Canon’s EOS R6 III arrives with 7K RAW video and 40 fps burst speeds

Canon has just entered the mid-range full-frame hybrid camera arena with a new entry. The 32.5MP EOS R6 III is a huge improvement over the EOS R6 II thanks to its higher resolution, faster shooting speeds and better video specifications. However, it comes at a relatively high price and lacks a stacked or partially stacked sensor, unlike other cameras in this category.

The new 32.5MP sensor offers a significant resolution boost over the R6 II’s 24MP chip. Meanwhile, the R6 III offers faster shooting speeds of 40 fps in burst mode with the electronic shutter, or 12 fps with the mechanical or first-curtain shutter. It also supports 20 frames (half a second) of pre-shooting so you don’t miss key moments of wildlife or sports photography.

The R6 III uses Canon’s fast and reliable Dual Pixel AF system and comes equipped with the company’s latest AI tracking algorithms. It can operate in fairly dim conditions down to -6 EV and should be more responsive with Canon’s latest Digic It offers tracking of people, animals, and vehicles, along with an auto mode that will automatically select one of them. It also borrows the People Priority Recording feature from the R5 II, which lets you keep focus locked on specific subjects you’ve previously saved.

The biggest update to the R6 III is video. Thanks to the high-resolution sensor, it can now capture up to 7K at 60fps light RAW video, 7K video at 30fps “open gate” and 4K at up to 120fps, all with Canon’s C-Log2 and C-Log3. There’s an amazing range of other video formats available (12 pages worth of specifications), with HEVC S, AVC-S, RAW, RAW Light and more, at resolutions up to 7K. All AF subject detection features are available (vehicles, animals, people), and Canon is typically among the best in the video AF industry in terms of speed and accuracy.

No one expects any radical design changes in Canon’s camera (the company tried this with the EOS R and… truly It didn’t work), so the R6 III retained the tried-and-true form factor of the last model. This includes two adjustment dials on top and one on the back, as well as a joystick, photo/video selector, mode dial, and a good array of programmable buttons.

The rear screen flips as you’d expect for vlogging, but it doesn’t tilt like Panasonic’s S1 II — so it might get in the way of microphone or headphone jacks, and it’s not useful for taking low-angle photos. The viewfinder has 3.69 million dots of resolution as before, the same resolution as the Sony A7 IV lens but less than the slightly more expensive Panasonic Lumix S1 II. One big change is the addition of a CFexpress card slot that allows for RAW video capture and faster burst speeds, along with an SD UHS II slot. The battery is the same as that of the EOS R5 II and allows up to 390 shots (CIPA rating) with the viewfinder enabled.

Other features include waveform monitoring that will be greatly appreciated by professionals, as well as new focus speed algorithms borrowed from Canon’s cinema cameras that deliver “natural and professional” behavior, the company wrote. Inputs include 3.5mm microphone and headphone jacks, as well as high-speed USB-C and a full-size HDMI port. In-body stabilization has been slightly enhanced from 8 to 8.5 stops, in line with the latest Panasonic models.

Along with the EOS R6 III, Canon has introduced some interesting new glass. The RF45mm F1.2 STM delivers ultra-fast speeds and shallow depth of field into a smaller, lighter 0.76 lb (346 g) form factor – less than half the weight of the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens. It’s also shockingly cheap for an f/1.2 lens at $470.

The Canon EOS R6 III arrives later this month for $2,799 (body only) or $4,049 with the RF24-105 F4 L IS USM lens. That’s a bit more than the $2,500 Nikon Z6 III, which has a partially stacked but lower-resolution 24-megapixel sensor. Panasonic’s S1 II also has a partially stacked 24-megapixel camera but can shoot at up to 70 fps and costs $3,200. Finally, the Sony A7 IV has a similar 33-megapixel sensor but lacks the RAW video features of the R6 III.