Canon EOS R3 Gallery: Browse through an initial batch of sample image from Canon’s high-performance pro mirrorless camera
posted Friday, January 21, 2022 at 4:45 PM EDT
Click here to browse our Canon EOS R3 Gallery
While my colleague Jeremy Gray recently spent time with Nikon's new high-performance, high-end "super camera," the Z9, I have recently begun field-testing one of its primary rivals, the Canon EOS R3. While these two cameras aren't necessarily apples-to-apples competitors, there is certainly some overlap in the types of photographers (and videographers) these two cameras address. Both the R3 and Z9 put speed and performance, as well as autofocus capabilities, front and center, and if you're an action, sports or wildlife photographer, both cameras can look mighty tempting. However, unlike the Z9 and another important rival, the Sony A1, the new Canon EOS R3 isn't considered by Canon to be a "flagship" model, despite its high-performance specs and high price tag. So, we're likely to see an even higher-end EOS R-series camera at some point in the future -- one designed to really go head-to-head against the Z9 and A1, both of which feature much higher-resolution sensors than the R3's 24MP full-frame chip.
(Image cropped slightly)
That being said, the R3 is certainly no slouch in the performance department. Its lower-resolution 24.1MP stacked BSI CMOS sensor gives it not only impressive speed with up to 30fps continuous shooting rates but also relatively small and manageable file sizes. For sports and photojournalists -- two of the main target customers for which Canon specifically designed the EOS R3 -- the ability to shoot and transmit images to editors and wire services as fast as possible is a critical feature. In these shooting situations, having insanely high-resolution image files isn't as high of a priority; a 24MP image is plenty detailed (plus, a full-frame sensor with only 24-megapixels gives the R3 a rather large pixel pitch, which helps with low-light shooting and higher ISO performance). With the R3, you can also store a massive amount of images on your memory card, especially with high-capacity CFexpress Type B cards. In my time with the R3 so far, I've shot over 3000 RAW+JPEG images to a 256GB CFexpress card, and I still have over 2000 or so images left to fill. I've not had to switch memory cards out yet.
(Image edited and cropped slightly)
There's still a lot more shooting and field-testing to be done with the EOS R3, but I wanted to share an initial batch of real-world sample images now that I've had some proper field time with the camera and an RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L lens thanks to our friends over at Lensrentals. Given the R3's impressive burst speeds as well as its versatile ISO range and AF features, such as bird-detection AF, the sample gallery, as you might imagine, has a lot of bird photos in there at the moment! However, I do have several other more general sample shots and some golfing photos in there, as well.
More to come with my Canon R3 hands-on review in the coming days and weeks, but for now, if you're curious to see some real-world sample images, head over to our Canon EOS R3 Gallery for an initial batch of sample photos -- with unedited JPEGs and RAWs available for download.
(Image edited and cropped slightly)