Canon R3 R3 Surpasses Expectations

[Sharpshooter]

I had made up my mind that I was not going to take the two R3's that I have coming with the first shipment. That was prior to this past weekend when Canon showed up with a shiny new R3 for me to test. My gear consists of two 5DSR's, a 1DXIII and two R5's so I'm used to great cameras. The 24MP sensor in teh R3 was the reason I had decided to pass, just spoiled by big beautiful files. I was shooting a three day air show when Canon brought me the R3 so I put my 100-500RF on it, programmed the eye controlled AF function and began blazing away. I had heard that the AF Eye control took some time to get comfortable with, that was not my experience. The camera performed flawlessly and the AF was very intuitive, I found that my eye was exactly on my subject and so was the focus point. Just for fun I shifted my eye from one Blue Angel to another and in an instant, the other one became the focal point, so natural and eliminates any focus hunting . The camera was set on mechanical shutter and I left it there, but on the highest frame rate available, post processing confirmed what I was seeing in the viewfinder, the keeper rate was as close to 100% as any camera I have ever shot with. The ergonomics are great, the oversized viewfinder is wonderful. Over the few days I had the R3 I shot over 20,000 images, more than enough to convince me that the focus acuity, and tonal qualities of the 24MP sensor would serve me well.

 

[Dave Williams]

Under normal circumstances I would agree, but try to find an R5 on the shelf today, yet they are "shipping" R3's.

A quick check and I can find several places that have stock of R5 ,R6 and just one who has R3 available. All grey imports. It makes you wonder who gets what and how!
If they can't produce more cameras because of a parts shortage, I still think there will be no further new releases for the time being.

 

[Hanley]

I've had my R3 for a week now and simply love it!!
It feels perfect in my hand.

I'll be keeping my R5 for when I want extra MP but I'll be selling my R6.

 

[Dave Williams]

I've had my R3 for a week now and simply love it!!
It feels perfect in my hand.

I'll be keeping my R5 for when I want extra MP but I'll be selling my R6.

Tell us a bit more about why you are keeping it. Where does it score over the R5 and 6?

 

[Onesickpuppy]

I just got my R3 yesterday....setup was super fast as all menu's and settings are virtually the same as the 1Dx3 basically.
Have only taken about 10 sample/setting shots so far....maybe tomorrow I can get out and see if I can find some targets to
confirm its abilities
Compared to my 1Dx3, its like its son at 16....slightly smaller and lighter

 

[RedCobra]

Can you put a small object in a cluttered background to replicate something like a bird in a leafy bush and then try to focus instantly on it?
Also, can you tell me how fast the start up time is, from sleep mode to taking a shot...the R5 seems to take an age.

Those are the two dislikes I have using my R5 compared to a DSLR.
TIA Dave

I have learned to push the AF button on the back as I bring up the camera so it's awake when I get to the VF.

For your bird in the leafy bush: I have the main AF button set to animal eye focus, and the asterisk button next to it set to single point AF. In busy backgrounds I hit the spot first on the bird, keep the camera steady and then hit the animal eye. You just slide your thumb over. The spot seems to tell the cam where to look before I hit animal eye. Takes a little practice, but......

 

[Bdunn62588]

Focus lock on is instantaneous, even with a cluttered background, especially if you have eye control on. The camera starts up very quickly.

I'll second this, the R3 starts up quite fast... both from Off and from sleep. I am still trying to dial in my AF the way I want it but I have been impressed with the R3 over my R6's for sure. And definitely from the a7iii I left to come back to canon.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Can you put a small object in a cluttered background to replicate something like a bird in a leafy bush and then try to focus instantly on it?
Also, can you tell me how fast the start up time is, from sleep mode to taking a shot...the R5 seems to take an age.

Those are the two dislikes I have using my R5 compared to a DSLR.
TIA Dave

Hi Dave,
I believe the R3, programmed properly would handle the AF scenario you described. Truthfully, I can't recall how fast the start up is, but you are right about the R5, sometimes it seems like forever.