During the R1 launch event in Arizona, Canon representatives told PetaPixel that the R3 line isn’t going anywhere. But side-by-side with the new R1, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for it anymore. This week, Chris Niccolls, Jordan Drake, and I are joined by Kai W to talk about the R3 and we ask… why does this camera line still exist?
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Just take a look at the graphic below where we’ve lined up the key specifications between both cameras. We already mentioned that the R1 feels more like an R3 Mark II, but this side-by-side comparison makes that statement feel even more accurate.
While putting the above graphic together, we realized something that none of us had not noticed before: the R1 has a worse rear LCD compared to the R3. It’s smaller and has far less resolution, which outside of an explanation such as more brightness or better color accuracy (Canon doesn’t say, just like it won’t say exactly how bright the EVF on either camera is), feels like a straight downgrade. We double-checked the specification sheet that Canon provided us to be sure because it felt like a typo but no, it’s real. In fact, we found that Canon is oddly using a different rear LCD for the R6 II, R5 II, R3, and R1.
Kai brings up an excellent point: if Canon makes the R3 too cheap, then the R1 becomes far less appealing, putting Canon in an awkward position. If it chooses to drop the price of the R3 further than it already has, then many photographers will go that route rather than spending significantly more on the R1. If they don’t drop the price of the R3, then no one will buy it and the R1 is the better choice. Either way, one line loses viability compared to the other.
“Canon put themselves in a weird marketing hole where anybody who owns an R3, why would they buy an R1?” Chris says. “And if you have an R3 for a lower price option, why would you buy an R1? If you buy an R1, why would you buy an R3 as a backup? It’s just weird, it’s strange that they put themselves into this position.”
It’s an unusual marketing and branding issue, and is one that Canon will have to eventually address — probably by quietly moving on from the “3” series.
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