What's Next for Canon?

[Canon Rumors]

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<p><strong>Not even a whisper

</strong>For the moment, there doesn’t seem to be much chatter coming from the Canon camp. We had previously been told that Canon would not be announcing anything else in 2013. Although, we still thought we would see the Canon EOS M2 which has appeared in some DPP software literature.</p>
<p>There still seems to be a lot of EOS M stock out there, as we keep seeing deals for the camera come about. There is a possibility Canon is waiting until stock levels are near depleted before they make an announcement. Christmas season is coming up, and we’re getting a bit late to announce a product for the Christmas season unless it ships right away.</p>
<p>As far as the big EOS stuff, we’re still holding with no DSLR or lenses in 2013, although a development announcement is always possible. I don’t think Canon has ever done a development announcement without announcing an official new product along side it.</p>
<p>I expect 2 camera bodies at the most in Q1 of 2014, one being a new EOS M camera. The other being an entry level type DSLR. I think it’ll be early spring before we see the really exciting stuff from Canon.</p>
<p>I am also told that new Cinema EOS camera(s) are likely to appear before NAB in April 2014. There has been nothing in regards to specs or which bodies would see an update.</p>
<p>More to come….</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>

 

[Ricku]

That's a shame. I guess santa will have to bring my christmas presents from elsewhere.

The new full frame A7R is high on my wish-list. It'll be my first Sony item since the Playstation 2.

 

[mrsfotografie]

Canon... :

 

[Eldar]

I´ll stay put with my current bodies until either an 800E killer comes along or my patience expiration date is up. I think is says best before 30 June 2014.

 

[Ricku]

I´ll stay put with my current bodies until either an 800E killer comes along or my patience expiration date is up. I think is says best before 30 June 2014.

My patience expiration date is long past. My patience is now a decomposing pile of anger and frustration.

The only reason to why I'm still with Canon is because of my lens-investment.

I'm hoping the A7R + an adapter can save me.

 

[Bob Howland]

Why is CR so sure that that Canon is still trying to sell M bodies made before cutting the price and thereby getting people's attention, not stock manufactured after that?

 

[Albi86]

It's impressive what a management change has made for Sigma.

Maybe time for Canon to do the same?

 

[justsomedude]

I'd love to see an EOS M2 with dual pixel AF and an EFV. I've stared at the EOS-M deals on Amazon and B&H over the last few months, and was a mouse-click away from pushing that "order" button a half dozen times or so. But I just can't bear the thought of using one without an EFV, and without the AF shown off in the 70D. The Fuji X-E1 kind of owns the mirrorless scene for now, but I wish Canon had a competitor to it.

Tarzan want EOS M2, now!

 

[Ricku]

I'd love to see an EOS M2 with dual pixel AF and an EFV. I've stared at the EOS-M deals on Amazon and B&H over the last few months, and was a mouse-click away from pushing that "order" button a half dozen times or so. But I just can't bear the thought of using one without an EFV, and without the AF shown off in the 70D. The Fuji X-E1 kind of owns the mirrorless scene for now, but I wish Canon had a competitor to it.

Tarzan want EOS M2, now!

Its still 2 - 3 years until Canon even dares to think about competing with Sony or Fuji on the mirrorless market.

Canon could do it right now, but they are terrified that a high end mirrorless (let's say a compact high resolution FF), will seriously hurt their DSLR sales. That's the only explanation I can think of when it comes to their piss poor EOS M. They are not even trying! .. But if Canon won't do it, others will eat their lunch. Mirrorless cameras are on the uprise, and Canon can't hide from it.

Copying / following other companies is not always a bad thing. This time Canon really should follow Sony's example. Its either that, or they can watch thousands of their EF lenses being adapted to the A7 and A7R.

 

[fox40phil]

Canon is still sleeping :-\

look at the new Nikon d5300... stereo sound, 60fps 1080p video capture, w-lan, ***...24MP, 39-point-AF-System... and... under < 1000€

 

[justsomedude]

I'd love to see an EOS M2 with dual pixel AF and an EFV. I've stared at the EOS-M deals on Amazon and B&H over the last few months, and was a mouse-click away from pushing that "order" button a half dozen times or so. But I just can't bear the thought of using one without an EFV, and without the AF shown off in the 70D. The Fuji X-E1 kind of owns the mirrorless scene for now, but I wish Canon had a competitor to it.

Tarzan want EOS M2, now!

Its still 2 - 3 years until Canon even dares to think about competing with Sony or Fuji on the mirrorless market.

Canon could do it right now, but they are terrified that a high end mirrorless (let's say a compact high resolution FF), will seriously hurt their DSLR sales. That's the only explanation I can think of when it comes to their piss poor EOS M. They are not even trying! .. But if Canon won't do it, others will eat their lunch. Mirrorless cameras are on the uprise, and Canon can't hide from it.

You hit the nail on the head. I think I'm going to have to go with Fuji for my travels upcoming in December; the EOS-M is just sad. If Canon can't give me what I need, I'll spend my hard earned money elsewhere.

 

[lw]

I'd love to see an EOS M2 with dual pixel AF and an EFV. I've stared at the EOS-M deals on Amazon and B&H over the last few months, and was a mouse-click away from pushing that "order" button a half dozen times or so. But I just can't bear the thought of using one without an EFV, and without the AF shown off in the 70D. The Fuji X-E1 kind of owns the mirrorless scene for now, but I wish Canon had a competitor to it.

Tarzan want EOS M2, now!

I don't think the M2 (as mentioned in the DPP help file) is anything more than a M refresh.

 

[Pag]

Its still 2 - 3 years until Canon even dares to think about competing with Sony or Fuji on the mirrorless market.

Canon could do it right now, but they are terrified that a high end mirrorless (let's say a compact high resolution FF), will seriously hurt their DSLR sales. That's the only explanation I can think of when it comes to their piss poor EOS M. They are not even trying! .. But if Canon won't do it, others will eat their lunch. Mirrorless cameras are on the uprise, and Canon can't hide from it.

Copying / following other companies is not always a bad thing. This time Canon really should follow Sony's example. Its either that, or they can watch thousands of their EF lenses being adapted to the A7 and A7R.

It's a great example of the innovator's dilemma. For a huge company like Canon, a new type of products like mirrorless cameras isn't profitable enough. Even though their R&D department probably has everything it needs to create a kick-ass product in that category, they don't want to invest too much because it would cost a lot of money and all of the (comparatively small) profit they would make would be at the expense of their profitable SLR division.

So they wait until the market for mirrorless has matured more. Except, of course, that by the time this happens, their competitors (Olympus, Sony, Fuji, etc.) will be well established with mature products that customers trust. By that time, it may well be too late for Canon to keep its leadership position.

Canon could take the lead in this new market, but to do so they would have to cannibalize their own products, which they won't do. Ironically, by avoiding to sacrifice their own products, they may doom their whole company. The same process has happened to many different industries, for many different types of products.

For extra controversy, here's what I would do if I were CEO of Canon:

I would embrace change rather than try to stop it by developing a kick-ass line of mirrorless cameras, with 3 models:

• An entry-model that's as cheap and light as possible
• A middle-end that's good enough for amateurs
• A top-end model that's as good as possible. The goal of the team making this would be to make a camera good enough to replace professional SLR cameras.

I would also greatly simplify Canon's line of SLR cameras by removing every APS-C camera. In the future, I expect SLRs will only be used for pro-level photo (kinda like medium format cameras now), so Canon might as well lead the charge. Full-frame cameras would support a "crop mode" that only uses the pixels in the middle of the frame, so photographers who want the additional reach and speed of APS-C can still have it. I would keep only four SLR models:

• An entry-model that's comparable to a 6D, perhaps cheaper. The idea is to provide an easy step to "graduate" to full-frame.
• A top of the line action camera that makes no compromises for focusing speed and FPS.
• A top of the line studio/landscape camera that has super high resolution, awesome dynamic range and amazing low-light sensitivity.
• A great video-SLR with every tool needed to make awesome movies straight out of the box.

Fewer products that are better differentiated would allow Canon to focus more resources on each, resulting in better R&D and marketing. It would also makes choices a lot clearer for customers and it would position Canon for future changes in the market. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the first thing he did was simplify the products Apple made greatly, and it was a huge success. I believe Canon should do the same.

Oh, and I would change the name of the cameras. Seriously, "5D mark III" sounds like a codename for military hardware, not the brand of a desirable product ;D

 

[infared]

I'd love to see an EOS M2 with dual pixel AF and an EFV. I've stared at the EOS-M deals on Amazon and B&H over the last few months, and was a mouse-click away from pushing that "order" button a half dozen times or so. But I just can't bear the thought of using one without an EFV, and without the AF shown off in the 70D. The Fuji X-E1 kind of owns the mirrorless scene for now, but I wish Canon had a competitor to it.

Tarzan want EOS M2, now!

I don't think the M2 (as mentioned in the DPP help file) is anything more than a M refresh.

How do you refresh a DEAD MACKEREL?
If the camera was $10 I would not purchase it! ...I have no use for it?
I maintain an extensive 5 DIII system.
All of my mirrorless money went to Olympus and Panasonic for two MFT bodies and eleven lenses.
Why..because MFT Is light, small, produces incredible results for a very small system and it complements my FF system PERFECTLY! I have lenses from fisheye to tele with SUPER fast AF on great wide aperture primes!
Canon...I have been buying MFT for years...that is YEARS...and your only response AFTER I had assembled an entire kit was the M? The M??????? Does management live with its head buried in the DIRT????
Did ANYONE notice what Fuji, Olympus, Sony, Samsung, & Panasonic have been doing for years???
Canon...doing nothing is doing nothing. How could you have completely missed this boat!!!
Also your recent pricing on products brings nothing but resentment from a lot of loyal customers.
Sony is INNOVATING. that's I-N-N-O-V-A-T-I-N-G...Please look it up...it is a word you are not familiar with any more.
Imagine what a better job you could have done with the A7r with your ability to make lenses. Imagine.

WHATS NEXT for me..The OlyMpus M1. That is as close as I am getting to the letter "M". Who cares what Canon is doing with mirrorless? NOTHING=NOTHING.

 

[Woody]

Canon could take the lead in this new market, but to do so they would have to cannibalize their own products, which they won't do.

Canon has killed their product line once when they changed from FD to EOS mount. If they are certain mirrorless is the way of the future, they will have done the same for their DSLRs. But the truth is that worldwide sales of DSLRs still far outstrip that of mirrorless cameras at a ratio of about 3:1.. Even in places where sales of mirrorless cameras has picked up previously, e.g., Japan, that growth has stagnated in the past year. Just take a look at BCNRanking (Japan).

There is no need to play the role of armchair CEOs here. Canon knows what they are doing, far better than you and I.

 

[Pag]

Canon could take the lead in this new market, but to do so they would have to cannibalize their own products, which they won't do.

Canon has killed their product line once when they changed from FD to EOS mount. If they are certain mirrorless is the way of the future, they will have done the same for their DSLRs. But the truth is that worldwide sales of DSLRs still far outstrip that of mirrorless cameras at a ratio of about 3:1.. Even in places where sales of mirrorless cameras has picked up previously, e.g., Japan, that growth has stagnated in the past year. Just take a look at BCNRanking (Japan).

Of course SLRs are selling better than mirrorless, that's precisely my point. They are selling much worse now, which is why Canon doesn't care. But if they keep not caring until the mirrorless cameras overtake SLRs' marketshare, it will be too late: their competitors will have taken over the mirrorless market and they'll struggle to keep their leadership position.

Just look at Kodak. They failed to make the switch to digital even though they had the technology because they were too busy defending their leadership position in film. And they went from king of the hill to bankrupt.

 

[Ruined]

I personally don't believe mirrorless are the future. I think mirrorless is a transitional technology between the current high end cameraphone (i.e. Lumia 1020) and the cameraphone of the future.

Think about it. Even these Sony cameras, at the top of their game, make major sacrifices for the small body size compared to the best DSLR. So, while fun for travel, wouldn't a pro opt for the best of the best to be at the top of his game? While mirrorless will evolve, so will cameraphones... And while mirrorless cameras are small, the lenses are still huge.

Thus, as cameraphone tech evolves, you could eventually have your phone as a crop replacement that is with you 100% of the time. Not many people are going to carry around both a phone and a camera 100% of the time. The phone will get the shots your camera would miss.

So then, IMO, you will have DSLR or maybe a DSLR hybrid that has some of the benefits of mirrorless builtin but none of the disadvantages for your camera, and your phone for when you don't have your camera on you.

While mirrorless is small, it is still too large/inconvenient to carry everywhere all the time; and, even the best models are still not up to par with the best DSLRs. Thus, I see the pro market keeping DSLR, the consumer market eventually going 100% phone, and enthusiasts having both. I don't think it is a coincidence that as recently phones are coming out with larger sensor 20mp-41mp models, mirrorless has seen its growth stunted. Mirrorless I believe will remain a niche because of these two forces neither of which mirrorless is master of - it is nowhere near as portable as a high MP cameraphone, nor does it have all of what the best DSLRs offer. Jack of all trades but master of none.

So I actually would say Canon is wise to stick to its guns with DSLR, but it needs to keep pace in releasing new DSLR tech to keep people interested and spending money on DSLR

 

[Woody]

Of course SLRs are selling better than mirrorless, that's precisely my point. They are selling much worse now

That's half the picture. While sales of DSLRs has fallen, the same thing is happening to mirrorless cameras.

From http://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/and-april-makes-four.html

"The April shipment numbers are in, and the trend I've been commenting on for some time continues: mirrorless camera sales growth is still not what everyone seems to think it is. For the fourth consecutive month, mirrorless shipments from camera makers in 2013 trailed shipments in 2012...

No, this lowering of production doesn't imply the death of mirrorless cameras, it simply acknowledges what I wrote over a year ago: mirrorless cameras will not overtake DSLR sales any time in the near future. The initial high growth rate of mirrorless was a false one: the camera makers overzealously produced them when the demand wasn't really there.

I still predict that the mirrorless/DSLR world will eventually be one and the same. Once phase detect autofocus is on the imaging sensor with the same level of performance, there's little need for the cost and complexity of the mirror system in DSLRs. As Canon has shown recently, you can make much smaller DSLRs, even with the old mount depths. Long term, the difference between most mirrorless-derived cameras (m4/3, NEX, etc.) and most DSLRs (EF mount, F mount, Alpha mount) is going to really only be the depth of the camera. The smaller sensor cameras (Nikon 1, m4/3) will have an advantage of smaller lenses, at the disadvantage of lower image sensor performance."

 

[Eric D]

I can only speak for myself in that I believe mirrorless is the future of the middle ground for those like me who want the combination of light for travel and good quality photography. Pros and true enthusiasts with big budgets can have their full frame or multiple systems, but I don't plan to buy into more than one camera/lens ecosystem. I nibbled with the M because of the 70D news implication and this summer's sale, but if Canon doesn't make a serious M move soon, it's got to be on to MFT for me.

 

[Pag]

I think mirrorless is a transitional technology between the current high end cameraphone (i.e. Lumia 1020) and the cameraphone of the future.

Unless there's a revolutionary new technology for lenses (which is unlikely but not impossible), I don't think cameraphones will take over the hobbyist market. No matter how awesome your sensor is, if you have a tiny wide-angle lens you will be severely limited in what you can photograph. Zoom lenses that have any kind of reach are too big to fit on a phone where everything must be as tiny as possible.

I can see cameraphones taking over the entry-level market. But if you're spending thousands of dollars on an oversea trip, you'll want a better camera to take nice pictures. Same if you have a newborn baby, or if you're a hobbyist who wants to do more than take snapshots.

At the same time, there are real benefits to mft cameras. They're much smaller, lighter and cheaper (especially counting the lenses) and they're already good enough for all of the use cases I mentioned. Unless you really care about maximizing image quality and are willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for that (in which case you're either a pro or an advanced amateur), mirrorless cameras are good enough for you.

I see three groups of people here: those who take snapshots with little care for quality (cameraphones), those who care about quality but don't want to pay too much for it or have too big a camera (mirrorless), and those who put image quality above everything else (SLR).