Will Canon ever move into the Medium Format space?

[pwp]

As an aside, you can use bokeh or panorama stitching to get a MF DOF effect and resolution.  It is often referred to as the Brenzier method.
 
Here is Ryan Brenzier's webpage with more examples.  His are mostly wedding and engagement stuff, but you can also use it for landscape as well.

http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/category/brenizer-method/
Here is a great example of how this technique can be used in landscape photography (love this shot):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38068178@N08/6354950127/#

Incredible work. Thanks for pointing us at the Brenzier method  images. I seriously doubt I have the patience to construct images in this way, but I'll look at work like this all day long.

-PW

[HurtinMinorKey]

MF sensors are easy to produce, there is no magic in it because the pixels don't have to be very dense.

The glass on the other hand, with enough sharpness and coverage for MF sensor, will end up costing more than anything else.

[Menace]

As an aside, you can use bokeh or panorama stitching to get a MF DOF effect and resolution.  It is often referred to as the Brenzier method (named after the wedding photog that made it famous).  Using this has its drawbacks, but it also has the advantage of getting images that wouldn't even be possible with any MF cameras.  There is a calculator where you input you camera and lens setup and how many images you did in your stitch and it will tell you what imaginary camera and lens you would have needed to actually get something similar in real life (some of my image have come to the equivalent of a non existent f0.7 lens). 

Here is Ryan Brenzier's webpage with more examples.  His are mostly wedding and engagement stuff, but you can also use it for landscape as well.

http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/category/brenizer-method/

Here is a great example of how this technique can be used in landscape photography (love this shot):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38068178@N08/6354950127/#

Here is a crappy attempt I did for a test a couple months ago (which reminds me, I should go outside right now and enjoy the equipment I already own):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/benison/6881124182/#in/photostream

Thanks for sharing the link Alex, I am going to give brenizer method a go - will let you know how it goes

[RS2021]

No...canon is too smart to venture into MF.... They hold considerable edge on the lens front in the 35mm format...if they dabble in MF, they will have to start out from a much lower point...beyond that, they will suddenly find themselves in head to head competition with some big boys with very long and illustrious histories in that new pond.

[RGF]

Biggest hurdle would the need to create new suite of lenses.  Current lens are optimized for 35mm diagonal.

Development cost for the lens would be very high, not to mention the manufacturing costs/challenges since this is not an area that Canon has experience mass producing lens.

Would I say, ever.  NO, but very very low chance.

[dickgrafixstop]

Bad idea - too big an investment for too little return.  Besides, with improvements in sensor technology the full frame 35mm size will rival MF within three years.  Even MF titans like Hasselblad are cutting MF prices - you can get the Pentax 645 for not too much more than a 1Dx and gearing up
to produce a new line of lenses with a limited market is really dumb. 

[Dick]

The answer is no.  They have absolutely no reason to enter such a small, and I mean very small, market compared to a huge market that they currently dominate.  No business sense in doing so.

Business sense is not that simple. Why do you think VW offers such a variety of cars under all kinds brands ranging from Bentley to Audi, Seat & Skoda? Most of them cars compete with each other on the same markets.

Canon could for example release cheap medium format cameras just to make other brands disappear from markets. In long run that could actually bring more customers to Canon's main formats.

[RLPhoto]

Yes, with competing High MP FF bodies, in the near future.

[Don Haines]

I wonder what a large format telephoto prime would cost.... Probably more than my house......