If you’re looking for something that the EOS R1 does better than its peers, it is autofocus and burst capture imaging. The 24MP sensor isn’t the most pixel-rich in the class, but it fires off images at up to 40fps in full Raw quality, versus 20fps for the 45MP Nikon Z 9 and 30fps for the 50MP Sony a1 II. The only camera that is significantly faster is the Sony a9 III, which uses a 24MP Stacked CMOS imager with an even faster, global readout for tracking at up to 120fps.
RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L, 176mm, f/5, 1/500-second, ISO 100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Make no mistake about it, all of these cameras are fast, but sometimes the extra frames come in handy. For instance, I was recently photographing a northern rough-winged swallow foraging for nest materials on a rocky shore with the Nikon Z 8, and even at 20fps I only managed three or four frames of action before the bird took off to return to the nest. I ended up with a few keepers, but would have more options on pose and lighting to choose from with a faster burst rate.
EF 400mm F4 DO II + 2x TC, 800mm, f/8, 1/800-second, ISO 640 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Of course, the R1 isn’t just speedy. Its focus system is also accurate. The sensor uses Canon’s tried-and-true Dual Pixel AF focus system, a type of phase detection that splits each pixel into two sections and sets focus based on the differences it sees between the halves. This provides smooth, fast, and properly focused images for high-speed photography.
Other Canon R cameras, including the largely similar EOS R3, also employ Dual Pixel AF focus, but the R1 is to date the only one that employs cross-type detection (which checks focus on both horizontal and vertical axes). Cross-type sensors are more accurate by nature, though to be fair Canon’s other cameras focus quickly and accurately without them.
RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L, 254mm, f/5.6, 1/800-second, ISO 640 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
It’s difficult to point out scenes where the R1 will find focus where the EOS R5 Mark II or EOS R3 would miss, but I can say that the R1 delivers the goods at 40fps for the action scenes I captured, including some college baseball, birds in flight, and my house cat doing house cat things. The R1 also includes a pre-capture buffer mode that continuously buffers a half-second of action during focus, and saves it to memory once you press the shutter all the way. This is a common feature in high-speed cameras, but it’s worth noting that the EOS R1 is able to use its Raw format for pre-capture, while the Nikon Z 8 and Z 9 are restricted to JPGs.
EF 400mm F4 DO II + 2x TC, 800mm, f/8, 1/800-second, ISO 2000 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The R1’s autofocus system is quite configurable. The camera lets you tune tracking sensitivity (or how likely the focus is to stick with one subject, versus jumping to another), plus includes subject recognition modes for people, pets and wildlife, and vehicles. It also includes Action Priority Focus, a mode that recognizes common plays and motions in a few ball sports (basketball, soccer, and volleyball). I didn’t get a chance to try the EOS R1 for any of these, but you can read about how Action Priority performs for soccer in my EOS R5 Mark II review.
RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L, 400mm, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 1600 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
It’s safe to say that the EOS R1’s focus system is the best yet from Canon. It uses the latest tracking algorithms (the same as in the EOS R5 Mark II), plus is unique in its support for cross-type sensors. Still, there is a law of diminishing returns at play; the EOS R3 is nearly as fast (30fps) and is reduced to around $4,000 at the time of this publication. Meanwhile, the Nikon Z 9 and Z 8 top out at 20fps in Raw, but can go 30fps for JPGs at full resolution. The Sony a1 II hits 30fps in Raw, and the Sony a9 III is the fastest in this class at 120fps in Raw format.
