Canon Rumors said:

I think I named it incorrectly. It works like certain car steering setups that are called "by wire". Electrical current (the wire) to a servo that doesn't have any manual input other than a rocker switch (the steering wheel), unlike power steering, which would sort of be a normal zoom ring. There could be a different name and for it in this sort of application.

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Sorry, I think you were spot on and zoom-by-wire is the right name. My issue is really about the switch mechanism to control the zoom. Often that's a rocker switch of some sort, and that's different from a zoom ring. Canon designed the RF-S 14-30 PZ with a rocker switch in the form of a ring, but it's still a rocker switch. With the RF lens focus-by-wire, you rotate the focus ring freely around the lens and the focus motor moves.

With the RF-S 14-30 PZ, you rotate the zoom ring a little bit and the lens zooms at low speed, you rotate the zoom ring a little more then it hits a stop and the lens zooms at high speed. The 'zoom ring rotation' is just a short travel over probably something like a 10° arc, 5° each way from center position to hit the high speed setting. To me, that's not zooming like any other lens – it's a different control mechanism. Not the 'by-wire' part but the 'ring' part.

neuroanatomist said:

I’m surprised by the L designation for the PZ lens. 20-50mm is a useful ‘walkaround’ range and the lens will probably be compact and optically excellent (at least for those who don’t mind forced distortion correction at the wide end), but I don’t see any utility of a power zoom for photography.

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I agree with you, that does seem a bit weird for a lens with such a short zoom range (2.5x) to have power zoom. I would have imagined a PZ feature to be more useful on something like an updated 24-240mm RF lens (10x zoom) for videographers. I loved the old Canon EF 17-40mm F/4.0 L lens though, and I'd be happy to see the 20-50mm compact zoom lens that gives a bit more on both ends without becoming a boat anchor.

JensR said:

You do realise there is still the R6MII and the new R6MIII with IBIS and pretty photo centric, and they even have an EVF! And btw, they can do "a bit" of video too.
And the best thing: They even work as backup cameras, if needed.
Why would you even consider a "V" camera model for that?

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Size and weight.
I have an R5m2. I'm definitely not considering another fullsize body.
Plus, think about it. If you have fullsize and a compact, you have 3 options when needing to decide what to take. 1) full 2) compact 3) full+compact. It's great to have the option to just take the compact for a family happening, street photo, hiking, whatever.

I might be over-explaining - you buy compact camera because it is compact and a fullsize body is not an alternative.

Im honestly very excited for this one, I already have the R5ii for photos and the C50 for my films, this R6V would be perfect for everyday vlogs hoping that 20-5mm lens stays on the smaller size, open gate and IBIS are very good for this camera... People here saying or mentioning they want it for photo I do not think this camera will be that, its a "V" version which in my understanding stands for video focused....

neuroanatomist said:

I could probably live with that, but that's not how it's implemented on Canon's only other PZ lens. For the RF-S 14-30 PZ, the zoom ring is a rocker.

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I think they can get away with that sort of implementation on a $369 kit-lens type of lens, but I don't think it would fly on a FF L lens that is likely to cost around a thousand dollars more.

mb66energy said:

for me a strange idea to have R6 iii, R6 V and C50 as three flavours of one basic camera "segment".

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It is exactly what Sony does.
ZV-E1, A7S III, FX3, and FX6.

Del Paso said:

Right, a powerzoom is not needed for photography

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It is when you want to operate the camera remotely

Canon Rumors said:

You can use a PZ lens like any other lens. It just zooms by wire instead of traditional gears.

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PZ, at least in the RF-S lens, is not a zoom-by-wire like Canon RF lenses are focus-by-wire – no freely rotating ring. The RF-S 14-30 does not have a normal zoom control with an added motor, the 'zoom ring' is a rocker switch in the form of a ring. I suppose one would get used to it...

Maybe the RF L PZ lens will have a different design than the current RF-S PZ lens. It's certainly possible to have a freely rotating ring coupled to the zoom motor, my Vixia HF G60 camcorder has a freely rotating, knurled ring in front that can be used for focus or zoom (controlled by a switch next to the ring).



The implementation is not ideal, IMO, but better than the two-speed rocker on the RF-S 14-30. The zoom speed varies with ring rotation speed, but there's a short but still noticeable lag between when I start turning the ring and when the zooming starts. For example, I can give the ring a very quick, short rotation and then the camcorder gives a short, quick zoom that happens after I stopped rotating the ring. The process just feels a bit imprecise. Personally, I use the ring for manual focusing and stick to the rocker on top for zooming.

Fast zooming does not seem very desirable for videography, whereas you may want to zoom in quickly to take a picture. Might matter less with a 2.5x zoom range in the ultrawide-to-normal range.

mimbu said:

I think that depends a lot on how the PZ functionality is implemented. I'm not familiar with Canon's RF PZ systems to date, but I would hope a Canon L lens with PZ would work similarly to Sony's 16-35/4G PZ.

Sony put six of their fastest XD Linear motors into the 16-35G. Four for focusing (2 motors x 2 groups), and 2 for zooming. The result is that the zoom ring has the same feeling and performance as the focus-by-wire system. You can twist the zoom ring really quickly and get really fast zooming, or you can twist it slowly and get slow zooming. The ring is also not a rocker, you turn it the same as you would a mechanically coupled zoom ring, though there are no hard stops AFAIK. Basically, the zoom ring works like the focus by wire MF ring does.

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I could probably live with that, but that's not how it's implemented on Canon's only other PZ lens. For the RF-S 14-30 PZ, the zoom ring is a rocker. I've never used it, but here's how Bryan/TDP describes it:

The 14-30 PZ's zoom ring does not function conventionally. Instead, it is a two-directional switch that controls the motor for the built-in power zoom feature. Partially rotating the zoom ring counterclockwise (from behind the camera) slowly zooms the lens to a longer focal length, and a clockwise rotation slowly does the opposite. A full rotation (only a handful of degrees) in either direction switches the motor into its higher speed mode for quick adjustments.

So apparently it's a two-speed rocker control. Like I said, not something I'd want in a photography lens.

mimbu said:

Another benefit is that the zoom and AF work in concert to maintain perfect focus when zooming, with no delay. It makes the lens appear to be completely parfocal.

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Not for the RF-S 14-30 PZ. Again quoting Bryan/TDP here:

Non-cinema lenses typically require refocusing after a focal length change. As illustrated in the 100% crops below, the reviewed lens does not exhibit parfocal-like characteristics. When focused at 30mm, zooming to wider focal lengths continues to produce sharp results until a strong focus blur shows at 14mm.

Especially with the RF-S 14-30mm F4-6.3 IS STM PZ Lens being highly optimized for video recording, it seems that Canon should electronically correct the focus distance during the focal length adjustment.

mimbu said:

If Canon implements something similar to this, I think most photographers who are likely to buy an f4L lens would find it very useable. Certainly anyone who wants it for hybrid use will appreciate it.

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Canon does know their market, probably the lens will sell as well as they need to it (and will be priced to make them a tidy profit). But with those design features, they won't sell one to me.

ThomasTH said:

What a scene, great photos!

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Thank you, Thomas!

neuroanatomist said:

Personally, I would not want a zoom lens with only a motorized zoom function for photography. YMMV.

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I think that depends a lot on how the PZ functionality is implemented. I'm not familiar with Canon's RF PZ systems to date, but I would hope a Canon L lens with PZ would work similarly to Sony's 16-35/4G PZ.

Sony put six of their fastest XD Linear motors into the 16-35G. Four for focusing (2 motors x 2 groups), and 2 for zooming. The result is that the zoom ring has the same feeling and performance as the focus-by-wire system. You can twist the zoom ring really quickly and get really fast zooming, or you can twist it slowly and get slow zooming. The ring is also not a rocker, you turn it the same as you would a mechanically coupled zoom ring, though there are no hard stops AFAIK. Basically, the zoom ring works like the focus by wire MF ring does.

You can also use the zoom rocker on the lens or camera to get smooth constant zooming for video. You can actually set up the lens' zoom responsiveness from within your camera's menu, too. Zooming and AF are both silent, as usual from an XD Linear system.

Another benefit is that the zoom and AF work in concert to maintain perfect focus when zooming, with no delay. It makes the lens appear to be completely parfocal.

As far as zoom lag goes, it's also about the same as what you would experience with a very high end focus by wire system. I suppose if you want to rack the zoom SUPER fast it woujld probably be faster to crank a a mechanically coupled zoom really hard, but the PZ is not slow or laggy.

If Canon implements something similar to this, I think most photographers who are likely to buy an f4L lens would find it very useable. Certainly anyone who wants it for hybrid use will appreciate it.

josephandrews222 said:

R5MkII and 200-800 @ 800

Gray Catbird

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Your getting the R5ii and RF 200-800mm has definitely paid off as your recent shots have shown.

Del Paso said:

Right, a powerzoom is not needed for photography, could even be disturbing
And, by the way, the newer Z zooms are fully usable without the add-on motor.

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The 24-105/2.8L and newer 70-200/2.8L are Z lenses, not PZ lenses. AFAIK, there is only one Canon PZ lens to date (not counting the Cine Servo zoom lenses). The 'Z' lenses require the PZ-E2 accessory for motorized zoom, otherwise they are regular zoom lenses with a regular, mechanical zoom ring. As you might expect from the '2' there was a PZ-E1 that provided power zoom capability specifically for the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens.

Have a look at the only other PZ lens, the RF-S 14-30mm F4-6.3 IS STM PZ. PZ means the zoom motor is inside the lens, not in a separate accessory. The zoom ring has no manual function. Turning it one way or the other just activates the built-in zoom motor (in a force-sensitive way so the zoom can be driven at different speeds). Personally, I would not want a zoom lens with only a motorized zoom function for photography. YMMV.

blackcoffee17 said:

Even the EF 100-400 II was better than the prime. Sharper at 400mm and much more flexible. I owned both.

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There was still a cult of the EF 400 f/5.6 L when the EF 100-400 II came out. I suppose the built-in lens hood and kudos of owning a prime. made up for the 3.5m close focus, lack of IS and being less sharp even on Canon's own MTF charts.

riker said:

The third time I'm happy for basically the same post.
Having IBIS might be a sign of Canon making this one more photo-focused and less vlogger crap. This will make many middle aged oldschool boomers like me happy.
And it will make it a reasonable secondary/backup camera for those who haven't seriously considered purchasing one. Until now.

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You do realise there is still the R6MII and the new R6MIII with IBIS and pretty photo centric, and they even have an EVF! And btw, they can do "a bit" of video too.
And the best thing: They even work as backup cameras, if needed.
Why would you even consider a "V" camera model for that?

The third time I'm happy for basically the same post.
Having IBIS might be a sign of Canon making this one more photo-focused and less vlogger crap. This will make many middle aged oldschool boomers like me happy.
And it will make it a reasonable secondary/backup camera for those who haven't seriously considered purchasing one. Until now.

If there's LP-E6NH/P, IBIS and EFCS, I'm getting one.

Any Name said:

And yet, here we are, with the article already adjusted to the (at this moment) suggested/perceived split of the current R8 into an R8V and R8 Mark II. Go figure.
Probably a split by Canon due to wildly different reasons than mine, but we'll see what we end up with eventually.

BTW: 'Photographing' at 30 FPS is just making very short films and hoping that one particular frame has the approximate image you'd want.
Not my kind of picture taking and I'd gladly take a much lower max FPS if that means slower/cheaper onboard buffer RAM, less cooling (as someone else mentioned), etc. etc.

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That's not the same at all. That's not a split, Canon just adding another video-first camera in the lineup. The R8V/R6V is very video specific and doesn't have an EVF. The R8 Mark II will have the same video features as the current R8, it won't be a stills-only camera.

neuroanatomist said:

I’m surprised by the L designation for the PZ lens. 20-50mm is a useful ‘walkaround’ range and the lens will probably be compact and optically excellent (at least for those who don’t mind forced distortion correction at the wide end), but I don’t see any utility of a power zoom for photography.

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Right, a powerzoom is not needed for photography, could even be disturbing.
Yet, provided sharp, 20-50 can be a pretty useful complement to a 70-200, especially as a compact city package.
I'll be among the first buyers if, despite those satanic, devilish and trumpish software corrections, it is as sharp as the 24-70 at comparable focals.
And, by the way, the newer Z zooms are fully usable without the add-on motor.
I have never heard or read about an optically disappointing Canon RF zoom lately...

AlanF said:

The RF 100-500mm is an order of magnitude or more better than the EF 400/5.6. It is sharper at 500 than the prime at 400, has excellent IS against its absence, faster AF, will focus close and had all the advantages of zoom for framing as well as longer with little extra weight. I’ve used both extensively and the zoom is indeed not close, it is miles ahead.

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Even the EF 100-400 II was better than the prime. Sharper at 400mm and much more flexible. I owned both.

I’m surprised by the L designation for the PZ lens. 20-50mm is a useful ‘walkaround’ range and the lens will probably be compact and optically excellent (at least for those who don’t mind forced distortion correction at the wide end), but I don’t see any utility of a power zoom for photography.

What a scene, great photos!

Here's an Osprey couple with one bringing home a fish for dinner.

If this comes in at a ~2200 price point as (someone?) rumored. it's a fair bit of camera for the $$$. I'm personally more interested in the lens and I suspect that if it's a true L in quality it'll be right around the 14-35/4L. Maybe you can squeeze in a kit price of $2999.

Unfortunately, this seems like it may be the 'May event' where 'we' thought the R7II was going to be announced. Hopefully that doesn't mean it's back in limbo.

R5MkII and 200-800 @ 800

Gray Catbird