Rumours about Canon’s widely anticipated full-frame mirrorless camera have stepped up a notch with the publication of a pretty convincing specification sheet. A selection of images of the camera, which appears to be called the Canon EOS R have also surfaced on Nokishita Camera, a notoriously well-informed bean-spilling website.
Canon EOS R Specification
According to the specification sheet, the EOS R’s full-frame sensor will have an effective pixel count of 30.3Mp and a pixel pitch of 5.36 x 5.36um. That’s a similar pixel count to the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.
Not surprisingly, the autofocus system is listed as Dual Pixel CMOS AF. That means the focusing uses phase detection. Impressively, there are also a staggering 5,655 AF points. That should help with tracking moving subjects.
Eye AF isn’t listed, but the usual 1-point and Zone options are present along with Face+Tracking AF. It’s also shown to operate at down to -6EV. That’s dark!
The sensitivity range is shown as ISO 100-40,000 with expansion settings taking it to ISO 102,400.
Meanwhile, in One-shot AF mode, there’s a maximum continuous shooting rate of 8fps. This drops to 5fps with continuous focusing. That’s okay, but not great.
Electronic Viewfinder and Screen
Suspiciously, neither the resolution nor size of the electronic viewfinder is shown. This raises doubts about the authenticity of the leak. Canon lists the EOS M50‘s EVF, for example, as being a 0.39-type OLED Electronic Viewfinder with approximately 2,360,000 dots. The supposedly leaked document shows the EOS R has an OLED viewfinder with 23mm eye-relief, 0.71x magnification and 100% coverage.
Meanwhile, the screen is shown as a 3.15-inch device with 2.10-million dots. That’s a new combination. There’s no information about whether it’s touch-sensitive, but I’m sure it will be.
Also, if the images are to be relied upon, the R will have a vari-angle screen. I’m pretty excited about the prospect of a full-frame mirrorless camera with a vari-angle touch-screen! First of all, a vari-angle screen makes it easy to compose low and high-level images. And, unlike a tilting screen, that’s whether you’re shooting in landscape or portrait format.
I really hope that Canon gives the R a full-range of touch-control like its low and mid-range DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Combining physical and touch-controls makes using the camera more intuitive.
Video
There’s good news on the video front. The list shows the R has 4K (3840 x 2160) video capability at 29.97, 24, 23.98fps. Furthermore, Full HD (1920 x1080) video looks to be available at up to 59.94fps.
Canon RF Mount
According to Nokishita Camera, the Canon ESO R introduces a new full-frame mirrorless mount called RF. It looks like we can expect to see an adapter for EF optics.
As you’d expect with a new mount, a small selection of new lenses are set to be introduced with the camera. If the suggested lens list is to be believed, Canon is going to introduce a fast standard zoom along with a slightly slower more versatile zoom and two prime lenses:
RF 28 – 70 mm F 2 L USM
RF 50 mm F 1.2 L USM
RF 35 mm F 1.8 Macro IS STM
RF 24 – 105 mm F 4 L IS USM
Dimensions
The supposedly leaked document shows the EOS R’s dimensions as 135.8 x 98.3 x 84.4mm. While its weight is said to be 580g body only. For comparison, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is 150.7 x 116.4 x 75.9mm and 890g. The Canon 6D II measures 144.0 x 110.5 x 74.8mm.
Conclusion
So, while much of the reportedly leaked specification sheet seems pretty convincing, the lack of information about the viewfinder seems strange. Nevertheless, it’s plausible, perhaps the information hasn’t been finalised.
I’m especially interested in the AF system. I’m looking forward to seeing how that performs with moving subjects. A vari-angle touch-screen on a mirrorless camera is also an enticing prospect.
On the basis of the images and information, the Canon R looks like a solid enthusiast-level camera. It may not be enough to pull in professional photographers, but it looks like a good all-rounder.