Canon EOS R1 and R5 Mark II get two key AF upgrades with free firmware update

Canon has released a free firmware update for four of its cameras - the EOS R1, EOS R5 Mark II, EOS R50 V, and PowerShot V1 (curr. $849 on Amazon) - with the flagship pair receiving the most meaningful improvements.

The primary addition for the EOS R1 and R5 Mark II is expanded Action Priority AF support. American football has now been added to the list of recognized sports, joining soccer, basketball, and volleyball. The camera can now identify specific in-game actions like ball carries and pass throws, and it tracks the relevant subject accordingly. Canon has also improved tracking recovery - if focus is lost during a moment of subject crossing, the camera can quickly reacquire the intended target rather than staying locked on the wrong subject.

The second big upgrade is to the Registered People Priority function. Recognition of pre-registered faces has been improved for side profiles and partially obscured faces, and subject discrimination in crowded multi-person scenes is now more reliable.

On the video side, both cameras gain the ability to switch to False Color display while View Assist is active, along with grid and level overlays during video recording.

The EOS R50 V and PowerShot V1 also get updates geared towards creator workflows, including Review AF availability across standard shooting modes - useful for live commerce and product review shooting - and support for the upcoming BR-E2 wireless remote.

The firmware is available now via Canon's Camera Connect app, with direct website download available from May 14.