Canon EOS-R System Announcement And Analysis

Earlier today Canon introduced its answer to the growing full frame mirrorless market – the EOS-R camera (and system). Together with 4 new lenses, 3 new adaptors, and even a compact flash. Alongside all of this Canon also introduced two fast long telephoto EF lenses and a new fast EF-M lens.

After the recent Nikon Z6/Z7 announcement, Canon had to respond and it did. Before we dive deep into the specs of the new camera and system it is important to clarify something important about the EOS-R. This is not intended to be a high-end pro camera (like the Nikon Z7 or Sony A7RIII for example). This is more of a prosumer model similar in some respects to the 6D MKII (although it does share some features with the 5D IV like the sensor).

The new EOS-R

Now that we got this out of the way let’s start with some specs – and there are a lot of those:

30MP CMOS sensor (just like the one on the 5D IV).
DIGIC 8 Image processing engine.
Dual Pixel CMOS AF system for video.
5655 AF Points. -6 EV low light AF.
100-40,000 ISO.
1/8000-30 sec shutter (with silent shutter mode).
Shooting speed – max. 8fps /5fps with AF Tracking speed / 3fps with tracking priority (buffer maintained for 100 JPEG, 47 RAW, 78 C-RAW images).
3.69M-dot OLED viewfinder with 100% coverage and 0.76x magnification.
3.1″ LCD with 2.1 million dot articulated touchscreen.
OLED top monitor.
1 SD UHS-II card slot.
4K 30p video (1.7x crop); 1080p 60p and 720p 120p.
ALL-I and IPB compression, with top bit rates of 420Mbps and 120Mbps.
USB-C, Wi-Fi system & Bluetooth.
Mic/headphone/USB-C/mini HDMI.
8K Time-Lapse Mode.
Dust and moisture resistant (similar to the 6D MKII).
Price: body only $2300; $3300 with 24-120mm f/4.

The top OLED monitor of the EOS-R

Official Canon EOS-R video

Chris & Rishi from DPR first impressions/thoughts about the EOS-R

B&H look at the EOS-R

Jared Polin first impressions after using the EOS-R

As for lenses, Canon didn’t release any roadmap (like Nikon did) but it did release 4 new lenses (the kit lens will be available right away and the 3 other closer to the end of 2018). Here are the lenses:

RF 28-70mm F2L USM – ultra fast-series zoom lens but quite large and heavy (1.4kg) and expensive ($3000).

RF 24-105mm F4 – the kit lens of the EOS-R – will be available with the camera in October or alone for $1100.
RF 50mm F1.2 – large and fast 50mm lens, weighing at around 950 grams and costing $2300.
RF 35mm F1.8 – small and light wide lens selling for $500.

There will also be 3 different EF-EOS-R adaptors:

EF-EOS R -the basic one ($99).
Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R – adds a ring which is similar to the basic but with a customizable control ring). this will come next year and sell for $199.
Drop-in Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R – same as the ring adaptor but also has drop in filter and comes with a veri-ND and will sell for $299.

The new Drop-in Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R

Besides that, there is the new tiny Canon Speedlite EL-100 that will sell for $200 (the EOS-R has no built-in flash).

There will also be 3 non-EOS-R related lens announcements:

EF 400mm F2.8L IS III USM – New fast telephoto that is the lightest in its class with a new 5 stop stabilizer and 9 aperture blades selling for $12K (starting from December 2018).
EF 600mm F4L IS III USM – Another ultra “light” long telephoto with similar improvements selling for $13k from December 2018.

The new, lighter EF 600mm F4L IS III USM

EF-M 32mm F1.4 STM – tiny 250 grams fast APS-C lens for the EF-M line that will sell for $480.

The new 400mm/600mm lenses

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Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.