Canon has officially launched two new, pro-level R-series mirrorless cameras: the 24-megapixel EOS R1 with its high speed performance and the 45-megapixel, high resolution EOS R5 Mark II. Not surprisingly, the R1 with its 40fps burst shooting will appeal to sports photographers and photojournalists—hence its built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Of course, we expect to see this camera in action at the Olympics in Paris this summer.

Still, the R5 Mark II is no slouch when it comes to performance with a burst rate of up to 30fps, even when pushing those hefty 45 megapixel files. The R5 Mark II is slightly smaller and one pound lighter than the R1 and costs $2,000 less ($4,299vs. $6,299 for the R1).

At the same time, both cameras offer many of the same features including the new Digital Accelerator processing system designed for high speed readout of large amounts of data. Autofocus capabilities have been improved with the new Dual Pixel Intelligent AF, which takes the full body of a person into account—not just the eyes or face/head—and locks more securely into the subject.

With either camera you’ll benefit from improved eye control technology, action priority (to choose from a trio of sports: basketball, volleyball and soccer) and the ability to prioritize specific people in a frame. The R1 also features Cross Type AF for more sensitive assessment especially when vertical and horizontal lines are present in the frame.

The two cameras’ similarities extend to most video features as well with one major exception: the EOS R1 is capable of recording 4K/60p (with a crop) while, as expected, the higher resolution EOS R5 II offers up to 8K/60p. Canon has also added a full HDMI connector along with Cinema EOS video quality capabilities, and, importantly 2K proxy files to streamline your workflow.

There are plenty more features and functions for these cameras on the Canon site (usa.canon.com) for additional details about these cameras.

The Canon EOS R1’s is “expected to be available” this fall for $6,299; the Canon EOS R5 Mark II’s estimated availability this August for $4,299.

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