How the Canon EOS R1 equips sports photographers to capture game-changing moments

Dynamic. Thrilling. Unpredictable. These are just a few ways to describe the experience of shooting professional sports. It's a fast-paced challenge demanding an in-depth understanding of the sport being captured.

Like any kind of photography, sports photography comes with its own set of obstacles. From poor lighting to bad weather to lack of access to the best shooting spots, many factors can hinder capturing the perfect shot. Yet, sports photography is undeniably exciting. Each moment offers a chance to showcase the passion and emotion that define sports through a stunning image.

To seize this opportunity, a capable tool is essential. The Canon EOS R1 stands out with its speed, its state-of-the-art features and its advanced technology, making it a revolutionary choice for professional sports photographers to capture historic moments through their lenses and create career defining work.

Here, three seasoned professionals at the top of their sports photography careers reveal how the EOS R1 enables them to capture those unmissable moments.

From the start in 1989, Canon's EOS-1 series were designed to be the best cameras on the market for sports photography, and successive models in the series have been the camera of choice for professionals shooting at the biggest sporting events around the world. The new flagship EOS R System camera, the Canon EOS R1 incorporates cutting-edge technologies that empower photographers to create stunning images like never before.

The camera's newly-developed DIGIC Accelerator processor, working together with the DIGIC X image processor, powers new features such as Action Priority AF, which enables the camera to determine the main subject in basketball, football and volleyball. Dual Pixel Intelligent Autofocus uses Deep Learning AI to acquire and track subjects with exceptional accuracy. Learning from a vast database of images, it can identify and focus on subjects over time. In sports photography, where subjects are constantly moving, such features are invaluable. They make autofocus both smarter and faster, freeing the photographer to concentrate on the action.

A range of technical advances in the EOS R1, from enhanced connectivity options to in-camera image upscaling powered by Deep Learning, all contribute to improving the shooting experience and ease of workflow for sports photographers in the field. Here are our three leading professionals' favourite features.

Alexandros Grymanis, a Canon Ambassador and the official photographer of the Athens Football Team, has extensive experience in sports photography, from snowboarding to surfing, working with global brands like Red Bull, Vans and Adidas.

Alex describes his sports photography as “dynamic”, but also relishes shooting “lifestyle sports” such as skateboarding, where he finds he can also capture the architecture and fashion that accompany the sport itself.

In fast-paced sports like football, it’s a challenge to keep up with the action and maintain focus on the person you want. The Canon EOS R1’s Action Priority AF feature identifies the action in supported sports and moves the autofocus point to the right spot accordingly, a feature Alex finds invaluable.

“Action Priority AF mode means less work for me,” he says. “As a photographer, I want to shoot without overthinking. The less I have to think about, the faster I can be.”

The EOS R1 also has the Register People Priority feature, which enables you to instruct the AF who to focus on – you can preset up to 10 sets of 10 people, using existing images or pointing the camera at the people you want on the spot. This means you can single out specific players in the team, or set the camera to focus on one team rather than another, making it that much easier to get the shot you want each time.

An Emmy-nominated Clio winner, Atiba Jefferson has extensive experience in shooting sports. He started with skateboarding before moving into basketball photography because of his passion for the sport.

“I got into sports by being a basketball fan and sneaking my camera into Laker games around 1997,” he says.

The Lakers’ team photographer at the time, Andy Bernstein, mentored Atiba, giving him the opportunity to assist in shooting the games. This experience helped Atiba develop his clean, unique style and master storytelling through his images.

Atiba praises the Canon EOS R1’s low light capabilities, which are crucial in his field.

"The biggest enemy of low light situations is action because you need a fast shutter, and for that you need a lot of light,” he says. “The way this camera works, low light barely affects anything. The camera can virtually see in the dark.”

The EOS R1’s advanced AF works in low light down to -7.5 EV. “It’s going to do things I wasn’t able to do before. I confidently know it will autofocus in a second and track perfectly,” Atiba says.

The camera also boasts advanced flicker detection, which ensures you get the shot when photographing sports under artificial lighting (continuous shooting speed may be reduced). The EOS R1’s ability to excel in various lighting conditions ensures that Atiba can capture high-quality images regardless of the setting, whether in a big arena or street basketball at dusk.

Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Alisha Lovrich has worked with brands such as Nike Run Club, Athletics New Zealand and Toyota New Zealand. She also has extensive experience shooting tennis.

Alisha’s love for photography stems from her background in sports, particularly football and track and field, combined with her passion for visual arts.

“I fell in love with photography straight away because the elements I learned from being artistic – composition, line, colour – are all translatable,” she says.

For her, one of the standout features of the Canon EOS R1 is the Dual Pixel Intelligent AF system, ensuring accurate autofocus, which is crucial for tracking swift movements on the court. At the same time, the camera’s continuous shooting speed of up to 40fps with full AF tracking, plus its blazing shutter speed (with electronic shutter) of up to 1/64,000 sec, enable photographers to capture multiple high-resolution shots consecutively.

Alisha mentions that previously photographers would “pray and spray”, taking as many shots as possible in the hope of getting the best one. Now, “with the EOS R1 and its ability to capture 24MP imagery at different frame rates, there’s greater confidence in getting more great quality shots.”

The ability to customise and adjust shooting speeds easily is particularly useful in tennis, where the action is constantly changing.

If there’s one thing all three photographers agree on, it’s the sheer speed of the Canon EOS R1. Alisha says the camera “makes everything quicker and easier”, and therefore has impacted her process tremendously. According to her, speed is “everything in this field”, so the EOS R1 does everything she needs.

The EOS R1’s innovative pre-continuous shooting feature saves 20 frames before the shutter is fully pressed, whether you are shooting in HEIF, JPEG or even RAW, ensuring photographers never miss the action they need. As Atiba puts it, “with this camera, you’ll never be late to a moment”.

All three photographers are excited also about the many ways the EOS R1 will improve their workflow. “With an earlier camera, you might get three great images from a whole shoot,” Alisha says. “With the EOS R1, you’ll have a hundred. Your biggest problem will be having too many good images, which is never a problem!”

Another key benefit is the camera’s faster connectivity features, including Wi-Fi 6E (in regions where available) and 2.5G BASE-T Ethernet. This was a game-changer that Alex really appreciated. “That allows you to stand out from the competition,” he says. “I want to deliver to my clients as fast as they want, and this camera can deliver.”

Atiba recollects that the late basketball sensation Kobe Bryant would often look at photos rather than tapes to review his performance. “He could see where their hands are on the ball. He could see where their elbows are. That's super intelligent and something not often talked about in sports.”

Great sports photography can capture and reveal so much. But like athletes, professional sports photographers rely on the performance of their equipment, and the advanced technology of the Canon EOS R1 is a game-changer.

In sports such as football or basketball, with teams of players jostling for position, being able to focus rapidly where the action is can make all the difference. In fast-moving sports such as tennis, continuous shooting at 40fps and shutter speeds up to 1/64,000 sec enable you to photograph the speeding ball rather than where it has just been. Pre-continuous shooting means you can capture the defining moment no matter how explosive the action.

Even in challenging conditions, or when speed matters down to the millisecond, Atiba, Alisha and Alex confirm that the Canon EOS R1 can give them the competitive edge to capture the action and the intensity and emotion of the moment.