A renowned Olympic Games photographer has more than doubled his hit rate for gymnastics using the Canon EOS R1, claiming that the camera gives him "a 95% take rate".
Jeff Cable is a veteran of eight Olympic Games, photographing for Team USA and the US Olympic Committee. He is also a Canon shooter, and frequently tests the company's latest sports cameras at the Games – such as Tokyo 2020, where he was among the first to use the Canon EOS R3.
However, nothing has come close to his experience of using the R1 in Paris. Every Olympics, Cable's official blog is an absolute goldmine of great photos as well as inside information on camera kit – and he's just shared his experience using the R1 to photograph gymnastics, one of the most challenging sports for any camera and autofocus system.
"The focus on this camera is absolutely AMAZING!" he says. "In past Olympics, my take rate when photographing gymnastics was maybe 40% in perfect focus. With the Canon R1 I have a 95% take rate. This is crazy!
"When this camera locks in, it holds. And it locks in so fast that when I hit the focus button with the gymnast in mid air, it still locks on their face perfectly. This is a game changer. Even I am blown away."
Those numbers are pretty staggering. When someone of the stature of Jeff Cable speaks, you should listen; this man is the cream of the crop when it comes to elite sports photography, and if he is getting such drastic results from the R1 then just imagine what a difference it will make to anyone else's shots!
Check out Jeff's blog for more of his anecdotes and shooting experiences live from the Paris Olympics – including his time photographing the sensational Simone Biles.
Check out my Canon EOS R1 review for my full thoughts, and see how it stacks up against the best cameras for sports photography and the best professional cameras.
