Why 24-Megapixels is Still the Best Resolution

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Canon EOS R3 Review: Blazing Speed Meets Robust Body

Canon’s latest mirrorless camera takes on a new shape and reaches all new heights in performance. With its stacked 24-megapixel sensor, blackout-free silent shooting, eye-control autofocus, and improved subject detection, the EOS R3 might just be the new camera to beat.

Design and Usability

Unboxing the Canon EOS R3 for the first time, I was struck by its size. Up until now, none of the big three camera manufacturers -- Canon, Sony, and Nikon -- have shipped a full-gripped mirrorless body. As a previous owner of the Canon 1D Mark IV and 1D X, it felt like going home. Even so, this EOS R3 is actually slimmer and much lighter than its current DSLR 1D X Mark III counterpart and weighs in at only 2.2 pounds with the battery installed.

Despite the “trimmed” design, the handling is absolutely top-notch. This of course comes down to personal preference, but Canon has always been unrivaled when it comes down to basics like how a camera sits in my hand. The way the grips are contoured, the slanted shutter button, the large control wheels, and buttons with perfect tension and feedback; it’s all here and the EOS R3 is a solid reminder that Canon is still king.

I have no criticisms to make when it comes to the handling, but there are a few build choices I can't quite get behind. For one, the two memory card slots take different media: one is CFexpress Type B and the other is an SD UHS-II slot. Canon is no stranger to pulling these shenanigans, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Seeing that CFexpress Type B cards are required to unlock the camera’s full potential, I would have liked to have two of these slots available for use and consolidate my media needs down to one type of card.

The other problem I have is the awful, uninspired flip-out screen. Don’t get me wrong, the 3.2-inch 4.15-million-dot display looks good and it feels more durable than Sony’s flimsy offerings, but the flip-out screen concept is so poorly executed for photography it will never cease to hurt my brain as to why these companies don’t design something better. Considering this camera is rightly marketed for its speed, it’s amusing that they used a screen design that is so slow and awkward to move to a tilted position. Then, when the screen is finally swung out and flipped 180 degrees (and my wildlife subject either spooked from the commotion or out of composition from where I first wanted it), it’s so out of line with the sensor that I’m facing left to monitor while my lens is pointed right.

Other gripes come in the form of in-camera customizations. The most glaring one is the fact I can’t enable zebras in photo mode. On my Sony, I have zebras calibrated to show when the RAW file is truly overexposed and unrecoverable, which is visible to me in real-time. This is a major advantage of using a mirrorless camera and Canon thumbs their nose at one of the best use cases. Speaking of zebras, you cannot enable both zebras and focus peaking at the same time for some baffling reason. It’s critical I have both enabled for video.

More customization woes come in the form of arbitrary button assignment options. For example, I can’t customize the SET button to what I’d like even though the function is offered for other buttons. I don’t like the fact that some developer at Canon that I have never met who works halfway around the world from me is in charge of deciding what I can and cannot use it for.

Ending this section on a good note, I do have to commend Canon for the customizable focus ring options. For focus-by-wire lenses, I can choose the behavior of their turning direction, whether they behave in a linear or variable manner, I can turn on and off full-time manual focus override, and I can even refine the manual focus override to only occur when I’m half-pressing the shutter.

Image Quality

Featuring a Canon-developed 24-megapixel back-illuminated stacked sensor and DIGIC X image processor, the full-frame EOS R3 ramps up its speed and image quality over previous offerings. The camera is capable of up to 30 frames per second blackout-free continuous shooting with its electronic shutter and, in testing, I saw practically no rolling shutter effects in doing so. It can also fire the mechanical shutter up to 12 frames per second.

Looking more closely at image quality, the EOS R3 is a beast when it comes to handling noise. When the camera arrived, I turned off in-camera noise reduction and after shooting with it I am blown away at how far it can be pushed and still retain detail.

Straight out of camera JPEG shot at ISO 8,000. Noise reduction in-camera off. 100% crop of the above photo. Yes, I said ISO 8,000.

Not only does the EOS R3 handle low-light shooting well, but the image files can have exposure pushed and pulled dramatically.

Original photo. 100% crop. Highlight and shadow recovery in Adobe Camera RAW. 100% crop.

Autofocus

The EOS R3 sports 1,053 phase-detection autofocus points that cover 100% of the frame. Utilizing these points are the subject detection offerings such as human eye autofocus, animal eye autofocus, and now vehicle autofocus. Through testing, the subject detection works quite well when it comes to maintaining accurate focus in difficult situations. I found I could rely much more on eye autofocus to get me through confusing foreground elements that would otherwise trick autofocusing. I’m heavily dependent and willing to use manual focus for moments like those, but in the case of the EOS R3, I don’t think I’ve ever used the focus ring on my lens less.

The video below shows the effectiveness of continuous autofocus while also photographing a moving subject at 30 frames per second. At the photography end of things, I’m also shooting all this without blackout in the viewfinder. Overall, I’ve had a positive experience when it comes to relying on autofocus for stills on the EOS R3.

Eye Control Autofocus

When the EOS R3 was first announced, Canon made headlines when it said it was bringing eye control autofocus back in a modern camera body. Once calibrated to my eye, this setting allows me to literally look at the subject in the 5.76 million-dot viewfinder and the focus point moves in tandem with my eye. When I first tried it, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud because above all potential usefulness, it’s just really fun technology to see and use for the first time.

In its current form, once autofocus is active, the eye-controlled autofocus point locks down. In my use, I found myself wishing that this was not the case and that I would be able to continually have eye control over the focus point even with autofocus active. For example, if I have my framing on a subject perfect but the subject hops over a little bit within the framing, I want to be able to continually stare it down with an unchanged framing and autofocus active. Currently, I’d either have to have tracking on with a wide enough focus area or let go of autofocus, move the focus point, and restart autofocus.

For the first week, I tried to keep up using it in place of moving the focus point with my thumb, but it’s tough to adjust to. At this point with the camera being so new, I don’t think anyone can have a definitive handle on whether or not this is a game-changing feature. The impressive reliability of it already makes it above being a simple gimmick, but how much change this will inspire is hard to say.

The One We’ve Been Waiting For

In 2018, Canon released the EOS R which was the company’s first step into the full-frame mirrorless camera market. It was soon followed by the even less powerful EOS RP, and these releases did nothing to calm the fear that Canon was not going to be a real contender in the future of photography. It wouldn’t be until much later in mid-2020 that the company would introduce cameras that changed this perception with the EOS R5 and EOS R6. The EOS R5, in particular, finally had a spec sheet with sparks of promise that couldn’t be found elsewhere in the competition. Now, over another year later at the end of 2021, the company finally released the all-out flagship mirrorless camera that wipes any remaining fears and doubts from everyone’s minds: the EOS R3.

Are There Alternatives?

If you ask Canon, the company will say that the flagship camera remains the EOS 1D X Mark III. If you are able to read a spec sheet and comprehend words, you will know that the truth is the mirrorless EOS R3 supersedes that DSLR camera in almost every conceivable way.

Back in reality, most people that are weighing options on which high-end Canon camera to get are going to be comparing the EOS R3 against the EOS R5. The EOS R5 has two big things going for it: a higher-resolution 45-megapixel sensor plus a $3,900 price tag that’s over $2,000 less than the EOS R3. The extra megapixels also means that the EOS R5 is capable of recording 8K RAW video internally. Many other points of comparison will be the same or not as good as the EOS R3, but for $2,000 less it cannot be dismissed.

For those comparing options across manufacturers, the Sony Alpha 1 can't be ignored and offers a lot of what the R3 promises but with much higher resolution. Nikon's Z9 also looks promising, especially given what is a much lower asking price, but it's unclear how good that camera will perform in real-world use cases since it has only just been announced.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, if you're a Canon shooter. The Canon EOS R3 is the best that the company makes.

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Canon Unveils the EOS R3: 24MP, 6K RAW, 30FPS Blackout-Free EVF

Canon has finally revealed the full details of its latest professional camera, the $5,999 EOS R3. It features a backside-illuminated stacked 24.1-megapixel sensor, up to 30 frames per second blackout-free shooting, 6K RAW video capture, and much more.

While Canon has revealed a lot about what to expect with the EOS R3 over the course of two development announcements and information from Olympics shooters in Tokyo, the company still held several important details under wraps until the official announcement.

A New, Extremely Fast Sensor

The EOS R3 uses a brand-new Canon-developed back-illuminated stacked CMOS 24.1-megapixel sensor. The company is so confident in this new sensor that it says that even though it has fewer megapixels than the 5D Mark IV camera, it achieves resolution performance that exceeds it. In other words, Canon says that the photos taken with the R3 are better quality than its higher-resolution precursors despite fewer megapixels.

The sensor is powered by Canon's DIGIC X processor that it says can deliver a high-speed readout that allows the R3 to shoot continuously in electronic silent shutter mode at up to 30 frames per second with no blackout. Canon built in a normal electronic shutter mode as well as a truly silent mode that also quiets all sounds that the camera makes for particularly sensitive shooting situations. The camera can also shoot at up to 12 frames per second with a traditional mechanical shutter. Canon says that the readout speed of the sensor is so good that there is minimum rolling electronic shutter distortion.

The EOS R3 can support flash sync with its electronic shutter at up to 1/180 second at up to 15 frames per second.

The camera is able to perform autofocus calculations and tracking at up to 60 frames per second during continuous shooting with the electronic shutter, which is double the speed at which the camera is able to capture images.

The camera also has higher sensitivity with a native ISO range of 100 to 102.400 that is expandable up to 204,800 for still shooting purposes. Like the EOS R5 and R6, the EOS R3 uses Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with 1,053 autofocus points and tracking performance that is accurate even as low as EV -7.5 (this is 0.5 lower than the original estimation of -7 seen in a previous development announcement).

Autofocus Tracking

Speaking of tracking, the system is able to acquire a subject simply by getting close to it. Canon explains this as all the AF points are capable of becoming tracking points, and the camera is smart enough to sense objects anywhere in the frame and immediately lock onto them through customizable settings in the camera. This is difficult to explain, but in a demonstration, Canon showed how a tracking point that was set to one corner of the screen came close to a face and indicated that even though the face was outside the tracking area, it recognized it as a trackable object and gave the photographer the ability to jump to the face and immediately track it.

As mentioned previously, the EOS R3 not only has human eye, face, head, and body detection, but also can recognize the eyes, faces, and bodies of dogs, cats, and birds in the same manner that the EOS R5 can. Additionally, the EOS R3 has a vehicle priority tracking mode the uses a vehicle detection algorithm for automobiles and motorcycles that was developed using deep learning technology. It is capable of detecting the helmet of racing car drivers and motorcycles and can give photographers the ability to automatically prioritize tracking a vehicle or a person in or on a vehicle, or vice versa.

A new Electronic Viewfinder

Canon also integrated Eye-Control Autofocus into the EOS R3's viewfinder for the first time in an EOS digital camera. It is touted by the company as being extremely accurate and intuitive to use. The system it uses was recently published in a patent for those who want more information on how the device physically works. With Eye input AF and Servo AF activated, the camera will focus on and track moving subjects at that location in the frame. When Face Detect + Tracking is active, the camera will continue to follow moving subjects around the entire active AF area.

On the topic of the EVF, Canon says that it features a new 5.76-million-dot, 120 frames-per-second OLED that was designed and developed by Canon. Canon says that the OVF simulation view assist function, which leverages the EVF's high brightness performance and Canon's HDR technology, provides a natural field of view that it claims is similar to that of an optical viewfinder. The high-performance of this OLED EVF means that there is reduced time lag during continuous shooting, sit suppresses the decrease in refresh rate even during continuous shooting (when compared to a camera like the EOS R5), and is capable of displaying frame rates of either 60 or 120 frames per second.

Video Performance

The EOS R3 can also capture quality video in a multitude of formats. First, it is capable of shooting 6K RAW video that uses the entire width of the sensor (6000 x 3164 pixels) as well as 4K at up to 120 frames per second in Canon Log 3. In 4K DCI mode (4096 x 2160 pixels) it is capturing 6K oversampled footage and in 4K UHD mode (3840 x 216) is capturing 5.6K oversampled footage. 4K at up to 60 frames per second is oversampled, but the 120 frame per second mode is a direct read off the sensor. Canon says that all of the aforementioned non-RAW video modes can be shot in 10-bit.

All that video performance does generate heat, and Canon has noted that the camera will auto-power off in the "standard" configuration after 25 minutes of recording 6K at 60 frames per second RAW footage. In the "High" configuration, that extends to 60 minutes of continuous shooting. In 4Kp120 All-I, the EOS R3 can continuously record for 12 minutes. IN oversampled 4Kp60, photographers can expect at least 60 minutes, "or more." At 4Kp30, recording times are not limited by heat. While shooting, the camera will display two warnings, one which indicates that the heat limit is approaching and another that will show that heat is reaching a critical level. The point of the two warnings is to give video shooters time to finish a scene before needing to let the camera cool off.

Design and Build

Physically, the EOS R3 uses a one-piece magnesium alloy design that integrates the body with a vertical grip section. The camera body has a level of weather and dust resistance that is equal to the EOS-1D camera series. It supports wired LAN, 5gHz WiFi, USB, and Bluetooth. It has two memory card slots, one that supports CFexpress and one for UHS0II SD cards.

The rear display is a vari-angle 3.2-inch 4.3-million dot LCD that integrates touch, similar to what is found on the other EOS R series cameras.

Canon says that photographers will likely be surprised how light the EOS R3 is compared to the 1DX series: the body weighs about 1.81 pounds, or 822 grams.

The EOS R3 has an on-sensor image stabilizer that can provide up to eight stops of shake correction.

Canon's new hot shoe is what the company calls "next generation" and supports accessories like the Speedlite EL-1 as well as the new ST-E10 transmitter and new external mic and smartphone link adapter. On that last note, the Mobile File Transmitter application for iOS and Android devices allows photographers to transfer their images quickly and easily without the need for wired LAN equipment.

The Canon EOS R3 uses the LP-E19 battery and is not compatible with the LP-E4. It is, however, usable with the LP-E4N battery, but charging those with the EOS R3's battery charger is not recommended.

Why 24-Megapixels?

A common question might be why Canon chose to go with what many consider to be a pretty low resolution of just 24-megapixels. Canon explains that the EOS R3 is not a camera designed for everyone and is meant to slide into its full lineup. While the R5 focuses on high resolution in both photo and video, for example, the R3 brings that down a bit to offer better ISO sensitivity, better weather resistance, better continuous shooting, and better AF subject tracking.

But a major reason why Canon chose to keep the megapixels down was that 24-megapixels is considered the most that photojournalists are allowed to submit to photo agencies. Canon says that because of this, the 1DX was more popular at the Olympics. While the R5 was used, Canon says that photojournalists intentionally changed the output of the camera to be a lower resolution so that they could submit the images to their agencies.

In short, the R3 is considered a specialized camera designed for a specific group of professional photographers: photojournalists.

The Canon EOS R3 is scheduled to become available in November of 2021 for $5,999.

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Canon R3 to Have 24MP Sensor, EXIF Data Reveals

As part of ongoing testing of the Canon EOS R3 at the Olympics, photographer Jeff Cable has uploaded many photos that he has taken with the camera and EXIF data remained. As a result, the resolution of the new camera has been revealed: 24-megapixels.

EXIF data isn't visible when photos are downloaded and viewed through a program like Adobe Bridge, but the Chrome plugin EXIF Viewer Pro does work. Using that plugin, a member of the CanonRumors forum discovered that Cable's photos weren't stripped of their data and therefore the images revealed full information about the camera and lens he is using. Not only does it show that he is indeed using the unreleased R3 -- which Cable has previously confirmed -- but it also shows that the original resolution of the files was 6,000 pixels by 4,000 pixels: exactly 24-megapixels.

USA Water Polo - Men’s vs Republic of South Africa | Photo by Jeff Cable

PetaPixel reached out to Canon for comment, but the company declined to make a statement about the camera's resolution at this time.

The resolution of the Canon EOS R3 has been a topic of debate since Canon announced that it was developing the camera earlier this year. Multiple early reports incorrectly guessed the camera's official announcement window while others, much more strongly believed, said the camera would be at least 30 megapixels which led to wild rumors that Sony actually was developing the sensor, not Canon. Canon quickly rebuffed those rumors.

Its resolution is one of the few major specifications that Canon did not share about the R3 in either the initial development announcement or the follow-up that came two months later. While the company has publicly stated other major hardware features like eye-control autofocus, supposed low light performance, new autofocus detection modes, and the fact that the sensor would be an in-house backside-illuminated design, the actual resolution remained a mystery.

In speaking to PetaPixel , Cable said that he was not instructed by Canon to scrub the EXIF data from any photos he uploaded to his blog, and presumably, that means the company also gave him permission to upload as many as he liked while covering the Olympics. This makes a lot of sense, as too heavy of restrictions on the camera's use would make it difficult for testers to make use of any of the images they capture for events they are covering.

It was trendy to immediately compare the R3 to Sony's flagship Alpha 1 camera without knowing full specifications or waiting for a public release of the camera, but such a comparison was not particularly fair (just as those who compare the R5 to the Alpha 1 are not particularly fair either). As shown by its name, the R3 may be a sports-focused camera, but it was not going to be Canon's highest-end mirrorless model -- that is reserved for the one-series line. The R3 was likely to, at best, compete with the Sony Alpha 9 line, and sports photographers actually prefer the lower resolution because it allows them to have faster workflows with media outlets that do not require more resolution for web or print news. There is room for both classes of camera to exist from multiple manufacturers.

The confirmation that the R3 will feature 24-megapixels further solidifies that it is Canon's answer to the Alpha 9, not the Alpha 1. It may be some time yet before fans will see Canon's version of a true flagship in a mirrorless body.

_Image credits: Water polo photo by Jeff Cable and used with permission. _

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