While Canon has already dipped its toes in the mirrorless waters with its modest line of APS-C sensor EOS M cameras, including the EOS M6 and EOS M5, the EOS R is the first model in a new line of full-frame mirrorless cameras based on a new lens mount that will be known as the RF mount. The EOS R is designed to compete with Nikon’s new Z6 and Sony’s brilliant Alpha A7 III.
Although there are many newer Canon EOS R models, the original EOS R remains one of Canon’s best cameras if you’re looking for a small bargain. The EOS R uses a 30.3MP full-frame sensor with no optical low-pass filter. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR has the same pixel count, although Canon insists it’s not the same sensor. However, we suspect that it is very closely related to the chip used in the EOS 5D Mark IV, which is not a bad thing since it is one of Canon’s most powerful sensors.
There’s also a new DIGIC 8 processor and a healthy native ISO range of 100-40,000 that can be expanded to settings equivalent to ISO 50 and 102,400, which is right in line with the EOS 5D Mark IV. Like Nikon with its new Z line of full-frame mirrorless cameras, Canon has also opted for a new lens mount for its R line of mirrorless cameras. The new RF mount has the same 54 mm cutout diameter as Canon’s EF mount, but has a much shorter flange distance. This has dropped from 44 mm to 20 mm, although it is slightly longer than the flange distance of Nikon’s Z mount at 16 mm.
Along with the EOS R, four new RF lenses are being launched: the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, the RF 28-70mm f/2L USM, the RF 50mm f/1.2L USM and the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro. As you might expect, you can use your Canon EF lenses on the EOS R via an adapter, but instead of a single variant, Canon is launching four different adapters. There is the simple EF-EOS R-mount adapter, the EF-EOS R-mount adapter with control ring, the EF-EOS R-mount adapter with built-in circular polarizing filter, and the EF-EOS R-mount adapter with built-in variable neutral density filter.
Interestingly, Canon has also opted to forgo the proprietary image stabilization that rivals Sony and Nikon offer in their full-frame mirrorless cameras. Canon’s argument is that it’s better to tailor the image stabilizer to a specific lens than to use a one-size-fits-all approach, which would also require more camera space. However, two of the new RF lenses do not have any image stabilization.
The EOS R is surprisingly only the third EOS camera to offer 4K, following the EOS 5D Mark IV and EOS M50. However, while its rivals offer full sensor recording, the EOS R is somewhat limited with a 1.7x crop factor, making wide-angle shooting difficult. However, there is a choice between 30p and 24p, while Full HD videos can also be recorded at up to 60p.