At 12 o'clock on May 15, 2024, Canon announced the development of the EOS R1, the first flagship model of the EOS system, which will be launched in 2024. Although the official announcement did not specify the specific performance parameters, some clues can be seen between the lines.
Original Announcement:
The EOS R1 is a dedicated micro-camera for professionals that brings together Canon's cutting-edge technology with the performance and durability and reliability sought for in flagship models. The camera will dramatically improve the performance of photos and videos, meeting the high demands of front-line professionals in a wide range of fields, including sporting events, news reporting, and video production.
The camera features a newly developed DIGIC Accelerator processor, combined with the existing DIGIC X digital image processor and a newly developed CMOS image sensor, to form a new image processing system capable of processing large amounts of data at high speeds and providing significant improvements in autofocus (AF) and other functions.
Interpretation and conjecture:
The phrase "dramatically improving the performance of photos and videos" is undoubtedly for the current EOS R3. The EOS R3 is equipped with a 24.1 million pixel full-frame image sensor and supports up to 6K RAW 60P and 4K 120P high-frame video. Combined with the "newly developed CMOS image sensor", it is expected that the effective pixels of EOS R1 will be improved, as for whether to increase to the previously rumored 30 million pixels, or to reach the level of more than 40 million, I personally prefer 30 million pixels, after all, this is not a model with high pixels as the main appeal, high speed is its core competitiveness.
Video performance may be improved to 8K 60p RAW, or 6.2-6.7K 60p RAW, and of course, 4K 120p high frame rate video will also be available.
"Meet the high demands of front-line professionals in a wide range of fields, including sporting events, news reporting and video production." This year is a big year for sports, and Canon also mentioned in the announcement that it is advancing field testing of this camera. Therefore, it is very likely that it will be used by major news organizations and sports photographers before the Olympics (or even before the European Cup), and of course the official release is expected to be after the Olympics.
机身照片对比，EOS R1与EOS R3。
"The newly developed DIGIC Accelerator processor, together with the existing DIGIC X digital image processor and the newly developed CMOS image sensor, form a new image processing system capable of processing large amounts of data at high speeds."
There are three key words in this sentence: DIGIC Accelerator acceleration processors, which together form a new image processor system, and high-speed processing of large amounts of data. As a sports camera, high-speed continuous shooting performance is crucial. The EOS R1's continuous shooting performance is much improved compared to the EOS R3, and may even reach 100 fps continuous shooting performance.
However, if the EOS R1's continuous shooting performance is greatly improved, the original DIGIC X processor will not be enough, so a separate DIGIC Accelerator processor will be used, and the combination of sensor, processor, and acceleration processor can achieve the need to process large amounts of data at high speeds.
Original Announcement:
Canon has closely integrated its new image processing system with deep learning technology to achieve high-speed, high-precision subject recognition. For example, with improved subject tracking accuracy, the subject can be continuously tracked in a team sports event when multiple athletes are staggered, even if another athlete passes directly in front of the subject. In addition, the autofocus's "Action Priority" function can identify the subject's movements by quickly analyzing its state. In sporting events, when it is difficult to predict what will happen next, the feature automatically captures the athlete who is completing a certain action, such as the player who shot the goal, and immediately switches the AF frame to help capture the decisive moment in the game.
The combination of new image processing systems and deep learning technology will also help improve image quality. Canon's in-camera processing has enabled image noise reduction, which was previously developed and used using PC software, to contribute to users' creations by further improving image quality.
Interpretation and conjecture:
The current mirrorless cameras of the Canon EOS R series can identify subjects such as people, birds, and vehicles. As a high-speed sports camera, the EOS R1 naturally adds recognition of moving subjects on top of this. In the case of multiple players staggered, for example, in a ball game, the focus can always follow one of the players without being disturbed by the other players. The "Action Priority" function of the autofocus can even identify specific movements and trigger a focus decision. In sports such as football, for example, the focus system can even recognise a player's shot and record the best moments.
The EOS R1 will further improve subject focus recognition on this basis
In addition, the eye-controlled focus technology on the EOS R3, although not mentioned in the announcement, is confirmed to continue to appear on the EOS R1. In addition, it has been rumored that the EOS R1 has an EVF (electronic viewfinder) with up to 7 million pixels, supports a refresh rate from 60Hz to 240Hz, and can reach a maximum brightness of 4000nit.
Eye-controlled focusing
As the flagship model, the EOS R1 will have better image quality performance, especially in high-sensitivity imaging, which can be effectively denoised in the camera to obtain a purer and more detailed picture.
As for the price, the current price of the Canon EOS R3 is 36,999 yuan, while the price of the EOS R1 may be around 45,000 yuan.
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