Canon EOS R Performance

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Canon EOS R Performance

Timing and Performance

Pretty good performance for its class with generous buffer depths, but slow buffer clearing.

Startup/Play to Record
Power on to first shot	~2.1 seconds	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.
Play to Record, first shot	~0.9 second	Time until first shot is captured.

Powerup to first shot was sluggish compared to DSLRs, and a bit slower than most mirrorless cameras we've tested. Switching from Play to Record mode and taking a shot was faster, at about 0.9 second, but also slower than most DSLRs. The 5D Mark IV for instance powered up and took a shot in about 0.5 second, and switched modes and took a shot in only about 0.2 second.

Shutter Response (Lag Time) EFCS / E-shutter / M-shutter
Full Autofocus Single-point (center) AF	0.104/0.159/0.182 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture. All AF timing measured with a Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 kit lens at ~50mm.
Manual Focus	0.076/0.127/0.150 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.052/0.099/0.123 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

In terms of the Canon R's ability to determine that it's properly focused when shooting the same target multiple times (with no change of focus setting between iteration, to remove the impact of lens AF speed), its full autofocus shutter response was quite good for a mirrorless camera, and competitive with most prosumer DSLRs. Using the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 kit lens, we measured 0.104 second for full AF lag using single point (center) AF-S with the default electronic first curtain shutter (EFCS) mode, which is quite fast.

Shutter lag using manual focus was also quite good at 76 milliseconds. When "prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure, the EOS R's shutter lag was quite low, at only 52 milliseconds.

As you can see, switching to the all-electronic shutter (Silent Shutter mode) yielded somewhat slower lag times, and using the fully mechanical shutter mode is slower still, though still fairly quick.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large/Fine JPEG	0.31 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.
Single Shot mode RAW + L/F JPEG	0.30 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous High Large/Fine JPEG	0.13 second (8.0 fps); 126 frames; 17.2 seconds to clear*	Averaged time per shot, then slowed to an average of 0.25s or 4.0 fps when buffer was full with a lot of cycle variation.
Continuous High RAW	0.13 second (8.0 fps); 65 frames; 12.8 seconds to clear*	Averaged time per shot, then slowed to an average of 0.26s or 3.9 fps when buffer was full with a lot of cycle variation.
Continuous High RAW + L/F JPEG	0.13 second (8.0 fps); 51 frames; 15.2 seconds to clear*	Averaged time per shot, then slowed to an average of 0.42s or 2.4 fps when buffer was full with a lot of cycle variation.
Continuous High C-RAW	0.13 second (8.0 fps); 118 frames; 19.3 seconds to clear*	Averaged time per shot, then slowed to an average of 0.29s or 3.4 fps when buffer was full with a lot of cycle variation.
Continuous High C-RAW + L/F JPEG	0.13 second (8.0 fps); 77 frames; 20.8 seconds to clear*	Averaged time per shot, then slowed to an average of 0.24s or 4.1 fps when buffer was full with a lot of cycle variation.
Continuous Low Dual Pixel RAW	0.41 second (2.4 fps); Unlimited (?); 1.3 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 40 frames with no apparent limit.
Continuous Low Dual Pixel RAW + L/F JPEG	0.42 second (2.4 fps); Unlimited (?); 2.4 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 40 frames with no apparent limit.
Flash recycling	N/A	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a 64GB Lexar Pro 2000x UHS-II SDXC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times were quite fast on average at about 0.3 second for best quality JPEGs or RAW+JPEG files, but cycle times varied somewhat. (Note that we no longer test single-shot mode with just RAW files, as the results are usually somewhere in between JPEG and RAW+JPEG modes.)

Continuous High mode speed was good for a full-frame mirrorless camera. We measured a consistent 8.0 frames-per-second for all file types other than Dual Pixel RAW, matching Canon's specifications. With Servo AF enabled (continuous autofocus), Canon claims the EOS R's max burst speed is 5.0 fps, however we didn't test that in the lab. When shooting Dual Pixel RAW files, the camera drops down to Continuous Low mode which is rated at 3.0 fps for standard files and 2.2 fps for Dual Pixel RAW files. In the lab, the Canon R managed a slightly higher 2.4 fps when shooting DP-RAW or DP-RAW+JPEG files.

Buffer depth for best quality JPEGs was quite good with our fast Lexar Pro 2000x UHS-II card, at 126 frames before the camera slowed down. When shooting standard RAW files, buffer depths were still generous at 65 RAW frames and 51 RAW+JPEG frames before the camera slowed. With smaller C-RAW (Compressed RAW) files, buffer depths increased to 118 C-RAW and 77 C-RAW+JPEG files. There didn't appear to be a buffer limit when shooting DP-RAW files, thanks to the much slower frame rate.

Buffer clearing times were often slow, though, ranging from 12.8 seconds after a burst of 65 RAW files to 20.8 seconds after 77 C-RAW+JPEG frames, though the camera lets you adjust settings, view just-shot photos or shoot additional images while clearing. Buffer clearing when shooting Dual Pixel RAW mode was quick though, because of the much slower frame rate.

Bottom line, the Canon R offers pretty good performance for its class, with swift autofocus, low shutter lag, good burst speed and generous buffer depths, however startup time is sluggish and buffer clearing can be slow.

Battery

Battery Life
Mediocre CIPA-rated battery life.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots Smooth (default) / Power Saving
Still Capture (CIPA standard, EVF)	350 / 430
Still Capture (CIPA standard, LCD Monitor)	370 / 450

The Canon R uses a custom LP-E6N rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a dedicated battery charger though in-camera charging is also supported with the optional PD-E1 USB Power Adapter. (LP-E6 battery packs can also be used, but in-camera charging via USB is not supported with the older battery.)

CIPA-rated battery life is only fair for a mirrorless camera, at 350 shot per charge with the EVF and 370 with the LCD monitor using default settings, however Power Saving mode can boost those figures to 430 and 450 shots respectively by reducing the displays' refresh rate from 60fps ("Smooth") to 30fps. There is also an Eco mode which further boosts battery life to between 540 and 560 shots per charge when using the LCD by dimming the display after 2 seconds and turning it off after 10 seconds when the camera is not in use. Still, we recommend you pick up a spare battery and consider purchasing the BG-E22 battery grip which doubles battery life with a second battery installed.

The table above shows the number of shots the Canon R is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions. While real-world battery life tends to be much better for mirrorless cameras, CIPA-rated battery life is still very useful for comparison purposes.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))