I have had my R1 since launch. After extensive comparison to my Sony A9III, I have concluded the Sony is the better of the two. When it comes to AF, the Canon fails the reliability test for simple task… like talking head videos. Whereas, the Sony locks on to the subject without any wavering, the Canon does not cease focus pulsing, unless you turn off the “Lens drive when AF impossible” setting. Additionally, the Canon will occasionally… for no explicable reason, decide that a human subject, that is clearly lit and centered in frame, is no longer the subject as it drifts focus to the background. The lens breathing compensation is ineffective, as it does not eliminate breathing, it only reduces it. The HDMI output seems to be laggy. It’s not suitable for live-streaming… which is something I frequently do. And the default non-laggy setting drops the output quality unless you are recording internally. The R1 seems to have less dynamic range in the highlights, easily clipping the subjects nose and forehead, where the Sony can expose these regions while retaining detail.
Before I forget… the R1’s IBIS is not great (I’m being kind). Whereas, Sony’s has improved to the point where it now legitimately rivals Panasonic’s excellent IBIS system.
I spent almost two hours on the phone with tech support trying to resolve these issues.
It’s frankly disappointing. Having waited so long for the flagship R1, I really expected this to be the pinnacle of what can be achieved in any camera. So far that’s not playing out as I expected. I’m not even sure the R1 is a meaningful upgrade to the R3, let alone a serious competitor to Sony’s much faster and more reliable A9III. Canon needs to do better than this.
