We have been learning tidbits of the impending Canon EOS R1 over the past few months. the upcoming Canon flagship camera. The EOS-1D X Mark III, widely regarded as the best DSLR ever built, has yet to find a real replacement. So it makes sense that Canon would take the effort to make sure their upcoming mirrorless body is better than anything else available.
Contradictory information about the EOS R1 has been sent to us at times, but this is to be expected during the product development process. Information sometimes comes from prototyping, sometimes from word of mouth, and, regrettably, sometimes it’s just made up.
Rumoured Specs
- Larger body than the Canon EOS R3
- Much larger OLED panel on the back of the camera. One source said “Nothing currently out there has a screen as big as the EOS R1 will have”. The standard size for the larger cameras seems to be about 3.2″, could we get a 4″ screen?
- The resolution will be “around 45-50mp”, which Canon feels is the sweet spot for resolution. In a professional setting such as sporting events, you have to consider the throughput required to get images from the camera to the editor and then to the web/print. While some have claimed an 80mp sensor, we think you’ll see such a sensor in an EOS R5 body.
- The EVF will be the “highest resolution” when it launches, it will reportedly be a Canon-made EVF. Expect “extremely high refresh rate options” as well as “no blackout”.
- Global shutter? Some say yes, and others say no. For the moment, we have no idea. We do think a global shutter is due, especially with electronic shutters, and what could be possible if they get rid of the rolling shutter issues that the EOS R3 and EOS R5 are prone to in certain situations?
- The battery will be a bigger variation of the LP-E19
- The EOS R1 will get dual CFe slots. One source said it’s likely that at least one of the slots is Type C, We’re not sure about this idea. Type C cards are larger than Type B, and we think at this point, people want matching slots and not a mix. Canon shooters have been adding type B cards to their bags for quite some time and likely don’t want to start over unless there is a game-changing reason for it. If there’s one common complaint we hear about the EOS R3, it’s the SD card slot in favor of a second CFe Type B slot. Either way, there won’t be an SD card slot.
- Expect “a more EOS-1D style ergonomic design”. This is pretty ambiguous, but the larger body could allow this. We don’t think size matters as much as weight does, and Canon seems to spend a lot of time reducing the weight of cameras and lenses. No small feat for sure.
- The top-down display will be color instead of monochrome if you so desire. It will be “fully customizable in what information it shows and in its appearance.”. I think we have all been waiting for advancement in the top-down display and how it operates.
- An “all-new autofocus system”. Could this mean QPAF? We think it’s very possible, there have been many patents about QPAF, and it is a logical next step.
- Video features? We have no idea, and most sources don’t have this sort of information until closer to an actual announcement. One source did say that the video features/firmware would be developed by the Cinema EOS team.
- The announcement will be a “drawn-out affair”, which we think means a development announcement first and then getting the camera in pros hands to do the final tweaks to firmware before an official announcement. The Paris Olympic games begin in July of next year, so we expect the camera will be on the market by then and that the event won’t just be used for beta testing the final product.
Alpha A1 II from Sony is likely to follow a similar timeline. Which business makes an announcement first and blinks? We believe that the EOS R1 is more crucial for Canon than the a1 II is for Sony, and it will be detrimental to the brand if the EOS R1 does not reign supreme for at least a few years.
