Canon is still being coy with the public, but the Canon EOS R3 is now being used by a cadre of pro photographers around the globe – and particularly in Tokyo, where the R3 has made its debut at the 2020 (yes, it's still called that!) Olympic Games.
One of those pros is veteran shooter Jeff Cable, a Team USA photographer who has covered seven Olympic Games. Not only is he using a pre-production Canon EOS R3 (along with a pair of Canon EOS R5s and a Canon EOS-1D X Mark III as his backup body), but he's blogging his experiences and sharing all the kit in his Olympic camera bag.
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Cable couldn't reveal much about the R3, though he did tantalize us with this nugget of information about some undisclosed features.
"There are all kinds of new features (that have yet to be disclosed to the public), but the camera is distinctly Canon, which makes it easy to pick up and start shooting with," he wrote. "It is like upgrading from a familiar car to a new model with all the buttons and dials where we expect them, but with more horse power and better handling. That is about all I can say at this time. Sorry for being such a tease!"
However, while he couldn't tell us much about the new camera, he showed us a little of what the R3 is capable of in the form of some shots he shared on his blog.
"I took the camera out last night after sunset to have some fun. I was just outside my hotel (since I have a 15 minute time limit due to quarantine), so I decided to try some motion pans as the cars went by in front of me," said Cable of the image above.
"I saw this taxi coming by with the Olympic logo and fired off some shots. I had the camera set to ISO 800 at f/4 which gave me 1/20th of a second for my shutter speed. I moved the camera and Canon RF 24-105mm lens at the exact same speed as the oncoming taxi and got this photo."
"Then I packed up my gear to take to the Olympic Park today, to test during a practice session for the women of USA Water Polo. Because the athletes were all around the perimeter of the pool, I had to shoot from up in the stands.
"The South African team was practicing in the pool as well (closer to where I was sitting) so I fired off some shots of their athletes too. I was using the Canon camera with the Canon 200-400mm lens. I love the way that the camera tracked this athlete's eyes even with all the water splashing in front of her."
We're still waiting for the full, official announcement of the EOS R3's specs and features from Canon. However, with the camera already in the hands of people like Jeff Cable in the public arena, expect plenty more glimpses and teases in the weeks to come.
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