Canon Confirms Development of High Megapixel Camera

[privatebydesign]

EF Leaf Shutter Primes. they will be call EF-LS

Leaf shutters have jumped the shark, they offer very little over focal plane shutters whereas electronic shutters are the answer to any and every shutter syncing question.

I would think that if they do come out with a 135 format 50mp camera the new line of lenses will be higher quality higher resolving 'regular' EF lenses, with a massive Cine-esque premium. There is a market of $5,000 normal focal length lenses and Canon are perfectly positioned to leverage that.

The high resolution camera will work with all EF lenses, but the new line will get the best out of it. EF-HR with a blue ring.

I don't see any way ultra conservative Canon are going to come out with a FF mirrorless mount and line of lenses soon, especially considering the mediocre worldwide take up of the M, sure some markets embraced it (as did I) but it hasn't been the commercial success they'd need it to be to look to expand that thinking.

 

[Cochese]

"
•A “new line” of EF lenses is on the way.
"

I'm wondering if this and this new "high megapixel" noise has to do with a possible Medium Format camera.
Or perhaps it's in reference to a new "line" of lenses that are made to specifically utilized a higher resolution sensor. Either way, here's to hoping for some more official news soon.

 

[RGF]

Maybe the "new line of EF lenses" will be an expansion of DO offerings.

Maybe, but it seems unlikely. He'd have been talking about extending a line, not dropping a cagey hint about something new.

Or could it refer to MF lenses? Lenses which throw a larger image on the sensor?

 

[RGF]

Other tidbits from the interview</strong></p>

The days of the annual product cycle are over, new models will come with big advancements in technology</li>
[/quote]

DPReview attributes this comment to entry level bodies. Canon has already slowed the pace of new mid and especially high-end bodies. wonder if the pace of 5D and 1D bodies will be slowed down even further? with even bigger improvements between releases. NB: Nikon tends to provide much smaller, incremental releases.

 

[SoullessPolack]

I'm super stoked for a high mp body from Canon. As a landscape shooter, the new 16-35 is without equal. I had been using the D800 + 14-24, but the 14-24 is heavy and does not easily accept filters, not to mention having to deal with all that for less than a 30% lateral gain in resolution. All else being equal, I'd obviously take 36mp over 22mp. Unfortunately, that's not the case. For a backpacker, weight is critical. The 16-35 provides IS, jaw dropping sharpness, lightweight, and the ability to easily use filters. It will be all the more amazing if it is able to get paired with the suspected 46-50mp body that rumors state.

Of course, it could be something other than high MP FF. On this point, I think many will disagree, but I think the anticipation and not knowing is part of the fun. There are potential possibilities for many different kinds of cameras, and it's fun thinking of what could be coming out.

 

[Antono Refa]

What I read between the lines of "there are two ways of roughly divided into high pixel and high sensitivity to user needs" and "up the number of pixels while maintaining the pixel quality" is -

Canon is going to cater to those who need high ISO performance.

Canon is going to cater to those who need high resolution, without hurting pixel level performance.

Canon is not going to improve DR at low ISO.

If I needed better sensor IQ at low ISO (more DR, no banding, etc), I would have switched to Nikon tomorrow morning.

 

[bartoloman]

Hopefully they get it right this time, high res., high DR, ... and this for a very competitive price. A lot of damage has been done due to the slow time trail. Meanwhile I invested a lot in glass, a new innovative body for landscape and
architectural photographers would be much appreciated.
We cross our fingers, Canon.

 

[sanj]

The days of the annual product cycle are over, new models will come with big advancements in technology

I wonder what "big advancement" means in Canon terms? Is the 7D -> 7D2 an example of that?

 

[pedro]

well, it might be a very intresting phase from 2015 onward into 2016. Hope they do two 5D lines. High ISO allrounder and high pixel count studio beast...I'd be in for anything with better IQ in high ISO. Merry Christmas then...;-)

 

[crashpc]

Well, it´s time. There is EOS M/M2 1,5/2,5 years with us, there is 700D almost two years with us, there is 70D 1,5 years with us, there is 6D almost 2,5 years with us, there is 5D III three years with us, there is 1Dx almost three years with us. It´s about time, Canon!

 

[Bob Howland]

Regarding the new EF line, I don't remember who posted it, but it was rumored not too long ago on this site that canon would make a new EF mount for a mirrorless camera. Perhaps the new camera will be mirrorless?

+1, but still capable of using EF lenses with an adapter. That's my guess.

Update: Also, consider the possibility that the new 50MP sensor might support 4:1 binning, resulting in a 12.5MP sensor capable of ridiculously high ISOs (409K??). Because there is no mirror and because Canon develops a new image processing architecture, the camera is also capable of taking 24FPS at 12.5MP as well as 6FPS at 50MP. Would that make up for the loss of an OVF? Hey, a fella can dream.

Meanwhile Samsung develops a 16MP sensor for a variant of their NX1, also capable of 24FPS full resolution images per second, and the race is on!!

 

[Maiaibing]

Nice with yet another confirmation of a high megapix camera from Canon comming "soon".

Anyone else share my worry 2014 could be the year that makes or breaks Canon as the DSLR market leader?

Not that Canon will not continue to be leading sales numbers for now and at least some years to come (the gap down to Nikon is still significant and seems to have stabilized this year). But if Canon again is seen as failing to match the competition's DSLR bodies 2015 this would underscore that Canon has given up on offering the best DSLR's for the best price but instead bets on getting people to buy into its lens range.

Interview could in fact be interpreted as hinting this.

Anyway. Next announcement will decide if I stay or go so I really hope its a good one!

 

[ChristopherMarkPerez]

2014 was to be Year of the Lenses. Yes, we got a nice lens or two, but...

2015 is to be the Year of the Megapixels? Hmmm... I have a strange feeling that Sony/Nikon will still be leading the charge by the end of next year.

 

[danski0224]

How long was the span between the 1DX announcement and general availability?

This "Development Confirmation" seems to mean little... not that I would be in the market for a new piece of $4k-$10k hardware. At some point, enough is enough.

 

[dolina]

Until an actual announcement is made of an actual product then it becomes a largely academic discussion.

Ring me when it's time to make a reservation. Looking to replace my 5D2!

 

[David Hull]

I like the bit about new bodies/lenses coming out as technology progresses, rather than annual releases. Makes a lot more sense, especially since big technological changes are coming either slower, or in bunches. Although, I imagine they'll still have an annual consumer line of stuff, since that still seems to be the thing with all of the manufacturers.

I think that the camera feature set is at a relatively mature state. In other words, all the low hanging fruit has been gathered. I think that if Canon were to figure out how to match the read noise of Sony/Nikon and, of course add the high MP device to their lineup that we are discussing here, there would be little left to bellyache about. People will always find something though.

 

[dak723]

Nice with yet another confirmation of a high megapix camera from Canon comming "soon".

Anyone else share my worry 2014 could be the year that makes or breaks Canon as the DSLR market leader?

Yes, as long as the technophiles lead the discussion as to what photographers want. Despite the fact that many reviewers have stated that there is virtually no difference in practice between a 20Mp and 36 Mp camera and that you can't get the best resolution without a tripod and the best lenses - and even then the only advantage may come from printing very large, technophiles cry out that we "need" higher MP. My guess is that very few "need" a higher MP at all. The disadvantages are many - unless you spend all your time pixel peeping. Photography - as most art - is about the composition of big shapes. Too much detail can actually be a distraction. Portrait shooters shouldn't want the detail of every pore. Even landscape photographers shouldn't want the detail of every leaf. It detracts from the composition as a whole. These are basic art principles. Sorry if you don't get it.

If you care about photography, about quality lenses, about dependable cameras, about excellent color, about ergonomics - well, then Canon can easily continue to be the market leader.

 

[dgatwood]

I think that the camera feature set is at a relatively mature state. In other words, all the low hanging fruit has been gathered. I think that if Canon were to figure out how to match the read noise of Sony/Nikon and, of course add the high MP device to their lineup that we are discussing here, there would be little left to bellyache about. People will always find something though.

There's plenty of low-hanging fruit, but with the exception of an electronic global shutter and DPAF everywhere, the low-hanging fruit is mostly software at this point, and Canon doesn't seem to care about that aspect of their gear. For example:

• Automatic AFMA using DPAF
• Dark background metering modes
• Focus bracketing
• In-camera RAW adjustment tools for quick adjustments
• Better Wi-Fi support (more like a traditional OS, with automatic joining of multiple networks with passwords)
• Android app support for more flexibility

And so on.

 

[dgatwood]

Yes, as long as the technophiles lead the discussion as to what photographers want. Despite the fact that many reviewers have stated that there is virtually no difference in practice between a 20Mp and 36 Mp camera and that you can't get the best resolution without a tripod and the best lenses - and even then the only advantage may come from printing very large, technophiles cry out that we "need" higher MP. My guess is that very few "need" a higher MP at all.

Anyone who occasionally has need for shooting small things far away would benefit from higher MP counts. In particular, anyone who uses a crop body for reach, but uses a full-frame camera for everything else would benefit by being able to carry only a single camera instead of two.

For example, bird photography benefits greatly from being able to crop further before the resolution becomes too low to use. Mind you, there's a limit to how much you benefit from increased pixel density, and by the time you're at... say 50 MP on crop, 130 MP on full-frame, you probably aren't going to gain much by cranking the resolution higher, but we're nowhere near those limits yet in the Canon world.

The disadvantages are many - unless you spend all your time pixel peeping. Photography - as most art - is about the composition of big shapes. Too much detail can actually be a distraction. Portrait shooters shouldn't want the detail of every pore. Even landscape photographers shouldn't want the detail of every leaf. It detracts from the composition as a whole. These are basic art principles. Sorry if you don't get it.

No, there is never a disadvantage to having more resolution available. It is trivial to throw away resolution after the fact, and to soften (blur) images to achieve the artistic look you want. By contrast, it is impossible to get back resolution that was never there to begin with. So a high-res camera can satisfy both of our needs, but a low-res camera can't.

 

[fish_shooter]

Maybe the "new line of EF lenses" will be an expansion of DO offerings.

Maybe, but it seems unlikely. He'd have been talking about extending a line, not dropping a cagey hint about something new.

Or could it refer to MF lenses? Lenses which throw a larger image on the sensor?

Do you mean MF as in manual focus or MF as medium format?
I can see Canon responding to the Zeiss Otus lenses with a new super-premium line, maybe branded as double L as in EF-LL, and super expensive as well! However, I think Canon would be more upscale than Otus by being AF as well.
Merry Christmas!!
Tom