Hi, it's Sabina from Pangolin Photo Safaris,
and today I'm gonna share my first impressions on using the Canon EOS R3.
This is not gonna be an in-depth review where I'm gonna go into all
the specs in detail, but rather a real life evaluation of the improved
auto focus system, including Canon' exciting eye control auto focus feature.
As well as looking at the build quality of the camera, body, its
new sensor and image quality.
And finally, my verdict...is the Canon R3 Canon's best wildlife photography camera yet.
Before I get started.
I just want to mention that this is not a sponsored video.
Um, but thanks to Canon South Africa, that was kind enough to send
the camera up for a few days.
I had the opportunity to take it out in The Chobe National park.
Shoot lots of wildlife.
You will see plenty of images throughout this first impressions video.
And a I've also used a couple of different lenses just to give you
a variety of shots to look at.
So let's first look at the camera, body itself. Immediately noticeable,
this camera is much lighter than my EOS-1D X Mark II, which is great.
Every few grams that come off in wildlife photography is a bonus because
of the big lenses we use as well.
So roughly with card and battery inside, it's about a kilogram that camera weighs.
And it has a vertical grip built in, which is also really great.
I do not need to purchase another battery grip, like on the R5 and
R6, to do my vertical shots.
And the camera uses to LPE 19 batteries, which we know from the
1D X Mark II and III series.
So that is as well...
great.
If you wanna switch from either one to the R3, you already
have the batteries for it.
Battery life was decent.
I could shoot easily about a whole activity, which is roughly three,
four hours constant shooting.
Um, the battery did last that long.
I think I was shooting the one day about 2000 shots on one battery.
So that for me is great.
It is not as
much as I would get out of my EOS-1D X Mark II , but that was to be expected
with the electronic view finder.
It is also a magnesium alloy body with water resistance and dust proof.
Same as the EOS-1D X series.
That is great.
That is really what we need out in the field is often dust water.
So it is nice and rubber.
It has a nice grip.
Um, the fingers are lying nicely in the back in the camera.
Um, so all in all, the build of the camera body is very nice.
Another plus that I found is the flip screen, the articulated screen...
that they have, um, included in this model. The EOS-1D X series
doesn't have it.
And I really like to have it for these low angle shots that we often like to do.
And it is very difficult if you do not have that articulated screen.
So thanks Canon for including that on our R3. As we are used to from Canon's high
end range cameras, there is plenty of
buttons that can be customized to your own needs.
For example, three back button focus options in the back of the
camera, which is great...assigning different auto focus functions.
And then of course the additional third wheel on top,
same as the R5 and R6.
That can be also customized for things like exposure compensation,
or whatever you want to have it for.
So that is a
lot of flexibility built into the camera body.
I'm also happy to see that they have included a smart controller, same as the
EOS-1D X Mark III...to easily shift the focus point as well, as the easy
switch from photo to video mode that both the R5 and R6 don't have.
On top of the camera, you will also find a newly designed hot shoe.
And the eye piece of the view finder is sticking out quite a bit more than before.
...and that is to accommodate Canon's eye control auto focus feature.
The view finder has a very high resolution, and I didn't have
any issues with blackouts, even when shooting 30 frames per second.
Canon also gives you the option to simulate an
optical view finder, if that is what you are used to
...nd if the electronic view finder feels a bit strange to you.
However, it needs to be mentioned.
If you do use the optical view finder simulation, you can't
see changes you make in the view finder, like exposure compensation.
So personally, I would stick to the normal electronic view finder view, where
you actually have the benefit of seeing how your exposure and colors change.
Since it is a mirrorless camera.
It has the RF Mount where you can obviously Mount RF lenses,
but also use the adapter
if you have EF glass.
And actually in this video, I've predominant used EF class...and it works
Brilliantly in combination with the adaptor.
Now, my only complaint about the body of the R3 would be that it uses two
different memory cards, which is a CF Express Type B and an SDXC UHS-II card.
So for me, it is always nice to have.
Uh, camera debt has two card slots with the same kind of cards, which
makes things just so much easier.
You only need one card reader, um, the same kind of spare cards
and not two different ones.
I would've liked to see, uh, the same as in the 1Dx Mark III, the same
two card slots in this camera, which would also make shooting
redundantly so much more easy.
My second complaint would be that Canon has included only a small
HDMI port on this camera,
although the camera body offers enough space for a regular one, which is what
I would've liked to see, especially for us recording these videos for you guys.
We use this port all the time.
So maybe on the next one, Canon, you put a regular HDMI.
One last little critique about the design of the body is,
um, in the back of the camera.
If I have my grip here, my thumb lying in this little niche that they have built.
Um, there's a little bump right on top here between the last two back
buttons, which I'm using regularly.
And I feel that this bump sometimes is a little bit uncomfortable.
Something I have to get used to, that's not a deal breaker.
It's not like I'm not gonna buy the camera because of that.
But just something I've noticed...it might be different for you.
Everyone has different hands, but for me, it's a little bit uncomfortable.
When shooting with the R3 over the past couple of days, I was most excited to
test its auto focus capabilities.
I've mainly used a camera in combination with EF glass
mounted via the E to RF adapter.
And I generally found the auto focus to be a bit snappier, and a bit more refined,
than on the R5 and R6, and also the eye detection seems to work slightly better.
And best of all, I didn't have once the issue of the focus locking onto the
background, which I experienced quite frequently on both the R5 and R6.
So that is great news.
Canon has also now included some new auto focus area zones, which can be
customized, meaning you can adjust the size of each zone to your own preferences.
Now in the past, I've never been a big fan of using zones for focusing, but now that
I have also included subject tracking, that can be toggled on and off in each
auto focus area, I might actually use the zones more often to lock onto a subject,
or a group of subjects, and then have the camera track it a across the entire frame.
By the way, if you would like to know how I've set up the R3
for wildlife photography, then
check out the link to my set-up video on top.
The best thing is that I can now have three back buttons set-up
with different auto focus options.
I'm sure you've heard of Canon's eye control auto focus, which I have
allocated to one of the three buttons, while the other two cover animal
eye detection and spot auto focus.
So there's a great flexibility for wildlife shooting.
The eye control is basically designed that wherever you look inside of
the viewfinder, the camera focuses...and it is not a function that I will
probably use a lot, but I found it works like a charm when I quickly have
to switch focus between subjects...and it can do it much quicker than I
could ever be by moving either the
smart controller or the joystick.
I also found the eye control to be helpful....
sometimes. If I can't grab focus with the animal eye detection...if the camera
just doesn't wanna jump onto the animal that I want to focus, I can then quickly,
um, use the eye control to point my camera in the area that I want to focus.
And then just switch back to the animal eye detection. More often than not...
this has actually worked.
And again, quicker than me trying to shift a focus point around myself. On that
note, the animal eye detection has still room for improvement, same as on the R5
and R6...and is usually working best on birds, rather than larger animals.
But I'm still convinced that my overall keeper rate is much greater
using the animal eye detection, than me trying to shift the focus point
around on erratic moving subjects, especially when shooting from a moving
platform, such as our photo boats.
Plus, I am hopeful that the animal eye detection will be more
refined over the next few years.
My skills probably will stay the same.
Coming back to the eye control auto focus for a moment.
I unfortunately can't demonstrate this to you because I cannot use
the view finder with my eye while the Atomos screen is recording.
I just want to mention that it isn't designed to be pixel precise when
focusing, and also not to track fast moving subjects across the frame,
but rather to quickly switch focus from different areas within the frame.
After calibrating it only one time for landscape and portrait orientation.
It worked great on my eye.
And the only time I struggled was when my eye wasn't close enough to the view finder
and some light entered from the back.
So you really need to make sure that you press your eye against the
view finder and close it completely.
It might be a bit more problematic for those of you
that wear contacts or glasses.
And you might need to do a few more calibrations depending if
you are wearing them or not.
Lighter eyes are also said to have issues with the eye control, but remember, this
is only the first version of Canon's eye control on the mirrorless system.
There will be improvements.
I'm sure.
So I was just shooting a half collared kingfish in the dense canopy here, right
under these trees, because that's the habitat where he likes to hang out.
And that brings me to a great point of interest that I had
when testing the R3.
And that is its low light
capabilities.
So there's usually two things that are of interest when shooting in
low light conditions like this.
And this is how the camera performs auto focus in very dark scenarios...
like this. Can it still auto focus nicely and quick?
And the second one is...how does the camera handle high ISO values?
Is there a lot of image noise?
How is the image quality?
So it will be very interesting to see the auto focus really did work like a charm.
Even down here, I had to really shoot in between branches.
It was very, very dark and the camera's focus did not disappoint me. Once it
grabbed onto the subject, it stayed there.
So, the animal eye tracking worked perfectly there.
How image quality looks.
We check on the computer later.
So all-and-all, the R3 performs quick and accurate auto focus...and having the
flexibility of three focus options, just by shifting my finger, is truly revolutionary
when it comes to wildlife photography.
Let's talk image quality.
The R3 has a full frame back illuminated stack sensor, which ensures
faster readouts and therefore a reduced rolling shutter, which I didn't find to
be a problem in wildlife photography.
And I
couldn't come across any rolling shutter issues, while testing the R3. But...
let's rather talk about the 30 frames per second in electronic shutter...
that results from the faster readouts. They are full 14 bit raw
files without any compromise, which I think is just mind blowing.
And you might think that 30 frames per second is a total overkill.
And in most situations, I would agree.
But in times when you photograph things like high action scenarios...imagine
a kingfisher diving into the water or birds fighting in midair, passing food,
or once in a lifetime hunt...believe me, you will be grateful having this option.
It will be the difference of getting this shot...or not.
And I'm not gonna argue that it will be in hassle to sort through
the thousands of images later.
But again, if it gets me the winning shot, then I'm happy to deal with that.
Even when shooting with 30 frames per second in electronic shutter, I hardly
ever ran into any buffer issues.
And even when I did...the buffer did clear quick enough and
I could continue shooting.
Now the 24 million pixels for me personally is again, coming
from a EOS-1D X Mark II, which has only 20 million pixels.
Of course, more mega pixels are usually nice...especially
if you can't get close to the subjects and you need the extra detail to crop
in post. I guess I'm quite spoilt here getting fairly close to the animals, that
it hasn't been much of an issue for me.
And I feel that, the megapixel count of the R3 gives me a good
balance between image quality, um, high ISO performance and file size.
As I'm used to from Canon, the camera renders the colors beautifully with lots
of color depth. Zooming in there's plenty of detail, even for 24 million pixels.
And the dynamic range is pretty impressive too.
But what astounded me the most is the high ISO of performance of this camera.
The image detail, dynamic range and colors, are in my opinion, fantastic...up until an
ISO of 10,000...and even 12,800 and 16,000 ISO still delivered what I consider usable results.
More noticeable detail loss seems to start only above 20,000 IO, but
I could not see any terrible color shift, even when shooting that high.
So for a rare sighting, I'd be happy to shoot with an ISO of up to 25,600.
The R3 also has in-body stabilization, which is effective when using
non-stabilized lenses...and up to eight stops of image stabilization
when using certain RF lenses.
So at great feature, and an added bonus, especially when shooting
slow shutter speeds...handheld.
So, is the R3 Canon's best wildlife camera yet...in my opinion, ABSOLUTELY!
Although the EOS-1D X Mark III is still Canons flagship, the R3
combines the great advantages of the mirrorless system with the durability and
robust build of the 1D X series.
And if I had to invest in a new camera right now, it would be this one.
I really like the familiar feel in my hand.
The compact size and lighter weight, as well as the custom
button options on this camera.
Having three buttons set-up with different focus options gives me the flexibility
I need in wildlife photography, and combined with the high frame rate...
I'm sure this will increase my keeper rates substantially.
Animal eye detection, eye control auto focus and subject tracking are perks that
once used, I'm not willing to give up again...especially in the environment that
I shoot, uh, with lots of bird life, and shooting from a moving platform.
Having the much smoother smart controller to move the focus point, instead of the
joystick on the R5 and R6, is a small, but nevertheless, important upgrade.
And of course, far more focus points and the ability to track subjects across
the entire frame, is a no brainer when it comes to photographing wildlife.
And finally having a fully articulated touch screen that
will make low angle shots so much easier. In wildlife photography,
these are all important features...and Canon really has refined a lot from the R5
and R6, while designing a body that feels very close to a EOS-1D X Mark III,
without the bulky weight. I probably should mention that the camera did freeze
on me once, but it was quickly resolved.
by removing the battery and reinserting it into the camera.
And if the R3 is worth a heavy price tag, I think only you can decide.
I personally think that the R3 will be my first mirrorless
camera without any regrets.
I really hope this gave you a little bit of an insight if you
were contemplating on getting the R3...and if you already own one,
don't forget to check out my set-up of the R3 for wildlife photography,
and as always leave me your thoughts in the comments below. Until next time....
Bye bye!