Interview with Canon Executives at CP+

[Canon Rumors Guy]

<p>DPReview had the opportunity to sit down with some executives from Canon and talk about all things cameras. They covered a bit about 4K implementation, mirrorless cameras , 360° tools and even a little about film cameras.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Q: Looking at 4K TV saturation, what kind of time-frame does that suggest and when do you think it will be necessary to have 4K in every part of your product line?</strong></p>
<p>A: We obviously have to look at the technical feasibility of it, cost-wise, as well as [the challenge of power consumption]. Those factors will tell us how we will introduce 4K technologies going forward.</p>
<p>We will continue to challenge and overcome these technical hurdles that we are seeing at moment in introducing 4K into our entire product lineup. But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder.</p>
<p><strong>Q: The EOS M series continues to expand. What is the long term goal of the M series in terms of market share?</strong></p>
<p>A: That is a difficult question to respond to with a simple answer because we don’t have a particular number set in terms of getting the market share for the mirrorless market. This is because we are a company that produces [both mirrorless and DSLR], as a total package.</p>
<p>Our intention is to become number one in the overall ILC market: mirrorless and SLR. Different regions would have different penetration and different market share of mirrorless products.</p>
<p><strong>Q: Do you think there could be a professional-level EOS M model sometime in the future?</strong></p>
<p>A: Obviously we think it could be possible, there is a potential, but we do not want to put a time frame on that.</p>
<p><strong>Q: Do you have any plans to enter the VR or 360 markets?</strong></p>
<p>A: We’re always looking to see what sorts of new visual means of expression we can offer to our customers, 360 imaging included. So, yes, we are considering how we can leverage 360 technology.</p></blockquote>
<p>You can read the <a href="https://www.dpreview.com/interviews/8800039083/cp-2017-canon-interview">rest of the interview at DPReview</a>.</p>
<span id="pty_trigger"></span>

 

[rrcphoto]

"We’re letting the customer, market and demand tell us how we should go about approaching different regions. Because if you’re looking at a market with a high level of mirrorless penetration, we would obviously look to push forward with the EOS M series in that region. And we will watch and see: are Rebel users moving on to the EOS M? Frankly, if that becomes inevitable, it is something we will support. Having said that, overall we are looking to simply be number one the combined SLR and mirrorless market, offering a total package."

Can we officially lay to rest the tired whining about canon protecting it's DSLR products now?

 

[eguzowski]

"But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder." -Canon

?

My iPhone 6 plus (last generation) just shot awesome 4k for over an hour without a hiccup? LOL sooo....my iPhone that cossets under $1k shoot 4k video (no time limit) has a lens, a computer, apps, wifi, email, browser, huge touch screen etc etc is better than the latest generation Canon $2k DSLR in terms of photo/video performance....sad and transparent excuse (BTW they have no problem sticking more MP and marketing it in their cameras) Thanks Sony, Panasonic and Sigma for "doing your job" and appeasing the demand of the market!

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

"But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder." -Canon

?

My iPhone 6 plus (last generation) just shot awesome 4k for over an hour without a hiccup? LOL sooo....my iPhone that cossets under $1k shoot 4k video (no time limit) has a lens, a computer, apps, wifi, email, browser, huge touch screen etc etc is better than the latest generation Canon $2k DSLR in terms of photo/video performance....sad and transparent excuse (BTW they have no problem sticking more MP and marketing it in their cameras) Thanks Sony, Panasonic and Sigma for "doing your job" and appeasing the demand of the market!

Not all 4K is created equal, Canon's biggest advantage in the cinematography world is their image quality. I think they want a cohesive line from the bottom all the way to the C700. For all the crap they received when they launched the Cinema EOS line, most of it went away once people actually started to shoot with it. The biggest compliments were the ergonomics and the image quality.

I've seen enough 4K video from cellphones to know it was created by a cellphone. Just like photographs.

 

[LonelyBoy]

"But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder." -Canon

?

My iPhone 6 plus (last generation) just shot awesome 4k for over an hour without a hiccup? LOL sooo....my iPhone that cossets under $1k shoot 4k video (no time limit) has a lens, a computer, apps, wifi, email, browser, huge touch screen etc etc is better than the latest generation Canon $2k DSLR in terms of photo/video performance....sad and transparent excuse (BTW they have no problem sticking more MP and marketing it in their cameras) Thanks Sony, Panasonic and Sigma for "doing your job" and appeasing the demand of the market!

Not all 4K is created equal, Canon's biggest advantage in the cinematography world is their image quality. I think they want a cohesive line from the bottom all the way to the C700. For all the crap they received when they launched the Cinema EOS line, most of it went away once people actually started to shoot with it. The biggest compliments were the ergonomics and the image quality.

I've seen enough 4K video from cellphones to know it was created by a cellphone. Just like photographs.

Yeah, I would have probably phrased it as "We're not going to release 'checkbox 4k'; we'll release it when it can be world-class."

It's also probably easier to cool a tiny iPhone sensor than a big DSLR sensor. It's a neat trick, but Canon isn't invested in letting someone's video of their kid blowing out birthday candles or cat chasing a laser pointer be in 4k to be uploaded to social media and further compressed.

 

[Sharlin]

[C]ompared to two years ago we’re now seeing a slowing down of mirrorless taking over. We were expecting to see more mirrorless taking off, keeping that momentum, but that has not happened.

I think this was one of the most interesting bits of the interview. When even Canon ) is surprised by how the growth of mirrorless is slower than expected, I think it's safe to say "mirrorslappers" aren't going to go away any time soon.

 

[scrup]

I'm glad they admitted the m5 is not the pro camera everyone was hoping for.

Hopefully a pro model comes out before my A7ii dies

 

[scrup]

I've seen enough 4K video from cellphones to know it was created by a cellphone. Just like photographs.

The M's have crappy video. My smartphone 4k video blows the 1080 on the M.

Is it even really 1080 on these M cameras?

 

[bp]

[C]ompared to two years ago we’re now seeing a slowing down of mirrorless taking over. We were expecting to see more mirrorless taking off, keeping that momentum, but that has not happened.

I think this was one of the most interesting bits of the interview. When even Canon ) is surprised by how the growth of mirrorless is slower than expected, I think it's safe to say "mirrorslappers" aren't going to go away any time soon.

Of course mirrorslappers won't go away any time soon. It's old but proven tech. But a "slowing down" does not equate to a reversal. I read that as an admission they've sat on their hands for two years, when they could've realeased a mirrorless model in EF mount, to prevent migration over to other systems, keep shooters sucking on the EF-line teat. The fact that they're surprised at the slowing of momentum makes it even more mind boggling.

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

I've seen enough 4K video from cellphones to know it was created by a cellphone. Just like photographs.

The M's have crappy video. My smartphone 4k video blows the 1080 on the M.

Is it even really 1080 on these M cameras?

I have not used the M5, I still use a 5D2 for video =D

 

[Jopa]

I've seen enough 4K video from cellphones to know it was created by a cellphone. Just like photographs.

The M's have crappy video. My smartphone 4k video blows the 1080 on the M.

Is it even really 1080 on these M cameras?

I have not used the M5, I still use a 5D2 for video =D

I don't think that was a trustworthy comment, don't feed the troll
DPAF alone is AMAZING for video. This dude has lots of comparisons on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_E_0-3nSE
And what's even more amazing, we can have this technology in <$1k cameras now.

 

[TheSpoiler72]

"4K should compliment, rather than hinder"....This from Canon, the same company who released 4K on the Canon 1D-C, the 5D Mark IV and the 1Dx Mark II that, while it compliments the camera sales, it grossly hinders the camera operator's ability to get the 4K footage out of the camera.

I wish the interviewer would have pressed the Canon representative on the possibility of 4K out in a firmware update on these cameras.

 

[njene]

"But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder." -Canon

?

My iPhone 6 plus (last generation) just shot awesome 4k for over an hour without a hiccup? LOL sooo....my iPhone that cossets under $1k shoot 4k video (no time limit) has a lens, a computer, apps, wifi, email, browser, huge touch screen etc etc is better than the latest generation Canon $2k DSLR in terms of photo/video performance....sad and transparent excuse (BTW they have no problem sticking more MP and marketing it in their cameras) Thanks Sony, Panasonic and Sigma for "doing your job" and appeasing the demand of the market!

You know your little iphone sensor is about the size of your baby finger thumbnail?
While phones in general produce pretty great quality images considering, they cant hold a candle to a dslr or mirrorless when it comes to high level quality

 

[scrup]

I've seen enough 4K video from cellphones to know it was created by a cellphone. Just like photographs.

The M's have crappy video. My smartphone 4k video blows the 1080 on the M.

Is it even really 1080 on these M cameras?

I have not used the M5, I still use a 5D2 for video =D

I don't think that was a trustworthy comment, don't feed the troll
DPAF alone is AMAZING for video. This dude has lots of comparisons on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_E_0-3nSE
And what's even more amazing, we can have this technology in <$1k cameras now.

DPAF is useless with manual lenses. Does not make up for resolution.

 

[Hflm]

I've seen enough 4K video from cellphones to know it was created by a cellphone. Just like photographs.

The M's have crappy video. My smartphone 4k video blows the 1080 on the M.

Is it even really 1080 on these M cameras?

I have not used the M5, I still use a 5D2 for video =D

I don't think that was a trustworthy comment, don't feed the troll
DPAF alone is AMAZING for video. This dude has lots of comparisons on YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_E_0-3nSE
And what's even more amazing, we can have this technology in <$1k cameras now.

DPAF is useless with manual lenses. Does not make up for resolution.

Your smartphone does things o.k if you are happy with immense DOF and shooting in good light. It has the software to make it look good out of the box, as people don't want to grade later but share immediately another usually worthless video most people forget a minute later. And many even think it to be equal to pro level cinema cameras.

Good comment:
http://blog.planet5d.com/2016/12/heres-another-iphone-vs-50000-camera-comparison-also-heres-why-its-absolutely-pointless-and-damaging/

 

[AvTvM]

nothing but the usual Canon exec blather ... a total waste of time interviewing those Racial slur removed by Mod

 

[IglooEater]

"But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder." -Canon

?

My iPhone 6 plus (last generation) just shot awesome 4k for over an hour without a hiccup? LOL sooo....my iPhone that cossets under $1k shoot 4k video (no time limit) has a lens, a computer, apps, wifi, email, browser, huge touch screen etc etc is better than the latest generation Canon $2k DSLR in terms of photo/video performance....sad and transparent excuse (BTW they have no problem sticking more MP and marketing it in their cameras) Thanks Sony, Panasonic and Sigma for "doing your job" and appeasing the demand of the market!

You know your little iphone sensor is about the size of your baby finger thumbnail?
While phones in general produce pretty great quality images considering, they cant hold a candle to a dslr or mirrorless when it comes to high level quality

The iPhone 6 sensor is 4.9x 3.7mm. (3/16 x 5/32) for the imperial guys.) That's a good deal smaller than anyone's baby fingernail. Actually, maybe the size of my 6mo baby's baby finger.

 

[slclick]

"But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder." -Canon

?

My iPhone 6 plus (last generation) just shot awesome 4k for over an hour without a hiccup? LOL sooo....my iPhone that cossets under $1k shoot 4k video (no time limit) has a lens, a computer, apps, wifi, email, browser, huge touch screen etc etc is better than the latest generation Canon $2k DSLR in terms of photo/video performance....sad and transparent excuse (BTW they have no problem sticking more MP and marketing it in their cameras) Thanks Sony, Panasonic and Sigma for "doing your job" and appeasing the demand of the market!

You know your little iphone sensor is about the size of your baby finger thumbnail?
While phones in general produce pretty great quality images considering, they cant hold a candle to a dslr or mirrorless when it comes to high level quality

The iPhone 6 sensor is 4.9x 3.7mm. (3/16 x 5/32) for the imperial guys.) That's a good deal smaller than anyone's baby fingernail. Actually, maybe the size of my 6mo baby's baby finger.

Look, finally something that doesn't disparage orange's good name!

 

[jeffa4444]

Why did DPreview not ask questions about FF and in particular the 6D MKII

 

[AvTvM]

they are NOT saying anything.

Read this interview with the Fuji guys for a comparison.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2017/02/28/fujifilm-qa-cp-2017-fuji-gfx-insights-4k-video-future-lens-plans-instant-fi

That's worthwhile to me - even when I personally do not agree with at least half of what is being said. But they are TELLING something. Canon interviews .. bla bla bla ... nothing meaningful said.