The launch of the EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II full-frame mirrorless cameras marks an important milestone for Canon. The EOS R1 offers advanced features that help professional news and sports photographers capture the decisive moment. The EOS R5 Mark II, meanwhile, is designed for a wide range of hybrid professionals, enabling them to take on virtually any creative project.
For the first time, both cameras feature the new ‘Accelerated Capture’ imaging platform, which combines the new DIGIC Accelerator processor, the powerful DIGIC X image processor, and newly developed high-speed image sensors.
The DIGIC Accelerator processes large volumes of data and works in concert with deep-learning technologies. Together, they improve autofocus, continuous shooting, and image quality while enabling new features.
Thanks to this new imaging platform, the EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II feature the latest version of Dual Pixel CMOS AF: Dual Pixel Intelligent AF. It tracks subjects more accurately by recognizing players’ faces and upper bodies while avoiding obstacles and other players.
Specific faces can also be registered and given tracking priority. The new ‘Action Priority’ mode automatically recognizes common movements in basketball, soccer, and volleyball, allowing the camera to follow the main subject in fast-moving situations and capture the decisive moment.
Eye Control AF lets you select a subject simply by looking at it in the viewfinder, without using buttons to move the AF point. The feature is now available in the EOS R5 Mark II and has been improved in both cameras.
It now performs twice as well as the EOS R3, thanks to a higher-resolution sensor, improved LEDs, a larger eye-detection area, and a redesigned detection algorithm. This offers a uniquely intuitive way to select a subject in a complex scene.
Both cameras feature large, bright, high-resolution, blackout-free viewfinders. The EOS R1 offers the highest resolution at 9.44 million dots, while the EOS R5 Mark II viewfinder is twice as bright as the one in the EOS R5.
The new imaging platform also improves image quality through in-camera deep-learning upscaling and noise reduction. It can deliver four times the resolution or reduce noise when working with JPEG or HEIF files.
Users can also crop and enlarge images in-camera, making it easier to send photographs without first processing them in external software.
Prices and Availability
The Canon EOS R1 was scheduled to become available that November at a suggested retail price of €7,499. The Canon EOS R5 Mark II was already scheduled for release in late August at a suggested retail price of €4,799.
