Lab – Canon EOS R3: the most powerful autofocus on the photo market? – Digital

The EOS R3 is Canon’s first monoblock hybrid. With its specific dual-handle ergonomics, it takes up the heritage of the reflex line. EOS-1D X Mark III, but in the segment of mirrorless devices. For journalists, sports photographers and even wildlife photography enthusiasts, the EOS R3 is Canon’s most advanced camera around. With a revised autofocus, the focus is thus of high quality.

The black point: a slow start

But before we get into overall performance, let’s take a look at the EOS R3’s weak spot: its boot time. Indeed, you have to wait more than 1.5 s before being able to photograph, which is really long. It is all the more damaging that the reflex EOS-1D X Mark III is in working order in 0.26 s according to our measurements! It is still a difference of more than 80% between the two boxes …

By disabling the sensor protection by lowering the shutter after the camera is off, we save about 0.1 s, which is far from significant.

Once this point is removed, the EOS R3 reveals all its power. Some of our autofocus readings go below 0.1s, which few hybrid cameras can boast of. There is a slight decrease in performance in low light, but this remains negligible in view of the overall performance, exemplary.

Chain and breathtaking burst

The sequence of images works smoothly with very good regularity. We wish to underline this aspect to put in front of Sony and its Alpha 1 (A1). While it actually offers a speed comparable to the EOS R3, Sony’s case crashes at times if the sequence is too fast, thus causing real frustration. Note, however, that the Sony camera records images at 50 Mpx when the R3 is “content” with 24 Mpx.

On the burst side, Canon presents a performance tuned like music paper with no rounded value to inflate the spec sheet. Each measurement is rigorously exact with the stated values. For the most extreme, we find 12 fps with the mechanical shutter. Recall that theEOS-1D X Mark III goes up to more than 14 fps under the same conditions.

Autofocus that never lets go

The new stacked sensor – a first at Canon – achieves a burst at 30 fps, even in jpeg and raw! The performance is amazing and does not require the activation of a particular option to be achieved. As we explained in our handling during an ice hockey gamecapturing a precise moment is greatly facilitated, but you have to be careful with the volume of data which grows very, very quickly.

The animation we share with you featuring a hockey player is not from a video. It was created from a photo burst capturing the scene, and it shows the excellent performance of the burst, but also the detection and autofocus tracking of the EOS R3.

On the buffer side, recording is limited to 150 raw frames. Switching to jpeg or compressed raw allows you to greatly exceed this limit so you no longer have to worry about it. In contrast, only the mechanical shutter limited to 12 fps benefits from unlimited recording at “More than 1000 views”.

Very efficient subject detection

Detection and tracking has been improved over previous cases and it shows. More efficient and precise, especially when a mask is worn, the detection gains recognition of vehicles while that of the pilot can also be activated if conditions allow it. Animals are not forgotten and are part of the lot of identifiable subjects.

On the animal side, some exotic species with less common bodies can disrupt the EOS R3, but it is clear that the whole works very well, whatever the circumstances. The eye of fish can even be identified! During our tests at Digital with our protocol, the EOS R3 produced no waste.

On the pitch, the execution is breathtaking again. In several thousand photos, the number of errors actually attributable to the autofocus is ridiculously low. Exceptional performances that we had already seen born with theAlpha 1 (A1) from Sony in the hybrid segment.

Canon or Sony, two different approaches

There is one point, however, that we want to compare between the two proposals from Canon and Sony, although it may be more about user experience than raw performance. Indeed, we can distinguish three types of focusing with continuous autofocus:

• The classic continuous autofocus AF-C from Sony and Ai Servo from Canon that can be found on many cameras
• Automatic subject detection and tracking, especially for humans or the subject’s eye
• Tracking without recognition which allows tracking of an area defined by the photographer, to track an object for example

At Canon, to switch from subject detection activated by default to conventional operation, you have to enter the menus and deactivate the recognition function. Switching from one mode to the other is then not easy. For more ease, it is possible to adjust a particular function not really obvious, to find in the menus of assignment of the functions to the various commands of the EOS R3.

Mode management: Sony advantages

This parameter makes it possible to make a custom order with various options of more detailed advanced settings. Being able to go so far in the settings is a real pleasure for the most extremists, although quite complex. On the other hand, zone tracking (tracking without subject) must be activated manually with the upper button located inside the handle.

At Sony, several types of autofocus zones are offered with a classic operation of continuous autofocus. On the other hand, tracking is activated automatically by selecting the appropriate AF zones symbolized by a button pictogram with an arrow. In this case, there is no need to go through the menus or a specific setting to switch from one operation to another, only the change of the type of collimator is important.

Better yet, subject tracking and area tracking work at the same time depending on the scene being photographed. No need to call another function with an additional command.

Tracking without subject: Sony advantage

To summarize, at Canon, the classic operation is to be called via a menu – or a custom-made parameter that is difficult to access -, while subject or zone tracking are two different settings. At Sony, you just have to select the type of AF area according to your needs, quite simply with a much more pleasant use.

While both approaches have their arguments, we believe that object or area tracking – therefore without specific subject recognition – is still ahead of all the competition and works admirably well at Sony. Even on the EOS R3, this function is less effective with a reliability that we found to be below.

And the video?

The autofocus in video is also very powerful with the EOS R3. By default, it reacts well and quickly, but we do not find the nervousness of Sony. To benefit from greater speed, do not hesitate to push the reactivity to +2 (ie the maximum setting) without this allowing the competitor to be matched. In this case, we lose the soft transition side which can be appreciated in certain cases.

The detection of faces and eyes is also very good and allows you to rely on algorithms. Note that the EOS R3 has a small difficulty in recognizing partial faces or at the edges of the image, even if this type of situation does not necessarily represent real use.

If the general performance is excellent when we compare the results obtained with the rest of the market, we nevertheless feel the difference with the really more efficient photo mode. The comparison with Sony also hurts as the competitor’s devices – sometimes much more modest – can live up to it.

In conclusion

The autofocus of the EOS R3 can only convince in view of its good performance and efficient automation. Moreover, this set of performances and functions exclusive to an electronic aiming contributes to definitively bury the reflexes and a practice of photography “in the old”. Thanks to this unparalleled operation, it is possible for the photographer to increasingly rest on his camera and concentrate on the action to be captured.

In our laboratory, we give the advantage to Canon which is slightly ahead of Sony and its Alpha 1 (A1), in any case in photo mode. However, the difference may seem negligible once in the field, especially since Sony is faster in video.

Despite everything, we are facing one of the best autofocuses on the market with the EOS R3. Of course, it remains to get our hands on the Nikon Z9 which we have not yet tested and which we will be sure to put to the test when we receive it.