Key specifications

• 32MP full-frame CMOS sensor
• Built-in image stabilization rated to 8.5EV
• 40fps burst rate w/ pre-capture
• 3.0", 1.62M dot fully-articulating screen
• 7K recording up to 60p (Canon Cinema Raw Lite)
• Oversampled 4K <60p, 4K 120p
• 3:2 Open Gate recording up to 30p

The Canon EOS R6 III will be available from late November.

What's new?

New sensor

The 33MP FSI CMOS sensor at the heart of the EOS R6 III is a new one for Canon's hybrid mirrorless lineup, having only appeared recently in the cinema-focused EOS C50. Canon isn't claiming any particular technological leaps with this sensor, but our initial testing shows that it has even faster readout speeds than the lower-resolution chip found in the EOS R6 II. As usual for Canon, it has a dual pixel design with two sub-pixels at each location, one capturing the left half of the image, the other capturing the right, allowing the entire sensor to be used for phase detection AF.

The faster readout speeds, paired with changes to the card slot and processor (Canon says it's the same generation, but has some improvements) allow for big improvements to video capture. The stabilization system has also gotten a bit of a bump, going from 8EV to 8.5EV.

Updated ports

The EOS R6 III replaces one of its predecessor's dual UHS-II SD card slots with a CFexpress Type B one. While you can still use most of the camera's features with an SD card, you will need to use the faster, larger and more expensive storage to record Raw video.

Speaking of video, the EOS R6 II's microHDMI port is no more on the EOS R6 III. In its place is a full-size one, which is much more appropriate on a camera destined to be many people's workhorse.

Better burst

Despite having the same rates, the EOS R6 III improves on its predecessor's burst rates, no longer requiring a special Raw Burst mode to enable pre-burst capture. Instead, there's now a pre-continuous shooting option that you can simply enable when in the H+ drive mode. Canon says this is largely thanks to that CFexpress card slot and its faster write speeds.

Raw Burst mode is no longer on the camera, though it's hard to be sad about that. While there were benefits to Raw Burst mode, such as it displaying bursts as a single thumbnail in the playback menu, it was overall a relatively clunky experience. To edit the photos you took outside of Canon's own software, you had to select the individual frames you want, and save them as a standard .CR3 Raw files, JPEGs, HEIFs or combinations thereof. That extra step is no longer necessary.

Raw, 7K and open-gate video

The Canon EOS R6 III gains the ability to record Raw video internally at up to 7K/60 in Canon's proprietary Canon Cinema Raw format. It can also now shoot 'open-gate' video at up to 7K/30, recording the entire area of the sensor to produce a 3:2 image that you can take vertical and landscape crops from.

The menus for selecting your recording mode have also been updated. The EOS R6 II presented you with an overwhelming list containing each possible combination of resolution, frame rate and compression settings, but the EOS R6 III thankfully lets you choose these all independently.

The EOS R6 III also now gains a dedicated red tally lamp, making it obvious to both you and your on-screen talent when you're recording.

AF Upgrades

Looking at the autofocus system, it seems largely the same as the one in the EOS R6 II, with subject recognition support for people, animals and vehicles, as well as an auto mode. However, Canon says the algorithms underpinning those modes have been updated to match the ones on cameras like the EOS R1 and EOS R5 II, making it even more reliable.

The EOS R6 III also gains the Register People Priority feature, where you can train it to recognize a specific person and principally focus on tracking them over other people that may be in the scene.

While the cameras theoretically have 'Digic X' processors, Canon says it's made intergenerational improvements to the chip that allow for some of the EOS R6 III's new features.

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What is it?

The EOS R6 III is part of the class of "do anything" hybrid cameras.

The EOS R6 III is Canon's enthusiast-tier full-frame camera, which means it's designed to excel at pretty much whatever you want to shoot with it. Like the rest of the cameras in this class (and its predecessor), it's capable enough for most kinds of photography, from landscape shooting to fast-paced action and sports, and comes equipped with the kinds of video features you would've had to buy a cinema camera to get just a few years ago. It also has weather sealing and dual card slots.

Of course, there are some things that separate it from the even higher-end Stacked sensor cameras like Canon's own EOS R5 II. It misses out on a bit of extra resolution and a few features that pros might want, such as the ability to control the focus point with your eye, in-camera 'AI' upscaling and Action Priority modes. Canon says the latter two require a still-expensive co-processor that just wasn't in the budget for this camera, but it should still easily handle whatever tasks enthusiasts throw at it.

It can shoot at a 40fps burst rate for up to 150 seconds in Raw and JPEG, and supports pre-burst capture, which can help if you're just a bit too slow to the shutter. You no longer have to use the somewhat clunky Raw burst mode to access these features, like you did with the EOS R6 II.

The EOS R6 III's Register People Priority supports up to ten faces, and will prioritize them according to your set order.

Canon has included its now-standard autofocus system, which has subject recognition for people, animals and vehicles, as well as an auto mode that searches for those within the scene. It also supports registering a specific person and having the camera prioritize them when choosing which subject to focus on.

It also supports HDR output, with its ability to produce 10-bit HEIF stills with the PQ tone curve, in place of JPEGs. While PQ isn't as broadly supported as the HLG curve used by other companies like Nikon and Panasonic, it can, at least, simultaneously record both HEIF and Raws, unlike Sony, which makes you choose between Raw capture and HDR output files. When shooting video, it can capture HDR video footage using either PQ or HLG. The latter is more widely supported when it comes to playback and is a new addition compared to the EOS R6 II.

Speaking of video, the EOS R6 III is well-equipped for motion pictures too. It supports internal Raw recording, a false color overlay to help you nail exposure and the >4K open gate capture gives you greater flexibility in post.

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The EOS R6 III in context

The EOS R6 III is launching into a market segment with robust competition. Its predecessor was still quite a sensible option, so we've included it in the comparison, alongside the Nikon Z6III, which offers a similar combination of fast shooting, top-tier autofocus and incredible video specs. We're also comparing the Sony a7 IV, as its 33MP sensor makes it an obvious competitor, even if it can't match the speed of the other cameras on this list.

The Z6III's partially Stacked sensor has higher read noise than other designs, which gives it a disadvantage when raising the shadows (though, importantly, this has no impact on the midtones). We'll have to wait until we get a production EOS R6 III to see how it performs in this regard. In both cases, it's worth checking to make sure whether the lenses you want exist before choosing a system, as both companies place restrictions on third-party lens makers.

While the a7 IV is still a quite capable camera, it's starting to look a little dated compared to the competition. Its rolling shutter performance when shooting full-width video is noticeably bad, it doesn't offer internal Raw video (though it's not an essential feature for most users), and while its autofocus is extremely capable, it's no longer the best that Sony offers. While Sony does allow third-party lenses on E-mount, buyers should be aware that it limits non-Sony lenses to 15fps (not that this is a problem for the a7 IV, with its 10fps max burst rate).

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Body and Handling

The EOS R6 III hews close to Canon's tried-and-true design formula, and its body is very similar – though not exactly the same – as the EOS R6 II. It has a hefty grip that fits well in your hand, even with a heavier lens attached. It has an array of customizable buttons – nine in total – which can have different functions depending on whether you're in stills or video mode. Switching between the two modes is handled by a dedicated lever to the left of the EVF.

The autofocus joystick and surrounding buttons are placed within easy reach of where your thumb naturally falls when you're holding the camera, and are grouped in ways that helps you tell which one you're pressing by feel, even when your eye is up to the EVF.