Canon EOS R1 review – high-speed super-heavyweight

Designed for professional sports and action photography, the Canon EOS R1 is the firm’s first mirrorless model to sport its flagship “1-series” designation. Announced in mid-2024 alongside the 45MP EOS R5 Mark II, it can shoot 24MP stills at up to 40 frames per second, record 6K raw video at 60fps, and has a large body with an integrated vertical grip. In many ways, it can be seen as a fully pro-spec update to the EOS R3 from 2021, which inevitably makes it one of the best Canon cameras.

Canon EOS R1 at a glance:

• $6299 / £6999 body-only
• 24MP stacked CMOS sensor
• ISO 100-102,400 (standard), 50-409,600 (extended)
• 40 frames per second shooting
• 6K 60fps video
• 9.4m-dot, 0.9x viewfinder
• Fully articulated touchscreen

While the EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II differ significantly in terms of body design and key photo and video specifications, they’re both pro-spec models that share most of their internal technology. Both are built around Canon’s “Accelerated Capture” concept, which employs a new Digic Accelerator co-processor alongside the main Digic X processor. They also share a huge array of features, including the firm’s unique Eye Control Focus.

At $6299 / £6999 body-only, the EOS R1 is similarly priced to its spiritual predecessor, the EOS-1D X Mark III DSLR. This counts as a significant hike over the EOS R3, making it one of the most expensive cameras on the market. It costs significantly more than either of its direct competitors, namely the superb Nikon Z9, and the Sony Alpha A9 III with its unique global-shutter sensor. So what do you get for your money, and can the Canon EOS R1 possibly make sense for anyone other than professional photographers?

Features

While the EOS R1 employs a 24MP stacked-CMOS sensor, it’s not exactly the same unit as that used by the EOS R3. The big first difference lies in its implementation of Canon’s dual-pixel CMOS AF, where every sensor pixel is split into two for phase detection autofocus. In Canon’s other cameras, each pixel is split into left/right pairs, but in the R1, alternate green pixels are split vertically instead. This enables cross-type focusing, which should help the R1 to focus in certain situations where other cameras might fail.

Another update lies with the optical low-pass filter in front of the sensor. This now employs a more complex design, that aims to give sharper images with minimal risk of sampling artefacts such as aliasing and false colour.

The sensor offers a huge sensitivity range of ISO 100-102,400 as standard, which is further extendable to ISO 50-409,600. The mechanical shutter maxes out at 1/8000sec, but the electronic shutter can go as fast as 1/64,000sec. Flash sync is 1/320sec, which sounds pretty good until you remember that the A9 III’s global shutter can sync at any setting.

This kind of camera is all about speed, and to that end, the EOS R1 can shoot at 40 frames per second in full-resolution raw using its electronic shutter, complete with autofocus. While this is extremely impressive, again it’s eclipsed by the Sony A9 III, which can reach a remarkable 120fps in 24MP raw. Switch to the mechanical shutter, and the EOS R1 maxes out at 12fps.

Like many other recent cameras, pre-burst shooting is available for capturing split-second action in unpredictable situations. In this mode, the EOS R1 will continuously buffer half a second’s worth of frames, and then record them to card when the shutter button is fully depressed. It’s enabled via a menu setting, though, rather than as a drive mode, which makes it less easy to access than it should be.

When it comes to autofocus, subject detection is available with settings for people, animals, and vehicles. But unlike Canon’s other cameras, there’s no option to get the camera to select between subject types automatically. That’s perhaps understandable on a camera that’s designed for intensive shooting sessions with specific subjects, but it still feels like a strange omission.

There are, however, some new autofocus features that reflect the EOS R1’s particular specialisation. Perhaps most interesting is the Action Priority mode, which initially works for football, basketball, and volleyball. It employs ball tracking and an understanding of certain ‘action poses’ to determine when to switch focus between the players. With football, for example, it’s designed to recognise and prioritise such things as ‘save by keeper’ and ‘sliding tackle’.

There’s also a new Registered Face Priority option. Here, it’s possible to get the camera to recognise up to ten faces at any given time, simply by taking a single photo of each person. You can then arrange them into an order of interest. The idea is that you could, for example, tell the camera to prioritise focusing on your team’s striker and star players, while ignoring the opposition.

Ten does seem like a strange choice of number here, though, given that most sports teams have rather more players than that. Maybe Canon thinks that nobody ever wants to photograph goalkeepers. To be fair, though, this is still first-generation technology, and sure to develop.

In-body image stabilisation (IBIS) is built-in and rated for up to 8.5 stops at the centre of the frame, and 7.5 stops at the edges. Canon hasn’t included a high-resolution multi-shot mode that uses the IBIS unit for pixel-shifting, but that’s perfectly sensible on a sports camera. If you need more than 24MP, it’s possible to upscale images in-camera during playback.

Canon has included an impressive array of video features, too. It’s possible to record 6K video at up to 60fps internally, using Canon’s own raw format. Switch to the more universal XF-AVC S format, and you can shoot in 4K at 120 fps, or Full HD at 240 fps. Proxy recording is now available, allowing you to record high-resolution video to one card and Full HD to the other, which facilitates easier editing.

The camera also supports simultaneous stills and video recording, in which Full HD video is saved to one card and 18MP, 16:9 JPEG stills to the other. This is most likely to be useful to journalists.

As we’d expect from a professional sports camera, you get extensive connectivity options built in. Alongside Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and USB-C, there’s an RJ45 ethernet port that can be used for transferring images to an FTP server. The EOS R1 also supports direct wired connections to iPhones via USB-C for improved speed and reliability.

Canon EOS R1: Key features

• Power: Canon’s hefty LP-E19 battery occupies most of the vertical grip. It promises 1330 shots using the LCD, or 700 with the EVF
• Storage: The camera records files to dual CFexpress Type B slots. There’s no facility to use SD cards or external SSDs.
• Connectors: On the side, you’ll find headphone, microphone, USB-C, full-size HDMI, PC flash sync, and RJ45 ethernet ports. Canon’s N3-type remote release connector is placed on the front.
• Multi-function shoe: The hot shoe works with a full range of Canon Speedlites and a number of digital audio accessories
• Smart Controllers: The AF-ON buttons double-up as mini touchpads for selecting the focus point, and can activate a second function with a firmer press
• Lenses: As well as native Canon RF lenses, you can also use EF-mount DSLR lenses with no loss of functionality, via the Canon EF-EOS R Mount Adapter

Build and Handling

Design-wise, the EOS R1 closely resembles the EOS R3, but with a few extra buttons on top and a subtle rearrangement of some secondary controls on the back. This also means that it inherits a great deal of its DNA from the EOS-1D X Mark III, but with some significant additional controls that have become standard across the EOS R range. Pro photographers who might be contemplating pairing it with an EOS R5 Mark II will be pleased to find that the two cameras work in almost exactly the same way, too.

While the R1 looks very much like the R3, though, it’s not actually the same body. In fact, it’s slightly larger and heavier, measuring 157.6 x 149.5 x 87.3mm and weighing in at 1115g. Thankfully that’s not as huge as the EOS-1D X Mark III, and perhaps surprisingly, it’s more than 200g lighter than the Nikon Z9. But it’s still a hefty piece of kit to carry around.

In your hand, the Canon EOS R1 certainly feels like a top-end professional camera. The build quality is exemplary, and (almost) all the buttons and dials are decently large and positive in operation. Much of the body is covered by a textured non-slip grip, which makes the camera extremely secure in your hand, despite its weight. Naturally it’s fully weather-sealed, and my review sample held up to some wintery showers with no ill effects.

That large dual-grip design offers plenty of space for external controls, to the extent that this might just have the most of any camera that I’ve used. There are no fewer than 31 buttons, 5 control dials and 3 switches dotted around the body, although in fairness this includes plenty of duplication across the two grips for vertical and horizontal shooting. Even so, it’s not one for the faint-hearted.

What this means is that you get dedicated external controls for almost every key function. Regardless of which grip you’re using, there are three electronic dials for changing exposure settings, an AF-area joystick, plus buttons for AF-ON, AE lock, AF area selection, AF tracking and depth-of-field preview. All are placed within relatively easy reach of your right hand.

You get direct access to an array of major camera functions via a pair of buttons on the top left. Used in concert with the dials, these control such things as drive, AF and metering modes; flash exposure compensation, and auto-exposure bracketing. There’s also a dedicated button for white balance, which wasn’t on the EOS R3.

There are also a few standout controls that you won’t find on the R1’s competitors. Most obviously, you get a thumb dial for setting the ISO directly without having to press a button, which can also be used to shift the ISO temporarily in Auto mode. Personally, I find this extremely useful.

Canon’s unique ‘smart controllers’ are particularly worthy of mention. At their simplest, these act as AF-ON controls for back-button focusing. But they can also be used as mini touchpads for moving the focus area, so you don’t necessarily even have to shift your thumb onto the joystick.

However, what’s new and clever on the EOS R1 is that they now also act as two-stage buttons. So you can use them for such things as engaging eye control focus, or temporarily boosting the continuous shooting speed, whilst still activating AF.  

Canon also provides a handy set of extra controls in playback. There’s a dedicated button on the back for star-rating your favourite images, which can also be used for adding voice annotations. It’s also possible to crop your images, or mark them for FTP transfer, without ever having to enter the menus.

These may not be things your typical enthusiast wants to do, but they could be invaluable for professionals looking to send their preferred shots to their picture desk without a moment’s delay.

That vast array of controls also means that there are often multiple different ways of doing the same thing. Even for functions that have their own buttons, you can also use either the M-Fn button beside the shutter release, or the onscreen quick menu via the Q button.

This reflects that fact that the R1’s control layout has evolved through multiple iterations, traceable all the way back to the original EOS-1 35mm SLR from 1989. It gives a great deal of operational flexibility, but I can’t help but feel there’s no way that you’d design a camera quite like this from scratch. 

Almost every control is customisable, with an entire menu section dedicated to the job. The menus themselves are reasonably clear and well laid out, and easy to operate by touch. As usual, though, they’re not searchable, so it’s a nightmare trying to find any given setting in a hurry. So it’s worth taking a few moments to set up a My Menu with all the options you might wish to change frequently.

Once you’ve got used to how the camera works, though, there’s very little to criticise. About the only thing I disliked was the power switch, which Canon has rotated by about 45 degrees relative to previous models. I’m not entirely sure why, but I found this strangely awkward. The M-Fn buttons are tiny as usual, but they still work OK.

Viewfinder and screen

One of the Canon EOS R1’s standout features is its viewfinder. It’s Canon’s largest, brightest and most detailed to date, with 9.4-million dots and 0.9x magnification. It delivers a fantastic viewing experience that’s at least a match for Sony’s high-end models, including the A9 III. This is aided by a particularly large, soft eyecup that blocks out stray light very effectively (and which also helps the eye control focus work effectively).

All the usual viewing aids are available, including gridlines, levels, and a live histogram which, unusually and usefully, can be set to RGB. Helpfully you can configure up to three screen setups that combine these aids in any way you like, and toggle through them using the Info button. I like to have one clean, simple view, and another that shows the levels and a small sRGB histogram.

Canon previews colour and exposure, and there’s a conventional DOF preview button on each grip. This makes it really easy to see how your shots are likely to turn out, and then apply any adjustments that might be necessary.

For those who prefer a more SLR-like experience, Canon’s OVF simulation mode disables all this processing, and instead aims to deliver a neutral view more like an optical viewfinder. I find this especially useful in bright, high contrast situations where shadow detail might otherwise be difficult to make out.

Below the viewfinder, there’s a 3.2in, 2.1m-dot touchscreen. Again, it’s bright and detailed and provides a good idea of how your shots are going to look. With a side-hinged fully articulated design, it can be set to practically any angle you choose, which is great for shooting at awkward angles.

Personally, though, I’d prefer a mechanism that allows the screen to tilt up and down directly behind the camera, so it doesn’t block connector ports or get obscured by your camera strap. In this respect, both Nikon’s 3-way tilt on the Z9, and Sony’s 4-axis articulation on the A9 III, have an advantage. But Canon’s design still works well enough, while being a little less bulky.

Autofocus

We’ve now got used to the latest top-end cameras with stacked CMOS sensors and sophisticated subject recognition algorithms providing autofocus performance so good that it borders on magical. But the big difference between the EOS R1 and its competitors lies with Canon’s unique eye control focus, where the camera can detect what you’re looking at in the viewfinder, and then focus on that subject. I found this worked really well when I reviewed the EOS R5 Mark II, and the EOS R1 continues in the same vein. However, not everyone can get eye control to work accurately.

Click on any sample image to see the full-resolution version

As I only had the camera for a relatively limited length of time over the Christmas break, I couldn’t test out its AF system as fully as I’d have liked. But I did get to test it shooting basketball practice at Canon’s launch event using the RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM zoom, and with local wildlife using the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM zoom. Just like its peers, it’s impressively capable of picking up subjects and tracking them around the frame, giving very high success rates even with fast-moving, erratic subjects such as birds in flight.

Enable eye control focus, and a small circular cursor indicates where in the viewfinder the camera thinks you’re looking. Half-press the shutter button, or press AF-ON, and it’ll shift focus onto that point. I wouldn’t use this in static situations, as that cursor quickly gets distracting while you’re scanning your composition, and it’s not quite accurate enough for fine focus-point placement. But it comes into its own as a means of selecting between multiple possible subjects in fast-moving situations. Here I find it’s much quicker and more intuitive than any physical control – you literally don’t even have to think about it.

Canon makes it notably quick and easy to control the AF functions in general. Pressing the button in middle of the control wheel on the back turns eye control on or off, while the upper of the two function buttons on the front engages subject tracking. All the different AF area modes are accessed using button on the camera’s shoulder. It’s all just extremely well set up and easy to use.

I wasn’t unduly annoyed by the lack of an Auto subject-selection mode on the EOS R1. Indeed if anything, I made me appreciate how much more sensibly Canon’s system is configured compared to some other brands, and Sony in particular.

There are only three options to choose between – people, animals, and vehicles – with the camera continuing to recognise people when set to the latter two. Also, ‘animals’ encompasses multiple options that other brands force you to choose between separately (mammals, birds, and insects), while ‘vehicles’ covers planes, trains, and cars, etc. You really don’t need any other modes, and it’s a shame that other cameras don’t make things this easy.    

Performance

As befits a pro-spec flagship camera, the EOS R1 is as quick and responsive as you could possibly hope for it to be. It’s ready to shoot the moment you flick the power switch, and then responds instantly to all the controls. It’s never going to slow you down or make you miss a shot. It’s quiet, too, with the mechanical shutter firing with a low-pitched and unobtrusive clunk. Engage the electronic shutter and turn off any audio signals, and it can be totally silent.

Thanks to the huge LP-E19 battery, the R1 will also keep on shooting long after most other cameras have run out of juice. I fully charged the battery when my review sample arrived, and proceeded to take almost 3000 frames during the course of my testing, many of them as 20fps or 40fps bursts using the electronic shutter. I didn’t have to top up the battery once, and it was still indicating 10% remaining when I finished.  

Continuous shooting performance is extremely impressive, too, with the EOS R1 fully capable of sustaining 40fps for 300 frames, or 7.5 seconds in my tests. It’s true that both the Sony A9 III and Nikon Z9 can shoot even faster at 120fps, but this probably isn’t something you’ll want to do that often. Even at 20fps, let alone 40, it’s all too easy to press down the shutter button for what feels like a brief burst, and then when you come to review your images, discover you’ve fired off dozens of frames that all look practically identical.

Canon’s in-body image stabilisation works reliably well. Using the RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM, I was able to get pixel-sharp images at shutter speeds down to about a second at wideangle, and maybe 0.3sec at the long end. If you can tolerate a little bit of blur, multi-second hand-held exposures really aren’t out of the question.  

This may not sound like a feature that’ll be of much use with sports photography, which tends to be associated with fast shutter speeds. But it could be valuable if you want to use slow shutter speeds to convey a sense of motion, especially in situations where it’s not possible or practical to set up a tripod.

It’s always worth noting that Canon’s EOS R mirrorless cameras work completely seamlessly with older EF-mount DSLR lenses, via either the firm’s own EF-EOS R adapter or cheaper third-party alternatives. I used the EOS R1 with my 1990s vintage EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro and it worked perfectly. This is good news to existing EOS-1D X-series shooters who might be heavily invested in expensive high-end telephoto lenses.  

Canon’s metering is generally very reliable, although as usual, it’s strongly linked to the AF point. This means you can get very different recommendations depending on whether you position the focus area in a bright or dark region of the fame. But it’s easy to judge in viewfinder what’s going on, and then adjust your settings accordingly.

Auto white balance gives consistently attractive results, with little of the tendency towards over-neutralisation that we often see from some other brands. Canon’s colour processing is very nice too, which means that files are generally very usable directly from the camera, with just minor tweaks for brightness and contrast. As sports photographers routinely deliver their files as JPEGs, this is a significant benefit.  

When it comes to raw image quality, it’s clear that Canon’s clever new optical low-pass filter has paid dividends. Images are super-sharp at the pixel level with essentially no visible artefacts, which means that you get quite possibly the most real detail of any 24MP camera.

Files hold up very well at high ISOs too, and I got perfectly usable images at up to ISO 51,200 with the help of AI-based noise reduction such as Adobe Denoise. Canon’s new built-in neural network denoising also does a decent job with high-ISO files. But it can only be applied manually to in-camera raw conversions in playback, which means it’s only really suitable for one-offs. 

As we’ve often seen with cameras that shoot extremely quickly, though, one trade-off with the Canon EOS R1 is slightly limited dynamic range. If you try to retrieve detail from deep in the shadow regions, you’ll run into problems with noise sooner, compared to conventional sensors.

However, I must stress that this is only something you’ll encounter when making relatively extreme tonal adjustments in raw processing, and pulling up shadows by well over three stops. Most of the time, it simply doesn’t matter. However, it reinforces the message that the EOS R1 isn’t really a landscape camera, just a startlingly good sports camera.

ISO and Noise

Images are exceptionally clean at low ISO settings, with strikingly clean and crisp detail. This impressive quality is maintained well as the sensitivity is raised, with even the finest monochromatic detail only starting to blur away at ISO 3200. I’d be entirely happy shooting at up to ISO 12,800 without any special noise reduction.

Beyond this, files benefit significantly from AI denoise, with even ISO 102,400 then becoming quite acceptable if you don’t look too closely. The extended higher settings are horrible, though, and should be avoided if at all possible.  

Below are 100% crops at various ISOs from our standard studio, shot in raw and processed using Adobe Camera Raw at default settings. At settings of ISO 25,600 and higher, I’ve also included versions processed with Adobe DeNoise. Click on any thumbnail to see the full-size image.

Canon EOS R1: Our Verdict

There’s no doubt that the Canon EOS R1 is a remarkable camera. It’s built like a tank, and once you’ve worked out what all the myriad of buttons and dials are for, it handles brilliantly, too. Its autofocus system and continuous shooting ability are both spectacular, and the viewfinder is fantastic. If you shoot the kind of subjects that’s designed to tackle, it’s unlikely to let you down.

This is, however, a camera that’s so specialised, and so expensive, that rationally, hardly anyone should buy it. Unless you know for sure you need its particular strengths – that pro-spec reliability, blistering 40 frames per second speed, and immense battery life – there are better options available.

Chief among them is the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, which provides higher resolution in a smaller body for less money, but with otherwise almost all the same features. And if you’re happy with 24MP, the vastly cheaper EOS R6 Mark II will be a far more sensible choice for most photographers.

This isn’t to belittle the EOS R1 – it really is very impressive indeed. But the fact that it’s designed for a very specific market means you pay a lot of money for features that most photographers will never use. For its target audience, it’s superb, but for practically everyone else, it’s almost certainly overkill.

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Canon EOS R1 full specifications

Sensor	24MP stacked CMOS, 36 x 24mm
Output size	6000 x 4000
Focal length mag	1x
Lens mount	Canon RF
Shutter speeds	30-1/8000sec (mechanical), 30-1/64,000 (electronic)
Sensitivity	ISO 100-102,400 (standard), ISO 50-409,600 (extended)
Exposure modes	P, Av, Tv, M, Fv, Bulb, 3x Custom
Metering	Evaluative, partial, spot, centre-weighted; 6144 zones
Exposure comp	+/-3 EV in 0.3EV steps
Continuous shooting	12fps (mechanical shutter), 40fps (electronic shutter)
Screen	3.2in, 2.1m-dot fully articulated touchscreen
Viewfinder	9.44m-dot OLED, 0.9x magnification
AF points	1053
Video	6K 60p, 4K 120p, Full HD 240p
External mic	3.5mm stereo
Memory card	2x CFexpress Type B
Power	LP-E19 rechargeable Li-ion
Battery life	1330 (LCD), 700 (EVF)
Dimensions	157.6 x 149.5 x 87.3mm
Weight	1115g with battery and card