Canon Announces the EOS R1 and R5 Mark II, and They are Here to Take the Throne

Canon has had us all on pins and needles, enjoying the last few days of our padded savings account and anxiously waiting for their announcement of the new EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II. The anticipated specs have finally come, and we are here to tell you all about it.

Brian Mahar, Senior VP opened the YouTube announcement with an inspiring message.

 [With the new EOS cameras] we looking to set the bar even higher. Canon engineers have created a new camera, we feel, will challenge photographers, filmmakers, and videographers allowing them to re-imagine how they create and to inspire a whole new generation.

I will share the specs for the new EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II below, then share some added notes from the highly attended YouTube announcement.

EOS R1 

Price: $6,299

Powerful Auto-focus upgrades such as the world’s first* “Cross-type AF” at the imaging sensor.

• New Canon-designed 24.2MP full-frame back-illuminated stacked CMOS sensor (with Dual Pixel AF).
• Built-in neural upscaling feature can double horizontal and vertical image size to create a 96MP JPEG in about 10 seconds.
• Pre-continuous shooting to capture the previous 1/2-second of images prior to a full shutter release.
• New DIGIC Accelerator works in tandem with the DIGIC X Image Processor to handle tasks like eye control, metering, and much more for better and faster overall performance.
• Fast sensor read-out speeds virtually eliminate rolling shutter concerns and allow for up to 40 fps electronic shutter performance.
• Record raw videos at 6K and MP4 videos in 4K-D, 4K-U, 2K-D, and Full HD formats.
• Featuring the best Canon OLED EVF we have ever released with 9.44 million dots, and 0.9x magnification.
• Capture video and stills simultaneously with no interruption.
• Action Priority mode uses data to interpret the scene and predict the main subject to lock focus on it in action scenarios.
• People Priority Shooting for registering up to 10 people the camera can recognize and prioritize focus of.
• Has the same dust- and weather-resistance capabilities that have been synonymous with the EOS-1 line for decades.

It was clear in the presentation that this camera had sport photography in mind. The visuals on the announcement were clips of athletes and sporting events. As a sports photographer, each detailed innovation appeared tailor-designed to ensure I get the shot in the fast-paced, zig-zagging scenarios I find myself shooting in.

The most exciting feature to me was what Nichols described as their new “high accuracy sticky autofocus.” The camera is more proficient at tracking moving subjects with its dual-pixel intelligent AF. This advancement means that the EOS R1 is capable of not only tracking the head and the eyes of a subject but also the subject’s full body. This feature allows the camera to lock on and stick to the subject and not lose them even when another subject crosses the frame.”

Another mind-blowing feature is “register people priority.”  With this technology, you can now register in camera who the main subject is. Once the subject is registered, the autofocus will detect and prioritize that subject.

Though few sport photographers seem confident enough in the eye control technology to use it on the job, it too has received new upgrades.

In addition to the above upgrades, the camera can capture up to 40, 14-bit raw photos per second with a black-out-free shutter (ugh, thank you!)  It also made everyone in the chat go wild when it announced its low-light sensitivity of up to (sit down) 102,400 ISO!

Many more features, including upgrades on video, were discussed in the YouTube announcement.

EOS R5 Mark II

Price: $4,299

Although the Canon EOS R1 Flagship camera has extraordinary specs, at a lower price point of $4,299 the R5 Mark II is remarkable itself.

• Completely new Canon-designed full-frame back-illuminated stacked CMOS 45MP sensor.
• Fast sensor read-out speeds allow for up to 30 fps electronic shutter performance.
• New focus system upgrades include eye control focus, and the ability to maintain focus on a subject even when obscured briefly.
• Capture video and stills simultaneously with no interruption.
• Action Priority uses data to interpret the scene and predict the main subject to lock focus on it in action scenarios.
• People Priority Shooting for registering up to 10 people the camera can recognize and prioritize focus of.
• Capture 8K raw at 59.94/50.00 fps, and LOG 2.
• Features the same 0.5-inch 5.76 million dot OLED EVF found in the EOS R3.
• Video Menus now use Cinema EOS terminology.
• Three optional battery grips are available to expand your capabilities.

EOS R1 Versus EOS Mark R5 II Comparison

While both cameras share many of the same specs, I’ve highlighted below a few of the differences between the two bodies. 

Closing Thoughts

Photographers worldwide flooded the chat on the YouTube announcement with feedback of excitement and dazzle. EST Canon loyalists, like myself, woke up before 6 am to hear about this ground-breaking camera. For myself, I can say I was not disappointed. Clearly, the engineers at Canon made us wait because they were dedicated to innovations designed to make us succeed in our photography. The one discussion I was surprised didn’t make the announcement about was color.

Canon has long been praised for its extraordinary color. It is the main reason I have never switched brands in almost two decades since my first Canon A-1 was passed down from my grandmother. I can only assume that we will continue to enjoy Canon's vibrant and dense colors. After writing this article, I’m going straight to add the EOS R1 to my cart with excitement about the new innovations.

Bravo to Canon for coming in strong. Share some of your thoughts below on what you think of these two new cameras in the comments.