Canon EOS R1 in-depth review

What is the Canon EOS R1 and who is it for?

It’s a commonly held belief that if you put a pro spec camera in the hands of an unskilled photographer there’s unlikely to be an uptick in the quality of the resulting images that person will create. I’ve long supported this theory, which doesn’t just apply to photography. Putting me behind the wheel of a high-performance sports car does not turn me into Lewis Hamilton; I have the insurance claim to prove this.

But having spent a few days in the company of the Canon EOS R1 – a camera designed and built for professional sports and news photographers – I’ve started doubting my lifelong assumption. The R1, you understand, is a simply breathtaking piece of kit. Within minutes of picking it up, I was taking images the likes of which I’ve never been able to record before. And this was all down to the camera’s technological capabilities, I was simply along for the ride.

EOS R1 body

Before we get into the details of my newfound picture-taking prowess, let’s pause and consider what makes the R1 the range-topping tour-de-force it is. Launched last July along with the EOS R5 Mark II, it harnesses Canon’s most advanced image making technology, wrapping it inside a chunky body that feels as though it could quite easily stand in for a sledgehammer.

It’s a weighty piece of kit, especially when you couple it with either of the two lenses I had on test – the RF 28-70mm F2 L USM (1430g) and RF 100-500MM F4.5-7.1 L IS USM (1530g). Yet the body styling ensures it never feels unwieldy. The integrated battery grip also means the layout of the camera is identical, whether you’re working in landscape or portrait format.

EOS R1 sensor and processor

While the R1 won’t win any prizes for thumpingly high native resolution, the 24.2 megapixel stacked CMOS sensor offers plenty of pixels to play with and it’s the speed at which those pixels can be deployed that really sets the tone for the R1’s capabilities.

Wedded to a DIGIC X image processor with a performance-boosting DIGIC Accelerator, the R1 can dispatch up to 40 frames in a single second when the electronic shutter is employed. That may sound on par with other models, but with the R1 those 40 frames can be RAWs and will have both auto exposure and focus tracking between each shot so fast-moving subjects stay sharp and accurately exposed.

Furthermore, there’s a pre-shooting function that will record up to 20 frames-per-second before the shutter release is fully pressed. In short, the R1 will start taking pictures before you even decide you want to.

Larger resolutions are available via the in-camera upscaling option. Accessed in the image playback menu it uses interpolation to create 96-megapixel images, avoiding the need to transfer to a computer to upscale. Limitations do apply, however, this option only works on JPEG or HEIF images recorded at the Large size.

EOS R1 autofocus

All this power is nothing without control and here the autofocus and exposure systems really step in to elevate the camera’s overall capabilities. Four metering options are available, but I never saw the need to deviate away from the 6144-zone Evaluative pattern during the test period. Shooting into low winter sunlight did sometimes demand the need for exposure compensation, but this is quick and easy to access via the large rear control dial.

Eye Control AF

The autofocus system, however, is the real star and was what enabled me to get the shots I’d never before been able to record with any degree of confidence. The R1 uses Eye Control AF, which was introduced on the R3, but has seen major improvements here. The system does require calibration, which is a relatively simple process, but once complete, the R1 will see where you’re looking through the viewfinder – and focus accordingly when you half-press the shutter release.

The Eye Control AF system works if (like me) you wear glasses and is made even easier to use by virtue of the R1’s enormous viewfinder. 0.64 inches may not sound that enormous for an electronic finder, but it makes a huge difference compared to most EVFs which are typically 0.5 inches, or less.

As the R1 tracks where your eye looks, the subject detection system then makes sure that once a subject is locked on, it will follow it throughout the frame. It is the stickiest autofocus system I’ve ever witnessed – and I gave it a tough challenge.

With an absence of sporting action to photograph, I headed to a local beach and used the R1 to photograph seabirds in flight. Despite my subjects moving both quickly and erratically, the camera’s ability to keep up with them was uncanny. I’ll admit to just pressing the shutter release in hope for much of the time, but then finding the resulting images were pin sharp. Had I been relying on my own reflexes and lesser kit, I’d have returned empty handed. Instead, I had a hit rate well over 80%. Frankly, that is astonishing.

Dual Pixel Intelligent AF

According to Canon, this performance will be down to the R1’s Dual Pixel Intelligent AF, which is an updated and improved version of the Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system that was in the original R5 and R6 models. Thanks to deep learning technology, the AF system is faster, smarter and able to focus on more granular details and I have no cause to doubt any of Canon’s claims. I’ve got the pictures to prove it.

Action Priority AF

For sports photographers, the camera’s Action Priority AF is also sure to be useful. Here, the AI algorithms recognise certain types of sporting action, such as a slam dunk in basketball or a header in football. Not only that, but the system will then automatically determine which player is performing the action and focus accordingly.

EOS R1 stabilisation and connectivity

While this is undeniably an action-oriented camera, the R1 is also perfectly adept at general image making. Depending on the lens in use, it offers up to 8.5 stops of image stabilisation at the centre of the image and 7.5 stops at the edges, the body is fully weather resistant, the touchscreen LCD fully articulated and the menu system easy to navigate. It’s fully featured for video, too.

Given the target audience, once you’ve taken your images and/or videos, it’s important to get them where they need to go quickly. The R1 offers Ethernet, Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, the latter being Wi-Fi 6E, which will transfer data at 6GHz, where available. Unexpectedly, I called upon Wi-Fi during the test and, like the rest of the camera, it performed flawlessly.

After my first trip to photograph the seabirds, I discovered that while I could see the images with the CFexpress card in the camera, they didn’t appear when I plugged the card into a reader. I cursed the fact that the card, which had previously been used in a different brand of camera, hadn’t been formatted when I put it in the R1. The solution was to download EOS Utility software, connect to my WiFi and transfer them that way. This process was quick and hassle free and – once the card was reformatted – it worked perfectly in the camera.