Should I buy an R3? A HANDS ON REVIEW of the Canon R3

I took the Canon R3 for a test drive to three Red Sox Yankees games and loved it. It definitely made my life easier and I do enjoy it more than the 1Dx Mark ii that I currently have. But I am not going to buy it just yet. This real world R3 review will compare the R3 to the R5 and to the 1Dx mark ii. Hopefully this video will help you decide if you should buy an R3 and if the R3 is worth it. Is the R3 the best camera? It might be, but that is a very individual choice to make. I hope you like the R3 hands on review.
0:00 - Intro
0:38 - Initial Thoughts
1:11 - Eye Focus
1:33 - 30 Frames per Second
2:52 - Using an Adapter with R3
3:16 - Rolling Shutter on R3
4:34 - Autofocus Buttons on R3
5:28 - Eye Control Autofocus on R3
6:17 - Should I buy an R3
7:50 - Outro
Follow along on Instagram @paulrutherford_
Check out my images at www.paulrutherfordphotography.com
As always, leave any questions in the comments!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Well I just missed being able to use the new update! Which says 195 fps?! I take back what I said about getting the bat on ball...

[@cdiderich]

But no autofocus after the first image! Which may be fine in baseball ...

[@Paul_Rutherford]

@@cdiderich Yea, does seem like very limited scenarios in which it would be useful

[@PeteMazPhoto]

What a refreshing honest review and not a pushy sales pitch. Thank you!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thanks for watching! I like people to feel no pressure when upgrading, especially if they are already happy with what they have. Gotta think about how it will help the individual, not only is it a good camera.

[@kellymorvant]

Great review, thanks!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thanks for watching!

[@jameschaney8403]

Congratulations to you and your spouse on the bundle of joy you have coming!!!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thank you! Exciting times!

[@gary_michael_flanagan_wildlife]

I see myself as an old man telling all these young cats “back in my day we didn’t have no eye autowhatsit. You kids these days are so lucky! We had to focus and recompose!! Ha in all seriousness I love my R6. It’s great with my canon 600mm for birds and wildlife. The R3 would be a nice upgrade but man, $6000 for a camera is a stretch right now. R6 is still an amazing bargain and all around body. I think it’s the best compromise for birds and if you do astro and want good low iso

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Totally agree the R6 is an amazing bargain of a camera! My wife is a wedding photographer and uses the R6 for her camera bodies. I wish I was able to start out with one of those instead of the 6D back in the day.

[@johnmoore8435]

Thank you for doing this review! I have 1Dx IIs and have been wondering if I need to upgrade to an R3, wait for a potential R1, or just wait. As of now my cameras are working fine, and I also have other expenses (baby soon as well!). Your review helped me feel more comfortable with not upgrading at the moment. Eventually though... the R series cameras are looking great!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Congrats on the baby! Lots of expenses there so nice to not have to upgrade just yet! Mirrorless is definitely the way I'm moving though once the upgrades need to happen.

[@cdiderich]

I did upgrade from 1D-X Mk.III to R3. For two reasons: 1) More and more events require silent cameras (e.g. tennis). 2) I can get the "mandatory" action shots much faster and thus have more time to focus on creative shoots that help to sell more.

[@NikCan66]

Great video

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thanks for watching!

[@NikCan66]

Interesting to see how you find out against your current set up

[@nickfaestel]

I borrowed an R3 a for a Whitecaps game and the New York Formula E race, and initially I was partial to my R5 but I got so used to the R3 and now I really like it. The speed is definitely worth it all but I am definitely waiting for the potential R1

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Yea I loved the R3. But just not in the cards yet and hoping for something even better when I do need to upgrade. haha Very curious about an R1.

[@kennlw5]

God Bless on becoming a new Dad👌🏾

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thank you!

[@cpimagined630]

Hey thanks for the great vid. 1DX II shooter here looking to get a second body for sports,events and portrait stills. I think you’ve saved me from getting the R3 but have a couple of questions about the R5. I’ve read that the max fps rate is only available so long at the battery is above 60%. I’d be shooting it with the grip as I like a big body in my hands. Does the second battery in the grip increase the amount of time you can shoot at max fps rate? Also, how’s your confidence in the weather sealing of the R5?

[@Paul_Rutherford]

The battery life doesn't matter if you are shooting electronic, it will always be at 20 fps. But when shooting on mechanical it does need to be above that 60% level and your lens needs to be a newer version to get the full 12 fps. My 70-200 can get 12 fps, but my old 400 can only get 6-8 fps. Not sure if there is a website that lists which lenses work best, but it must be out there somewhere. The battery grip does help, I think you also need to be using the newest version of the battery. So a lot of limitations to get the 12 fps on mechanical, but if you have to right tools it will work. The weather sealing is good, I have think tank covers so it hasn't seen any hard rain, but has worked well in misty/drizzly conditions. I'd say if sports are your main focus, then the R3 would be great to replace the 1dx II, but if you are getting one to pair with the 1dx II the R5 or even R6 is a great choice.

[@cpimagined630]

@@Paul_Rutherford Thanks mate, update to this. My business loan for £7500 came through and I’m now deciding between the R3 again or getting a second 1DX II and a 300 2.8 L IS USM. I still want some working capital left over whichever direction I use. Your comment about “the R3 won’t magically increase the amount of revenue the business is making” definitely resonates with me, hence my thoughts on getting a second 1DX II which I can get for just £2000 now. The thing that’s steering me away from the R3 right now is seeing how much value my 1DX II lost since buying it new in 2017. I get that an argument can be made that says “you don’t buy cameras to check how much they’ve depreciated by 5 years down the line” etc, but when balancing what this business needs (redundancy, reliability, good sports/events shooting capabilities etc) I can’t help but think that two 1DX IIs will still provide me with those needs, despite my ego wanting an R3 in my hands right now. I’m also aware that buying a second 1DX II now doesn’t mean that I can never have the R3, or even have the R3 a year from now when the R1 drops and the price of the R3 drops. Please give me a sanity check right now to stop me from making an unwise decision!

[@Paul_Rutherford]

@@cpimagined630 That is always a tough choice and obviously one you need to make for yourself. But I will say to think about how much you'll use either camera and what value it will bring to you. Ask yourself what problem you feel the new camera and or lens will solve? I don't think you'll necessarily go wrong either way.

[@cpimagined630]

@@Paul_Rutherford ordered the R3. The deciding factor was a business grant for £2.5K which meant the camera was half price.

[@Paul_Rutherford]

@@cpimagined630 Amazing! I'm sure you'll love it!

[@3-piece129]

Congratulations on your upcoming fatherhood. I have an R6 and shoot high school sports. Yes, an R3 would be great to add however i have really been considering to get an R5 to start getting into portrait work and to crop my sports pics. I shoot electronic 1st curtain on the R6 and pretty satisfied with it when it comes to rolling shutter. When i used the 2nd curtain, i get terrible banding with the gym/stadium lighting. Your comments on the R5 not being your go-to sports camera, is it based soley on the rolling shutter? If I'm happy with the R6 performance and the R5 is supposed to be equal to better in specs, should i be worried about getting an R5? I too find it unnecessary to go the R3 route, especially since I'm not a professional and it is expensive. I haven't seen the R3 pictures being that much better than R6 pics either so that is another reason to not spend an additional $3k on a camera. Any insight to using an R5 for sports would be greatly appreciated.

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thanks! I love my R5 and I would use it as my main body for sports, but I already had a 1Dx mark ii. So in terms of pure sports action I like the 1dx better than the R5. I still use the R5 for a lot of sports as a second camera body, but I'll normally use it on mechanical shutter with a 70-200 so I can get the 12 fps, and the extra megapixels for cropping is amazing. The rolling shutter on the R5 isn't terrible and non-existent when using the mechanical shutter, I'm sure its the same as the R6. Which would probably only be 0-2 photos from an entire game. Again, because I have the 1Dx I just prefer that as my first body. I'd suggest to get into shooting portraits first and see if you feel like the R6 is lacking at all. My wife shoots with two R6's as an amazing wedding photographer and they work great. I've bought stuff in the past with hopes of getting into timelapse, or studio work, and have some gear that isn't used enough. haha

[@angelogarciajr5356]

Sounds amazing. I used animal eye focus on a turkey yesterday. When it works it is amazing. The little box would lock on the eye, but it stayed out of focus. I have no idea what that was all about. Sometimes I lock on a flying bird, it will lose focus and no matter what I do with both focus options it is impossible to relocate the bird in blurred view? I miss birds because it wont focus. Something is not right at times. Any ways, thinking about the R7 to get that crop on my 100-500 for daytime sports/birds. My go to night sports is my 1dx mark 1.

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Thats the thing with eye focus. Sometimes it gets really off and can't come back. But when it works it is so nice. Just something to figure out when it is going off how to get it back as quick as possible. Which is why its nice being able to use the regular button for normal single point focus and a second button for eye focus.

[@angelogarciajr5356]

@@Paul_Rutherford Yes, that is how I am set up. Egret flies toward me, I use single point then switch to eye, but if it gets off. it is nearly impossible to relocate a bird zoomed in at a close distance on single point. I might try changing single point to the box with more points. I had a dragonfly on dry yellow grass and both focus methods did not work. I had to move around before the focus recognized it. But like you said, when it works, wow. Thx

[@Paul_Rutherford]

@@angelogarciajr5356 Always tough to capture animals! never know where they are going.

[@DAVE_WHITE]

turn off eye tracking use subject tracking and set the af in the menu to mode auto there are 4 " cases" then auto I have eye set to my af on button and tracking set to my * button and then I just use regular focus on the shutter it works a treat 3 different focus modes at your fingertips. i was having issues as well where it would be way behind the bird in flight as i have it set to show the focus point when I play back the image after the settings above for FLYING birds it does not miss Stationary birds yes I will use eye at that point..

[@NKolakovic]

Video?!?!? Teach me?!?

[@Paul_Rutherford]

This week!

[@NKolakovic]

@@Paul_Rutherford wait are you bringing it?!?

[@Paul_Rutherford]

I had to send it back already...thought you meant teach you video. haha

[@j.kimmer1509]

New update...you needs to do a new review.

[@Paul_Rutherford]

Geeeez! Just missed using it and being able to do 195 fps!