R3 tips, tricks and advice.

[Chimpy boy]

Having purchased a R3 and found the guides available to be awful I thought it might be useful to start this thread for all you people who've sold a kidney or 2 and purchased an EOS R3.

I'll start the ball rolling with something that was driving me mad trying to find in the awful guides.

How to change the flexible zones AF areas !

1. Press the AF select button on the back top right of the camera ( a square with a dotted +) and select flexible AF zone 1, 2 or 3.

2. Next press the rate button back top left.

3. Adjust the size and shape of the area using the adjustment wheels (the one on the back of the camera body and the other by the shutter button, when you are happy with the size and shape of the AF area press the set button (the middle of the back adjustment wheel.

I hope this helps you R3 users out there. Please post and share anything on the R3 you think might be helpful. Cheers Chimpy.

Thank you for this!

I must be doing something really daft though - when I try this, I the area refuses to change - the dials just make changes to aperture etc as per normal, even though I am holding the rate button.

I have definitely chosen a flexible AF area... Is there a setting elsewhere that locks this area? Or that takes away the rate button's functionality?

Hi Barney I found the instructions on how to resize the flexible AF area in the instructions here is a screenshot I hope it helps you? Page 437/8 if you have the guide.

Thank you!

And now I discovered the cause of why it wouldn't work for me: if you customise the AF point button to Direct AF Area selection (which I had done) then the flexible AF areas can't be changed with the rate button.

However if you keep the AF point button on the default AF point selection choice, and use M-Fn to cycle through to AF flexible areas, then the custom size options come up!

Glad to help Barney, the R3 is a complex camera that's going to take a lot of getting use to that's for sure

 

[Chimpy boy]

Hi guys, here's something I noticed today whilst playing around with my flashgun on my R3. I was shooting in a really dim hallway and the display was quiet dark and a bit jumpy so I tried enabling the "supress lower frame rate" which is located in the "Red camera menu - tab 9 - Disp. performance"

To my surprise the viewfinder went really dark and the AF struggled to focus on my cats eyes, when it found the focus the viewfinder brightened up and it took the shot, the shot was fine and correctly exposed.

I turned off the supress lower frame rate and tried shooting again and the AF was a lot snappier and the viewfinder didn't dim before taking the shot. Granted the viewfinder was a bit jumpier but it was better than a really dark viewfinder.

I was shooting in "P" and "AV" modes and had my ISO set to 100 and some shots on 400 the "Display simulation" "Red camera menu - tab 9 - display simulation" was set to "Exposure + DOF"

It was them I realised that you need to turn off "Display simulation" whilst using flashguns !!! even so there was a dramatic difference in brightness with the "supress lower frame rate" on and off ?

This was rookie mistake and something I thought I'd share as it might be useful to you guys out there ?

I will try the "supress lower frame rate" again with and without the flash and report back soon.

 

[Hoka Hey]

I was shooting in "P" and "AV" modes and had my ISO set to 100 and some shots on 400 the "Display simulation" "Red camera menu - tab 9 - display simulation" was set to "Exposure + DOF"

Using "Exposure + DOF" rather than just "Exposure" has some consequences as well. See page 299.







--
Joe

 

[Chimpy boy]

I was shooting in "P" and "AV" modes and had my ISO set to 100 and some shots on 400 the "Display simulation" "Red camera menu - tab 9 - display simulation" was set to "Exposure + DOF"

Using "Exposure + DOF" rather than just "Exposure" has some consequences as well. See page 299.

Cheers Joe, the Exposure sim modes needs a bit of looking into. The shots were fine but it does affect the image displayed in the viewfinder quite dramatically. For now I've turned of the "Exposure + DOF" setting and reverted back to just the exposure setting.

Also I read that if the "Auto lighting optimizer" is on it may cause your images to look too bright even if you have lowered the flash exposure lower compensation in the settings.

Cheers Chimpy

 

[Chimpy boy]

Hi guys, a quick update on my R3 testings and thoughts.

The first thing I have found is the camera when shooting with eye AF is very quick to acquire the subjects eye but seems to get bored tracking the subject and wants to wander off to find another eye. I have tried various AF scenarios and settings but in the end left the camera on auto which worked very well. WDYT ?

The R3 doesn't like tracking birds with busy backgrounds, I think the R6 on firmware 1.4 tracks better ? WDYT ?

I used different area selections to acquire the AF on the subject but some of them drove me mad as they didn't want to lock on the subject so I reverted to full frame acquisition, which while not perfect performed very well. WDYT ?

I find certain settings seem to reset themselves to factory settings IE. Auto card switching it turns it's self off ?? Do any guys find this happens ?

Anyway that's enough of me moaning feel free to chime in

Here's a highish ISO shot 12,800 the otter was motoring around and the AF nailed the focus pretty well, it isn't perfect but it I'm sure it will be improved with firmware in the future.


Lively otter.

 

[Hoka Hey]

The R3 doesn't like tracking birds with busy backgrounds, I think the R6 on firmware 1.4 tracks better ? WDYT ?

With small birds and busy backgrounds, I'm getting better results than the R5.

I used different area selections to acquire the AF on the subject but some of them drove me mad as they didn't want to lock on the subject so I reverted to full frame acquisition, which while not perfect performed very well. WDYT ?

I am getting good results with full frame acquisition. Even better than the R5 which is really good. When it misses, I have spot focus set up on a back button to get to the right target quickly.

I find certain settings seem to reset themselves to factory settings IE. Auto card switching it turns it's self off ?? Do any guys find this happens ?

No problem with that here, but I only use CFE cards.
--
Joe

 

[Chimpy boy]

The R3 doesn't like tracking birds with busy backgrounds, I think the R6 on firmware 1.4 tracks better ? WDYT ?

With small birds and busy backgrounds, I'm getting better results than the R5.

I used different area selections to acquire the AF on the subject but some of them drove me mad as they didn't want to lock on the subject so I reverted to full frame acquisition, which while not perfect performed very well. WDYT ?

I am getting good results with full frame acquisition. Even better than the R5 which is really good. When it misses, I have spot focus set up on a back button to get to the right target quickly.

I find certain settings seem to reset themselves to factory settings IE. Auto card switching it turns it's self off ?? Do any guys find this happens ?

No problem with that here, but I only use CFE cards.

 

[Hoka Hey]

The R3 doesn't like tracking birds with busy backgrounds, I think the R6 on firmware 1.4 tracks better ? WDYT ?

With small birds and busy backgrounds, I'm getting better results than the R5.

I used different area selections to acquire the AF on the subject but some of them drove me mad as they didn't want to lock on the subject so I reverted to full frame acquisition, which while not perfect performed very well. WDYT ?

I am getting good results with full frame acquisition. Even better than the R5 which is really good. When it misses, I have spot focus set up on a back button to get to the right target quickly.

I find certain settings seem to reset themselves to factory settings IE. Auto card switching it turns it's self off ?? Do any guys find this happens ?

No problem with that here, but I only use CFE cards.

Cheers Joe, your findings echo mine, thank you for posting it wasn't just my imagination then ? Phew I thought it was me losing my touch lol.

I will hopefully get out soon and play around with the R3, I can live with the AF for now as the bump in high ISO quality is great for shooting in the drab UK light.

Sorry that you are having problems.

You may have misread my response. I'm getting better AF acquisition speed and stickiness with the R3 than with the R5. The R5 is no slouch, the R3 is just better for my small birds and small birds in flight, even with busy backgrounds.

I'm using the full frame acquisition mode with a back button set to point focus. I'm not knocking the R5 as I have gotten a lot of great images with it and it's AF is great. It's just that the R3 is giving me better AF on small birds both stationary and launching.

Maybe you have something in the settings that is causing a problem.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I'm using Case Auto or Case 4 t-2, a/d+2. With the R5, I use Case Auto.

In particular, the R3 is far less likely to focus on the background than the R5 and much easier to bring back to the subject when it does. With the R5, I regularly had to use the MF ring to bring the focus back to the subject once it had gone to the background. With the R3, that has rarely been necessary. In fact, I had the R3 more than a month, shooting small birds almost every day, before I even bothered to set the MF ring to work while in AF. I'm mostly using the RF 100-500.

Do you have Switching Tracked Subjects set to 1? I used to think that setting it to 0 (Initial Priority) was the way to go, but it's not. 1 (on Subject) works better for me on the R3 and R5.



If changing those settings doesn't fix things for you, you might try resetting to default and start over with just the basic AF settings and see if that helps.

Good Luck!!!

--
Joe

 

[Chimpy boy]

The R3 doesn't like tracking birds with busy backgrounds, I think the R6 on firmware 1.4 tracks better ? WDYT ?

With small birds and busy backgrounds, I'm getting better results than the R5.

I used different area selections to acquire the AF on the subject but some of them drove me mad as they didn't want to lock on the subject so I reverted to full frame acquisition, which while not perfect performed very well. WDYT ?

I am getting good results with full frame acquisition. Even better than the R5 which is really good. When it misses, I have spot focus set up on a back button to get to the right target quickly.

I find certain settings seem to reset themselves to factory settings IE. Auto card switching it turns it's self off ?? Do any guys find this happens ?

No problem with that here, but I only use CFE cards.

Cheers Joe, your findings echo mine, thank you for posting it wasn't just my imagination then ? Phew I thought it was me losing my touch lol.

I will hopefully get out soon and play around with the R3, I can live with the AF for now as the bump in high ISO quality is great for shooting in the drab UK light.

Sorry that you are having problems.

You may have misread my response. I'm getting better AF acquisition speed and stickiness with the R3 than with the R5. The R5 is no slouch, the R3 is just better for my small birds and small birds in flight, even with busy backgrounds.

I'm using the full frame acquisition mode with a back button set to point focus. I'm not knocking the R5 as I have gotten a lot of great images with it and it's AF is great. It's just that the R3 is giving me better AF on small birds both stationary and launching.

Maybe you have something in the settings that is causing a problem.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, I'm using Case Auto or Case 4 t-2, a/d+2. With the R5, I use Case Auto.

In particular, the R3 is far less likely to focus on the background than the R5 and much easier to bring back to the subject when it does. With the R5, I regularly had to use the MF ring to bring the focus back to the subject once it had gone to the background. With the R3, that has rarely been necessary. In fact, I had the R3 more than a month, shooting small birds almost every day, before I even bothered to set the MF ring to work while in AF. I'm mostly using the RF 100-500.

Do you have Switching Tracked Subjects set to 1? I used to think that setting it to 0 (Initial Priority) was the way to go, but it's not. 1 (on Subject) works better for me on the R3 and R5.



If changing those settings doesn't fix things for you, you might try resetting to default and start over with just the basic AF settings and see if that helps.

Good Luck!!!

Thanks Joe, I appreciate your feedback, I think the problems I'm having might have a lot to do with the crappy light we are having at the moment. I will play with your settings and see how it goes ? Hopefully in the sun

My R3 acquires focus on the subjects eye very quickly much faster than my R6 and boy when it nails focus the shots are really sharp, I'm only using the full electronic shutter at the moment, so I will have a play with the other shutter modes and see what happens ?

I'm so impressed with the high ISOs I think it's the best I've seen out of any Canon body.

 

[ZikD22]

Canon R3 set up guide.

Salesforce

comeandsee.my.salesforce.com

 

[Chimpy boy]

Canon R3 set up guide.

https://comeandsee.my.salesforce.co...t/njVAlUyOA4xONTWQShDwaYi5iWveZTOfRl9w40JbG4E

Cheers ZikD22, interesting reading hopefully it will help us R3 owners get to grip with it

 

[Chimpy boy]

Hi all, just a quick warning to you R3 owners out there...... Just watch out that you don't lose the flash hot shoe cover !! I lost mine but lucky I managed to find it if your cover is the same as mine (quiet loose) it is so easy to knock off putting your camera in your bag or knock it off in general use ......... Crap design Canon !

I have ordered a few replacements off Amazon and if they are a good replacement I will take a few shots of them in use and post up the link if you guys want to try them ?

I dread to think how much Canon would charge for replacement covers ? I would be surprised if you could even get them with all the problems with supply chains at the moment.

Chimpy

 

[gimp_dad]

Hi all, just a quick warning to you R3 owners out there...... Just watch out that you don't lose the flash hot shoe cover !! I lost mine but lucky I managed to find it if your cover is the same as mine (quiet loose) it is so easy to knock off putting your camera in your bag or knock it off in general use ......... Crap design Canon !

I have ordered a few replacements off Amazon and if they are a good replacement I will take a few shots of them in use and post up the link if you guys want to try them ?

I dread to think how much Canon would charge for replacement covers ? I would be surprised if you could even get them with all the problems with supply chains at the moment.

Chimpy

Mine has also popped off numerous times putting it in or taking it out of my bag. I'll probably just leave it off and stop covering it at some point.

 

[Chimpy boy]

Hi all, just a quick warning to you R3 owners out there...... Just watch out that you don't lose the flash hot shoe cover !! I lost mine but lucky I managed to find it if your cover is the same as mine (quiet loose) it is so easy to knock off putting your camera in your bag or knock it off in general use ......... Crap design Canon !

I have ordered a few replacements off Amazon and if they are a good replacement I will take a few shots of them in use and post up the link if you guys want to try them ?

I dread to think how much Canon would charge for replacement covers ? I would be surprised if you could even get them with all the problems with supply chains at the moment.

Chimpy

Mine has also popped off numerous times putting it in or taking it out of my bag. I'll probably just leave it off and stop covering it at some point.

It's bad design on Canon's behalf, the only reason it's there is to waterproof the flash contacts, surely there must be a better way of covering the flash contacts ?

Hopefully the replacement ones I've ordered will stay in place longer than Canon's effort ?

 

[HenryL64]

I lost the cover about a week or so ago. Called Canon Parts and ordered a few replacements They were $8.20/ea plus shipping and shipped the next day.

Canon Parts 866-481-2569 option 3

R3 Accessory Shoe Cover

Part # CB5-8265-000

 

[Chimpy boy]

I lost the cover about a week or so ago. Called Canon Parts and ordered a few replacements They were $8.20/ea plus shipping and shipped the next day.

Canon Parts 866-481-2569 option 3

R3 Accessory Shoe Cover

Part # CB5-8265-000

Cheers Henry, good to know that they are available to order from Canon if needed. I'll see what Amazons are like they are about $6 for 2.

I think it might be wise to cover the contacts with gaffer tape before using any covers ?

a) it might might make the fit of the covers tighter and b) it might offer a level of waterproofing if the cover goes walkabouts ?

Nearly 6K for a pro body and it depends on a cheapish, badly designed and easily lost cover for waterproofing not good Canon.

 

[Hoka Hey]

I lost the cover about a week or so ago. Called Canon Parts and ordered a few replacements They were $8.20/ea plus shipping and shipped the next day.

Canon Parts 866-481-2569 option 3

R3 Accessory Shoe Cover

Part # CB5-8265-000

Thanks. I haven't had any problem with mine yet, but may order one for insurance.

 

[Hoka Hey]

I lost the cover about a week or so ago. Called Canon Parts and ordered a few replacements They were $8.20/ea plus shipping and shipped the next day.

Canon Parts 866-481-2569 option 3

R3 Accessory Shoe Cover

Part # CB5-8265-000

Cheers Henry, good to know that they are available to order from Canon if needed. I'll see what Amazons are like they are about $6 for 2.

Please post a link for these.

I think it might be wise to cover the contacts with gaffer tape before using any covers ?

a) it might might make the fit of the covers tighter and b) it might offer a level of waterproofing if the cover goes walkabouts ?

Nearly 6K for a pro body and it depends on a cheapish, badly designed and easily lost cover for waterproofing not good Canon.

Glad this is the worst thing we have to complain about.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to put gaffer tape over the cover to hold it on.

 

[Chimpy boy]

I lost the cover about a week or so ago. Called Canon Parts and ordered a few replacements They were $8.20/ea plus shipping and shipped the next day.

Canon Parts 866-481-2569 option 3

R3 Accessory Shoe Cover

Part # CB5-8265-000

Cheers Henry, good to know that they are available to order from Canon if needed. I'll see what Amazons are like they are about $6 for 2.

Please post a link for these.

I think it might be wise to cover the contacts with gaffer tape before using any covers ?

a) it might might make the fit of the covers tighter and b) it might offer a level of waterproofing if the cover goes walkabouts ?

Nearly 6K for a pro body and it depends on a cheapish, badly designed and easily lost cover for waterproofing not good Canon.

Glad this is the worst thing we have to complain about.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to put gaffer tape over the cover to hold it on.

--
Joe

Hi Joe, here's the link as requested

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BNJ4N3T/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_P324RM9ZAPJKJ0HS3KEV

 

[Hoka Hey]

I lost the cover about a week or so ago. Called Canon Parts and ordered a few replacements They were $8.20/ea plus shipping and shipped the next day.

Canon Parts 866-481-2569 option 3

R3 Accessory Shoe Cover

Part # CB5-8265-000

Cheers Henry, good to know that they are available to order from Canon if needed. I'll see what Amazons are like they are about $6 for 2.

Please post a link for these.

I think it might be wise to cover the contacts with gaffer tape before using any covers ?

a) it might might make the fit of the covers tighter and b) it might offer a level of waterproofing if the cover goes walkabouts ?

Nearly 6K for a pro body and it depends on a cheapish, badly designed and easily lost cover for waterproofing not good Canon.

Glad this is the worst thing we have to complain about.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to put gaffer tape over the cover to hold it on.

Hi Joe, here's the link as requested

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BNJ4N3T/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_P324RM9ZAPJKJ0HS3KEV

Thanks. Those don’t appear to be waterproof. If they are not waterproof, is there any point in using them?

So far, the hot shoe cover on my R3 is very snug to the point that it is a bit of a PITA to take it off. Is it possible that the problem might be that the cover is not getting put back on securely enough and that’s why it’s coming off?

Anyhow, I wonder if the engineers among us can figure an elegant way to make the cover even more secure.

Best,