Re: R5 II autofocus speed worse than Sony A1. Is R1/R3 any better?
From my experience with the R5II (more) and R1 (less) shooting football with the 100-300 & 1.4x TC, the R1 is faster and more certain, particularly with first frame acquisition and appears to be more consistent throughout sequences. It's less likely to 'blip' focus for a frame or two midway through a long burst. But it's also not perfect (I don't think any camera can be).
So far I've only used R1 CPS loaners and haven't spent as much time with it as I have the R5II. Other comments I've read here suggest there's not much difference between it and the R5II, but so far that doesn't really match my experiences. The R5II is definitely noticeably better/faster than the previous generation Canon mirrorless cameras and is close enough to the R1 most of the time. But in situations that require very fast reaction the R1 is more confident.
I haven't used the R3 in a long time and can't compare it to the other two. Given the R1's faster sensor readout speed and greater processing power, I would expect it to have an advantage over the R3 with respect to AF performance. In any case, if the R5II isn't working for you, IMO the only Canon option would be the R1. Are you a CPS member to request one for evaluation. Even if you're not, might be worth a call to see if they can help keep you as a customer.
Dec 03, 2025 at 07:32 PM
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