The TRUTH about the Canon EOS R3 

First, I am not a canon ambassador. Second, I had a "pre-production" camera in my hands. At no point did Canon tell me I can or can't say something about the camera, positive or negative. In fact, Canon was not even here when I was making my final video based off of using 2 cameras in the real world. Canon does not get to preview my video before it goes live and had zero say in any of the content. If I find a flaw, I'm going to share it. All Canon did was bring us the cameras and answer any questions we had.

Tony, as one of the reviewers who had access to the camera I wanted to comment. At no point did Canon tell me what I could and couldn't say about the R3. The only caveat they wanted me to mention was that it was a pre-production model, that's it. If you watch my R3 videos, you'll know I published a great deal of results including overheating tests, burst timings, rolling shutter and closeups of resolution charts and high ISO samples. And YES it DOES have GPS, I tested it and showed it in my videos. If you haven't got the body yourself, please do watch them as I cover a lot in there that wasn't included in other videos so far, both positive and negative.

Tony upset he didn't get given a preproduction unit.

Not an ambassador but Canon Canada still put the camera in our hands and at no point told us what we could or couldn't say. When you say that we're not necessarily entitled to say negative things about the camera, it's simply not true. I think there's a lot of merit to this video being made but a good amount here is just not true.

I am disappointed. Laing's original video review shows the GPS in action and long run times without overheating. And Polin has a follow up video showing several examples of 30 fps with moving subjects. You should probably have waited to get a camera to test. I watch you regularly and bought your book, and now I am not sure I believe anything you say.

The truth is that the camera is an absolute banger.

Even if the other people's videos are "advertisements" the one thing worse than that is making a video on something you don't even have or have used. Anthony is grumpy he didn't get one.

Damn Tony you’re really out here misleading people about something you haven’t even gotten your hands on? Are you that desperate for views? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Uncle tony is grumpy today cuz he dint get a r3 to play with.

Tony’s jealous he didn’t get to play hahahaha they probably invited Chelsea 😂🤣😂

The thruth is that you did not get the R3 for test like the other guys

A little late to the party but I watched both Jared and Gordon's videos who are not Canon ambassadors and from what I have watched, all that I could tell was they were given pre-production cameras and the deal was not to release their videos until the embargo has been lifted. Much like what Sony has done for the A7s III, A7c, and A1. Both reviewers voiced out what they could with the limited time they had and emphasized on the "pre-production" part and are willing to take another look at the camera once they are able to secure full production units. Jared noted how the rolling shutter performance wasn't as good as the A1 and the buffer cleared much slower than the 1DX mkIII. It seems like Canon isn't just relying on their ambassadors with pre production cameras and is now also allowing independent content creators to make their own videos about the camera which I actually think is a good thing on their part after the PR nightmare of the R5/R6 release. I think it's also worth noting that these pre-production cameras could have been part of the same batch of cameras that were being used at the Tokyo Olympics, so not everyone can have/has access to these pre-production samples.

Tony, let me ask you this, how do you know that the Canon R3 doesn’t actually do 30fps when you don’t even have that camera in your hand??? Why has Canon stop sending you gears? Your review on the R3 doesn’t make any sense, since you are relying on specs and not on actual real world test? Jared proved the R3 can actually hit 30fps 98% of the time . That is more real world than your spec sheets review

It has GPS built in…

22:26 The R3 *does* have built-in GPS...

My suggestion....pre order now, you may have one by Christmas, then do a review when you have one in you hand. While you're waiting go view Gordon Lang's and Larry Chen's reviews.

The line, "JORDAN OVERHEATED" makes me imagine Jordan overheating himself with excitement.

Years ago I had the Canon EOS 5 film camera - that had an eye-controlled focus feature. The viewfinder was divided into 5 approximately equal vertical strips and you looked at an element in each one to get the camera to focus on that segment. It worked ok, but I didn't find it that useful in reality. I usually enjoy your reviews, but this one had an air of sour grapes about it. Frankly, I'd rather hear about a camera's good points from a potentially biased ambassador who actually has one in their hands. I expect that most people considering spending several thousands on a camera will be savvy enough to take all reviews with a pinch of salt. As an R5 owner, I know for example that to achieve the headline maximum frame rates, several conditions need to be met, including factors such as the level of battery charge remaining and the Wi FI not being connected, so to highlight that the R3 does not always achieve the max frame rate without discussing whether the listed conditions were being met is rather disingenuous on your part.

A few things you missed. the R3 doesn't drop in performance (fps) when the battery goes below 60% like the R5 does. The R3 doesn't have limits on performance with certain lenses like the R5 does. The R3 has alot bigger buffer than the R5. I am not selling my R5's but the R3 will be an awesome compliment when its needed.

He should be comparing the weight with the A1 grip attached for a more balanced comparison.

Vlogging and client work: Would you recommend the R3 or GH6? And thank you for the video and work. 🙏

Hey Tony at 22:31 you say the R3 does not have a GPS, I am pretty sure it does, the most crippled part of this camera is the lack of dual CF express slots.

I mostly enjoy Tony & Chelsea videos, often "informative", until you notice there are too many huge errors and too often (on purpose?), for instance, this time, not noticing that the R3 has GPS is ridiculous, how can we trust your words when you don't even read the spec sheet, please don't do this again on purpose, It's a professional sport camera, didn't you double checked once you noticed that the GPS was missing? (it's NOT)!!! It's a pattern of most of your videos to introduce some very odd "errors" that a professional youtube shouldn't do, unless it's on purpose for FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) or it'is just your videos style to spread disinformation and fake news, as a rule of thumb I always watch your video after reading and watching much more reliable sources and it's so fun to always spot at least one or even a couple of relevant errors almost every time, so much fun! for this reason I will continue to watch your videos, just for fun. :)

There were a lot of previewers who are not Canon ambassadors. And even the ambassadors were not forbidden to say bad things. Look at Vanessa Joy.

Hi, Thank you for the video ! Does it overheat in 120fps / 1080p ? Because the R5 overheats in this mode... Thinking of going for the C70 instead of the R3 just because of that so if you can answer me. Thank you :)

I've enjoyed Tony's work and found it helpful. That being said, he might consider pulling this video based on some other videos I've viewed that seem to disprove some his assertions.

It's rare that I disagree with Tony, but.... every wildlife photo book I own was shot with fewer than 24 MP. Every wildlife photo i have shot is 20 MP or fewer, and IMHO, my wildlife photos are excellent. Of all the features I want in a new camera (I use a 1DX), I want faster autofocus, more dynamic range, less noise, quieter shutter, etc... I have literally never thought I need more pixels. I definitely won't buy a camera without a tough metal body and excellent weather sealing. The R5 would not be my choice for wildlife in the real world.

I agreed with your technical review and comparison with the R5 and competitors' cameras with one major exception. I shoot mainly wildlife and have shot with both the R5 and 1Dx cameras. The ability to shoot action in low light is an essential aspect of wildlife photography, having shot at ISO's in excess of 20,000 on many occasions that warrant this - Kenya, early/late afternoon light.... The lower resolution of the 1DX is perfect for this since the larger pixels in the sensor keep noise under control much better than the higher MP R5 sensor. In good light the R5 will outperform the R3 in many aspects - however in poor light the R5 will simply be unable to shoot wildlife since high ISO performance is nowhere close to the R3.

Tony and Chelsae are typically my favorite to watch on RU-vid. I am not a canon shooter anymore, and even I can say that this feels like a very biased, or at least click-bait(y) review. It came across as smug and retaliatory. Not what I have come to expect from this channel.

It doesn't have GPS? Yes it does! i'm looking at a Canon brochure right now that says it does. From the brochure, "Built-in GPS streamlines file organisation by recording shooting location and time-zone coordinated metadata. GLONASS and QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System) compatible."

Why not mention that the Sony's at full burst rate use only 12bit files. The R3 continues to churn out the full 14 bit.

Off topic, but hoping you or one of your readers can help. I am looking to purchase a Canon eos RA (I am located in Canada). I have contacted a couple of suppliers in Canada, and have been told that the Canon RA has been discontinued and no longer available . Do you (or anyone) have any idea where I might be able to track one down (other than patiently waiting for a used model). Thanks in advance for any help.

Ohm poor little boy Tony, didn't get a toy to play with....waah....:(

Any Idea how to open the Canon R3 files? Anyone know of a DNG converter, perhaps a beta somewhere?

It does have GPS, shoots full RAW 14 bit with full subject tracking at a full 30FPS with an amazing hit rate at f1.2! Wide angle lenses don't have dual focusing motors - the RF 400 & 600 have dual focusing motors that are much faster than the wide RF and EF lenses. The eye control does allow much more precise focusing than you are saying. Wedding photographers can switch between bride & groom, person to person in a group, etc... Independent and objective but not doing a full test with the actual production camera? PS. The 1DXIII shoots 20FPS mechanical with the mirror up.

i testet the 20fps on my R5 and it is exactly 20 pictures in one second with servo af on a fast running Dog catching a ball. Settings: Electronic shutter, 20fps, servo AF case 3, animal AF, eye AF on 1/4000s 2.8 300mm ISO 800. Lens was a 300mm 2.8 IS (Version 1) with EF on RF Adapter. I dont think counting fps in a video is a good measurement method. I will test this when i get an R3 in my hand. (Hopefully soon)

I don't buy equipment for competitive features; just will it do my job at hand. Have always appreciated Canon.

Gordans test shows no overheating from the R3 .. And he recorded a 6 hour vid

I believe the R3 has gps function.

We all want to know Tony, is Chelsea switching to it? ;-)

Which sports photography camera would you recommend? r3, r5, r6, 1DXii, z9, a1 I'm with a Canon camera, so it's also important that the camera works well with an adapter for EF lenses

Seems to me you should add the price of the battery grip to the cameras other than the R3

the 1DXiii has 20fps M-Shutter in live view mode right?

Just wondering if you got some sample shots and videos that you took with this camera?

Thank you for this detailed analysis of what you saw from looking at the details of other review videos. Helpful

Remember when 5fps was a good sports camera? Once it gets beyond 10fps I just don't care anymore.

Weight of the cameras being compared to a gripped R3 do not include the additional weight of a grip for the non-gripped cameras. I get it’s optional but most of the audience for this type of camera will probably want a grip anyway. Also given battery use issues with mirror less camera that should also be considered. FWIW I am an R5 + grip shooter and I’m glad I didn’t holdout for the R3.

jared's tasting shows it do 30fps we have seen all the individual frames with 2 different lenses

As a sports photographer (football), I'm always looking for the ball and when running through the line, it's not always clear. With my 300mm 2.8 lens, I'm tight in on many images. I'm curious to see if the eye focus will be trying to focus on the ball instead of the players face (eye) since sometimes I'm looking back and forth between the two objects.

Loved the video. Very informative.

I LOVE MY GODOX Speedlights.. I've not seen a reason to buy a Canon brand speedlight when the Godox works with my triggers & All of my other lights. I was waiting to see the Cost of the R3.. based on what I'm seeing.. they give features I don't care much about.. and took away a one That I use every day. It looks very rugged, the 24mp is fine to me.. the video features look tasty. Overall looks like a very solid camera. ...but.. I'm going to buy an R6 to go with my R5.. I shoot real estate & weddings.. when I shoot video for weddings I shoot 1080P 30 not worried about overheating.. I have a 6DMKII & EOS-R.. I'm going to trade them in for the R6. Some of the photographers I work with rocking dual R6's and the results are extraordinary.

I'll deal with the 24mp. Easier on the computer and software programs, and my workflow will be faster.

People have to remember that the only way Sony was able to achieve 30fps on the A1 was to dumb down the files to 12 bit compressed lossy files. The R3 files are full 14 bit files. I suspect if Canon wanted to get 40-50 MP they could have done it if they changed the files to 12 bit compressed. But it is true, sports shooters generally do not want massive 40+MP files.

hey Tony if the r3 frame rate drops to 19fps while autofocus then the r5 is going to drop too, its not fair to compare in that case to r5.

On counting FPS in the demo video, is Tony sure Canon is representing that H+ (fastest frame rate) was selected, w/o anti-flicker which caps frame rate to around 21-24FPS? Not sure there’s a problem with representations made so far until we get production units in hand.

You're just trying to make yourselves relevant by being controversial. You're talking so much nonsense.

when will they make a Battery to drive the Lens much faster then the camera ,so the lens is not lagging

i d like to buy some MicrosoftPress-Books. How do i use formulas in Excel?

Tony......I'm a sports photographer. Half of my business is high school sports, which means poorly lit gyms and night time football games. In an current world that SCREAMS mirrorless, I'm super skeptical of the weird lag in the electronic view finder, in addition to all the other quirks associated with mirrorless. I can only afford the used market and the bottom line right now is an R3 for $4k or a 1DXmk3 for $3k. I'm leaning towards the 1DX.............give me your thoughts

Looks like Canon use this camera to be creative with their camera. I applaud them for not being boring and taking risk and being creative

What would be your criteria for a good general purpose camera, Tony. This is what most ordinary people want. Just got the R6 which is all I need as a long time (50 years) amateur. Also still love my M5.

Are you actually saying that the R3 can't do 30fps because the A1 can't do 30fps. Have you even had the camera in your hands or are you speculating?

I thought it did have GPS built-in? One of the reviewers actually showed it! On the screen which shows the various histograms and shooting data, you can scroll through lots more info on Canon cameras. The reviewer scrolled through to where it showed the GPS coordinates. I'm pretty sure they also said words to the effect "no more messing around syncing mobile phones". I'm trying to remember who the reviewer was.

I tested my X20 and got exactly 12 images in one second. Then tested my D3300 and got 5 images in one second. Both were exactly as the manual said. I’ve never used high burst rate during my 6 years of ownership.

you have a fun time everytime you start a video with that intro, dont you? You love it

I shooting bird photography. I was considering the R3 but with your review should I consider the R5. I also shoot military aircraft. Thanks for your review...

Why is the 6,500$ for the Sony A1 marked green?? The 6,000$ for the R3 should be green...

One thing about the disappointment about apps that can do live stuff like insta, Facebook, etc. Even if your camera can do livestreaming, are modern wifi / mobile connections able to do 4k streaming? Are the abilities of your lenses able to translate well into a lower resolution stream? The only thing I can see a use for this is if you want to Livestream something with like a telephoto lens like following animals or your neighbors or something, otherwise I don't see how it would be a priority until 6g or some wifi improvement happens where the cameras are able to show off their capabilities in 4k or higher

Intersting to check whether M6ii hot shoe compatible with those new accesories.

“Only” Tony knows…brought to you by Square Space.

Which cameras have internal memory and apps?

How did wildlife shooter manage before 50mp cameras then? Funny how someone can say this is “not” a wildlife camera because it only shoots 24mp. 😂😂😂

Good overall review! I've decided to hold onto my 2015 Canon EOS 5DS-R 50MP for now. I am considering the Canon R5S 100mp for my next upgrade later this year. 99% of my images are stills that I submit to Adobe or Getty stock images thus done in a studio environment.

Would be great to have a R1 video now to see what will be planned next !

Is that a EOS-1 V on the left side of the table?

It has GPS! no idea why you would say otherwise. From this I assume that you didn't test the camera and just went on to write a review without even seeing the camera in real life. on the other hand you are saying that other reviewers are biased because they get their gear from canon. I'd rather see a review from a someone who has actually tested the camera even if he gets his gear for free from Canon. I hope that in the future you will post reviews based on actual testing and not virtual ones.

I think there's a larger market of hobbyists with large budgets than actual sport pro shooters lol

hi, I wonder what is the dynamic(latitude) range. Interestingly no one speaks about it.

Can someone explain how Tony counted the FPS? I would imagine the video Tony analyzed would need to have sufficient frame rate to count all 30. Most people upload 24/30 fps videos to YT, while some upload at 60fps.

Tony , have you had a hands on with this camera , or are you doing a review of the spec sheet , and cherry picking from reviewers who have ?

Hey Chelsea be honest is Tony sleeping on the couch tonight….bad Tony!!! 😂🤷🏻‍♂️

That’s a powerful point about how all the early videos are from Canon Explorers of Light, and there is a former camera rep among the commenters here saying they aren’t allowed to say anything bad about it. You tipped the scales for me from, “I will get it, but how will I pay for the deck repair and Christmas and repainting and maybe hardwood flooring” to, “I’m over it. I already have the R5 and will invest in RF lenses instead.” B&H spec table shows, “GPS; Yes”

UPDATE: It does have GPS, my mistake! Sorry. Also I just got an email from Martin Bisseg (the photographer who took the 30 FPS samples) and he provided more detailed information regarding the FPS so I'll go through that ASAP and update with another video. Some people seem to think I implied that the objective reviewers with the pre-production camera were contractually limited from saying bad things - I definitely wasn't saying that! I didn't watch Gordon's or Jared's reviews, and thus nothing I said was about them. The problem is that reviewers can't be confident that flaws found in pre-production samples will appear in the production models, and thus, we only have confidence in the positive aspects of the review. We spoke on the phone with Jared this morning and he pointed out that he called his video a "pREVIEW" because, indeed, he doesn't consider it to be a proper review until the camera is prodution. I appreciate that and Jared's objectivity as a whole. The bigger problem: Canon doesn't need to ship a small number of pre-production cameras out to reviewers who get a very limited amount of time with it. Buyers make $6,000 pre-order decisions based on very limited information. But the R3 doesn't ship for another *2 months*. Canon should finish the product, give reviewers sufficient time, and end the review embargo when the product is ready to ship. Anyway, that's what my rant about pre-production models was about - I want to shift the structure to be more fair to the consumers.

Great review, thank you!!

When will you try the R3 in real world?

BTW Tony, perhaps you forget to mention that 30 fps will be restricted when AF is set to One-shot priority is set to Focus inside the AF Menu. Set for Release, and the FPS doesn't care if the image is in focus. When set to Focus Priority, then much depends on lighting, subject, lens type, f/stop, and just wear and tear. With mirrored DSLRs, there is a momentary blank in focus registering when the mirror flips open for the shutter opening, though the camera will retain the last focus registration until the focus sensor can update the target of the image for the next cycle.

Little issue but big consequences. The 1Dx III can shoot 20 mechanical FPS in live view or with the e shutter. So that is a pretty big deal for the 1Dx III. Plus it does depend a lot if you are using a very fast focusing lens like the 70-200mm f/2.8 III and it's not racking the focus a lot. It can pretty much hit the max frame rate. Image bird diving into the water and it is not moving towards you much. So the AF is not really slowing you down much if at all. But I do really like your review a LOT overall and just reinforces why I want to compare side by side these two bodies.

When was the last time a camera had internal memory? 20 years ago? Some compacts at that time had a little bit of internal memory but no high end camera ever had one (expect the Zeiss)

I would say that - generally - adding fancy tracking possibilities require more and more computations and thus a faster CPU. They can easily put more power into their processors but that makes the camera hotter and hotter. This could limit camera makers to only make the processors faster when they can get a generational processor improvement on thermals - this often requires the manufacturers to make they chips a smaller and smaller nanometer or inventions in the materials used. Potentially this could mean that the real world frames per second you get could slow down the fancier AF tracking the camera uses as another bottleneck along with the lenses. Might be worth testing? How long does it take to overheat a camera like this with the best AF possible compared to turning it off and going manual or just regular oldschool AF. Just a few thoughts.

YES, I completely agree. Get the R5, when prices are adjusted later. wailt a little while.

Are publications now asking for only mirrorless camera work?

Did you get a camera to try our or are you just reading from those that actually tried the camera?

Great info!!

21:18 out of focus, something wrong with your Canon, Tony?

And what about the R6 version II?

i got the 7e film camera,i wear glasses and dont have dark eyes ,the eye focus worked very well for me so no reason it wont be great on the r3

The problem with GPS is that it records the location of the camera and not the location of the subject. That becomes a very big issue if your subject is a hundred metres or more away. Unless that changes, GPS is not an option for me, as I would have to manually change the location anyway. I think firmware could to that in theory. If the camera know its location, the direction it is pointed to and the focus distance, it should be able to calculate the location of the subject.

Great to hear about it from you... I almost had to watch at 0.75 speed 🤣

The TRUTH about a camera you never had your hands. I regret giving this a view and will just jump over to Gordon's videos now to get some real information and not the BS someone posts when they are not invited to the party...

Good review Tony and I agree 24mp = Canon unable to match the A1 . Lets hope the R1 is for wildlife photographers like me 👍