Canon EOS R vs Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS R and the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS R was introduced in September 2018 and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III was introduced in August 2008. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS R over Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III over Canon EOS R.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS R has a 3.15" Fully Articulated screen with 2,100k dot resolution and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Canon EOS R selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Canon EOS R also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS R has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage and 0.76x magnification.

Canon EOS R features a 30.3 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 864 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 40,000 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III features a 21.1 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 576 mm². Its native ISO range is 50 - 3,200.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS R is equipped with DIGIC 8 processor and can take pictures up to 6720 x 4480 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4176 x 2784 (1.6x crop) with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III can take pictures up to 5616 x 3744 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4992 x 3328, 4080 x 2720, 2784 x 1856 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS R has Canon RF lens mount and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III has Canon EF lens mount. Due to their Full Frame sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Canon EOS R it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III nothing can be done. On Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS R nothing can be done.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Canon EOS R

Canon EOS R has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Canon EOS R

Canon EOS R has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.1 LE) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS R comes with LP-E6N battery pack with battery life of 370 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS R has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot. Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III has two card slots - one for SD and one for CompactFlash (Type I/II).

Shutter

Canon EOS R has Electronic shutter. Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III has Electronically Controlled Vertical-travel Mechanical Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS R, and up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. Canon EOS R can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps. Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS R has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 5655 focusing points and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III has 45 focusing points. Canon EOS R has detection range from -6 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS R and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III range from -3 to +20 EV and 0 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS R and exposure lock and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe to Canon EOS R and via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III.

Canon EOS R body has dimensions of 136 x 98 x 84 mm (5.35 x 3.86 x 3.31") and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III body has dimensions of 150 x 160 x 80 mm (5.91 x 6.3 x 3.15"). Canon EOS R weighs 660 g (1.46 lb / 23.28 oz) and Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III weighs 1385 g (3.05 lb / 48.85 oz).

Canon EOS R

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

136 mm

98 mm

150 mm

160 mm

98 mm

160 mm

84 mm

80 mm