Canon launches flagship EOS R1 and EOS R5 II – and these are the most exciting cameras in a long time
Canon has finally announced its first new cameras of 2024 – and the new flagships Canon EOS R1 and Canon EOS R5 Mark II are speedy beasts that appear to have been worth the wait.
The Canon EOS R1 is a new flagship sports camera designed to take on the Sony a9 III and Nikon Z9. To do this, it combines a 24.2MP full-frame sensor with a new Digic Accelerator processor, which works in conjunction with the existing Digic X processor to achieve 40fps burst shooting speeds with the electronic shutter with full autofocus tracking.
While the EOS R1 is primarily aimed at professional sports photographers, the Canon EOS R5 Mark II is a smaller and more affordable all-rounder that’s a more realistic buy for most of us. Our hands-on Canon EOS R5 II review calls it a “polished upgrade” over its predecessor and “seriously impressive”.
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Like the EOS R1, the R5 Mark II has that second Digic Accelerator processor for improved burst shooting and video recording modes. Combined with the stacked 45MP full-frame sensor – which Canon claims has the fastest readout speed yet – this means the R5 Mark II can hit burst shooting speeds of 30fps.
Both cameras also feature Canon’s next-gen autofocus system, called Dual Pixel Intelligent AF. Sure, there’s a hint of AI in that name, but it’s really an incremental upgrade that allows you to track subjects more accurately, and also register specific faces so you can prioritize them in a crowd.
Other treats on both cameras include 8.5 stops of image stabilization plus some serious video recording. This includes 12-bit internal raw recording, plus the ability to shoot 8K/60p and 4K/120p video.
When can you buy them?
Of course, both cameras come with a pretty painful price tag. The Canon EOS R1 body-only price is $6,299 / £6,999 / AU$10,999, while the Canon EOS R5 II launched with a body-only price of $4,499 / £4,499 / AU$6,699 (which is around 10% more than the EOS R5 from four years ago).
You can also get the EOS R5 II with a 24-105mm f/4L lens for $5,699 / £5,799.99 / AU$8,549 and it will be available to buy from August 2024. The wait for an EOS R1 will be a little longer as the camera won’t be available to buy until November, but expect to see some out in the wild soon during the Paris Olympics.
This is a current story. We will update with more details as they become available…
