely see similar shortages as all other electronics devices for the early periods, and so a longer production run ahead of the sports world reopening would seem highly desireable to me.
  6. I doubt that is such a tight dependency. It makes no sense to sit on a developed product that is ready for mass production. What would that gain you?

    We've seen numerous products launch as soon as possible despite not being able to meet the demand (all types of PC hardware, for example), for example. If Canon was behind schedule with development of the R1, a cancellation of the Olympics may take off some of the pressure, sure. But I would fully expect them to start production and shipping as soon as they are ready. Especially since production will likely see similar shortages as all other electronics devices for the early periods, and so a longer production run ahead of the sports world reopening would seem highly desireable to me.

    I just figure if the component shortages are as bad as some have suggested, they’d rather just focus on moving as many R5/6s as possible as opposed to adding another model into the mix. A lot of people here will be excited about the R1, but in the broader scheme of things, it will be a pretty niche product. That said, all of your points are perfectly valid.
  7. I actually think the big controversy will be price. With Sony coming in right around the 1DXIII, Canon could get a lot of negative press when the R1 drops at 7-8kusd. I bet they were planning to go up the price bracket with it, and to somewhat protect the 1DXIII which is still only at the beginning of its lifecycle as well as to get a premium for their new technology.

    We will see though. This is just me guessing.

    -Brian
  8. So I can tell you right now, as much as I want a massive resolution increase over the current 1DXIII, it will prevent many photographers from buying it. Unless Canon comes out with a better alternative to cRAW and allows us to shoot in smaller, more preferred resolutions, I and many others will struggle to justify making this our $6,000+ camera in the bag.

    Why?

    I was one of the first photographers in "my little slice" of the publishing industry that bought the R5. Several friends waited for my results before they pulled the trigger themselves and many of them shared my same criticism - 'I don't need 45mp to cover a race/event/wedding/real estate, etc.' I was quick to identify this and purchased the R6 to partner with my R5. Weddings in particular don't benefit from 45mp, it's more of a burden than anything else. At least in motorsports photography I can use that resolution for additional flexibility for cropping, in print or advertisement...but there is zero value in a 8192 x 5464 pixel dancefloor shot or cake cutting, so I lean on the R6 after the portrait session has concluded.

    This is something many of us identify as a shortcoming of the R5 and it's rather upsetting. I hope that Canon reconsiders the importance of cRAW and can bring back an mRAW format that keeps things in the 12-15 and 20-26mp sweet spots. The argument of always shooting at the maximum resolution isn't exactly true for all of us. When I cover events I can shoot thousands of images a day for 3-4 days at a time and have to turn those around same day...and I still want the benefits of RAW, just not the resolution or file size. Yes, cRAW is roughly the size of a standard 20mp RAW out of the R6, but those images do NOT process easily in software like 20mp, as it chugs along to read the 45mp file format, versus blazing through a normal CR2/CR3 RAW...not sure why, but please give us back smaller RAW.
  9. Personally, I would like to see the following features: 1) quad-pixel AF; 2) Integrated Vertical Grip; 3) 30-40 MP sensor with excellent high ISO quality; 4) top fps of 25 fps with no drop in bit depth; 5) an electronic shutter with adjustable speed so one can go silent at lower speeds; 6) Spot metering linked to focus point; 7) global shutter to remove rolling shutter; 8) two type B CFExpress slots, 9) Rugged construction and weather sealing similar to 1D series.
  10. Continue reading...


    AND please ALSO NOTE Fuji's introduction of the GFX-100s camera for $5999 USD which offers a full 100 megapixel MF sensor!

    See review:

    Comparing the Sony A1 to the Canon R5 and the Fuji GFX-100s, I feel soooooo sorry for Sony that showed an UNDERWHELMING CAMERA when compared to the $3899 proper DCI-8K Hollywood Cinema/Netflix/Amazon/Apple-play production friendly 8129 x 4320 pixel Canon R5 camera and the 100 megapixel Medium Format Fuji GFX-100 for $5999 US.

    The ONLY THING that gets me going for the $6498 USD Sony A1 is the 30 fps Burst Rate at the full 3:2 still photo size image frame and the 120 fps 4K video!

    ---

    For the Best-Bang-For-The-Buck race, the winner is the Canon R5 for being $2590 cheaper than the Sony A1 and having full DCI 8K Hollywood Cinema production friendly video capture.

    For the megapixel and light sensitivity race, the Fuji GFX 100s with 100 megapixels for $5999 WINS HANDS DOWN!

    For compactness and toughness, the it's-a-steal for $349 GoPro Hero-8 Black with 60 fps 4K and 240 fps 1080p video is clipped to my helmet!

    The Sony has 30 fps full-size still photos as 3:2 and 120 fps 4K video -- That's it!
    Is that worth the $1500 Price Premium over the Canon R5?

    If you're a TRUE Sony fan, then YES it's MUCH better camera than the Sony A92 but that $6499 price just kills me!

    I someone gave be $6500 today, which camera would I buy of the above?

    The answer is the Fuji GFX-100s cuz I want a truly LIGHT SENSITIVE MF sensor AND I WANT 100 megapixels!

    V

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