Every so often we see new big white lens patents, and this time we get another round of designs for the EF mount. There doesn't appear to be anything here that shows these designs are for the RF mount.
Canon 400mm f/2.8
- Focal length: 392.56 mm
- F no: 2.90
- Image height: 21.64 mm
- Lens length: 371.16 mm
- Back focus: 59.99 mm
Canon 500mm f/4
- Focal length: 489.05 mm
- F no: 4.12
- Image height: 21.64 mm
- Lens length: 411.08 mm
- Back focus: 86.24 mm
Canon 600mm f/4
- Focal length: 584.99 mm
- F no: 4.12
- Image height: 21.64 mm
- Lens length: 476.28 mm
- Back focus: 87.97 mm
Canon 800mm f/5.6
- Focal length: 778.44 mm
- F no: 5.80
- Image height: 21.64 mm
- Lens length: 489.01 mm
- Back focus: 48.66 mm
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Canon had a great vision over 30 years ago with the EF mount that all others stuck with old primitive tech then and are now severely paying for that lack of vision today.
BTW In the US patent application there is a discussion of the focusing mechanism that might suggest we'll see a reasonable drop in minimum focus distance
USPTO
Or maybe there are aspects to the patents that Canon wants to protect so competitors can't use them?
Today's industry-leading EVF is found in the S1R and the just-released SL2. Neither of these are sports cameras. I'm not going to bet on it, but a mirrorless pro R should have an EVF at least this good, especially given what it's used for.
Then this might be the Occam's Razor hypothesis.
I just did a search and learned that the Leica, Panasonic, and new Sony uses this same EVF. But I couldn't find a clear answer to who makes the EVF...
Yes, it looks great!
Canon could have made 2 versions of the new whites, with EF and RF mount.
EVF resolution is one thing, and what the sensor is able to feed into it full-time (and with as little lag as possible) is another, there is a reason why the TOL A9II has kept the lesser resolution EVF, and for that matter the SL2's live feed isn't as crisp either, so it is a fine line between them.
But it is safe to say that Canon likes to segment things and it's going to be a newer model, too, so the EVF should improve over what's in the R right now.
They have a TOL EVF (6k$) available for their cinema cameras , so yes, they have faith in EVF development :)
I don't think you can argue, necessarily, that Sony kept the A9's lower resolution EVF for the A9II due to performance concerns. Isn't it just as likely that they wanted to update only what was most necessary, while watching their bottom line?
What lag is there in the SL2? Is it between the subject and what's seen in the EVF? Is it worse than any lag observed in the A9? Just curious, if you have a source. And if this kind of lag does exist, you're right, it could be attributed to a system that can't drive the EVF fast enough to keep pace with the subject being captured. And, by all means, if the same folks who calculate sensor throughput want to step in and offer some guesses at the processing speed a higher rez EVF would necessitate, go ahead, but my understanding of this is too amateur to speculate especially about the relationship between subject/EVF lag and processing/sensor speed.
It bears mentioning that both the 3.6 million dot EVF in the a9 and the 5.76 million dot EVF in the S1R can each display at 120 fps, according to Imaging Resource. It would be a shame if the higher resolution and silky-smooth refresh came at the cost of subject lag, but even if this is the case in the S1R, I wouldn't assume the same in a new Canon system with different (and potentially must faster) architecture.
We will most likely reach a point where 98% of ILCs sold are mirrorless, and people will at that point wake up and realize that DSLRs have become a niche, like film has. Good work can be done with it, but very few would do so.
I was.
I'm assuming your issue is with my use of the word "niche" to describe film cameras today. "Niche" wasn't intended to belittle, so if you took it that way I apologize for lack of clarity. It just means it's a comparatively rare way to take pictures these days. And someday DSLRs will be rarer than mirrorless. Rare doesn't mean bad; many people do excellent work with film today, and they will do excellent work with DSLRs even if/when they become rare compared to mirrorless. (And DSLRs will have one advantage against film--they don't use as a consumable an item that's largely no longer being produced.)
Of course, you can disagree that DSLRs will become a small percentage of ILC cameras at some point in the future (I haven't said when, bit I am thinking within the next 15 years). And I'd have to concede you could well be right. I figure it won't happen ever unless the sorts of issues that action shooters complain about (justly) get sorted.
Actually, all cameras that can't place phone calls have long since become niche products.
Maybe, but maybe not. No one knows. Looking at the situation in 2019, there are pretty good arguments that DSLRs and Mirrorless each have strengths and weaknesses that may make it difficult for one to completely supplant the other. No reason both can't coexist indefinitely
Unless that consumable item happens to be Compact Flash, C-Fast or other storage medium that is no longer being made. But that will impact both DSLRs and Mirrorless equally.
That's really the great unknown. But it is more than just action shooters. Read some of the posts from wildlife shooters who don't want to sit in a blind for hours watching their electronic viewfinders drain their batteries away. I repeat once again something that I keep saying: Canon is agnostic about whether or not mirrorless will ultimately replace DSLRs. Only people on this forum take sides. Canon is on the side of selling consumers whatever they want.