It's official: the Canon EOS R3 is 'coming soon', finally bringing a pro-spec camera to the company's mirrorless RF mount system.

However, this is only a development announcement from Canon. There's no official date as to when the R3 will actually launch - but given that it's an Olympic year, we'd wager that Canon will be targeting a release prior to the Games.

So what can you expect of the R3? There's no full specification just yet, but we do know that 30 frames per second continuous shooting will be possible, plus there's a new autofocus system that can focus based on where the photographer is looking through the viewfinder by tracking their eye. How about that for technological advancement?

The EOS R3 is clearly aiming at professional sports and event photographers, with speed being the aim of the game. The camera sits between the Canon EOS R5 and EOS 1D X Mark III, largely aping the latter in terms of design, so those pros used to the current EF DSLR system can easily move over to the RF mirrorless setup with no qualms.

We wouldn't expect the R3 to be particularly high resolution, instead focusing on quality and speed. The megapixel count is currently unknown, but the sensor is confirmed to be a brand new stacked BSI CMOS full-frame with Digic X processor in tow.

Ahead of the camera's arrival, Canon has made a clear statement of intent with its lenses too: the RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM and RF 600mm f4L IS USM are now official - at a not inconsiderable £12,449.99 and £13,409.99, respectively - to mirror their EF L-series lens equivalents.

Canon told Pocket-lint that these two RF lenses are optically identical to their EF equivalents, but that "differences in the electronics and image stabilisation systems" make for advancements - including an additional half stop of stabilisation thanks to increased communication between camera body and lens.

So there we have it, the Canon EOS R3 is coming soon. Given where it sits in the company's range, our guestimate would be the body-only price will be in the region of £7,000 to get your hands on one - whenever it officially launches to market anyway.