New R System firmware update from Canon

Canon looks to introduce more speed and endurance to the R System with its latest firmware release for the EOS R3, EOS R5, and EOS R6.

Quite a lot to unpack here. Canon’s new v1.20 firmware is billed as setting new standards for high speed when it comes to the EOS R3, while the EOS R5 firmware v1.60 extends recording times and the EOS R6 firmware v1.60 streamlines workflows.

Kicking off with the EOS R3, the v1.20 firmware means that Full HD movies get bumped up to a 6x slo-mo of 240p. It also adds a new custom high-speed continuous shooting setting, allowing users to capture at frame rates from 30fps up to an impressive 195fps at full resolution in JPEG, HEIF or RAW. The devil in the detail part of that is that custom high speed continuous shooting is limited to a maximum of 50 shots at all speeds and AF / AE is fixed on the first frame. Still, it's impressive

The v1.20 update also simplifies operation. As featured in the newly launched EOS R7, the company’s chargeable Cloud RAW Image Processing service will also be available in the EOS R3, applying deep learning processing within image.canon to improve the resolution and sharpness, whilst also reducing the potential for moire in images. The EOS R3 also gains in-camera compositing (focus stacking) of images taken with focus bracketing, to create images with a great depth of field and sharpness.

In response to feedback, users can now assign a 1.6x crop or other crop ratios to a custom button on the EOS R3, which acts as a built-in extender so that photographers can quickly and easily zoom in on newsworthy moments.

Addressing feedback from vloggers that the edges of captured video would shake in selfie-mode when shooting with an ultra wide-angle lens, the EOS R3, EOS R5 and EOS R6 all now include wobble correction within the Digital Movie IS function. This correction is in addition to the conventional shift correction of Digital Movie IS, for much more stable shooting. A time-lapse movie function has also been added to the EOS R3, with the ability to retain time-lapse movie settings if the camera is powered down accidentally.

The v1.60 firmware for the EOS R5 will also bring a popular feature of the EOS R3 to the EOS R5 – Auto Power Off Temperature – which (depending on conditions) enables longer recording times to be achieved. 

The new firmware also offers new functionality for SDK users, including support for remote sensor cleaning, the ability to activate focus bracketing, the option to set high frame rate video and first curtain/second curtain/high-speed synchronisation, and for the EOS R6, the ability to set mode dial functions remotely via the SDK.

And it's all available to download and update immediately.