Ok so I’ve never been much good at mirrors, in 50 years I’ve never found one with a reflection I like, so I try my best to avoid the dam things and rely on my other half to tell me how awful I look, as I think she enjoys doing so. Many years ago, I did have a “special mirror” but shall we just say I can’t afford to use that anymore and drop the subject. So really the only place I’ve actually liked having a mirror has been between my lens and my film (or sensor) and that one is fine as I can’t see a reflection of myself in it.

Obviously, someone at Canon is also of a similar mindset when it comes to mirrors as they have removed them from the latest EOS camera model (the Canon EOS R). This is not Canons first mirrorless camera by any stretch of the imagination but its their first full frame, interchangeable lens, DSLR style one.

The first thing I notice about the EOS R is its size, its much smaller than its DSLR brothers making it far more convenient to carry and easier on the arms if your shooting for long periods, this is something I didn’t consider when I got my 1DX, I just thought bigger was better and I’ve lived to regret this, I did the same with my ears, picking a big set as I was first in the queue and they have never really looked right (another reason for my aversion to mirrors).

They say the best things come in small packages and the EOS R goes some way to confirming this, as I’ve just mentioned it’s lovely and compact, but it also has many features packed inside its diminutive magnesium alloy shell that contend with the big boys. Starting out with a generous 30.3 MP dual pixel CMOS AF full frame sensor. Built in digital lens optimisation Digic 8 processing and an advanced phase detection system this baby will focus without compromise.

Canon say it has 5655 selectable focus points, I say that’s about 5654 too many but what do I know, I used to struggle with the 9 my old EOS rebel had. However, you will probably need that many to keep things sharp when you are shooting at 8 fps (in one shot Af mode) or 5 fps (in servo Af mode).

I notice a few grumbles on line regarding its single card slot but hey remember 35mm film and a max of 36 shots before you had to reload and we coped with that ok didn’t we. My first ever proper job was at an estate agent and I “borrowed” some film from them to save a little cash, trouble is they were all 12 exposure specials and cost me a fortune to get developed, lesson learnt there but I was only 18 at the time to be fair. The single card slot on the EOS R is UHS-II compatible.

As far as video goes the EOS R is very well-equipped capturing 4k EOS movies up to a maximum length of 29 mins and 59 seconds. 10-bit 4k output via HDMI and built in Canon Log allows for 12 stops of dynamic range at 400 iso. Other options include Full HD up to 50/60 p, HD up to 100/120 p and 4K time lapse.

Also useful to you video makers is focus assist, focus peaking in real time and focus distance and indication for video and stills. All this can be seen on the 3.1-inch touch sensitive vary-angle LCD screen with its 2.1 million dots!

With permanently on (but thankfully low power using) Bluetooth the EOS R will connect to your smart phone and is compatible with the Canon camera connect app. Built in WIFI allows instant share to the cloud, remote shooting, GPS location marking and so on, so it has all the bells and whistles to satisfy the online generation.

Importantly the EOS R can use any of your (or our) existing EF lenses (this requires an adaptor but we have one) so you won’t need to go out and buy special glass to try it out. Canon do make a small range of lenses specifically for the new mount that the EOS R has and we have invested in the 24 – 105 f4 from this range so far.

So, to sum up this is a compact mirrorless DSLR style camera that punches well above its weight as far as features are concerned, it won’t weigh you down and will complement your (or our) existing canon kit beautifully. I think it’s pretty cool at about 9 out of 10 on my BCR scale, now if I could just figure out what the R in EOS R stands for then I would be happy, any ideas?

Cheers

BB