Canon R3 Users: Are you experiencing (any) focusing issues? I am!

Hoka Hey wrote:

tvstaff wrote:

expro wrote:

The R3 smokes the 1dx in every department especially AF.

I can’t believe how good it is and I thought my 1dxs were the ultimate.

High iso is insane.
I will still add an R1 if it ever surfaces.

I don't have to tilt any of my 1DX 1DXMKII or 1DXMKIII's to get them to focus and get almost 100% keepers.

Maybe you just don't understand that the R3 is for shooting action, sports and wild life. Not horizontal lines.

I do understand that and as a professional sports photographer I also know others who have focus issues with the R3.

Tweaking the "cases" and properly using AISERVO is why the 1DXMKII and 1DXMKIII'S and their EF Big Whites are still the primary tools for professional sports photographers worldwide.

On the R3 with the EF 500ii, just put the case in Auto, and your hit rate will smoke any other Canon camera.

I recently let amateur sports photographers shoot with me on my starter boat in fairly calm seas. The young man with the R3 did not do well. He could not get his camera to focus on the kitsurfers coming straight at the boat then over our heads.

The R1 will be the true test of the large economic spend, if it can take all the 1DX, 1DXMKII and 1DXMKIII'S off the shelves of agencies, pro users and enthusiasts. There is a HUGE number of 1DX 1DXMKII and 1DXMKIII users out there that have "menu" and "muscle" memory with over 10+ years of using their equipment almost everyday.

The R1 will definitely be a better camera then the R3. It doesn't take a lot of thought to figure that out. The buttons and dials will be in different places than the DSLRs though. You get used to it fast though.

Canon allowing easy adaptation by this large user base will help a great deal. As somone who recently tried the Z9, my brain is definitely Canon wired, with using 1DXMKII 1DX and 1DXMKIII, for over ten years combined now. I did try an R3 and it did not feel as solid as my 1DXMKII that I brought along.

Most people like the lighter weight of the R3. I've got a friend with a Z9 who hates how heavy it is. However, I guess there are some who prefer to carry heavier gear.

I like the balance of the 1DXMKII body best with my big whites I like to hand hold to catch very fast moving athletes you would miss with a monopod and gimbal.   The EF f/2.8 300 & 400 both balance with the 1DXMKII vs the III.  I also like the feel in my hands it's a more solid grip on a moving boat or jet ski in the ocean.

In all fairness the R3 did not track as well as my 1DXMKIII but I had an EF adapter on the R3 trying my f/2.8 300mm II.

R3 has faster AF and better tracking than the 1DXMKIII according to just about everything you can read on the subject.

I don't know about reading,  but at the pro sports I shot recently in Miami and New York over 90% of us on the sidelines, in the press box and back in the press room getting our shots in are all using 1DXMKII's and 111's

Everyone using the same lenses 2.8 400, f/4 200-400 with 1.4TC and on the far end some 600's and 800's.

At F1, again Miami, "Same Venue" I saw more Z9's than ever before and in the press room the shots were blowing everything and everyone away. The resolution is just amazing and it tracks like white on rice. Tip hat to Nikon.

There were a few SONY and a lot more Nikons this year.  Didn't see one Z9 or R3 at Miami Tennis.

I also can't see the R3 "value" now that Nikon has a 45.7MB standard and the resolution and tracking are just amazing.

Was shooting birds with a friend last week who had the Z9 and the 500 5.6. She was not happy with the AF at all and her hit rate was a lot lower than my R3 with the EF 500 ii. I realize that is just two people shooting, but she said there are quite a few Z9 shooters she knows who are also disappointed with the AF and tracking.

I don't shoot birds but athletes, F1 Race Cars and kite, windsurfing, tennis, speed boats all so far seem to have great tracking focus with our 1DXMKII and 1DXMKIII'S and the resolution ofvthe Z9 shots are another world  Skin and hair, uniforms, water all have more texture.. lesscwax and mud.   The Z9 has really opened up the business.

So we get back to the R1.... A lot of people are waiting and in this market, if it's really an amazing camera, I don't see how Canon can produce enough of them. Nikon has back orders for the Z9 that are through the roof according to everyone I've spoken to. So does it matter when the R1 is announced.... yes! But getting one.... you better be pretty high up on the CPS pole.

If you really want one as soon as it's available, just stay up and order one as soon as it comes up on the Canon and B&H websites. That's how I got the R5 and the R3 when they first came out.

I hope my almost 20 years with Canon and close relationships with CPS will help get an R1 pretty quick.

For me, it could blend what I need for sports and fashion runway  I truly hope Canon gets the R1 right.  Nothing would make me happier.  Three R1's and Big Whites, for those of us about $80K will be the cost to replicate our 1DX kits.   Canon has a lot riding on the R1 being a home run.

Best,

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Joe