Canon Executive interview at CP+ 2024

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Phototrend, a French internet publication interviewed Canon’s executives. Canon said a lot on a wide-ranging bunch of subjects. I’m just going to report and let you come to your conclusions. Canon mentioned that they hold a 48% market share globally but stated that it’s impossible to determine what their full-frame market share is, and that

See full article...

 

[Jethro]

On Canon's official attitude to 3rd party lens manufacturers: "we have not adopted an open strategy" - in case there was still any lingering doubt?

But he seems to confirm that there are deals coming, especially for RF-S lenses, which has got to be a good thing.

 

[R1-7D]

They also talk about the R1 and it being an Olympic year at the end of the article; from my reading, it was strongly suggested that certain photographers already have the camera and are getting acclimated to it for use at the Olympics. Also, since some people are still holding onto hope for a global shutter, the Canon exec was pretty explicit that it won’t because there are big disadvantages to the technology, especially for implementation in a flagship model.

 

[koenkooi]

They also talk about the R1 and it being an Olympic year at the end of the article; from my reading, it was strongly suggested that certain photographers already have the camera and are getting acclimated to it for use at the Olympics. Also, since some people are still holding onto hope for a global shutter, the Canon exec was pretty explicit that it won’t because there are big disadvantages, especially for a flagship model.

There was a bit where he said, paraphrasing a bit: “but maybe we are super awesome and solve those issues!”
There is enough vagueness in their responses to read almost anything into it.

 

[R1-7D]

There was a bit where he said, paraphrasing a bit: “but maybe we are super awesome and solve those issues!”
There is enough vagueness in their responses to read almost anything into it.

I disagree. In my view, he was pretty clear.

…there are negative points and the quality of the image is affected. The sensitivity management is not very good and the dynamic range is less extensive. And I think we would have difficulty optimizing this, because of the very complex structure of this type of sensor.

Of course, in the future, we will consider whether or not to incorporate these elements, depending on the balance we can find between the advantages and disadvantages. We will therefore have to weigh the pros and cons to determine whether we should take them into account for our future products.

Some professionals say they make fun of having an image with noise, if they can capture a photo without distortion or using a high-speed flash. They therefore accept certain compromises. What do you answer them?​

Yasuhiko Shiomi: I am aware of the voices that are being raised to say that they can compromise on one point.

But, if we have to integrate this on our flagship product, our flagship, we want to have complete technology. Thus, image quality is not a point on which we could compromise, it is our philosophy.

 

[blackcoffee17]

As far as APS-C lenses are concerned:

Canon exec: But again, it all depends on what the customers want, what they are asking for.

Im pretty sure many asked for constant aperture or higher quality zooms already.

Canon exec: But if you look at full-frame lenses, we have an extensive range, and they can all be used on APS-C bodies.

Same old answer. We dont care, just use full frame lenses.

 

[neuroanatomist]

As far as APS-C lenses are concerned:

Canon exec: But again, it all depends on what the customers want, what they are asking for.

Im pretty sure many asked for constant aperture or higher quality zooms already.

How many, relative to the millions of APS-C cameras that Canon sells each year? I suspect that what most of the APS-C market wants is inexpensive lenses with good quality, and that most APS-C buyers care far more about focal length than aperture (to the extent they even understand the latter).

Fuji has concentrated on high-end APS-C users, with a very nice range of constant aperture and high quality zooms. They have been and remain a minor player in the digital camera market, struggling to break 6% share as Canon hovers close to the 50% mark.

Same old answer.

Yes, the same old answer: Canon knows the market better than you.

 

[John Wilde]

Also, since some people are still holding onto hope for a global shutter, the Canon exec was pretty explicit that it won’t because there are big disadvantages to the technology, especially for implementation in a flagship model.

DPR has an article with the title "Sony a9 III: Global shutter comes with an image quality cost", not something that Canon would want in a flagship camera.

 

[neuroanatomist]

DPR has an article with the title "Sony a9 III: Global shutter comes with an image quality cost", not something that Canon would want in a flagship camera.

Don't you mean not want to repeat? DPR said plenty about the poor image quality (defined as 1-2 stops less DR at base ISO than others) of several Canon cameras, including the flagship 1D X.

 

[EricN]

There was a bit where he said, paraphrasing a bit: “but maybe we are super awesome and solve those issues!”
There is enough vagueness in their responses to read almost anything into it.

It's like a horoscope in that regard

 

[P-visie]

It's like a horoscope in that regard

Canon was named after the goddess Kwanon, so a horoscope might help. And maybe that is the reason why Canon does not provide roadmaps.

 

[Del Paso]

If you can read French, go to the original, a lot was lost in translation. They mention for instance a rumor according to which Sigmas could have been made in RF mount already in February. Maybe in March ???
Is Phototrend reliable? Who knows...

 

[Del Paso]

Canon was named after the goddess Kwanon, so a horoscope might help. And maybe that is the reason why Canon does not provide roadmaps.

No chance, roadkill entrails have proven to be far more reliable. The saw the RF 1,2/35 coming, even before Canon!

 

[koenkooi]

If you can read French, go to the original, a lot was lost in translation. They mention for instance a rumor according to which Sigmas could have been made in RF mount already in February. Maybe in March ???
Is Phototrend reliable? Who knows...

Phototrend has been able to ask pertinent questions to a lot of the big players in previous years. As expected, they get verbose non-answers most of the time
So it’s not really a matter of them being reliable, it’s a matter of how they parse the answers. And how well google translate works when Anglophones want to know what phototrend reported!

 

[Walrus]

Canon also mentions that they don't think third-party companies can make lenses as good as Canon can.

Oh. Yes. Absolutely.

So why "we're not adopting an open strategy"? Just let third party companies humiliate themselves with horrible lenses, with slow and inconsistent AF and poor optical performance.

Geez...

 

[Navism]

Canon has global shutter sensor without DPAF. I think Canon is still creating DPAF global shutter. R1 should be DGO sensor.

 

[David - Sydney]

so... canon had a couple of interviews at CP+ but no announcements. Where does that leave the current rumour status?

 

[Brown]

However, EOS M bodies are also very compact. Maintaining commercialization depends on the market today

What does this mean?
I wish they'd make an R50 sized body with high-end specs.

 

[Del Paso]

Oh. Yes. Absolutely.

So why "we're not adopting an open strategy"? Just let third party companies humiliate themselves with horrible lenses, with slow and inconsistent AF and poor optical performance.

Geez...

I guess they meant Tamron, not Sigma...

 

[john1970]

They also talk about the R1 and it being an Olympic year at the end of the article; from my reading, it was strongly suggested that certain photographers already have the camera and are getting acclimated to it for use at the Olympics. Also, since some people are still holding onto hope for a global shutter, the Canon exec was pretty explicit that it won’t because there are big disadvantages to the technology, especially for implementation in a flagship model.

I agree with your assessment. It was very clear that the R1 will be at the Olympics, but they would not say when it would be released. Canon also clearly stated that on a flagship product that they would not sacrifice image quality and at this stage global shutter has too many negatives with regards to image quality. The next 3-6 months are going to be interesting.