A fellow photographer friend recently sent me a message and asked me how much the Canon R1 differed from the Canon R3. He also wanted to know the difference between the newer R1 and Canon R5 Mark II. After a year of using the Canon R1 (both pre-production and the final product), Canon R5 Mark II, and receiving numerous questions like this, I thought it would be good to share my thoughts with all of you.
Let me start with the big differences between the Canon R1 and Canon R3 (in order of importance to me).Both the Canon R3 and Canon R1 are top-of-the-line cameras from Canon and have that feel when you pick them up. At first grip, it is hard to feel or see much difference between the two camera models. One thing I love about Canon cameras is that when you get used to using one of them, the similarities are so close that a person can go between one model and another without much of a learning curve.
It is like driving a car. You can get into almost any vehicle and drive, regardless of the engine performance and handling. But that performance and handling can make a huge difference if you want to do something more than just drive from point A to point B. The Canon R1 lets you drive harder and better than you could with R3. When you get into the guts of the Canon R1, there are numerous improvements that really make the camera stand out vs the preceding model.
Focus
As I have mentioned numerous times in the past, the focus system of the Canon R1 is noticeably faster and "stickier" than the Canon R3. This was VERY noticeable when I was photographing the fast-moving Olympic athletes in Paris and the R1 tracked them so well. My take rate of tack sharp images was so much better than with any other camera.
Pre-Capture
This is one feature that I have used many times and find it absolutely indispensable when photographing unpredictable wildlife, birds about to take flight, and sports which I am less familiar with. I don't use pre-capture all the time, but love having the feature in the camera when those moments arrive. And I should mention that this ability to go back a half second and grab frames I might have otherwise missed, has yielded me many great photos I would not have captured with the Canon R3.
Dual CFexpress Slots
One of the things that irritated me (yes - it really bugged me a lot!) about the Canon R3 is that Canon chose to include one CFexpress card slot and one SD card slot in the camera. If you read my blog a lot, you know that I always shoot RAW images to BOTH card slots (to make darned sure that I have my images even if a memory card were to fail). I really hated the fact that the Canon R3 limited by capture abilities, when shooting at fast frame rates, to the speed of the much slower SD cards. Arghhhh! I actually missed numerous photos at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo because of this. Thankfully, Canon opted for two of the faster CFexpress card slots in the Canon R1 so I can blast off shots almost endlessly, if needed, and not be slowed down by the older and slower SD cards.
Eye Control
Just to be clear, I am not talking about the eye detection of the new mirrorless cameras, where the camera can lock in on the subject's eyes or face. Eye control on the Canon R1 and Canon R5 Mark II is the feature that allows the camera to determine which subject I am looking at and move the focus point to that subject. I know that the Canon R3 had this feature as well, but I find that with the much improved technology in the Canon R1, it now makes this useable for the first time. I tried this on the Canon R3 and found it unresponsive and distracting. The same feature in the Canon R1 is incredibly accurate and helpful in almost all scenarios.
Burst Rate
The Canon R1 can capture images at a faster burst rate (40fps) than the R3 (30fps), but this is not a critical factor for me since 40fps is rarely used in my case.
Higher Resolution Viewfinder and LCD
The Canon R1 has almost double the resolution in the viewfinder as compared to the Canon R3. Although I find this nice, I never really had a problem with the viewfinder of the R3.
Now let me address the difference between the Canon R1 and the Canon R5 Mark II (in order of importance to me).
Both of these cameras offer exceptional focus speed and accuracy, and they share the pre-capture and pupil detection features. But there are some key differences which offer advantages to each model. Although both cameras are exceptional in my opinion, I use them interchangeably depending on what I am photographing. My choice is almost always predicated on what resolution I desire and the physical size and weight of the camera.
Resolution
Even though the Canon R5 Mark II is the less expensive camera, it actually has a higher resolution sensor (45 megapixels) as compared to the Canon R1 (24 megapixels), but that does not mean that it is my camera of choice for all my photography. I love having the higher resolution when photographing wildlife so that I have more ability to crop and have a high resolution image, and often choose the Canon R5 Mark II for my photo tours for this reason.
As I mentioned, the increased resolution does not mean that the Canon R5 Mark II is the best camera for me at all times, When I am photographing sports and personal events (bar mitzvah, weddings, corporate events...), I prefer not to have the highest resolution, as most images I am delivering are not going to be enlarged to a billboard size print. They are often being printed at 4x6, 5x7, or 8x10 or going into an album. In these cases 24MP is plenty.
Physical Size
One of the obvious differences between the Canon R1 and Canon R5 Mark II is the physical size and weight of the cameras when holding them in your hand.
Sometimes bigger is better. I really love using the Canon R1 for portraits and events since I am often turning the camera and shooting portrait (tall) vs. landscape (wide) and I love having all the redundant buttons on the camera grip. I also prefer the larger batteries for these types of situations, because when I am working an event, I am moving too fast to worry about battery life.
Sometimes smaller is better. This is why I often choose the Canon R5 Mark II for my photo tours, since it is easier to travel with the smaller and lighter Canon R5 Mark II and Canon R6 Mark II combination. Not only is the camera smaller and lighter in weight, as compared to the Canon R1, but it also uses the smaller batteries and shares the same small battery charger with the R6.
Eye Control
Both the Canon R1 and Canon R5 Mark II have the eye control, but I can tell you that this feature is MUCH better on the R1. This is probably due to the much larger eye piece and amount of detection on the Canon R1.
Card slots
As I mentioned before, I am not a big fan of mixed memory card slots, especially when one of the card slots is a slower SD slot. Canon created the Canon R5 Mark II with a mix of a CFexpress slot and a SD slot (much like the older Canon R3). With that said, it is nice to travel with a single memory card reader which has both CFexpress and SD slots. This saves me a little more space when on the road.
Wrapping this all up
All of these cameras are excellent bodies for any photographer, capturing images at fast burst rates and with excellent focus abilities, but as you can see, they each have their pluses and minuses. If you are struggling with a purchase decision, I hope this helps you make a good choice.
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