Canon EOS R1 & R5 II Firmware Update: Action Priority AF Adds American Football + More

Canon released a new firmware that introduces updates not only for its flagship mirrorless cameras R1 and R5 II but also brings updates for Action Priority functionality and other features like video support.

New Sports Supported by Action Priority Mode

Initially, Action Priority function recognized soccer, basketball, and volleyball. But starting from the latest firmware update, the system recognizes American football. Canon explains that AI was improved to optimize detection for players wearing helmets and shoulder pads.

Improved Registration People Priority Auto-focus

This feature allows for recognizing people who have already been set for recognition and gives priority to their focus when shooting. Canon added the following improvements, considering challenges that could arise when using this functionality:

- Recognition when the subject's position is at the edge of the viewfinder;
- When the person in the picture turns his back;
- When there are people behind the subject;
- Children.

As Canon claims, the problems were connected with such situations as when a person has changed his look compared to the photo used for registration.

Quality-of-life Improvements

Both of the flagship models are capable of having pre-burst shooting activated via a specific button. Previously, it was impossible to do so. Now, it can become handy for users.

Improvements for Video

Several useful features, implemented previously in EOS R6 V model, are introduced in both flagship models:

• Four customizable white balance slots;
• Product demo mode option (the system automatically disables face recognition and replaces it with detecting an object close to the lens);
• Showing the electronic level or grid lines while recording video;
• False-color layer working even in Log-assist view.

C2PA Content Authenticity System for News Organizations

Alongside the firmware update, Canon presented its Authenticity Imaging System. It helps to prove that an image was captured with one of the approved Canon models, thus protecting against the usage of manipulated or AI-made photos.

At the moment, it is only available for news organizations working in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa regions. Reuters has tested the system and claimed that provenance data creation works correctly. For now, it is available for EOS R1 and EOS R5 II.

Details and Links for Downloading

All the information about the firmware updates, including the full changelog and files themselves, is provided here:

EOS R1 Firmware Update
EOS R5 Mark II Firmware Update

With this firmware, Canon makes another step forward in making the best cameras even better and ready for any situation in the future, especially during major sports events.