Canon's Retro EOS RE-1: What to Expect Later This Year

This is a good market for Canon to enter.
The Nikon Zf is a fabulous camera. I own 2 of them and only shoot them with Voitglander MF glass. They can give the eye detection green focus square with MF lenses, something no other camera manufacturer can do (yes, you Leica) and make shooting F1.0 lenses a breeze.
Compared to a Leica M system (which I've owned), it is on par, with better sensor, better low light capabilities, better focusing aids and it doesn't cost as much as a Toyota.
 
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I cannot stop believing this is just someone’s wishful thinking.
Hard to imagine Canon doing this. And too me seems like waste of resources. But I don't understand this retro thing in general either, so I might of course be totally wrong...
It's called aging out. The old buggers that said this was a bad idea 20 years ago have retired and the young bloods know it makes sense, mainly due to the Fuji X100VI having more than 1 million pre-orders in China alone. Those kids on Tik Tok love their retro looking cameras :)
 
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Retro isn't my thing although I get why it is for some. From Canon however I don't get it since it seems to fly in the face of the main thing that separates them from the competition, their ergonomics. Being totally honest pretty much all the main brand cameras are more similar than dissimilar when it comes to image quality and usual features.

You'd be hard pressed to tell what camera a photo was taken on compared against side by side captures from equivalent price bracket competitor models. There may be splitting hairs differences in AF, buffer sizes, low light noise performance etc but they are minor in real world scenarios imho despite forum arguments and if you are capable with one model you'd likely be capable of identical results with another brand. To the point any modern camera is likely to suffice if you get one aimed at the niche you need.

Niche lenses aside the only major difference I notice between brands is the ergonomics and to some degree UI which I group in to same category. It is the main thing aside from all my glass that keeps me with Canon. Canon generally feel better in hand with less sharp angles/blocky with more curves and finger grooves etc, usually slightly bigger sizes vs competitions equivalent models, grippy texture etc. They remind me of the camera equivalent of spyderco, they look less aesthetically pleasing to folks who care for that but functionally shine compared to slippery and sleek bricks or overly small sharp angled stuff others seem to make.

Retro definitely doesn't fit that kind of thing and seems a bit off brand for a company that has resisted the "modern" looking style over function and is very conservative and doesn't jump on the latest hotness trends so I am kinda surprised by this tbh.
 
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If Canon can nail the retro aesthetic on a full frame interchangeable lens camera they should have a hit on their hands. It may have to deviate from one of its core strengths: ergonomics. But I think they need this camera. Canon is losing market share with young people the most and this could be the right camera to get them started with their brand. There are three strategies the competition have adopted:

(1) Fuji X100V & VI - full on the nostalgic with three simple exposure triangle dials, film simulations and a 35mm equivalent fixed lens (on an APSC sensor)
(2) Sony's A7C & CII - retro looking full frame body that shares the last hybrid A7 sensor + same old FE mount interchangeable lenses.
(3) Nikon Zf - hybrid of the first two: retro body including dials + full frame interchangeable lenses, also fairly packed with newer features

Canon could cherry pick and go for a home run with this if they want. What would you think of a beautifully designed AE-1 like camera body, interchangeable lens (RF mount of course), a new set of smaller lenses to match, and picture styles to compete with film simulations (RAW + JPEG to look like the AE-1, 5D "Classic," R5, etc)...? This could be a beast. And it would be worth every penny at $2,000.

What I think Canon will actually do: copy Sony and go with R8 internals on a psuedo-nostalgic camera body, RF mount, NO new lenses and NO film simulations. Priced at $1,600 but typically on sale for $1,400. Not as thrilling but still a strategy for success. When it sells like hot cakes, they can go for the beast mode strategy on the Mark II or Mark III!
 
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l will delightful if it is a New F-1 with a Powerwinder FN( for good handling ) in EOS R version......Super happy and must get one but not for AE-1......l am sure there are many many Canon die hard fans geting fever with the Canon New F-1 !!! ( l got one with AE finder FN and one with Eye level finder FN in the 80's ) lt will be great if there's a simulated shutter, moving mirror mixed with winder sound when shooting for realistic reto feeling ( the New F-1's Powerwinder sound is attractive ).....And one important thing is using the original letter form of the " F-1 ".......lf having a camera film lever whatever just for decoration is OK......l don't mind if there's more plastic parts as there's a price point consideration. l have a trip in the 90's to the Tokyo Ginza Canon Showroom. At that time it's a EOS film camera world but there's a New F-1 displayed at the top center behind the reception showing windows ! It seems the New F-1 has played a very important role in the Canon's camera history ! ! when holding a New F-1, l will getting into fighting mode immediately !!!
 
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The problem is less about the body and more about the lenses. If they don't match the styling, it's going to look odd and disproportional.
But maybe Canon has already factored that in so it won't be quite as retro as some other brands.
(And we need more lenses like the RF 28/2.8 STM - a lot more...)

I am hoping for something like a slightly bigger EOS M5, that camera had quite nice DSLR-like styling with a tilt-screen.
But I am sure it will have a swivel screen - unfortunately...
 
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If it's such an obvious/lucrative market, why haven't they done this before? Genuine question, maybe I'm missing something.
I guess this could be said about most anything new and different. People laughed when it was said everyone would one day need a computer. The one in my hand is also a phone. ;)
 
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The problem is less about the body and more about the lenses. If they don't match the styling, it's going to look odd and disproportional.
But maybe Canon has already factored that in so it won't be quite as retro as some other brands.
(And we need more lenses like the RF 28/2.8 STM - a lot more...)

I am hoping for something like a slightly bigger EOS M5, that camera had quite nice DSLR-like styling with a tilt-screen.
But I am sure it will have a swivel screen - unfortunately...
Yeah a retro camera is pointless without retro lenses. Canon has never been the brand to release alternate style bodies or lenses beyond simple recolours like the gold RP or the white 200D. I will be very surprised if they make an FD-style 28mm or 50mm lens to complement the camera, and even more impressed if they give it a physical aperture ring.

I think a cheaper fixed lens Canonet QL17 III-style APS-C compact with a built-in flash would have much broader appeal, and they wouldn't need to support it with its own lens line.
 
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I'm not against retro cameras, I like dedicated controls and I think Canon's ergonomics can be a bit too "buttony" at times.
But I respect Canon for not going retro route. The closest thing to retro was ISO and exposure compensation dials on the G-series cameras.
It's hard for me to imagine how Canon will fit this into their philosophy, how it can be a coherent, justified, conceptual thing. Fuji didn't just pull this out of thin air, they built a whole system around it. Nikon never stopped mimicking those big prisms and complex lines of the early F cameras. They also kept the AI-coupling lever on pro and higher amateur cameras and some dedicated switches too. But Canon never looked back, it's their thing, as is the extreme utility of their design. I've always respected that.
I just don't understand where they're going to get this from and how they're going to justify it. If it is just an imitation of the AE-1, it will be a betrayal of their style and philosophy, cheap stuff. Tribute to trends.
 
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I just don't understand where they're going to get this from and how they're going to justify it. If it is just an imitation of the AE-1, it will be a betrayal of their style and philosophy, cheap stuff. Tribute to trends.
The only justification they need for a retro camera model is sales/profits. In the camera boom era Canon execs said that the company had a "full lineup strategy", meaning something for everyone. A retro camera model would fit that philosophy.
 
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While the M cameras certainly had lenses in silver as well as black, I cannot remember any FD lenses in silver or earlier mount iterations, I started out with a Canon FT in 1967, went to the dark side with Leicaflexes (and believe me it was DARK), and back to Canon with FD lenses and AE-1, AT-1, A-l, F-l, F-1N, T90 and remember no silver lenses in the FD series. Although, I I can magine someone knocked back enough Sake to make sure some were made. Anyway, if Canon were to go totally retro to FD era, doing silver lenses would not have great historical accuracy. Doesn't mean silver lenses wouldn't sell, look at the BS the orangeman gets away with.
 
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