RF Mount APS-C camera coming second half of 2021 [CR2]

Canon Rumors Guy

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The on-again, off-again rumors of an APS-C EOS R series camera appear to be back on today.
A known source has told me that the APS-C RF mount camera was initially slated to be announced in early 2021, but has been pushed back to the second half of 2021.
It’s obviously too far out to know any sort of reliable specifications, but I was told that it was not going to be an entry-level product, but a higher margin camera built around speed and a smaller footprint than the EOS R5 and EOS R6.
More to come…

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slclick

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I don't believe one birth signifies another's death here. I just hope they keep churning out more bodies as it seems the historical use of taking a common camera such as a 5D or 7D series and making the most of it to fit your skill set is not enough for many users which cry for a very particular feature set to do what they need or envision. Therefore, the more the merrier. Who doesn't love more choices?
 
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jolyonralph

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Very interesting - maybe there's some truth to the death of EOS-M then. I guess the crux of the question here will be whether or not the "higher margin" nature of the body will put it out of reach for many traditional 7D buyers.

Any word on a higher resolution full frame body coming with it?

Doubt this will kill EOS-M, unless Canon plan on relaunching all the current EF-M lenses in RP-S mount which is unlikely.

The RF APS-C camera is a niche product for a small number of people prepared to pay a premium for an APS-C camera to use high quality lenses. Despite what these people think they are in the small minority of Canon's current APS-C customers.


I think essentially what we'll see is an M7 and an R7 essentially identical except with different mounts.
 
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H. Jones

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Doubt this will kill EOS-M, unless Canon plan on relaunching all the current EF-M lenses in RP-S mount which is unlikely.

I do agree I can't imagine this killing the EOS-M series, but your comment did make me very curious about what it would look like if Canon just simply remade similar designs to the EF-M lenses in an RF-S format. I know the RF mount is bigger, but would be curious to know how small would be possible.
 
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addola

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The RF APS-C camera is a niche product for a small number of people prepared to pay a premium for an APS-C camera to use high quality lenses. Despite what these people think they are in the small minority of Canon's current APS-C customers.

I disagree. All they need to sell a ton of RF APS-C cameras is to bundle it with a 15-55mm zoom as a kit lens. Most photography beginners buy an APS-C camera with a kit lens, and then maybe buy a nifty fifty for low-light. RF mount already have the RF35mm f/1.8 IS for $449 & RF85mm f/2 Macro IS for $599, both with 1:2 macro capability that makes them very versatile. We already heard many rumors about cheaper lenses coming to the RF-line.
 
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I think it spells trouble for the M line. Now, if they didn't mention the "micro" body I'd agree with you, but having two small framed bodies, with APS-C sensors and different lens mounts just doesn't seem profitable and loses significant brand synergy. Its much more profitable to have one big customer group than it is to have two moderate sized ones. The development slows significantly trying to share resources with two similar product lines.

But all that said, the fact that is a pivot off the last Canon VP's suggestion tells me anything is possible.
 
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SteveC

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I do agree I can't imagine this killing the EOS-M series, but your comment did make me very curious about what it would look like if Canon just simply remade similar designs to the EF-M lenses in an RF-S format. I know the RF mount is bigger, but would be curious to know how small would be possible.

Well, there'd be one big difference. The minimum diameter of such a lens (unless Canon wants to design one with a taper), would be about 77mm. That's based on me eyeballing with a ruler across the 40mm pancake, whose flange is maybe 2mm narrower. So if Canon were to move the M lenses over to an RF mount, they'd end up with what, a bunch of uniform-width lenses with only 58 (or so) mm of innards in them? More likely they'd upgrade them some, maybe wider apertures, maybe fancier IS, or a combo of the two. (with respect to EF-M lens selection, 61 mm imposes a lot of constraints on what Canon can do in a lens; if they *ever* decide on some juicier options, they'll have to relax that limit to do them.)

Edit to add: I just realized even the pancake 40mm widens just a bit--I was measuring the front side and drawing conclusions about the camera side's size. So I should have said 75mm minimum diameter for an RF lens.)
 
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SteveC

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M6 mk2 sensor
R6 speed minus 2 fps
RP body upgraded and weather sealed

That wouldn't be a bad package. I'm assuming you'd also want the autofocus off the R5 (or R6 if it's as good--I don't know, I paid little attention to the R6).

Of course, one could also imagine:

M6 mk2 sensor
Autofocus off the R5/6
New improved body, beefed up, weather sealed.
Some name on it that isn't M, but...
Whoops, an EF-M mount.

That, of course, would be the subject of a different rumor.
 
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With an (Let's call it RF-S) mount, I see no reason to keep the EOS M line going. They don't have very many lenses anyway and they can simply tweak existing optic formulations for the new flange distance and mount. I don't see it being super resource intensive. I see replacing the M line as a good investment if Canon is to take the mirrorless game seriously.

If Canon did this smartly, they would've went full frame mirrorless first THEN build their APS-C line on that. They did this backwards.
 
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Chris_Seattle

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The RF APS-C camera is a niche product for a small number of people prepared to pay a premium for an APS-C camera to use high quality lenses. Despite what these people think they are in the small minority of Canon's current APS-C

I also agree here. I’m the owner of a 7DMarkii, a 5DMarkIV, and an M50. All have different purposes.

I basically only use the M50 with the 32mm 1.4 or the 22mm f2.0. This is for when I want a super lightweight tag-along camera for the unexpected photo op, or just common family events. I would never hang a huge zoom on it because the ergonomics suck in that configuration. I would love the opportunity to replace it with an M5 mkii, and will be a customer if Canon ever releases one. Sorry—just can’t get behind the clunkiness of the detachable M6 viewfinder.

The R5 is a compelling option for me to replace both my 5DIV AND my 7Dii, because the R5 is now faster, has incredible autofocus, and almost has the same pixel density of the 7DMarkii. Equivalent crop section of R5 is 17.58Mpix. Think that’s a coincidence that they made it just under the 20.1 mpix of the 7Dii? Like, they couldn’t push the R5 to 50Mpix, so it would have same density. Also just under the pixel count of the 5DSR as well.

I think there is a market for the R7, but it would need to have at least the 32Mpix sensor to be a huge step up in pixel density for birders. And it needs the ergonomics to handle big whites. And hell, maybe they will make some RF-S lenses at some point to sell more options to those that go down that path.
But I think the market will still exist for all 3 segments.

my 2 cents
 
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