The upcoming Canon EOS R3 has been spotted out in the field – actually, it has been spotted sunbathing on a beach in Cornwall, England, where the G7 Summit on climate change was being held.
With the camera clearly in the hands of professionals and Canon ambassadors for testing, there have also been leaks that the Canon EOS R3 will pack a 30MP image sensor – which would eclipse the resolution of the current crop of best professional cameras, such as the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III (20.1MP), Nikon D6 (20.8MP) and Sony A9 II (24.2MP).
• Read more: Best Canon cameras
However, that 30MP resolution falls short of the 39MP required for 8K video – which means, if these rumors are true, that the R3 will not be an 8K-capable camera, leaving the Canon EOS R5 as the manufacturer's only such device.
(For full readout 8K on a standard 3:2 sensor, a 16:9 video would require 7,680 x 5,120 pixels – which would require at least a 39MP sensor. However, if the video is DCi then it would require 8,192 pixels – which needs at least a 44MP sensor.)
• Read more: Best 8K cameras
Still, seeing what could well be a production model of the Canon R3 in the wild is very significant, as it suggests that a full launch may not be too far away.
"The Canon EOS R3 making a debut at G7" tweeted Jakki Moores, Canon UK's press segment manager for news and sport, making this an unofficially unofficial post directly from Canon itself.
Definitely not official, however, are the concurrent rumblings shared by Canon Rumors as to the resolution of the R3. "Over the weekend two anonymous sources told me that the camera will sport a 30mp sensor," wrote the site. "One of the sources did say 'around 30mp'."
With the manufacturer recently confirming that the Canon EOS R3 would be capable of oversampled 4K and internal RAW recording, it seems that 8K really isn't on the cards for this camera.
Read more:
Canon EOS-1D X Mark III review
Nikon D6 review
Sony A9 II review
Canon EOS R5 review
