Canon EOS R1 to Be a Jack of All Trades, ‘Master of Everything’: Report

Nikon made quite the splash last month with the announcement of its Z9 flagship mirrorless camera, and photographers’ eyes are undoubtedly turning to Canon to see what kind of camera the rival brand will answer with.

PetaPixel sources have confirmed that a Canon EOS R1 has indeed been in development. Although the positioning of the EOS R1 in Canon’s mirrorless lineup has yet to be confirmed, the camera will presumably be the company’s flagship body just as the EOS 1D line was in Canon’s DSLR stable.

The Canon EOS R3 may be impressive in its features and specs, but Canon has gone on the record to say that the R3 is not the company’s flagship but rather a camera positioned between the R5 and a future flagship camera, which has widely been assumed to be the EOS R1.

Canon Rumors has published a breakdown of everything it has been hearing about Canon’s upcoming EOS R1 mirrorless camera.

First, the camera is said to not have any one specialty but will rather excel at all specialties, much like what Canon’s 5D series of DSLRs aimed to do by being accessible enough for amateurs yet powerful enough for professionals. But the camera will undoubtedly boast more features than the 5D line to work for professionals in ways 5D cameras were never designed to.

A source tells Canon Rumors that the R1 will be a “jack of all trades, and a master of none. Except that it will be a master of everything.”

One of the Nikon Z9’s standout features is the fact that completely eliminates the need for a mechanical shutter by achieving the fastest sensor scan speeds ever, which addresses the rolling shutter problem without the need for a global shutter.

“[I]t’s sounding more and more like [the R1 won’t have a global shutter],” Canon Rumors writes. “We’re seeing sensor readout speeds that may be negating the need for a global shutter and I expect the processing power in the EOS R1 to be insane.”

The rumor mill is still warming up for the EOS R1, but other features and specs being mentioned include 45+ megapixels, 8K video recording at various framerates, and a price somewhere north of the R3’s $5,999. None of these would be surprising in a flagship camera that sits above the R3, which already offers 26MP photos and 4K/120fps video.

Canon has already been working on the EOS R1, and Canon Rumors reports that Canon will continue its recent process of refining in-development cameras based on feedback from photographers.

As to when we could see the R1 show up in headlines and on store shelves, Canon Rumors is hearing that the camera could be announced as early as July 2022 with shipping starting sometime in the fourth quarter of 2022.