Canon officially announces development of the EOS R1

It's been in the pipeline for a while, and in the rumour mills as well - but Canon has just 'officially' announced that it is developing the flagship EOS R1 and is currently testing it out in the wilds (somewhere). They also hinted that it will be released this year in time for some major sporting event(s). Could they mean the Paris Olympics (starting 26 July) or even sooner, the EUFA Euro 2024 Football tournament (starting 15 June)?

The highlights of the release include:
•  A new image processing system
•  Advancements in auto focus and image quality
•  High-speed and high-accuracy subject recognition

The camera employs a newly developed image processor DIGIC Accelerator in addition to the pre-existing processor DIGIC X. According to the press release "The new image processing system, composed of these processors and a new CMOS sensor, enables a large volume of data to be processed at high speeds and delivers incredible advancements in Auto Focus (AF) and other functions."

The press release goes on to say "By combining the new image processing system and deep learning technology to an advanced degree, Canon has achieved high-speed and high-accuracy subject recognition. For example, subject tracking accuracy has been improved so that in team sporting events where multiple subjects intersect, the target subject can continually be tracked even if another player passes directly in front of them. In addition, the AF “Action Priority” function recognises subject movement by rapidly analysing the subject’s status. In moments during a sports game when it is difficult to predict what will happen next, this function automatically determines the player performing a certain action, such as shooting a ball, as the main subject and instantly shifts the AF frame, thereby helping to capture decisive moments of gameplay."

The images released in the press release and on the Canon website only reveal front facing images – so we don't know what the back entails, such as the rear controls or rear screen size.

Other information we'd love to hear about are:
• What are the video capabilities?
• Can you track people using facial recognition? This would be great for sport and weddings
• Does it have global shutter – or even a physical shutter at all?
• Does it have eye-focus control like the R3? We suppose so.
• How does it handle low light and what's the highest 'usable' ISO?
• Does the advanced focussing include the rumoured 'quad-pixel' auto-focussing?
• It looks chunky like most '1' series – how much does it weigh?
• Do I have to sell a kidney to afford it?

To register your interest and keep updated on the EOS R1, sign up here: www.canon.com.au/cameras/eos-r1