Last month Nikon announced the development of its highest-end mirrorless camera to date, and now Canon has responded with the announcement of the EOS R3, which ought to fit in a similar bracket. The R3 is still in development and details are thin, but it’s clear that it’ll be positioned above the EOS R5, which is currently Canon’s flagship mirrorless camera.
Like Nikon’s upcoming Z9, the EOS R3 looks to be a hefty camera with a built-in vertical grip for shooting in portrait and landscape orientations. The body design and control layout is broadly similar to the EOS-1D X Mark III, Canon’s highest-end pro DSLR, and the body features dust and water resistance.
Canon says the EOS R3 will be the first camera to use a new 35mm full-frame stacked CMOS sensor with backside illumination, and its image processor and electronic shutter will allow for 30fps shooting with AF and AE tracking. Canon is touting the EOS R3’s autofocus capabilities, too. It’s the first digital camera from the company with eye-control AF, and a deep-learning algorithm has been used to improve recognition of human subjects from the torso up, which is said to help its performance in challenging situations like sports photography.
That’s about it for details from Canon; the company hasn’t given any detailed specs, let alone a price or a release date. But together with Nikon’s Z9 and Sony’s new A1, the pro mirrorless camera wars are heating up — and the EOS R3’s name implies Canon may have something even higher-end in the pipeline.