Canon EOS R Camera Launched

Breaking News

Dateline Tuesday, September 4th, 2018, 9:00 HWT Canon Camera has released their long-awaited mirrorless camera.  The EOS R is a camera filled with innovations that haven’t been present on other cameras before.

Canon also introduced four new S-Lenses.  I’ll cover those below.

The Canon EOS R Camera Launch Video

The EOS sports a 30.3 Megapixel full-frame CMOS Sensor and a Digic 8 image processor.  A first in any camera I know of the R camera has 5,655 manually selectable AF points.  This apparently allows for fast auto-auto focus and these AF points cover around 88% of the horizontal frame and 100% of the vertical.  We’ll explore this more in depth over the coming days. The Af system also boasts the ability to do low light AF at -6, which is pretty impressive. 

Capable of 4K video at 30 fps with a 1.7 crop factor.  HD 1080 P video up to 60 fps.  Dual Pixel AF assures fast and accurate auto-focusing. For manual focusing, you can use Focus Peaking or the Dual Pixel Focus Guide. When connected to an external recorder high-quality 4K video with Canon Log, recording at 10 bit and up to 4-2-2 is possible.

I really liked the EVF sporting 3.69 million dots.  It’s bright and almost has a DSLR look to it.  The LCD rear screen is bright and touch sensitive and used to move focus points around as well as the multi-ring button on the rear of the camera.  I’ll cover this more in one of the next articles and videos.  It’s pretty sweet though. 

Available to Order from B&H

The rear screen is 3.15 inches and can rotate all the way around.  A vlogger’s dream.  Touch operation allows you to quickly set and change settings.  I only had a brief time with this, but it seemed to respond quickly and looked well laid out.  We’ll show more of this soon.

A really new innovation is the Multi-Function Bar.  This is located to the right of the viewfinder. It is sensitive to swipes and touches and can be used for a variety of functions that are set by the user.  It took a minute for me to wrap my head around this but once I did, it was damn impressive. 

FV mode is a brand new shooting mode on the camera which stands for Flexible Priority AE mode.  This too is something that may take some getting used to.  You can set Shutter, f/stop, and ISO and have them respond automatically or manually to different shooting situations.

There is a silent shutter feature too for those that need it for specific shooting situations.

Unlike Nikon, Canon has also shown a vertical grip with the dials and buttons needed for vertical operation.  I would certainly purchase this not only for extended shooting but also I have big hands, and after holding a camera with this grip, it just felt real nice.

Lenses

Canon has released four lenses at launch and promises more for in the future.  In addition, they have also announced three adapters for their existing line of lenses. 

The lenses are . .  .

RF 28-70mm F2 USM.  This is a different lens for sure, especially with the F/2 opening. 

RF 50mm 1.2 USM Perfect for photographers that like a fast normal lens

RF 24-105mm F4 IS USM This will be the lens in everyone’s kit.  Great range with IS

RF 35.. 1.8 Macro. Another beautiful prime

The S lenses as they are named have an additional ring that no other Canon lenses have had in the past. This control ring allows you to assign features and quickly change settings without having to use the dials on the camera.  I’m looking forward to trying this out over the next few days.

54mm Diameter Mount and Short Back Focus Distance

The large diameter and decreased distance between the rear lens element and sensor enable a compelling combination of image quality, performance, and compact lens design. The new RF mount retains the same, large 54mm diameter as the current Canon EF mount, but thanks to the EOS R camera’s mirrorless structure, the rear lens element can be much closer to the image plane. This combination opens up a number of possibilities. The rear element of RF lenses can be larger in diameter, improving image quality at the corners and outer edges of the frame. Larger rear elements mean front elements can be smaller, meaning less strong refracting and bending of light rays within the lens, enhancing optical performance. Most importantly, the EOS R system opens the door to the future. It unlocks more freedom and flexibility in lens designs, allowing faster lenses with increased optical performance in more compact forms than before.

20mm Flange Focal Distance

The RF mount is mounted 20mm from the image sensor. This provides flexibility for future lens designs and the durability needed for professional, real-world operation, even when using super telephoto lenses.

12 pin Data Transmission

A 12 pin connection between the camera and lens means communication at a higher speed with larger amounts of data transfer, enabling incredibly fast AF, high IS and image optimization. It’s a system designed to expedite operations that’s ready for future expansions.

Adapters

Canon also announced three adapters for their existing lenses.  The EF-EOS R is just a standard adapter to convert  EF and EF-S lenses to use on the R.  The EF-EOS R converts these same lenses but adds the NEW Control Ring control. The drop filter Mount adapter EF-EOS R adapted the lenses and also allows for a drop in polarizing of variable ND filter.

Final Word

We will have a lot more on this camera over the coming days and weeks.  This is a major announcement for Canon.  There are some hits and misses, but for many, the misses might not be important.  We’ll go over these soon.  I think the camera is a pretty cool achievement.  It feels good, solid and the buttons and features are well thought out and different.  Some photographers may have a hard time understanding completely the Control Ring and Horizontal Assist bar.  I know I did.  I still need to use these and work with them to get a real grasp of their use.  I only briefly played with AF and want to get further into how well it works for tracking and face detection. 

There is no IBIS, and that surprised me.  I am told that the sensor has digital stabilization, but that isn’t much different than my iPhone has.  Canon does claim the IS on the lenses is really good.  We’ll see when we try it out.  There is only a single card slot.  Seeing how this was a big bone of contention with Nikon’s release we’ll see what reaction comes with the R camera.

We really haven’t had a chance to try out real-world performance and that will come over the next few days.  I think Canon has done a good first release camera.  The Canon folks I have spoken with all say that this is just the beginning.  So, over time this camera has all the potential to be true pro camera.

I’m excited to see where it goes from here as well as how it feels to shoot with.  So, check back and we’ll keep you updated.

Availability and Pricing

Available To Order From B&H

The Canon EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera is scheduled to be available in October 2018 for an estimated retail price of $2299* for the body only. It will also be sold as a body-and-lens kit with the new RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM lens for $3399*.

Disclosure

A bit of disclosure regarding this camera launch and our participation…  I am in Maui, Hawaii with many other content provider and YouTubers for this Canon R launch.  Canon has covered our expenses for this trip.  With me is Michael Durr one of Luminous-Landscape’s videographers.  The camera launch was on Tuesday evening.  For the next two days Wednesday and Thursday we will use the camera under many different conditions.  I will shoot stills and Michael will shoot video.  Canon has told us that we may take a camera home and continue to test it on our own.  This is a first for any camera company and very welcome as we can spend more in-depth time getting to know the camera.

In the past announcements like this were usually done at an event like Photokina.  However, trade shows are different now.  Attendance is down, and they are very costly to attend both from an individual photographer’s point as well as a company with a booth. 

While doing an event like Canon is doing here in Hawaii is expensive, I’m sure they see a better return for their dollar than at a trade show. As a participant at this event Canon has our undivided attention, and we can spend a few days with their design, support, and marketing team going over the camera and getting to know it better. 

We are under no obligation to say certain things about their cameras and lenses.  I can tell you that while R camera has are some very cool new features that there are also some misses.  Michael and I will do a Hits and Misses video and article in the next few days as we get to know this camera better. 

We will also sit down with one of Canons tech experts and go through the features of the camera.  Collectively I’ll get a much better idea of the operation of the camera, and we will share this with you.  We also plan to do a video on the menus of the new camera so you can see the layout and the many choices available.

Canon EOS R Specifications

EOS R

Image Sensor 30.3MP Full-frame CMOS (36.0 x 24.0mm)

Image Processor DIGIC 8

Lens Mount Canon RF mount

Compatible Lenses RF lenses (Compatible with EF & EF-S lenses when using optional Mount Adapter EF-EOS R)

AF Method Face + Tracking AF, 1-point AF^^, Expand AF area (above, below, left and right),

Expand AF area (around), Zone AF, Large Zone AF (Vertical), Large Zone AF (Horizontal)

Maximum Frames Per Second High-speed continuous shooting: Approx. 8.0 fps,

With Servo AF: Approx. 5.0 fps (shooting speed priority) Video Recording Video File Format MP4 (MPEG4 AVC/H.264 compression)

Video Audio Format ALL-I uses Linear PCM, IPB uses AAC through built-in stereo microphone or optional

external microphone Video Recording 4K 3840 x 2160: 29.97fps/24.00fps/23.98fps

Full HD 1920 x 1080: 59.94fps/29.97fps/24.00fps/23.98fps

HD 1280 x 720: 119.9fps/59.94fps/29.97fps Canon Log Dynamic Range Approx. 800%

Canon Log Recording 4K/Full HD/HD YCbCr 4:2:0 BT.709 8-bit (Internal Memory)

4K/Full HD/HD YCbCr 4:2:2 BT.709 8-bit (HDMI Output)

4K YCbCr 4:2:2 BT.709/BT.2020 10-bit (HDMI Output)

Exposure Control Metering Modes Real-time metering

Metering Range EV -3 to 20 (at 73°F/23°C, ISO 100)

Shooting Mode Scene Intelligent Auto, Flexible-priority AE, Program AE, Shutter-priority AE,

Aperture-priority AE, Manual Exposure, Bulb Exposure, Custom Shooting Modes ISO Speed ISO 100 to 40000 (in 1/3-stop or whole-stop increments)

ISO Expansion L: 50, H1: 51200, H2: 102400

Exposure Compensation ±3-stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments AE Lock Auto, Manual

Recording Media SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Cards

Shutter Type Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter (electronic first curtain, mechanical second curtain) Shutter Speed 1/8000–30 sec., bulb.

Maximum Syn. Speed X-sync at 1/200 sec.

Viewfinder Type OLED Electronic Viewfinder Screen Size 0.5-inch (approx. 1.27cm diagonal)

Magnification Approx. 0.76 magnification (with 50mm lens at infinity, -1m-1) Angle of View Approx. 35.2° angle of view

Resolution Approx. 3.69 million dots

LCD Monitor Type TFT Color Clear View II LCD Touch Screen

Screen Size 3.15-inch (approx. 3.15-inch diagonal)

Resolution Approx. 2.10 million dots

Wi-Fi® Connectivity 802.11b/g/n Compatible

Bluetooth Connectivity Bluetooth® Version 4.1 compliant

Exterior Dimension (W x H x D) Approx. 5.35 x 3.87 x 3.32 in. / 135.8 x 98.3 x 84.4mm

Approx. 5.35 x 3.87 x 2.67 in. / 135.8 x 98.3 x 67.7mm (from grip to monitor)

Weight (CIPA) 23.28 oz. / 660g (including battery pack and card)

RF 28–70mm F2 L USM

Lens Type Canon RF Lens

Focal Length & Maximum Aperture 28–70mm, f/2

Lens Construction 19 elements in 13 groups

Diagonal Angle of View 75°00’ – 34°00’

Focus Adjustment Ring USM Minimum Focusing Distance 1.28 ft. / 0.39m

Aperture Blades 9 blades

Filter Size 95mm Maximum Diameter & Length 4.09 x 5.50 in. / 103.8 x 139.8mm

Weight Approx. 50.4 oz. / 1430g

Kevin Raber
September 2018

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