In one final bit of Canon news out of CES 2020, the camera maker unveiled something for photographers who will be capturing the action at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics: The CR-S700R Robotic Camera System.
Built to be used with either the Canon 1D X Mark II or the new 1D X Mark III and one of just six compatible L lenses, the CR-S700R is definitely not a “mass market” product. It’s built around a remote pan head that’s mounted on a central axis so it can zoom, pan, tilt, and roll the camera “in a small footprint” and with “minimal shifting of weight and balance.”
The CR-S700R comes with the IP camera controller CR-G100, which connects with Canon’s creatively named “CR-A100 Camera Remote Application” to allow for the operation and control of multiple units from a single PC.
Canon says the system is “ideal to follow high-speed subjects,” and while the press release mentions its “compact and lightweight” design, as you can see from the image above, that designation should come with a big fat asterisk.
Since the CR-S700R is built specifically for still image shooting, it’s compact and lightweight *compared to other systems that are meant to capture both stills and video.
Both the CR-S700R Robotic Camera System and the accompanying software will be available to purchase starting mid-February 2020 for the price of “please contact your local Canon pro market representative or regional sales manager” (translation: a lot), so expect to see at least a few of these on the track in Tokyo.
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