Canon EOS R3 pro mirrorless camera knows where you want to focus

With a full-frame 24.1MP sensor, 30fps shooting and eye focus, the Canon EOS R3 is designed for serious use

Canon EOS-R3
(Image credit: Canon)

Canon has released its most advanced mirrorless camera to date, designed for professional photographers. The Canon EOS R3 sits above the previous EOS R5 mirrorless camera and just below its flagship DSLR, the EOS-1D X Mark III.

Professional photographers, particularly in the world of sport – where Canon has long excelled – demand the very best focusing and tracking options to allow them to capture the killer shots. The EOS R3 takes advantage of its mirrorless design to offer the best possible AF performance.

Not only is this new camera quick but it uses eye-focusing. Eye input AF, selects the subject you want to track by detecting where you are looking in the frame and will follow the subject around the frame using continuous focusing (Servo AF).

Canon EOS-R3

(Image credit: Canon)

The EOS R3 lets you take up to 30 frames per second in its burst mode, with no screen black out, so you never miss that perfect moment. Low light is also no problem thanks to the ISO range that extends up to 204,800 and all the processing is handled by the DIGIC X chip.  

This camera is a great option for video shooters too, thanks to its 6K 60p RAW and 4K 120p 10-bit uncropped video shooting with Canon Log 3 support.

Canon has used the 3 designation for its pro lineup Since the EOS-3 film SLR back in 1998 however there was never an EOS-3D DSLR. To me, this feels like Canon treading gently with its pro users. A move to an EOS-R1 would suggest that it could perform as well as the EOS-1DX, which retains its optical (mirrored) viewfinder. And if it wasn’t it would risk pro users transferring to Nikon or Sony.

I hope we will see an EOS-R1 eventually, as mirrorless cameras clearly have huge advantages over DSLR models. Pro users just need to be fully sold on it first.

The Canon EOS R3 is due for release in November 2021, priced from $5,999/£5,879/AU$8,599 (body only).

Mat Gallagher

As T3's Editor-in-Chief, Mat Gallagher has his finger on the pulse for the latest advances in technology. He has written about technology since 2003 and after stints in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chicago is now based in the UK. He’s a true lover of gadgets, but especially anything that involves cameras, Apple, electric cars, musical instruments or travel.