Canon engineers talk EOS R and the future of the system

Apr 25, 2011
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It means, if you physically print P Av Tv M C1 onto a mode dial, those are all the modes you can have, and you must have exactly those modes, whether you're shooting video or stills. It's kind of a stupid rationalization, at least for now, because the two are almost the same anyways. In video mode, there's no Bulb (duh), and no Fv mode. They both have auto, program, Av, Tv, M, and C1-C3, I believe. And obviously, it's possible to tell the user to turn the mode dial to something else if they're trying to shoot a video in Bulb >.<

I guess, if there were vastly different exposure modes in the future for stills vs video, it would make more sense O.O
It would make sense if you could dynamically create custom modes.

Still, some shortcut to mechanically pick particular modes ("I want C3 right now!") would be nice. Could be combined with the on/off switch... and then we are back to the mode dial.
 
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chrisrmueller

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Oct 23, 2018
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Have you searched the user's manual?

Not yet! I’ll search online for it and report back. I originally saw an article online that said it had this feature. The person behind the counter at B&H said he hadn’t heard of it and then proceeded to check the manual himself, and told me it was not possible. I assumed it wasn’t (and that the other article contained an error) until I read this article.
 
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chrisrmueller

CR Pro
Oct 23, 2018
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Not yet! I’ll search online for it and report back. I originally saw an article online that said it had this feature. The person behind the counter at B&H said he hadn’t heard of it and then proceeded to check the manual himself, and told me it was not possible. I assumed it wasn’t (and that the other article contained an error) until I read this article.

Found it:

1F391CD1-B57E-4A54-B314-80D4F9AA049D.jpeg

It appears it only works with RF lenses. But that’s still pretty amazing.
 
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Oct 26, 2013
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Held an R today for the first time. Nice heft and feel. Then I looked through the EVF. Awful. Just as bad as the A9. These are among the best EVFs but are soooo far from the OVF on my DSLRs, that I would not buy the camera.
What I don't understand is that the rear screen was nice and sharp and high resolution and a pleasure to use. But the EVF....
The viewfinder is the interface between the artist and the scene. A step change is needed before I'd buy a mirrorless.

If you don't like the EVF on the "R" then you will probably never like an EVF. Which is fine. To call it awful, however, is an extreme exaggeration. I have never seen a better one and in daylight shooting, I really can't even tell I am not looking thru an OVF.

To each his/her own.
 
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Jul 31, 2018
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If the four engineers in the photo are representative, the team clearly lacks diversity. No wonder!

"Diversity in Japan". LOL. :p

I find the difference between Sony and Canon mirrorfree team heads ... interesting. Guess who's having more fun at work?

Canon_EOS_R_Engineers.jpeg


sonyteama7r_zpsf1b52fa9.jpg


https://www.sonyalpharumors.com/int...-developers-faster-lenses-are-in-development/
 
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Talys

Canon R5
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Feb 16, 2017
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It would make sense if you could dynamically create custom modes.

Still, some shortcut to mechanically pick particular modes ("I want C3 right now!") would be nice. Could be combined with the on/off switch... and then we are back to the mode dial.
Okay, I'll bite... pie in the sky, the best would be that the mode final is a donut shaped ePaper display (because that would take no power except to redraw and be easy to see in the sun). Then allow the user to reprogram all the mode selectors to what they want, including duplicates, so that your sequence could look like Av M C1 .... C1 C2 C3.

I'd replace clicks I almost never used, like scene intelligent auto and bulb for extra custom modes.
 
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Talys

Canon R5
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If you don't like the EVF on the "R" then you will probably never like an EVF. Which is fine. To call it awful, however, is an extreme exaggeration. I have never seen a better one and in daylight shooting, I really can't even tell I am not looking thru an OVF.

To each his/her own.
Yeah, to be fair, the A9 EVF is about the same. So if you hate A9 or R, you'll basically hate all EVFs.

Personally, I think that the image and viewfinder experience in the top end EVFs are good, but I still prefer a DSLR for a variety of reasons.
 
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Jul 31, 2018
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Which can accurately describe pretty much all of your posts as well! :eek::cool::):love:

say what?

i don't think my posts leave anyone guessing as to what i might possibly mean ... or want. :)

and i do call a spade a spade rather than just stating politically correct fluff.

really, i have not read any interview with Canon execs with any specific and tangible information in it. Especially never anything regarding their product strategy and what it means to their customers .... in advance, not in retrospect ... like eg the statements re. the 3 different EF-RF adapters - that would have been really interesting stuff 3 months AHEAD of Canon's EOS R / mount launch!

i also find the photo portal site interviewers (all of them!) and their questions extremely braindead, toothless and their questions not to points that are of real interest to their audience.
 
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Nov 3, 2012
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If you don't like the EVF on the "R" then you will probably never like an EVF. Which is fine. To call it awful, however, is an extreme exaggeration. I have never seen a better one and in daylight shooting, I really can't even tell I am not looking thru an OVF.

To each his/her own.

Hi Dak and Kit Lens Jockey
Yes, I mentioned my confusion about my disappointment with the EVF, especially the comparison with the rear screen. But I had exactly the same experience with the A9, which also has a "good" EVF that people get excited about. I am surprised about your comment that its like looking thrugh an OVF. Just expressing my experience - hard to imagine you can do anything wrong by looking through the viewfinder. The only possible thing is that the shop had no RF lenses so I used an EF 50/1.4 with an adaptor.
You may well be right about never being happy with an EVF - I've been using OVFs in Canon SLRs and DSLRs since the TLb in the 1970s.
 
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zim

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Oct 18, 2011
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say what?
i also find the photo portal site interviewers (all of them!) and their questions extremely braindead, toothless

Actually I do agree with that part. These interviews are just PR for the interviewers.
The quality or lack of is down to them not those interviewed so your 'who's having more fun' comparison isn't relevant.
 
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Jul 31, 2018
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Actually I do agree with that part. These interviews are just PR for the interviewers.
The quality or lack of is down to them not those interviewed so your 'who's having more fun' comparison isn't relevant.

both are at fault:
1. company reps: why do they give interviews if they are not ready to say anything substantial at all? Better skip it entirely then.
2. interviewers: why are they not able to ask the questions and insist on some meaningful answers. If those are not obtainable, then better don't publish the "interview".
 
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Oct 26, 2013
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I rarely shoot video and when I do I just use standard settings, but the new mode dial on the R gives you the choice of 18 mode settings - 10 for stills, including 3 custom settings, and 8 for video, including 3 custom settings. Perhaps you have this many choices on the high end Canon cameras, but if not, perhaps this is what the engineers were talking about in the interview.
 
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koenkooi

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Feb 25, 2015
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Erm... The EVF is almost twice the resolution of the rear screen, in a display that is physically much smaller than the rear screen. It has 3.6 million pixels packed into a 0.5 inch display. [..]
It's 3.6 million dots, not pixels. I get the impression that Canon means: 1.2 million green dots, 1.2 million red dots and 1.2 million blue dots, which probably boils down to 1.2 million real pixels.

But your point about it having more pixels on a smaller area than the LCD still stands.
 
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Mar 20, 2015
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well, had stupid Canon left the mode dial in place and instead implemented 4k video with no crop, they would have gotten praise from videots and stills photogs.

Nope, I'm a stills photographer and I hate the mode dial. The only camera I have which features it is a 7D and that's because there was no other option.

When you've built a super-high-resolution EVF what's the point in making the user pull their eye away from that, change their grip and squint in the dusk light to find the correct mode on a clicky-dial? On a 1D I just keep my eye to the viewfinder and spin the wheel to the mode I want. My right hand stays exactly where it needs to be to take the next shot.

Hurrah for the death of the mode dial! The 1970s have passed!
 
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