The best Canon cameras
Canon is the market leader for digital cameras. The company was already a major player in the analog photographic equipment industry and has further developed and strengthened its market position since digital technology became dominant. Canon provides a broad range of models, including digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, and compact cameras that come with a built-in lens. It also uses a variety of imaging sensors in its models, ranging from full-frame, over APS-C and One-inch, to small 1/2.3-inch sensors.
The choice of a particular type of camera depends very much on the intended use. A professional wedding photographer has different requirements than a casual family holiday shooter, and a sports reporter has different needs than a landscape artist. The importance of individual preferences and selection criteria means that the question which camera is best is not easy to answer. That said, general camera rankings can give a useful overview of the overall capabilities of various camera models and thereby provide the basis for more use-specific model comparisons and assessments.
The highest rated Canon cameras
The Camera Elo represents a comprehensive rating that takes the body, sensor and feature characteristics of digital cameras into account. It is based on the outcomes of thousands of pair-wise comparisons undertaken via the CAM-parator app.
The Canon R5 Mark II is currently the top-ranked Canon camera with a Camera Elo of 3219, followed in second place by the Canon R1 with a rating of 3174. The table below lists the 20 highest ranked Canon cameras in descending order of their Elo. It also reports the cameras' DXO Mark sensor quality score, which can be taken as indicators of pure image quality. For both the Camera Elo and the DXO score, higher values represent better performance.
| Camera Model |
Lens Type |
Camera Elo |
DXO Score |
Camera Type |
Resolution (MP) |
Video Format |
Camera Launch | Launch Price | Street Price |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Canon R5 Mark II | Canon RF | 3219 | 97 | Mirrorless | 44.8 | 8k/60p | Jul 2024 | US$ 4 299 | amazon.com | |
| 2. | Canon R1 | Canon RF | 3174 | 97 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 6K/60p | Jul 2024 | US$ 6 299 | amazon.com | |
| 3. | Canon R3 | Canon RF | 3124 | 96 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 6K/60p | Sep 2021 | US$ 5 999 | amazon.com | |
| 4. | Canon R5 C | Canon RF | 3098 | 96 | Mirrorless | 44.8 | 8k/60p | Jan 2022 | US$ 4 499 | amazon.com | |
| 5. | Canon R5 | Canon RF | 3091 | 95 | Mirrorless | 44.8 | 8K/30p | Jul 2020 | US$ 3 899 | amazon.com | |
| 6. | Canon R6 Mark II | Canon RF | 2999 | 96 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 4k/60p | Nov 2022 | US$ 2 499 | amazon.com | |
| 7. | Canon R7 | Canon RF | 2961 | 84 | Mirrorless | 32.3 | 4k/60p | May 2022 | US$ 1 499 | amazon.com | |
| 8. | Canon R6 | Canon RF | 2899 | 90 | Mirrorless | 20.0 | 4k/60p | Jul 2020 | US$ 2 499 | amazon.com | |
| 9. | Canon 1D X Mark III | Canon EF | 2857 | 91 | DSLR | 20.0 | 4K/60p | Jan 2020 | US$ 6 499 | amazon.com | |
| 10. | Canon R8 | Canon RF | 2833 | 93 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 4k/60p | Feb 2023 | US$ 1 499 | amazon.com | |
| 11. | Canon R10 | Canon RF | 2780 | 84 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 4k/60p | May 2022 | US$ 979 | amazon.com | |
| 12. | Canon R50 | Canon RF | 2743 | 84 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 4K/30p | Feb 2023 | US$ 679 | amazon.com | |
| 13. | Canon 90D | Canon EF-S | 2698 | 83 | DSLR | 32.3 | 4K/30p | Aug 2019 | US$ 1 199 | amazon.com | |
| 14. | Canon R | Canon RF | 2698 | 89 | Mirrorless | 30.1 | 4K/30p | Sep 2018 | US$ 2 299 | ebay.com | |
| 15. | Canon M50 Mark II | Canon EF-M | 2668 | 83 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 4K/24p | Oct 2020 | US$ 599 | ebay.com | |
| 16. | Canon M6 Mark II | Canon EF-M | 2666 | 83 | Mirrorless | 32.3 | 4K/30p | Aug 2019 | US$ 849 | ebay.com | |
| 17. | Canon RP | Canon RF | 2583 | 85 | Mirrorless | 26.0 | 4K/30p | Feb 2019 | US$ 1 299 | amazon.com | |
| 18. | Canon SL3 | Canon EF-S | 2520 | 82 | DSLR | 24.0 | 4K/25p | Apr 2019 | US$ 599 | amazon.com | |
| 19. | Canon R100 | Canon RF | 2518 | 84 | Mirrorless | 24.0 | 4k/24p | May 2023 | US$ 479 | amazon.com | |
| 20. | Canon T8i | Canon EF-S | 2511 | 83 | DSLR | 24.0 | 4K/24p | Feb 2020 | US$ 749 | ebay.com | |
| Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age. | |||||||||||
You can access more detail on the listed cameras by clicking on the camera's name. Alternatively, you can compare two Canon cameras using the search boxes below. Just enter two model names into the input fields and you will promptly be taken to a respective comparison.
Further Reading
Additional information on the calculation of the Camera Elo can be found on a respective Elo methodology page. Moreover, there are other rankings of cameras by category that might be of interest:
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