An Advanced EOS M

Canon EOS R

- Alvin Soon

After years of waiting for Canon to release their full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R was announced to much angst. It wasn’t the camera that people were expecting.

While the EOS R carries the same 30.3MP full-frame sensor as the 5D Mark IV, it also shoots 4K video with a 1.8x crop. It features Canon’s proprietary Dual Pixel AF system, which can focus down to an impressive -6EV (with a f/1.2 lens). But it also lacks in-body image stabilization (IBIS).

HANDLES LIKE AN ADVANCED EOS M

Nearly everything works better if you use the EOS R like a consumer camera — like Canon’s EOS M mirrorless series. That means shooting from the monitor, tapping on settings on the monitor, and touching the monitor to set focus.

If you try to use the EOS R like a pro DSLR with the electronic viewfinder (EVF), it unravels. There’s no AF joystick to change focus points.

The quick control dial to scroll through settings is gone. There isn’t even a Mode dial; the EOS R has a Mode button.

But it would be a pity if you only use the monitor because the EVF is brilliant. I was shooting in a dark room and the bright EVF was showing me details I couldn‘t possibly see with an optical viewfinder.