Sony Expects Canon and Nikon To Announce Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras In One Year

I have reported about Canon Japan working on their full frame, EF mount, mirrorless camera for over two years now. There are a few working prototypes floating around in their labs. They have not finalized on a marketable model but I will not be surprised we will have an announcement at year's end or early 2019 from Canon and Nikon.  Sony's free ride with their A7 and A9 series of full frame mirrorless cameras will come to a crashing end.

SankeiBiz, the Japanese business news outlet reported Nikon's full frame mirrorless camera project is advancing at a 'break neck' speed and they plan to announce their development plan during the Photokina Show in September in Germany and launch the camera before the end of their fiscal year, which ends March 2019.

Canon stated last month that the company may be ready to cannibalize the sales of its DSLR cameras in order to take the number one spot in mirrorless camera sales in Japan. Frankly, I think the low end DSLR and PowerShot cameras are losing sales to advance smartphone cameras anyway but the high end DSLRs like the EOS-1D X Mark II, EOS-5D Mark IV, etc. will hold their own. I will not hesitate to own a profesional full frame mirrorless camera, along side my EOS-1D and EOS-5D series cameras.

In a recent speech given by Canon's CEO, Mr. Fujio Mitarai, he made the following comments :

"Within existing businesses, there are market areas that are growing, such as mirrorless in cameras,” Mitarai says. “In these segments, by launching differentiated products that only we can provide, we will stimulate the market, grow our sales, and secure additional market share.

For example, in our core camera business, in addition to our overwhelming share of the DSLR market, we will go on the offensive and work to expand our sales in the mirrorless camera market, which is exhibiting remarkable growth . . . . This will allow us to reach our goal of 50% market share of the entire interchangeable-lens camera market."

Earlier this month at the CP+ Show in Japan, Sony Camera's General Manager, Mr. Kenji Tanaka made the following comments :

"This is just my personal opinion, but I think that maybe by next year’s CP+ you’ll see full-frame mirrorless cameras from Canon and Nikon. I think by then they will be participating in this market.

Just look at our technologies, like eye focus. All of that data comes from the imaging sensor. In DSLRs, the data comes from separate sensors. The main imaging sensor is blanked out, 90% of the time by the mirror. The sensor is turned off. But the imaging sensor is very important. So if cameras are going to develop, and be more able to capture the moment, manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies. So within one year, I think."

In my opinion, any new Canon professional full frame mirrorless camera must have the following features :

Native EF mount

Any new mirrorless camera without an EF native mount is not going to attract serious photographers who have invested in their extensive EF lens inventory. I am NOT interested in using adapters.

Feel, Size and Weight

The current crop of high end mirrorless cameras do not feel right to me. Once a professional lens is mounted, the combo feels front heavy. The new Canon model must have the feel of an EOS-1 body, with built-in molded grip and a well balanced weight, albeit lighter, once the commensurate lens is attached.

Electronic Viewfinder

First in class Electronic Viewfinder is a must and the screen must come with the highest megapixel, replete with crisp and faithful colors reproduction.

Battery Life 

The current EOS-1D X Mark II camera's battery can comfortably lasts a full day's shooting on an average trip unless it is in extremely cold climate. The new mirrorless camera must be able to come close to this performance. I know short battery life is the Achilles' Heel of many high end models, like the Sony A7 and A9 but I am confident Canon engineers can and will overcome this limitation.

Burst Rate

As a wildlife photographer, I do need fast shooting speed in my equipment but a burst rate of around 12 - 14 fps is adequate for my needs. Anything faster than that is marketing hype.

The other bells and whistles like 4K video, GPS, WiFi, etc. are nice to have but they add weight, complication and cost to the final product and are not a deal breaker for me. There must a healthy compromise between features, price and weight.

Let me hear your thoughts about what you feel are important in Canon's upcoming high end, full frame, mirrorless camera. Keep checking back for the latest news for any future announcements.  

Canon EOS-6D Mark II Will Be A Full Frame DSLR, Not Mirrorless

Canon EOS-6D Mark II full frame DSLR camera?

Recently, Canon rumors on the Internet suggested the long awaited Canon EOS-6D Mark II camera may instead be replaced by a full frame mirrorless model. I can tell you with a good degree of certainty that will not be the case.

Canon has plans for a higher end, mirrorless camera with an APS-C sensor. Their crown jewel, a professional mirrorless camera with a full frame sensor and use the EF mount is on its way. Canon has been planning this for a long time now. To, at the very least challenge Sony in their dominance of the higher end, full frame mirrorless space and perhaps dethrone them all together.

You can read my earlier post on Canon's roadmap for 2017 and beyond. New Powershot cameras are expected very soon. Keep checking back for the latest development. 

Canon EOS-M5 Mirrorless Camera Hands-On Review

As reported earlier in September, Canon has officially announced the EOS-M5 mirrorless camera. You can download a copy of the Owner Manual at Canon USA. The EOS-M5 is available for pre-order at your favorite camera retailers now. 

I have never been a fan of mirrorless camera but for those who want a small, light weight camera that pack a punch above the point-n-shoot models, this may be worth a look. 

Canon Full Frame Mirrorless Camera On Its Way

I have reported in past months Canon is getting serious about their mirrorless camera line and is working on a full frame mirrorless camera. In addition, Canon's engineers are also working on a full frame, compact mirrorless body as well. There are a few prototypes floating around in their Research and Development labs.

The good news is a high end, full frame mirrorless camera is definitely coming from Canon. The bad news is there will be a longish wait, perhaps late 2017 or early 2018.

The challenge is Canon has to perfect the integration of the full frame sensor to their EF line of lenses, without using an adapter. They already have two other lens format, EF-S and EF-M, and neither one is as successful as the EF mount.

Currently, I am not a fan of mirrorless cameras. However, I can be persuaded to buy one if it meets my requirements. My only 'complaint' about the current Canon bodies that I use for my work, the EOS-1D X Mark II and EOS-5Ds, is, they can feel a bit heavy after using it for hours during a wildlife photo shoot. You can see my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com and follow my travels on Facebook and Twitter. 

Canon's Latest Plans for Their Mirrorless Camera Line

I have just returned from a rather successful wildlife photo trip to India. Witnessed two tiger kills from beginning to end on a Spotted and Sambar Deer plus Elephants and Monkeys mating, in addition to many new bird species for me. Trying to get back to writing my blog and catching up with the latest photography and NAB 2016 news. It will take me a week or two to get back to speed and precious little time to process the photos because by then, my next tour will be here already. I have a very busy Spring and Summer touring season ahead of me. You can see my works on MichaelDanielHo.com

It is no surprise that Canon will be announcing new mirrorless cameras this year. I have written about Canon's plans to finally get serious about their mirrorless camera line in the last few months. The first camera, EOS-M4 will be a replacement to the somewhat successful EOS-M3, released on February 2015 but was only available to the North American market in Q4 of last year. The new body may use the same sensor as the recently announced EOS-80D camera.

The second body could be the long awaited, prosumer mirrorless camera. It may carry a brand new 24MP sensor and finally use the EF line of lens without an adapter. There will be a few new EF-M lens coming this year, mostly in the prime and medium zoom focal lengths.

Canon Prosumer Mirrorless Camera With 4K Video Coming

* * *  See how Sony mirrorless cameras stack up against Canon DSLRs  * * *

I have been reporting for some time now Canon's plans to finally get serious about their mirrorless camera line. It is no secret that Sony is ahead of Canon in this field but may not be for too much longer. Even Leica has introduced a full frame mirrorless camera last year, ahead of Canon.

My sources told me Canon will announce the EOS-M4 camera first and then the higher end, full frame mirrorless camera with 4K video some time in the second half of 2016, perhaps around the big Photokina Show in Cologne, Germany in August. This should not be a surprise to most people since Canon has been quite 'vocal' about their ambition since last year.

Canon Comments On Their High End Mirrorless Camera Plans

* * *  See how Sony mirrorless cameras stack up against Canon DSLRs  * * *

Sony is the company with the most success in mirrorless cameras in the last few years, especially their a7 Series of full frame models. However, it is fanciful to think mirrorless cameras will threaten or even replace DSLR cameras any time soon but Canon is also working on their own full frame models.

Having been late a late comer to the mirrorless segment, the Canon EOS-M line has met with limited success, although it has been selling much better in Asia than other parts of the globe. At a recent interview with DPReview during the CP+ Show in Yokohama, Japan, a senior Canon executive commented on the progress of their high end mirrorless camera project. Below is an excerpt of the interview. Click here to read the rest of the conversation.


Q: Dual Pixel AF is a technology which has huge potential for mirrorless cameras. A lot of our readers are still very hopeful for future Canon enthusiast mirrorless models. Is there anything that you would like to say to them?

A: Obviously I can’t be particularly concrete when talking about our future product planning, but this is something that we are looking at. Something that is under consideration. There are some features, such as AF, which have not yet caught up with DSLRs, so given the current state of affairs it would be a little unrealistic to say that we will suddenly start offering a professional mirrorless camera. There’s still a performance gap that needs to be addressed.

Q: If we assume that at some point in the future Canon will create an enthusiast or professional mirrorless camera, what are your benchmarks?

A: This is just my personal opinion. In my view there are two key features that have to be addressed. The first is autofocus, particularly tracking of moving subjects. The other is the viewfinder. The electronic viewfinder would have to offer a certain standard. If those two functions were to match the performance of EOS DSLR camera performance, we might make the switch.

Canon To Finally Get Serious About Mirrorless Cameras

I am back from my Patagonia Photo Tour. Will take some time for me to get re-organized and look through my photos. Trying to get back to my blog and keeping my readers up to date on the photography world. Now that the EOS-1D X Mark II camera has been announced, Canon may be finally getting serious about their mirrorless line. I have reported last month Canon is working on a full frame mirrorless camera.

During an interview with ASCII.jp, Canon executive Yagi Koichi made this comment on the future plans for the EOS-M line (Google translated) :

“In the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2015, we have been able to ship a lot of mirror-less the number of cameras, not yet satisfied by For. At present new products, but mention can not be, the third quarter in 2016, towards the fourth quarter and that the “mirror-less market is forecast to grow, Canon’s share of the” mirror-less camera market and two years ago the 4-position, we want to aim at the 3-position."

Translation - Canon is tired of letting Sony be the 'One and Only'. There is an even chance they may introduce a prosumer camera some time in 2016 and finally provide their mirrorless camera line the attention and resources it takes to catch up to Sony and give them a real challenge. There is a chance Canon may drop some hint about their mirrorless plans during the upcoming CP+ Show on February 25 in Yokohama, Japan. More to come. Stay tuned . . . . .