If there’s one thing photographers and videographers have been waiting on Canon for, it’s a decent 4K camera that won’t set them back thousands of dollars. Panasonic has several in the sub-$1,000 range, Sony has offerings in the low-$1,000 range, and Canon has two areas: under $1,000 with not great adoption, or over $3,000.
Today, Canon announced its EOS R Mirrorless System that packs 4K recording and a full frame sensor. Could this be the answer to a Canon shooter’s wishes? While this is a great camera, I don’t think it checks enough boxes to be considered the go-to Canon 4K camera just yet.
The Canon EOS R is the company’s latest camera and is the start of a new mirrorless lineup. With a 30.3 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, Canon is bringing its amazing color science and image processing technology to the high-end mirrorless space.
You’ll get dual-pixel autofocus with 5,655 focusing points, an ISO range of 50-102400 expanded, and up to 8 FPS shooting. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth both find their ways into the EOS R, along with a single UHS-II SD card slot. This is a sore point for users used to dual memory slots at this price point, as Sony’s A7III offers dual SD slots for $200 less.
Canon is introducing a new lens mount with this camera as well, dubbed the RF mount. There will be an EF to RF adapter available at a later date, but it won’t be there at launch for those who are already heavily invested in the Canon EF lens ecosystem.
When it comes to video recording, the EOS R checks almost all of the boxes people look for. Canon finally now has a mirrorless camera that shoots 4K 30FPS, but there are some drawbacks here which could hold you up.
Though this is a full-frame camera, the 4K recording will be done at a 1.7x crop factor. This is a larger crop than many APS-C cameras and turns a 50mm lens into an equivalent 85mm lens. This can completely change the dynamic of a shoot when using the same lens as you’d normally use.
This crop does have its benefits, however. If you already have an existing line of APS-C lenses from Canon’s regular Rebel line that you love, this will give you a similar look to the Rebel, albeit a little further in as those cameras generally are a 1.6x crop.
When it comes to video though, the EOS R is a beast. It can output 4K 4:2:2 at 10-bit over HDMI, which is more than its big brother the C200 can do.
Another area the EOS R falls short is in-body image stabilization. It doesn’t have it. More and more cameras are starting to ship with this feature, which stabilizes the actual camera sensor so when you use non-stabilized lenses there’s still some smoothing done.
Overall, the EOS R is a great announcement from Canon. It’s the company’s entry into the high-end mirrorless space and will likely be a hit with photographers worldwide. On the video side, there are some reasons to hold up on purchasing, but Canon’s color science alone could be worth picking it up.
With a price tag of $2,299 at B&H for the body only, and stepping up to $3,399 when you add the kit 24-105mm lens, the EOS R is still up there when it comes to pricing, considering Sony’s A7III is $1,998 and the Panasonic GH5S is $2,298 with more features.
Preorders for the EOS R are set to open Wednesday, September 12th at 12 AM ET.
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