CineD Reviews the Canon EOS R1

The Canon EOS R1, Canon’s flagship full-frame mirrorless camera, was rigorously evaluated in video-specific lab tests by CineD, with results published on June 17, 2025. Conducted by Gunther Machu and Florian Milz, the tests focused solely on video performance, assessing rolling shutter, dynamic range, and exposure latitude, without addressing still photography capabilities. 

Rolling Shutter

For videographers shooting fast-moving subjects, rolling shutter performance was paramount to minimizing distortion effects. The EOS R1 produced stellar performance with rolling shutter of 8.3ms in Canon CRAW 6K at 25 fps, which CineD described as "a very good result for a full-frame 6K readout." The rolling shutter performance was the same in 4K fine full-frame mode, the readout times was quicker than the 9.5ms of the Canon EOS C400.

The readout speed was impressive at 4K 120fps where rolling shutter improved to 4.1ms and CineD stated "this is an excellent value which signifies the R1 is capable of high frame rates with [presumably] little distortion." Although global shutter cameras like the Sony A9 III create an expectation barrier, the R1's rolling shutter performance places the camera within the top full-frame cameras for moving image content creation.

Dynamic Range

Dynamic range is important for those videographers who work in different lighting conditions. Tested at ISO 800, in 4K Fine XF-AVC CLog2 and with IMATEST, the R1 was rated at 13.3 stops at a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 2 (14.2 stops SNR=1) which was superior to the EOS C400. CineD directly noted that the R1 had internal noise reduction; "The graph, although less than decent to view, illustrates the noise spectrum. What was surprising was that in compressed codecs, there appeared some releave of internal noise reduction occurring, with the total amplitudes being significantly decreased at the higher resolution settings".

CineD also stated that for videographers using CRAW mode; "CRAW is less perceptually processed but you will be doing some heavy lifting in post-production to deal with the noise issue… and if you are shooting stills in RAW mode, you will also need to do the heavy lifting". The R1s dynamic range in video is comparable with the Sony A9 III and Panasonic LUMIX S1II but is far from cinema camera level such as the ARRI Alexa Mini LF (14+ stops) and Alexa 35 (17 stops).

Exposure Latitude

Exposure latitude is a measurement of a camera's ability to recover detail and color in video footage when over- or underexposed, but white balanced and corrected in post. CineD conducted controlled tests in their studio, starting base exposure with luma set to 60% on the subject's forehead, the R1 scored 9 stops of latitude (four stops over, five stops under). "This was better than the Canon EOS R3 and C400, which each offered 8 stops, and this puts the R1 at a similar level to the Sony A9 III and Panasonic S1II,"

CineD stated that the R1 did fall short of professional cinema cameras, which were the ARRI Alexa Mini LF (10 stops) and Alexa 35 (12 stops). The article concluded by saying that "The CRAW files of the R1 handled noise better than the R3 and C400 so it had some extra latitude and flexibility for post," although the 10- bit XF-AVC codec was said to show "cleaner images from the get-go."

Thoughts

The Canon EOS R1 was established as a hybrid camera focused on video rather than photography , with rolling shutter speed, maximum dynamic range, and exposure latitude functioning at levels higher than the EOS R3 and just slightly below that of the C400, which indicates it has cemented its position as Canon’s best mirrorless camera for video overall. CineD also pointed out, “For those who really want the maximum dynamic range, then CRAW is the way to go, but compressed codec, like XF-AVC, are great for usability. The R1 is an ideal camera for videographers who often work in a hurry, CRAW does require skill in editing in regard to noise reduction.”

Read the entire review and the mountains of results from CineD

• CineD

Richard @ CanonNewsRichard @ CanonNews

Richard has been using Canon cameras since the 1990s, with his first being the now legendary EOS-3. Since then, Richard has continued to use Canon cameras and now focuses mostly on infrared photography. Richard is the founder and editor of CanonNews since 2017, and has worked as a writer on CanonRumors and other websites in the past.

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