Before the Canon EOS R3 was officially announced, some photos takes at the Tokyo Olympics made their rounds. Now the photographer who used the EOS R3 at the Olympics talks about how good the R3 is.

EOS R3 a glance:

• 24MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Sensor
• Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, Eye Control AF
• 6K60 Raw and 4K120 10-Bit Internal Video
• 30 fps E. Shutter, 12 fps Mech. Shutter
• 5.76m-Dot EVF with 120 fps Refresh Rate
• 3.2″ 4.2m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD
• Sensor-Shift 5-Axis Image Stabilization
• Multi-Function Shoe, Built-In Vert. Grip
• CFexpress & SD UHS-II Memory Card Slots
• Wired LAN and 5 GHz Wi-Fi Support

Jeff Cable gave an interview to Digital Photo Pro about the Canon EOS R3. Here are some excerpts.

Q: What do you think about it having 24MP of resolution?

Jeff Cable: I think 24MP is fine for shooting sports. I’d maybe preferred a bit more resolution – I see 30MP as a sweet spot – but as a sports photographer, I don’t really need 50 or 60 or 70MP. For example, the USA Water Polo team has a large billboard in Southern California using one of my images from the Tokyo Olympics and it was taken with the R3 at 24MP. Plus, the more megapixels you pile on, the more noise you’re introducing into the image.

[…]

Q: Was the full 30 frames per second speed something you used a lot at the Olympics?

Jeff Cable: For stuff I was contractually obligated to shoot, I was mostly using the R3 at max speed, and it really did make a difference. The job of a sports photographer is to capture the peak of action and the R3’s 30fps helped me do that.

[…]

Q: How was editing all those images you shot at 30fps?

Jeff Cable: It was brutal. At a typical water polo match in the past, I’d shoot around 1200 images with the Canon 1D X. Now, with the R3, I’d come back with 2500 or 2600 shots. And I’m like, holy crap, my deadlines didn’t change, so now I have to haul ass in the editing room.

[…]

Q: How was the Eye Control Autofocus (AF) feature on the R3?

Jeff Cable: […] During some sports though, the Eye Control AF wasn’t locking in fast enough for what I wanted, so I turned it off and went to back-button focus. Mostly though, I didn’t have time the learn it well enough to use it during the Olympics. I’d like to spend more time experimenting with it. It’s something I’m dying to use for my event photography.

Read the interview at Digital Photo Pro…

You can watch the Canon EOS R3 live-stream again here. All EOS R3 coverage is listed here. We put together some interesting videos about the Canon EOS R3, isted here. Be sure to check Gordon Laing’s in-depth review of the Canon EOS R3, part 1 and part 2. Oh, and don’t forget to listen how the R3’s 30fps sound. Canon EOS R3 product description after the break.

Preorder in the USA ($5,999): B&H Photo | Adorama

All Canon EOS R3 world-wide preorder links: [shoplist 67350]