Everything we know about the Canon EOS R1

No one is asking, “Will there be a Canon EOS R1?” anymore. This is almost a fact now. Canon even made an EOS R1 official announcement. That said, there are many unknowns, and the rumor mill is turning on high speed, with rumors coming every day about the heavily anticipated Canon EOS R1. If you already heard about it, great! If not, here is a quick rundown along with everything we know about this New flagship from Canon.

This upcoming flagship camera is Canon’s continuation of its previous top-of-the-line model, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III. We knew that Canon was working on something, but we were not sure quite what. We all wanted to see what’s next, but it took a bit until Canon finally spilled the beans and shared that an EOS R1 is in the works, and it’s set to be their most high-end model yet!

A Flagship camera announcement?

Canon has already announced a flagship, don’t get this confused with the EOS R3. That one’s already considered a high-end model in Canon’s portfolio, but the EOS R1 promises to take things up a notch. I would not be surprised if it took the first spot on our best Canon cameras guide when it launches.

Expected Launch date

With the 2024 Olympics just around the corner, we could expect an announcement about the EOS R1 by the end of 2023 or early 2024. After all, Canon has a track record of launching its flagship cameras in sync with the Summer Olympics. I mean, there is obviously a pattern here:

• March 2012 – Canon EOS 1DX (London 2012)
• April 2016 – Canon EOS 1DX Mark II (Rio 2016)
• January 2020 – Canon EOS 1DX Mark III (Tokyo 2020 – albeit delayed)

Canon EOS R1 suggested Specs

As for what you can expect from the EOS R1, here’s a quick rundown. Much of the speculation has been pulled from Canon Rumors, which is being fed by multiple sources and is considered quite reliable.

Body: It’s rumored to sport a larger body than the EOS R3. How big? Good question. But more many shooters, a bigger camera means more ergonomic design.

Display: the LCD on the back will be an OLED panel – potentially up to 4 inches! (as a reference, the current standard is 3.2″). The top-down display could possibly be in color, fully customizable, and pack more information than usual.

EVF: We’re anticipating an electronic viewfinder (EVF) of unmatched resolution with an ultra-high refresh rate and no blackout. CR cites “highest resolution” at the time of launch and suggests a “Canon Made” hardware component.

Sensor: Sensorwise, the Canon EOS R1 may pack a 45-megapixel sensor. Why not higher? Canon believes 45MP strikes the perfect balance for professional settings like sporting events, where the speed of transferring images from the camera to the editor and then to print or web is critical.

Focusing: Canon Rumors says “all-new autofocus system”. Canon has had Dual Pixel Autofocus (DPAF) for quite a while now, so could we be looking at a QPAF (Quadrupal Pixel Autofocus)

Global Shutter vs. Rolling Shutter: Both the Canon EOS R3 and the Canon EOS R5 have some… well… Some rolling shutter issues, so a global shutter on the Canon EOS R1 would be amazing. (And is much easier with an electronic shutter). We also know that Canon has had good success with developing a smaller Global Shutter on their own. I am optimistic here.

Storage: So far, there is a rumorsensus (it’s a rumor consensus, I just made it up) that The EOS R1 will get dual CFe slots. Maybe with type C cards for one slot. (possibly type b cards for the other) But while the type of CF slot is still open, no one thinks that there will be any SD slots on this body.

Battery: probably be a variation of the LP-E19

EOS R1 video features

The Canon EOS R3 initially shot internal 12-Bit RAW 6000 x 3164 at 23.98-59.94 fps [720 to 2600 Mb/s], and external 4:2:2 10-Bit via HDMI DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) at 23.98-59.94 fps.

But later, the R3 got a firmware boost for shooting 1080p video at up to 240 frames per second in “High frame rate” mode.

That gives some baseline, but with a 45MP sensor it would not be out of line to think 8K. But whatever the initial specs are, Canon already proved that they are pushing the camera further with firmware drops. (even the RC5, just got a firmware update a few days ago). It is rumored that the video features will be developed by the Cinema EOS team. So, YAY!

Canon opens up to third-party lenses?

Now, onto the topic of lenses. Canon seems to be considering a more open approach when it comes to 3rd party lens manufacturers. So, we might just see more RF mount options in the future from other lens makers. However, Canon plans to evaluate this on a case-by-case basis, aligning with its overall strategy.

And according to Canon Rumors, this is already happening. It would be nice to see that the Canon EOS R1 is not limited to Canon lenses.

Canon EOS R1 vs. Sony Nikon and Fuji

Canon is likely not the only one who’s gonna have fun at the olympics. I would not be surprised if other brands are scheming something for the same timeframe. Ideas include a Nikon Z9 II, a Fujifilm X-H3S, an a Sony Alpha a1 II. Hopefully, there will be an interesting pre-olympic phase when we will see one actual announcement after the other from all the brands.

Canon EOS R1 in the wild

As I mentioned, The common belief is that its announcement will be timed to coincide with the 2024 Olympics in Paris. But We also believe that an EOS R1 prototype has been spotted in the wild. A short clip from the G7 summit shows a weird Canon camera, and we suspect it’s the Canon R1 (probably in Beta form, but still an R1).

Conclusion

Overall, the Canon EOS R1 is shaping up to be a true game-changer. Canon isn’t rushing things, though. The company plans to go through a meticulous process of development announcements, pro testing, and final tweaks before the official announcement. And remember, competition is always fierce in the camera world, with brands like Sony and Nikon likely preparing their own flagship announcements. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for more updates on this topic!

Update: July 11th, 2024

Canon has posted a scheduled live stream to YouTube, with an announcement planned for July 17th, 2024. It’s happening at 7pm Japan time, though. That’s 11am in the UK, 6am Eastern and 3am Pacific. So, If you’re in the USA, you’re probably going to be having either a late night or an early morning.

The leading belief is that this is where we’ll see the launch of the Canon EOS R1. But there are also some whispers that we might also see an EOS R5 Mark II as well. I guess we’ll see in a few days!